Post Session: Quick Review

Buying activity which took place during second half of trade mainly drove the markets higher and key domestic benchmarks ended the session with a gain of around one third of a percent. Earlier, markets traded choppy for most part of the day’s trade as market participants opted to book profit at attractive levels after posting a huge rally in previous session. Marketmen also remained on sidelines ahead of important macro data slated to be announced later in the week. Key gauges took U-turn to enter into green terrain in second half of trade after the rating agency -- India Ratings and Research said that industrial production in March is likely to grow at 1.9% while deflationary pressure in the wholesale price index will moderate in April data. Moreover, the rating agency said the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation is projected to come around at 4.9%.

Gains in global stocks too helped the key equity benchmarks to reverse intraday losses in afternoon trade. European counters have made a firm start with CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading with a gain of around a percent in early deals led by banking stocks which surged after Swiss lender Credit Suisse Group posted a smaller-than-expected net loss in the first quarter. Asian markets, recovering from their initial losses, ended in green terrain on Tuesday, led by over two percent surge in Japanese market as the yen weakened.

Back home, some support came with report that indirect tax collections which include customs duty, central excise duty and service tax, surged by 41 percent to Rs 64,394 crore during the month of April, compared to Rs 45,417 crore in the first month of last fiscal 2015-16, on back of additional revenue mobilisation measures such as increase in excise duty on petroleum products and also due to an economic recovery. Investors also got some confidence with report that India's foodgrain production increased marginally to 252.23 million tonnes in the 2015-16 crop year, despite setback due to deficient rainfall and shortage of water in reservoirs.

On sectoral front, shares of sugar companies have extended gains on expectation of strong earnings for quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16). Aviation stocks edged higher after overnight sharp slide in crude oil prices. However, metal shares remained under pressure after the iron ore traffic, including pellets, at major ports saw a sharp fall of 28% in financial year 2015-16 as imports declined because of weak demand. Total iron ore cargo fell to 13 million tonnes (mt) from 18 mt a year ago. Auto stocks too edged lower, as the industry body the Society for Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has warned that if the government ends up imposing a 30% environment cess on purchase of diesel cars and SUVs as per the recent Supreme Court order, investment in India's auto sector will dry up.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- rose by over twenty points to end just shy of 7,900 mark, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- surged by over eighty points to finish above the psychological 25,750 mark. Broader markets too traded in-line with benchmarks and ended the session with modest gains.

The market breadth remained in favor of decliners, as there were 1,298 shares on the gaining side against 1,315 shares on the losing side while 151 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 25772.53, up by 83.67 points or 0.33% after trading in a range of 25614.24 and 25809.93. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.20%, while Small cap index up by 0.11%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Capital Goods up by 1.48%, Consumer Durables up by 0.68%, Bankex up by 0.62%, Finance up by 0.54% and IT up by 0.52%, while Metal down by 1.16%, Auto down by 0.87%, Oil & Gas down by 0.74%, Utilities down by 0.63% and PSU down by 0.55% were the top losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 3.07%, Larsen & Toubro up by 1.98%, Hindustan Unilever up by 1.94%, Axis Bank up by 1.94% and GAIL India up by 1.54%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.31%, ONGC down by 1.58%, NTPC down by 1.15%, Adani Ports &Special down by 0.94% and Asian Paints down by 0.73% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, inviting applications from merchant bankers to manage the offer for sale (OFS), the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM) has said the government is planning to sell 15% stake in State Trading Corporation (STC).  The STC OFS could fetch about Rs 85 crore at current market prices.

The STC stake sale is in addition to over a dozen companies DIPAM has lined up for disinvestment in the current fiscal to raise 36,000 crore from minority stake sales in PSUs. It will raise another 20,500 crore from strategic stake sales. Other PSUs lined up for disinvestment include Oil India, NMDC, Coal India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Hindustan Aeronautics and Power Finance Corporation. Besides, DIPAM is in the process of appointing merchant bankers for stake sales in National Fertilisers (15%) and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (5%), Oil India (10%) and NMDC (10%).

In April, the government kick-started its disinvestment process for the current fiscal with 11.36 percent stake sale in state-controlled hydropower producer NHPC at Rs 21.75 per share through an offer for sale which was likely to fetch the exchequer over Rs 2,700 crore.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7887.80, up by 21.75 points or 0.28% after trading in a range of 7837.70 and 7896.90. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.97% and Axis Bank up by 2.27% and Hindustan Unilever up by 2.00% and Grasim Industries up by 1.98% and Larsen & Toubro up by 1.97%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.57%, Tata Motors - DVR down by 2.87%, Hindalco down by 2.02%, NTPC down by 1.78% and ONGC down by 1.75% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC surged 48.9 points or 1.13% to 4,371.71, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 57.31 points or 0.94% to 6,172.12 and Germany’s DAX was up by 108.12 points or 1.08% to 10,088.61.

The Asian markets closed mostly in green on Tuesday as the dollar-yen pair rose towards the 109 handle and oil prices steadied after steep losses overnight on expectations of an inventory build and easing concerns over Canadian oil supply disruptions. Steady inflation numbers out of China for the second straight month also offered some support. China's consumer price inflation rose an annual 2.3 percent in April, unchanged from the previous month and in line with economists' expectations. Japanese shares rose for a second day to hit a 1-1/2-week high after Finance Minister Taro Aso reiterated that authorities will intervene in the currency market to prevent ‘one-sided’ moves of the yen. Chinese stocks closed up marginally after a two-day slump on concerns over economic recovery and regulatory crackdown on speculation in the country's commodity markets.