Post Session: Quick Review

Extending northward journey for third straight session, boisterous benchmarks showcased an enthusiastic performance on Wednesday, by rallying around two percentage points amid strong global cues and good macro data. Sentiments remained up-beat since start as key bourses opened with a huge gap on up-side and there appeared not even an iota of profit booking in the session as the benchmarks managed to fervently gain from strength to strength as investors continued hunt for fundamentally strong stocks. Frontline indices not only ended the session near intraday high levels but also recaptured their crucial 7,850 (Nifty) and 25,600 (Sensex) bastions as investors took to hefty across the board buying.

Major boost came with the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD) forecast of above-normal rainfall this monsoon, with rainfall activity likely to be 106 per cent of long period average (LPA). On the macro front, Industrial production grew at 2 percent in February after remaining negative for three months and retail inflation dropped to a 6-month low of 4.83 percent in March. The uptick in industrial output was mainly on account of improvement in mining, power and consumer durables.

Firm opening in European counter too aided sentiments with CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading with a gain of around two percent in early deals. Asian markets rallied on Wednesday, fueled by surge in oil and report of pickup in Chinese trade activity, the country’s overseas sales in March increased 19 percent from a year earlier in yuan term. Japanese market strengthened further on the weakness in yen.

Closer home, there was broad based buying witnessed in the markets and apart from the blue chips, the broader markets too participated strongly in the rally. Support came with the International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook report, which despite cutting global growth forecast has said that India's growth is projected to notch up to 7.5 percent in 2016-17, overtaking China's GDP by more than 1 percent, mainly driven by private consumption and increased industrial activity.

Buying in banking stocks too aided sentiments on hopes that credit growth would pick up after data showed a rebound in industrial output in February. FMCG majors ITC and HUL too traded with traction on hopes that good monsoon this year would boost volume growth going forward. Stocks related to realty counter too remained on buyers’ radar on hopes that the Reserve Bank of India could ease interest rates further after latest data showed that consumer price inflation eased to a six-month low in March. Metal and Mining stocks also gained after the latest data showed stronger-than-expected growth in China's exports.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- rose by over one hundred and forty points to end above the psychological 7,850 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- surged by over four hundred and eighty points to finish above the psychological 25,600 mark. Broader markets too traded with traction and ended the session with a gain of around a percent.

The market breadth remained in favor of advances, as there were 1,566 shares on the gaining side against 1,120 shares on the losing side while 156 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 25626.75, up by 481.16 points or 1.91% after trading in a range of 25358.42 and 25671.50. There were 28 stocks advancing against 2 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.91%, while Small cap index up by 1.06%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 3.59%, Bankex up by 2.56%, Basic Materials up by 2.31%, Finance up by 2.31% and Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services up by 2.25%, while there were no losers on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 7.52%, ICICI Bank up by 5.20%, Maruti Suzuki up by 4.70%, BHEL up by 4.60% and Bajaj Auto up by 4.51%. On the flip side, Infosys down by 0.36% and Adani Ports & Special down by 0.21% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian has said that India's economy has the potential to grow between eight to 10 per cent and achieving this growth rate is feasible backed by factors including the continuation and pace of reforms and global environment that promotes exports. He added that if the country continue with the current pace of reforms, get a few more things done, 8-10 per cent growth is really realizable.

However, Subramanian also said that 'there is a very low possibility or probability that India can grow at 8-10 per cent without rapid growth in exports. He said that “I think the possibility for India being different from other nations is that perhaps India does not have to do manufacturing, perhaps it can do a combination of manufacturing and services.”

He pointed that in the last one and half years there has been progress made in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) and added that if the country maintains this pace of reforms may be accelerated India's potential would be realized.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7850.45, up by 141.50 points or 1.84% after trading in a range of 7772.20 and 7864.80. There were 47 stocks advancing against 4 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Mahindra & Mahindra up by 7.46%, ICICI Bank up by 5.20%, BHEL up by 4.99%, Bajaj Auto up by 4.99% and Hindalco up by 4.67%. On the flip side, Zee Entertainment down by 0.94%, Infosys down by 0.80%, HCL Tech down by 0.25% and Adani Ports & Special down by 0.02% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 88.19 points or 1.41% to 6,330.58, France’s CAC surged 110.71 points or 2.55% to 4,456.62 and Germany’s DAX was up by 231.22 points or 2.37% to 9,992.69.

Asian equity markets ended higher on Wednesday, with sentiment bolstered by a weak yen, an overnight rally in oil prices and upbeat Chinese trade data. Chinese and Hong Kong shares ended higher, as upbeat trade figures out of China coming in before Friday's release of first-quarter GDP data raised hopes that China's slowdown might not be quite as severe as initially feared. While Chinese exports grew 18.7 percent year-over-year in March in yuan terms, the fastest pace of growth since February 2015, the contraction in imports slowed to 1.7 percent, beating expectations by a wide margin after an 8 percent decline in the previous month. Japanese shares hit a fresh 1-1/2 week high as the yen slid from recent peaks against the dollar and Chinese trade data smoothened growth worries. Markets in South Korea were shut for a public holiday.