Post Session: Quick Review

Volatility ruled the roost of the markets on Friday, and the major indices kept moving in and out of the red zone for most part of the session, however there was rebound in second half and some firmness appeared after half day of dilly-dallying that took the markets higher. Traders took cues from the positive start of the European markets and went for value buying at lower levels, giving the major indices a positive ending before the weekend.

There was some sense of relief in the global markets that helped the local indices to make a positive start after the last session’s steep fall. The US markets recovering from the early declines ended mostly in green, while the Asian markets made a mixed closing on some encouraging economic data from US and after a Fed official stated that the central bank should consider delaying the end of bond purchases. Later, the European markets bounced back and surged on Friday, ending their longest losing streak in 11 years on hopes that policy makers will come up with more stimulus measures.

Back home, taking cues of the recovery in the European markets, the local bourses scaled decent gains in the second half, although there were sign of choppiness but traders grabbed the opportunity of buying value stocks at lower levels and took the markets higher for the day. Traders also seemed counting on hopes of Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan that India is seeing a pick-up in economic growth although more could be done to support that on a sustainable basis. Power stocks too participated in the rally despite the looming crisis within sector with over 60 per cent thermal power stations grappling with critical coal shortage. Fuel stockpiles at all the thermal power stations hit a new low in 25 years at 7.2 million tonnes, as Coal India and its subsidiaries failed to meet their production targets. However, the IT  and technology pack remained the major laggard after the disappointing earnings announcements by the two heavy weights of the sector, while TCS reported nearly 6% drop in net profit at Rs 5,244 crore for the second quarter ended September 2014 compared with Rs 5,568 crore in the first quarter ended June 2014. HCL numbers came below street expectation, although its profit increased 32% year on year but was up by only 2.1% sequentially. Its revenues grew 1.9% sequentially to $1,433 million, lagging behind its larger rivals Infosys and TCS. Both HCL Tech and TCS ended lower by around 9% for the day.

The BSE Sensex ended at 26108.53, up by 109.19 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 25910.77 and 26248.54. There were 21 stocks in green against 9 stocks in red on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices remained mixed; while the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.31%, the Small cap index declined by 0.28%.(Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.46%, Capital Goods up by 1.86%, Consumer Durables up by 1.81%, Power up by 1.34%, INFRA up by 1.24%, while IT down by 4.00%, TECK down by 2.67% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up by 3.40%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.05%, HDFC Bank up by 3.04%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.88% and ICICI Bank up by 2.86%. On the flip side, TCS down by 8.73%, Sesa Sterlite down by 2.76%, Hindalco down by 2.24%, Tata Motors down by 1.66% and Wipro down by 1.08% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, after attracting Chinese investments to its industrial parks, India has now strongly pitched for China's participation in country’s Special Economic Zones (SEZ).  An Indian delegation comprising senior officials from Commerce Ministry and SEZ developers, is presently on China tour to attend business meetings and visit a number of successful Chinese Special Economic Zone (SEZ) ventures to get feedback.

It is reported that that delegation discussed the SEZ framework in the country and specific opportunities in select economic zones. India has asked Chinese companies to increase investment in country and take optimum advantage of ‘Make in India’ campaign, aimed at ensuring investor-friendly environment for businessmen in the country.

The six-member delegation is first from India after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in September during which $20 billion commitment was made by China to invest in industrial parks in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

During the period April 2000 to July 2014, China has invested only $411 million which is only 0.18 percent of India's total FDI received in the reported period. To enhance the Chinese investments in the country, the government has given an in-principle approval to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) allowing China to set up industrial parks in the country. The industrial parks are expected to include special economic zones (SEZs) and manufacturing zones

The CNX Nifty ended at 7779.70, up by 31.50 points or 0.41% after trading in a range of 7723.85 and 7819.20. 38 stocks advanced against 11 declining stocks on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Zee Entertainment up by 3.28%, BHEL up by 3.26%, HDFC Bank up by 3.07%, ICICI Bank up by 3.06% and Cipla up by 2.93%. On the flip side, HCL Tech. down by 9.08%, TCS down by 8.85%, Sesa Sterlite down by 2.72%, Jindal Steel & Power down by 2.32% and Hindalco down by 2.07% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European Markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 gained 62.18 points or 1% to 6,258.09, France’s CAC added 67.47 points or 1.72% to 3,986.09 and Germany’s DAX  was up by 140.28 points or 1.63% to 8,723.18.

Asian markets ended mixed on Friday, with Japanese stocks falling for a second day, as banks and exporters retreated. China will set an economic growth target of about 7 percent for 2015, tolerating the weakest expansion in a generation as leaders tackle debt risks and imbalances. The PBOC cut the interest rate it pays lenders for 14-day repurchase agreements for the second time in a month. Next week’s data -- including GDP, industrial production and investment -- will help show whether more easing is needed. Foreign direct investment commitments in Indonesia rose at a slower pace in the first nine months of 2014 compared with a year earlier, highlighting sluggish investment growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. Commitments in January-September were Rp 228.3 trillion ($18.7 billion), a 14.6 percent increase from the same period of 2013.