Benchmarks trade near day's high; Sensex gaining nearly 265 points

Reflecting a good going for the market, benchmark indices were trading with strong gains with sustained buying in several blue chip stocks following previous session's sharp setback. Drop in crude oil prices, expectations from the budget and a likely monetary easing from the central bank were contributing to the market's positive rally today. Sensex viewed good rebound, gaining nearly 265 points while NSE benchmark rose 88 points. Meanwhile in the currency market, rupee trading firm, tracking firmer regional peers and the dollar's decline against other major currencies. On sectoral front all were trading in red except few IT stocks. On the global front, Asian shares were trading mixed. Back home, the market breadth favoring the positive trend; there were 1,873 shares on the gaining side against 612 shares on the losing side while 107 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,710.55, up by 264.80 points or 1.52%. The index has touched a high and a low of 17,749.08 and 17,530.44 respectively. There were 27 stocks advancing against just 3 declines on the index.

The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 2.57% and 2.35% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Realty up by 4.23%, Consumer Durable (CD) up by 3.31%, Bankex up by 3.18%, Metal up by 3.12% and Power up by 2.88%. On the flip side, IT down by 0.55% remained the only losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sterlite Industries up by 4.84%, Hindalco Industries up by 4.79%, Tata Motors up by 4.60%, SBI up by 4.16% and DLF up by 3.99%.

On the flip side, TCS down by 1.62%, ITC down by 0.52% and Infosys down by 0.43% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the government has signed three loan agreements worth $350 million with the Asian Development Bank to help develop power infrastructure in the country. Out of the $350 million, $200 million will go towards developing the rural electrification infrastructure of Madhya Pradesh, $100 million to finance the solar power transmission system in Gujarat and $50 million to the Power Sector Enhancement Investment Programme in Assam.

The loan to Madhya Pradesh is the second and final $200 million tranche of an ADB loan to support the provision of reliable, 24-hour electricity to rural households. At present the overuse of electricity for irrigation provided through a single distribution feeder leaves households short of power for much of the day. Ageing and overloaded distribution lines and transformers also result in large transmission losses.

ADB’s loan funds will establish separate power feeders for households and agricultural use, install high-voltage distribution systems, provide new power connections and improve the financial sustainability of the distribution companies. It is also expected to open up business, employment and better educational opportunities for the poor.

An agreement worth $100 million has also been signed to develop a transmission system that will distribute 500 megawatts of solar power from the Charanka Solar Park in Gujarat.

The third and final $50 million tranche of an ADB loan to Assam’s Power Sector Enhancement Investment Programme has also been signed. The programme is designed to meet growing demand of electricity in one of India’s poorer states, where the large rural population relies mainly on the agriculture and manufacturing sectors for income. Weaknesses in the transmission of power have affected the competitiveness of businesses. This loan is expected to help strengthen the state’s transmission and distribution system, and reduce technical and commercial losses.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,369.75, higher by 88.55 points or 1.68%. The index has touched a high and a low of 5,377.70 and 5,306.45 respectively. There were 43 stocks advancing against 7 declining ones on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Reliance Infra up by 7.58%, RCOM up by 6.03%, RPower up by 5.27%, IDFC up by 5.26% and JP Associates up by 4.79%.

On the flip side, TCS down by 1.76%, Cairn down by 0.94%, BPCL down by 0.86%, HCL Tech down by 0.76% and Infosys down by 0.53% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian markets were trading in the green; Hang Seng was up 1.17%, Jakarta Composite rose 0.11%, Straits Times added 0.46% and Seoul Composite expanded 0.72%

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite declined by 0.06%, KLSE Composite descended 0.30% were the lone losers on the index.

Stock markets in Taiwan remained closed on Tuesday on account of Peace Memorial Day holiday.