Benchmarks extend gains; Nifty reclaims 7,400 mark

Indian equity benchmarks extended early gains to continue firm trade in late morning session, hovering near intra-day high level, on account of buying in frontline blue-chip stocks amid positive trend in other Asian markets. Sentiments got some support with report that Indian economy is expected to grow by 7.9 per cent in the next fiscal and may progress at a similar pace over a couple of years extending beyond 2019. The report also added that the various macro parameters show that India has and is likely to perform better than its peers in the near term. However, gains remained capped with Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan's statement that implementation remains the major challenge for India's economy and if it can deliver on its promises the country will be 'the place to be'.

On the global front, Asian markets trading mostly in green on Tuesday after China's quarterly economic growth met expectations, calming some of the investor jitters in the region. Chinese leaders are trying to reduce reliance on trade and investment by nurturing slower, more self-sustaining growth based on domestic consumption and services. Meanwhile, US markets were closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Back home, stocks from Banking, Power and Capital Goods counters were supporting the markets’ uptrend, while those from Consumer Durables, Metal and Oil & Gas counters were adding to the underlying cautious undertone. In scrip specific development, shares of Bharat Bijlee have rallied after the company reported a net profit of Rs 8.89 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 (Q3FY16) against a loss of Rs 4.09 crore in the year ago quarter. On the other hand, Shares of Rallis India have slipped after the company reported 20% year on year (Y-o-Y) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 20 crore for the third quarter ended December 2015 (Q3FY16).

The market breadth on BSE was positive, out of 2260 stocks traded, 1217 stocks advanced, while 932 stocks declined on the BSE. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24388.29, up by 199.92 points or 0.83% after trading in a range of 24247.23 and 24395.46. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.43%, while Small cap index up by 0.53%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 1.53%, Power up by 0.99%, Capital Goods up by 0.89%, Realty up by 0.72% and IT up by 0.70%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.53%, Metal down by 0.36% and Oil & Gas down by 0.18% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Axis Bank up by 3.45%, ICICI Bank up by 3.12%, Tata Motors up by 2.31%, Infosys up by 2.21% and NTPC up by 2.12%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 2.00%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.80%, Asian Paints down by 1.73%, Coal India down by 1.51% and Tata Steel down by 1.25% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Government is unlikely to raise Rs 15,000 crore from sovereign gold bond scheme, even after the launch of the second tranche by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from January 18, which will end on January 22, offering an annual interest rate of 2.75 percent to domestic investors. The bonds, which will be sold through banks, post offices and stock Holding Corporation, would be issued on February 8.

As per the second half borrowing programme issued by RBI in consultation with government, Rs 15,000 crore had to be raised through gold bonds. The fund raised from gold bonds would be part of the market borrowing programme in addition to Rs 2.34 lakh crore to be raised through dated securities during October-March period of the current fiscal. The first tranche of the scheme, which was launched in November, had got a subscription for 915.95 kg gold amounting to just Rs 246 crore.

To discourage investors from physical gold, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on November 5 launched gold schemes. The gold bonds are issued in denominations of 5 grams, 10 grams, 50 grams and 100 grams for a term of 5-7 years with a rate of interest to be calculated on the value of the metal at the time of investments. The Gold Bond Scheme will have an annual cap of 500 grams per person. In April-December of the current fiscals, gold imports rose to $26.45 billion, from $25.85 billion in the same period last year.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7409.20, up by 58.20 points or 0.79% after trading in a range of 7364.15 and 7411.60. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Axis Bank up by 3.54%, Tata Power up by 3.41%, ICICI Bank up by 2.96%, Tata Motors up by 2.70% and Vedanta up by 2.33%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 1.90%, Asian Paints down by 1.83%, Cairn India down by 1.44%, Coal India down by 1.34% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 1.22% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI was up by 0.18%, Taiwan Weighted up by 0.26%, Shanghai Composite up by 2%, KOSPI Index up by 0.18% and Hang Seng was up by 0.92%. On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was down by 0.13% and Jakarta Composite down by 0.23%.