Market trade near high points of the day

Indian markets gaining strength to strength were at high points of the day and near to reclaiming their psychological crucial levels of 27500 (Sensex) and 8350 (Nifty) in early noon session, tailing the good going in the Asian peers after China's central bank in a stimulus measure cut rates by 25 basis points as it looks to support the world's number two economy, which grew last year at its slowest pace since 1990. Metals pack has moved higher on expectation of higher demand from China. Though, traders were eyeing the development in parliament where the government has tabled the contentious Land Acquisition Bill in the Lok Sabha, amid protest by opposition. Back on street, buying was visible across the board, metal, realty and capital goods and auto stocks were among the top performers in the morning deals. The PSU banking stocks were in very jubilant mood despite a weak set of numbers from Bank of Baroda. The bank’s gross NPAs for the March quarter increased to 3.72% as against 2.94% in the same quarter last year, while the Net profit for the quarter fell 48.3% to Rs.598.35 crore compared with Rs.1,157.27 crore in the year-ago quarter. However the bank’s asset quality improved and slippages were lower sequentially.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 27488.15, up by 382.76 points or 1.41% after trading in a range of 27231.28 and 27508.30. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 1.69%, while Small cap index gained 1.31%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.82%, PSU up by 2.18%, Bankex up by 2.04%, Auto up by 1.92% and Realty up by 1.74%

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 4.85%, Vedanta up by 4.08%, Hindalco up by 4.03%, Hero MotoCorp up by 3.46% and HDFC up by 3.45%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.01% and Reliance Industries down by 0.28% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, industry body, the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), cautioning about the rising crude prices has said that with Indian basket of crude oil rising by 11 per cent in rupee terms in the last 8-9 days, volatility in energy prices has re-surfaced as the biggest worry for the Indian industry and the policy makers, it has said that the government needs to put in place a contingency plan to tackle volatility in rates.

The industry body further said the volatility being witnessed in crude oil prices was not a good news for India, which is on the cusp of recovery, along with the macro factors like poor outlook of Monsoon. Adding that upward revision in the pump prices every fortnight by the oil companies - if rupee further weakens and bullish sentiment returns to the energy-would not make good headlines for the economic sentiment.

Assocham, though in its paper has said that while it is early days to press the panic button, caution and a contingent plan should be in order if the situation gets worsened by Monsoon deficiency, going forward. It also said that slowdown in the Chinese economy can still be a good news for the oil prices since subdued growth in China can dampen the crude demand, thus affecting its prices.

According to industry body, while the prices were falling, the biggest producer Saudi Arabia had a game plan in the price war, so to speak. It had an eye on the capex spending in the global oil economy and the supply situation in the US, which won’t be a good news for India. In fact, one of the reasons for Saudi Arabia to increase the production is a belief that it is only through some aggressive pricing of keeping the crude oil prices below $50 per barrel that the competition from shale gas in the US can be checkmated.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 8315.45, up by 123.95 points or 1.51% after trading in a range of 8224.65 and 8315.60. There were 48 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank Of Baroda up by 14.99%, SBI up by 4.83%, Vedanta up by 4.38%, Hindalco up by 4.07% and HDFC up by 3.76%. On the flip side, Hindustan Unilever down by 2.08% and Reliance Industries down by 0.19% were the top losers.

All the major Asian markets barring Taiwan Weighted which was down by 28.28 points or 0.29% to 9,663.72, were trading in green

Jakarta Composite was up by 2.64 points or 0.05% to 5,184.85, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI added 3.41 points or 0.19% to 1,811.06, KOSPI Index was higher11.86 points or 0.57% to 2,097.38, Straits Times gained 15.21 points or 0.44% to 3,467.22, Shanghai Composite surged by 85.49 points or 2.03% to 4,291.41, Hang Seng increased by 132.64 points or 0.48% to 27,709.98 and Nikkei 225 was up by 241.72 points or 1.25% to 19,620.91.