Benchmarks trade firm; Nifty surpasses 7,500 mark

Indian equity benchmarks added strength to continue its firm trade in the late afternoon session on account of buying in front line blue chip counters. Investors however maintained a cautious approach ahead of the key macro-data including GDP, IIP and Consumer Inflation due to be unveiled later during the week. Hectic buying activity was witnessed in metal stocks after the Government last week imposed a Minimum Import Price (MIP) on 173 steel products ranging between $341 to $752 per tonne. Traders were seen piling position in Realty, Bankex and Capital Goods stocks while selling was witnessed in IT, TECK and Oil & Gas sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Procter & Gamble was trading firm after the FMCG major reported 61.81 percent rise in net profit figures to Rs 146.70 crore for the quarter ended December 2015. The company earned Rs 90.66 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Claris Lifesciences was trading weak after touching its new 52-week low on reporting a consolidated net loss of Rs 68.88 crore for the quarter ended December 2015.

On the global front, the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above the psychological 7,500 and 24,600 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1494:991 while 123 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 24686.62, up by 69.65 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 24530.43 and 24698.95. 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 1.01%, while Small cap index up by 1.05%.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty up by 2.20%, Bankex up by 1.52%, Capital Goods up by 1.12%, PSU up by 1.07%, Power up by 0.88% while, IT down by 0.66%, TECK down by 0.37%, Oil & Gas down by 0.25% were the losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 4.93%, Axis Bank up by 4.60%, BHEL up by 3.50%, ICICI Bank up by 2.39% and Tata Steel up by 2.12%.

On the flip side, ONGC down by 1.20%, TCS down by 1.14%, Tata Motors down by 1.08%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.03% and Sun Pharma down by 0.88% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has expressed India’s interest in establishing refinery and bunkering operations in Sri Lanka and exuded confidence that both Sri Lanka and India would work in a spirit of partnership in the hydrocarbon sector. Besides, he hoped that India will once again be in a position to export petroleum products to Bangladesh with the commissioning of Paradip refinery.

The minister stated this during bilateral meetings with Tawfiq-e-Elahi Chowdhury, Energy Adviser to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Anoma Gamage, Deputy Minister of Petroleum Resources Development of Sri Lanka. Pradhan during his meeting with the Energy Adviser of Bangladesh conveyed India's commitment to work with the neighbouring country to further advance bilateral cooperation in the energy sector.

Meanwhile, on investment proposals of Indian oil companies (IOC) in Bangladesh, Pradhan said their early implementation would create a win-win situation for both countries and sought cooperation from the Bangladesh government. In this regard, he expressed India’s keenness in setting up marketing infrastructure in Bangladesh. Pradhan also sought favourable consideration for transit of LPG to India’s Northeastern region through Bangladesh and noted that Indian PSUs were interested in participating in Bangladesh’s petroleum sector, including exploration, refinery expansion and related PMC works.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7503.15, up by 14.05 points or 0.19% after trading in a range of 7463.95 and 7512.55. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bank of Baroda up by 5.47%, SBI up by 4.79%, Axis Bank up by 4.37%, BHEL up by 3.31% and Idea Cellular up by 2.47%.

On the flip side, HCL Tech down by 1.87%, IndusInd Bank down by 1.64%, BPCL down by 1.38%, ONGC down by 1.25% and Dr. Reddy’s Lab down by 1.16% were the top losers.

Japanese market, the only major Asian market trading today, was up by 184.71 points or 1.1% to 17,004.30.

The European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 22.35 points or 0.38% to 5,870.41, France’s CAC increased 0.14 points or 0% to 4,200.81 and Germany’s DAX increased 22.61 points or 0.24% to 9,308.84.