Nifty hovers around 9050, Sensex firm; ITC gains 2%

1:30 pm Macro-economy: Services sector expanded rapidly in February at the fastest growth rate in eight months, driven by significant rise in new business orders even as jobs fell marginally in the sector, an HSBC survey said on Wednesday. The HSBC India Services Business Activity Index, which tracks changes in activity at Indian services companies on a monthly basis, rose to an eight-month high of 53.9 in February, as against 52.4 in the previous month, indicating a robust expansion across the sector. A score above 50 indicates that the sector is expanding, while a figure below that level means contraction. Don't miss: Sensibly spot debt-ridden cos to make a killing: S Naren  The market is holding up its gains as the Sensex is up 248.52 points at 29842.25. The Nifty up 63.40 points at 9059.65. About 1323 shares have advanced, 1338 shares declined, and 192 shares are unchanged. Sun Pharma, ITC, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Hindalco, Tata Power, Coal India, Wipro and Sesa Sterlite. Soon after RBI announcing a surprise rate cut, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian today said that the global rating agencies should look at upgrading their stance on India's credit outlook. "Now we have a 50 basis points rate cut (in two tranches within two months) and I think that is good for the economy and all rate cuts benefits... If the outlook is looking good, the rating agencies should draw their lessons from that om improving the outlook," Subramanian told. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com