Post Session: Quick Review

Snapping two consecutive sessions’ losing streak, Indian equity markets staged splendid recovery on Tuesday by accumulating gains of over a percent which lifted both Sensex and Nifty above psychologically crucial 28,700 and 8,700 levels respectively on sustained buying activities by funds and retail investors thanks to positive global cues. Sentiments were buttressed after International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde underscored that Indian economy was poised to overtake the combined GDP of Japan and Germany in the next four years on the back of recent policy reforms and improved business confidence in the country. Additionally, participants also took a heart from FM’s statement of Current account deficit being below 1% of GDP in 2015/16.

Local equity markets after making a gap-up start, went on gradually adding gains, although markets dried away all its gains in second half session of trade, much of momentum which was witnessed in last hour of trade drove markets to day’s high. Meanwhile, the session was also fruitful for broader indices, which went home with gains in the range of 0.20-0.50%.

On the global front, stocks in Asia mostly rose on Tuesday with investors unfazed by upcoming commentary from the U.S. central bank on its outlook for interest rates. The gains came after the Bank of Japan stood pat on its long-standing monetary policy although investors said it was mainly easing from overseas encouraging buying. Meanwhile, European shares set 7 1/2-year highs on Tuesday, boosted by gains in Volkswagen after an encouraging report on auto sales. Shares in Volkswagen rose 1.9 percent after industry data showed new car registrations in Europe rose 7 percent in February, with demand shifting from no-frills makes like Dacia toward mass-market brands like VW.

Closer home, most of the sectoral indices on BSE concluded into positive territory, however stocks from Information Technology and Technology counters were the only losers of the session, which witnessed drubbing on account of rupee’s strength. On the flip side, much of the buying activity was witnessed by stocks from Capital Goods, Healthcare and Fast Moving Consumer Goods counters, which were the prominent gainers of the session. In stock-specific activity, shares of three public sector oil marketing companies rose on falling international crude oil prices. Brent crude oil prices reversed most of their early gains to steady below $54 per barrel on Tuesday as high ongoing oversupply dragged on the market.  The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of decliners which thumped advances in the ratio of 1359:1454; while 126 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex concluded at 28736.38, up by 298.67 points or 1.05% after trading in a range of 28435.45 and 28784.35. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.19%, while Small cap index up by 0.90%. (Provisional)

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.78%, Healthcare up by 1.72%, FMCG up by 1.58%, Consumer Durables up by 1.53% and Oil & Gas up by 1.46% while, IT down by 0.36% and TECK down by 0.19% were the only losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 5.36%, Sesa Sterlite up by 4.37%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.62%, HDFC up by 2.52% and Axis Bank up by 2.42%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 1.12%, Coal India down by 0.71%, Tata Power down by 0.68%, Wipro down by 0.67% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.62% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, the government received commitments of Rs 103,046 crore from telecom operators at the end of 67th round of bidding on Saturday, the 11th day of radio frequency spectrum e-auctions. This is little higher compared to Rs 102,215 crore on the 10th day. The auction will continue on Tuesday as about 13% of spectrum is yet to be sold.

Robust bidding was witnessed in 1800 MHz, 900 MHz and 800 MHz band, with majority of service areas being sold at a premium over reserve price. Aggressive bidding with price increment in 3 circles in 800 Mhz was witnessed, whereas one circle in 900 MHz and 2 circles in 1800 MHz saw price increment. However, no bidding activity for 2100 MHz used for offering 3G services. On a whole, 12-14 circles witnessed bidding activity on Day 11 of the spectrum auction.

Bidding was seen in Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Kerala in 1800 MHz, and 900 MHz in West Bengal, while 800 MHz band continued to witness good bidding with activity in six circles of Delhi, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and North East.

The biggest ever auction of spectrum in the 800, 900, 1,800, and 2,100 MHz bands had started on March 4. The government had initially estimated to earn between Rs 80,000 crore and Rs 1 lakh crore from the sale of radio waves. In the current round of auction, the government is selling a total of 380.75 MHz of spectrum in the 800 -MHz, 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands, and five MHz in the 2,100-MHz band across 17 of the 22 telecom areas of the circles in the country.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility dipped 0.32% at 15.12 from its previous close of 15.17 on Monday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty settled at 8723.30, up by 90.15 points or 1.04% after trading in a range of 8630.80 and 8742.55. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 5.88%, Sesa Sterlite up by 3.99%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.76%, Cairn India up by 3.51% and Indusind Bank up by 2.95%. On the flip side, Jindal Steel & Power down by 8.64%, Infosys down by 1.15%, HCL Tech. down by 0.87%, Coal India down by 0.71% and Tata Power down by 0.56% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European Markets were trading mostly in the red; Germany's DAX decreased 0.62% and France's CAC was down by 0.07%, while UK's FTSE 100 was up by 0.45%.

The Asian markets ended mostly in green on Tuesday, with China’s main stock index rising to its highest in almost seven years, breaking through a key psychological resistance level to raise investors’ hopes that the market has resumed a bull run begun midway through last year. The Bank of Japan board decided by an 8 to 1 vote to leave the bank’s policy target unchanged while revising down its near-term inflation outlook on weak energy prices as expected. The collapse of crude oil prices last year has clouded the prospect for the central bank plan to anchor 2% inflation in about two years from April 2013, when it launched aggressive easing. That has caused the BoJ to revise down its near-term inflation outlook. At the same time however, the BoJ sees the economic recovery intact. Japan’s index of leading economic indicators rose to a seasonally adjusted 105.5, from 105.1 in the preceding month. Hong Kong Unemployment Rate remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 3.3% compared to its preceding month.