Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets recouping all the lost ground by close of trade, concluded on an upbeat note with gains of around 0.15%, which took Sensex and Nifty above psychologically crucial 28,350 and 8,450 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices also outperforming larger counterparts were trading in the range of 0.50%-1.15%. Though, bit of profit-booking was witnessed in the second half of trading session, sentiments remained positive. Gains were limited on account of growing caution ahead of the expiry of November equity derivatives on Thursday. Additionally, caution ahead of September-quarter GDP data due on Friday and the Reserve Bank of India's policy review on December 2 weighed on the sentiments. Street widely expects Q2 GDP data, to have grown at 5% or even lower in the second quarter of 2014-15, sharply lower than the 5.7% witnessed in the first quarter.

On the global front, Asian shares had a mixed session as the upward revision to US economic growth failed to provide much of a boost. Meanwhile, European market rose for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as investors continued to bet on further monetary stimulus in the euro zone, although gains were capped by fresh falls in energy shares.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE concluded into positive territory, nevertheless stocks from Realty, Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Metal counters were prominent gainers. On the flip side, stocks from TECK, banking and Healthcare counters were the prominent losers of the session. Infra stocks advanced in trade after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) underscored that India could give banks more flexibility to restructure distressed loans in a bid to steer funding towards cash-strapped infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, in stock-specific activity, India's biggest cigarette maker, ITC gained over 2%, recovering from a 5.2 pct fall on Tuesday as India moves toward ban on loose cigarettes to deter smoking. Price elasticity, product mix and introduction of smaller pack sizes could limit the impact on volumes for ITC. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances which thumped declines in the ratio of 1489:1112; while 93 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex ended at 28386.19, up by 48.14 points or 0.17% after trading in a range of 28470.15 and 28261.31. 16 stocks advanced against 13 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.(Provisional)

The broader indices outperformed larger counterparts; the BSE Mid cap index up by 0.62%, while Small cap index added 1.12%.(Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on BSE were Realty up by 4.03%, Power up by 1.13%, Metal up by 1.08%, Fast Moving Consumer Goods up by 1.07% and PSU up by 0.54%. while, TECK down by 0.41%, Banking down by 0.30%, IT down by 0.16%, Healthcare down by 0.34% and Infrastructure down by 0.01%.(Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Gail India up by 2.90%, SSLT up by 2.38%, ITC up by 2.33%, BHEL up by 2.28% and Hindalco Industries up by 2.21%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.86%, ICICI Bank down by 1.50%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.90%, Reliance Industries down by 0.72% and TCS down by 0.56%(Provisional)

Meanwhile, amid concerns over increasing misuse of Offshore Derivative Instruments (ODI) or P-Notes for money laundering and other such purposes, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified that foreign portfolio investments coming in through ODI route will now be aligned with the eligibility and investment norms applicable to foreign portfolio investors (FPI).

P notes used by investors or hedge funds that are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to invest in Indian through registered foreign institutional investors. Any dividends or capital gains collected from the underlying securities go back to the investors.The investments through P-Notes in India rose to nearly seven-year high of over Rs 2.65 lakh crore by the end of October 2014.

SEBI clarified that an FPI shall issue ODIs only to those subscribers which meet the eligibility criteria as laid down in SEBI’s FPI Regulation 4 which stated that an FPI applicant shall not be granted registration unless the entity is the resident of a country whose securities market regulator is a signatory to International Organization of Securities Commission’s (IOSCO). SEBI further clarified that investment restrictions applicable to foreign portfolio investors would also apply to ODIs. Two or more ODI subscribers having common Beneficial Owner (BO) will be considered together as a single ODI subscriber, in the same manner as is being done in the case of FPIs.

Further, the market regulator noted that foreign portfolio investor or FPI can issue ODIs, which predominantly comprise of participatory notes (P-notes), only to those subscribers that do not have an opaque structure. Foreign funds with 'opaque' structures would not be allowed to come in under the new FPI regime.

The CNX Nifty ended at 8,475.75, up by 12.65 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 8,500.30 and 8,438.65. 30 stocks advanced against 20 declining ones on the index.(Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were DLF up by 7.08%, Gail India up by 2.84%, BHEL up by 2.26%, ITC up by 2.25% and Asian Paints up by 2.22%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 4.79%, Jaindal Steel down by 3.03%, Bharti Airtel down by 2.82%, HCL Technologies down by 1.54% and ICICI Bank down by 1.51% were the top losers (Provisional)

European Markets were trading positive. France’s CAC up by 11.04 points or 0.25% to 4,393.35, UK’s FTSE 100 up by 24.74 points or 0.37% to 6,755.88 and Germany’s DAX up by 66.37 points or 0.67% to 9,927.58.

Almost all the Asian equity benchmarks barring, Nikkei 225, ended higher on Wednesday, following Chinese shares which extended their rally as insurers led gains. Further, the speculation that an interest-rate cut will boost earnings supported the markets. Meanwhile industrial shares gained on prospects for increased investment on bets China's central bank will make further efforts to help lower borrowing costs. China’s benchmark money-market rate fell for a third day after the central bank lowered the interest rate it paid on 14-day repurchase agreements. The Japanese market eased slightly, as investors waited for more US data on jobless claims, durable goods orders, and personal income and spending as well as new home sales and pending homes sales figures due later in the day for fresh clues about the outlook for US interest rates. The safe-haven yen strengthened against the dollar and weighed on the sentiments of the Japanese market.