Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets, gathering steam in the last hour of trade, concluded the session on a inspiring note with gains of around half a percent, which took both Sensex and Nifty higher above psychologically crucial 28,550 and 8,550 levels respectively. What appeared as range-bound session of trade, turned out to be one with splendid gains as buying activity picked up pace in the last hour of trade.

Bourses for most part of the session witnessed stiff resistance after hitting record high levels in early deals, which led to incremental profit- booking by both funds and retail investors amidst positive global cues. Meanwhile, broader indices also witnessing bit of buying activity, concluded with gains of around two tenths of a percent.

Gains in the indices were led by shares of index heavyweight, ITC which rallied on expectations that a Health Ministry proposal to ban the sale of loose cigarettes is likely to be put on hold following objections by some MPs, including some Union ministers, and farmers associations against taking drastic regulatory steps. Meanwhile, other tobacco companies such as Godfrey Phillips and VST Industries also saw strong buying interest on reports that the government may not ban the sale of loose cigarettes, which account for 65 to 70% of total cigarette sales in India.

On the global front, Asian stocks rose on Thursday led by Japan as polls suggested that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is headed for an election victory, while China's benchmark index was close to becoming the best performing in the region. Japanese media surveys showed that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling Liberal Democratic Party is poised for a landslide victory in Dec ‘14 parliamentary elections, a result that would give him a mandate to pursue policies such as opening Japan's agricultural markets. Meanwhile, European shares edged up to trade near a 2-1/2-month high on Thursday, with an improving U.S. economic outlook and expectations of further stimulus from the European Central Bank helping the market.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE succumbed to selling pressure, however stocks from Infrastructure, TECk and Information Technology counters were the top losers of the session. Additionally, shares of PSU declined on profit booking after government announced that it would put on block 5% stake in steel major Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on Friday to mop up about Rs 1,700 crore. Meanwhile, construction stocks, like HCC, NBCC and  IVRCL which soared in previous session after government relaxed rules for FDI in sector, also edged lower in trade today.

On the flip side, stocks from FMCG, banking and Capital Goods counters were the notable gainers of the session. In stock specific activity, defence stocks rallied after Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) granted industrial licence proposals to several companies which were stuck since 2012. Besides, Shipping stocks, like Bharati Shipyard , Varun Shipping, Pipav Defense saw huge buying interest on hopes of relaxations in rules for the sector. 

The BSE Sensex concluded at 28562.82, up by 120.11 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 28448.95 and 28808.78. 13 stocks advanced against 17 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices too shut shop in green but with lesser margins compare to larger counterparts; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.25%, while Small cap index up by 0.31%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were FMCG up by 3.00%, Bankex up by 0.76%, Capital Goods up by 0.40%, Metal up by 0.29%, PSU up by 0.20% while, INFRA down by 0.89%, TECK down by 0.62%, Consumer Durables down by 0.53%, IT down by 0.48%, Oil & Gas down by 0.29% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 5.44%, Sesa Sterlite up by 2.80%, Cipla up by 2.61%, ICICI Bank up by 0.90% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.87%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.08%, Hindalco down by 1.84%, BHEL down by 1.56%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.51% and Tata Power down by 1.44% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor HR Khan has asserted that some new concerns had emerged recently on e-commerce transactions and the central bank will soon issue few more guidelines to address these issues.  

Earlier, in August, the RBI found that US-based taxi aggregator firm, Uber was flouting payments norms by following practice that falls short on the two-step user authentication norms as laid out by RBI.

Indian e-commerce industry has been growing at brisk pace over the recent years and has become one of most attractive sectors in India. Online travel dominates the e-commerce market but in the future, e-tailing is expected to drive the industry growth. Online travel constitutes 71% of the e-commerce market in India, followed by e-tailing at 16%. Travel has grown at a CAGR of 32% over 2009-13. Heavy discount on online sales is a direct reflection of the industry's competitive intensity. The e-commerce market in the country is expected to grow by 37% to reach $20 billion by 2015 on the back of growing internet population and increased online shoppers.

The CNX Nifty ended at 8564.40, up by 26.75 points or 0.31% after trading in a range of 8526.40 and 8626.95. 20 stocks advanced against 29 stocks declining stocks on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ITC up by 5.48% and Sesa Sterlite up by 2.73% and BPCL up by 2.21% and Cipla up by 1.39% and NMDC up by 1.19%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.25%, Hindalco down by 1.86%, HCL Tech. down by 1.86%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.68% and Tata Power down by 1.65% were the top losers.

European markets were trading in green ; with France’s CAC edging higher by 13.52 points or 0.31% to 4,405.38; Germany’s DAX advancing by 30.31 points or 0.3% to 10,002.10 and  UK’s FTSE 100 rising by 3.93 points or 0.06% to 6,712.70.

Asian markets ended mostly in green on Thursday as record highs on Wall Street amid fresh signs of resilience in the US economy and continued hopes that central banks in China and Europe will unveil further stimulus encouraged investors to buy riskier assets. Chinese shares soared to hit a three-year high, as investors piled up shares of financials, oil and brokerage companies on bets the People's Bank of China will follow up on last month's rate cut with further interest rate cuts and reduction in banks' reserve requirement ratios. Japanese shares extended gains for a fifth straight session as persistent weakness in yen lifted exporter shares.