The key Indian equity benchmarks have sustained solid gains in the afternoon trade, buoyed by a strong under current across other Asian markets and overnight rally in the US markets. The European markets also ended higher on Wednesday.
The sentiment in India is also upbeat on expectations of somereform-oriented measures from the Government after the completion of Presidential election this week. A hike in diesel prices and revival of the FDI in multi-brand retail are among the few major reforms that the markets are looking at from the Prime Minister and his team.
At 12:50 pm (IST),the BSE Sensex was at 17,282, up 97 points or ~0.6% from the previous close. Ithad earlier touched a day’s high of17,317 and a day’s low of 17,257. It opened at 17,288.
The NSE Nifty was quotingat 5,249, up 0.6% over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day’s highof 5,257 and a day’s low of5,238. It opened at 5,249.
The BSE Small-Capindex and BSE Mid-Cap index were trading up 0.7% and 0.5%, respectively.
The INDIA VIX isdown more than 3%.
Most sectoral indices are trading with a positive bias, led by IT, Consumer Durables, Realty, Power and Metals indices. Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices too are up byalmost 1% apiece. The Auto index and the FMCG index are down marginally. The PSU Bank index on NSE is also down.
Maruti shares have tanked following overnight violence at its Manesar plant. Maruti shut the planton Wednesday evening after workers and management clashed violently, according to reports. A charred body has been found on the factory premises, reports added.
Maruti Suzuki willkeep its Manesar plant shut on Thursday as well, according to reports.
Maruti Suzuki, Indraprastha Gas, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hitachi Home and HeroMotoCorp are some of the counters witnessing a spurt in volumes.
A little better morning was in store after the main Indian stock indices snapped a five-day losing streak on Wednesday. Global cues are pretty good and this could bring some gains at least early on in today’s session.
Asian markets aremostly higher this morning. US equity benchmarks closed up as well, spurred by encouraging technology results and positive data on the housing sector. UShousing starts jumped in June to the highest level in four years.
Fed chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated the central bank’s resolve to breathe more life into the US economy if things get worse.
Bernanke doesn’t expect a double-dip recession in the US.However, the Fed Beige Book survey says the USeconomy slowed in June and early July. Overall US growth remains 'modest to moderate’.
The bad news for India is that Brent crude is hove ring around US$105 a barrel amid signs of stability in the US economy and more stimulus measures out of China. Lingering concerns about the Middle-East uprising continues to boost crude oilfutures.
Pranab Mukherjee is all set to win the race to the Rashtrapati Bhavan today, as the UPA has the right numbers on its side. Markets are more interested in what the Government would do on the policy front after the Presidential polls.
As far as domestic economic data is concerned, the consumer prices remained elevated and sticky in June. What's worse, food prices could spike in the wake of a weak monsoon. Fuel prices, particularly the regulated ones, might rise after the Presidential election.
Hero MotoCorp, Dr.Reddy’s and Kotak Mahindra Bank will announce their results today along withfew others.
The IT pack could be in the spotlight after IBM raised its annual earnings estimate.
Germany’s parliament is scheduled to vote on the rescue package for troubled Spanish banks on Thursday.
The trading action on Wednesday was a bit volatile, with a late rally leading to a formation of ‘Hammer’ pattern on the candle stick charts. The Nifty has extended the trading range to 5160-5360 levels, but in the short-term a move above 5230 could provide temporary relief.
Main Results Today: Ajanta Pharma, Autoline Industries, BOC India, DB Corp.,DishTV, Dr. Reddy's, Hero MotoCorp, Hindustan Media, Infomedia 18, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Kotak Mahindra Bank, L&T Finance, NIIT Tech, PersistentSystems,Tata Sponge, Timken Indiaand Zee News.
Trend in FII flows: The FIIs were net buyers of Rs. 2.76bn in the cash segment onWednesday while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellersofRs. 1.65bn, as per the provisional figures released by the NSE.
The FIIs were net sellers at Rs. 5.28bn in the F&O segment on Wednesday, according to the provisional NSE data.
The foreign funds were net buyers of Rs. 5.70bn in the cash segment on Tuesday while the Mutual Funds were net sellers at Rs. 916mn, according to the SEBI figures.
Global Data Watch: National Australia Bank's Business Confidence, JapanLeading Economic Index (May), Switzerland Trade Balance (June), Eurozone Current Account s.a (May), Italy Industrial Orders n.s.a (YoY) (May), UK Retail Sales(YoY) (June), ECB mid-month meeting, US Initial Jobless Claims (July 14),US Existing Home Sales Change (June) and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey(July).