Markets make gap up opening amid firm global cues

With a gap up opening Indian equity markets have extended their last session gains and are now trading in fine fettle with up by over one percent that helped Both the Sensex and Nifty to recapture their crucial 23,700 and 7,200 levels respectively, mirroring a firm trend in the global peers which moved higher helped by a sharp recovery in the crude oil prices. Meanwhile, the session was proving jubilant for broader indices too, which were trading with gains in the range of 1.25-1.60%. Further, the sentiment got a boost with Cabinet’s approval for the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) which aims at easing customs procedures to boost commerce. TFA will contain provisions for movement of goods, release and clearance of goods and goods in transit. Besides, the rupee recovered from a 30-month low by rising 13 paise to 68.34 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange in early trade on account of fresh selling of the US currency by banks and exporters that supported the markets.  

In the scrip specific development, ABG Shipyard surged over 13 per cent On the BSE after the CEO said the company might finalise stake sale deal by March-end. Max India rose 6% on the BSE after a huge block deal was executed in the counter. 

On the global front, the US markets ended higher on Wednesday helped by some recovery in oil prices and encouraging economic data. Asian markets were trading in green on Thursday with the surge in crude oil prices and the overnight rally on Wall Street, boosting risk appetite.

Back home, all the sectoral indices on the BSE, barring Consumer Durables, were trading in green led by Capital Goods, Metal, Realty, PSU and Bankex. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1344: 214 while 43 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 23701.63, up by 319.76 points or 1.37% after trading in a range of 23536.47 and 23727.12. 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 1.27%, while Small cap index gained 1.54%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 2.87%, Metal up by 1.73%, Realty up by 1.69%, PSU up by 1.68% and Bankex up by 1.67%, while Consumer Durables down by 0.08% was the lone losing index on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Larsen & Toubro up by 4.19%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.48%, ICICI Bank up by 3.33%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.66% and SBI up by 2.36%. On the flip side, Adani Ports &Special down by 0.64% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.41% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, a delegation of top private Indian airline executives under the banner of Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) met union minister Jitendra Singh and sought their concerns be addressed before finalising the National Civil Aviation Policy (NCAP), which was first announced in November 2014 but has since been under consultations.The deligation requested the government to refrain from raising the foreign ownership limit in local carriers. In the memorandum the executives raised their voice against foreign airlines taking control of some Indian airlines; it said that 'No other country in the world allows substantial ownership and effective control of its airlines to be taken over by foreign airlines. India has permitted some airlines to operate despite being effectively controlled by their foreign parent.' India allowed foreign airlines to buy as much as 49% in local carriers in 2012.

The airlines said the government’s move to abolish the 5/20 rule, which requires an airline to have five years of domestic flying experience and 20 aircraft in its fleet before it can fly to overseas destinations, will be an “injustice”. The airlines alleged that the new airlines will not be required to serve on underserved and remote routes as is requirement by all the airlines at present under the route dispersal guidelines of the government.

The memorandum also referred to the proposed clause relating to the availability of seats for a healthy and balanced growth, including backward and remote areas, where these existing airlines have been operating, but the new airlines may not be expected to fulfill this requirement. The airlines also expressed reservations against the proposal for auctioning of bilateral rights on the ground that no country in the world auctions its sovereign right to others.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 7202.40, up by 93.95 points or 1.32% after trading in a range of 7175.30 and 7210.60. There were 46 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.41%, Bank Of Baroda up by 4.30%, Larsen & Toubro up by 4.20%, Cairn India up by 3.57% and Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.49%. On the flip side, Idea Cellular down by 0.97%, Adani Ports &Special down by 0.78%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.39% and Asian Paints down by 0.05% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading green, FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI increased 12.2 points or 0.73% to 1,676.52, Shanghai Composite increased 12.61 points or 0.44% to 2,879.95, KOSPI Index increased 17.46 points or 0.93% to 1,901.40, Jakarta Composite increased 25.49 points or 0.53% to 4,790.99, Taiwan Weighted increased 93.36 points or 1.14% to 8,307.61, Hang Seng increased 389.11 points or 2.06% to 19,313.68 and Nikkei 225 increased 390.87 points or 2.47% to 16,227.23.