Post Session: Quick Review

Markets bid-adieu last trading session of CY ‘2014’ in style, by rallying for fourth consecutive session and logging gains of over 0.25% which lifted both Sensex and Nifty above psychologically crucial 27,450 and 8,250 levels respectively. For the entire trading session, markets just went on adding ground as investors continued to pour in their money into equities amidst hopes that momentum would sustain in 2015 should the government announce additional economic reforms and the RBI start cutting interest rates. Markets largely overlooking weak sentiment across-the-globe on a sell-off in commodities and political uncertainty in Greece, remained cheerful on hopes of more policy measures by the government after the cabinet’s executive order to ease land-acquisition rules. The session also turned out to be yielding for broader indices which outperforming larger counterparts, went home with gains of around a percent. For the year, CNX Midcap index rallied by 65% and BSE Smallcap index spurted by 68%. Both Sensex and Nifty logged their best performance since last five years in CY ‘14’.

On the global front, Asian shares managed to eke out positive close on the last trading day of 2014, amid thin volume, with Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines shut for the holiday season. The only data for the day was the HSBC/Markit China manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) for December, which came in at 49.6. The reading was up slightly from the reading of 49.5 in the preliminary reading, but still lower than November's 50.0. Meanwhile, European stock markets were trading steady on Wednesday in a shortened trading session, with many of the region’s markets either closed or having only a half-day.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE concluded last trading session of CY14 on an upbeat note, however stocks from Auto counter turned out to be the only exception. Auto stocks tanked on reports that government would not extend tax breaks to automakers beyond December 31, 2014. On the flip side, maximum demand was witnessed by stocks from Infrastructure, Power and Realty counters. Power and Infra stocks extended previous session’s gains witnessed after  Union Cabinet approved an ordinance to amend the contentious land acquisition act, which would relax some limitations including a 'consent clause' which so far has acted as obstacle for power, highways, housing, defence and infrastructure projects, thereby holding up the economy's growth potential. Additionally, banking stocks also were advancing on rate cut hopes. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of advances, which thumped decliners in the ratio of 1667:1199, while 126 shares remained unchanged (Provisional).

The BSE Sensex ended at 27499.42, up by 95.88 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 27346.00 and 27527.24. There were 19 stocks advancing against 10 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.11%, while Small cap index up by 1.06%. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Infrastructure up by 1.23%, Power up by 1.02%, Realty up by 1.01%, Consumer Durables up by 0.93% and Oil & Gas up by 0.70% while, Auto was down by 0.28% was the lone losing index on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up by 3.35%, NTPC up by 1.80%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.74%, Reliance Industries up by 1.41% and Tata Power up by 1.10%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.69%, HDFC Bank down by 0.42%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.40%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.40% and Hindustan Unilever down by 0.34% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, blaming RBI’s hawkish stance as 'singular factor' responsible for economic slowdown, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley underscored that government had pledged to remove entry barriers to business and ensure a competitive tax regime to push manufacturing growth under it’s 'Make in India' programme.

He further asserted that the programme aims at manufacturing low-cost quality products both for domestic as well as export market. This was clarified by the Finance Minister after RBI’s governor, Rajan earlier this month, had suggested that the government should focus on 'Make for India'-­ in other words, shape manufacturing that is targeted at the domestic market rather than the global market where demand was growing limp.

He also mocked RBI by citing that whether 'Make in India' was made for consumers within India or outside wasn’t’ relevant as consumers across the world were only bothered about purchasing cheap but good quality products.

The Finance Minister highlighted that success of bankers' retreat with Prime Minister Narendra Modi later this week and the 'Make In India' campaign would give required fillip to manufacturing sector.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility rose 1.81% at 15.13 from its previous close of 14.84 on Tuesday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty ended at 8282.70, up by 34.45 points or 0.42% after trading in a range of 8243.75 and 8291.00. There were 38 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were BHEL up by 2.67%, Cairn India up by 2.38%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.00%, Ultratech Cement up by 1.76% and NTPC up by 1.44%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.85%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.92%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.69%, Maruti Suzuki down by 0.52% and HDFC Bank down by 0.51% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European Markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 was up by 0.23% and France’s CAC was up by 0.56%.

The Asian equity benchmarks ended mostly in green on Wednesday, as Chinese stocks rallied, capping the best year for the benchmark index since 2009. Markets in Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia are shut today for holidays. Activity in China’s factory sector shrank for the first time in seven months in December, highlighting the urgency behind a series of surprise easing moves by Beijing in the past two months. The weak performance will add to the debate over whether Beijing needs to roll out more support measures to avert a sharper economic slowdown or fast-track market reforms to stimulate demand - or both. The report puts a final sluggish stamp on what has been a surprisingly grim fourth quarter for the world’s second-largest economy, which is expected to grow at its slowest pace this year in nearly a quarter of a century. The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December came in at 49.6, just below the 50.0 level that separates growth from contraction. South Korean CPI remained unchanged at 0.0%.