Post Session: Quick Review

The Indian equity benchmarks indices have displayed a boisterous feat of registering biggest intra-day gains since March 1, 2016. Bulls went on rampage and frontline indices not only ended the session near intraday high levels but also recaptured their crucial 7,900 (Nifty) and 25,800 (Sensex) bastions as investors took to hefty across the board buying. Sentiments remained sanguine since the start of trade as key bourses opened with huge gains 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.

Sentiments remained optimistic after the country’s only private weather forecaster Skymet has raised the outlook for the 2016 monsoon. Skymet expects monsoon rains to be 109 per cent above the long-term average, compared with its earlier estimate of 105 percent. Traders also took some encouragement with Australian Met Department’s report that the weather system that wreaked havoc in India, Asia and Africa has just ended and will now give way to bountiful rain in the form of La Nina.

Rally in domestic counter extended after European counters made a firm start with CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading with a gain of around a percent in early deals. Asian markets ended in green as investors cheered strong US new home sales data for April, which supported the view the economy may be strong enough for the Fed to raise interest rates as early as June.

Back 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. Appreciation in Indian rupee too aided sentiments. The rupee firmed up by 42 paise to 67.32 against the US dollar at the time of equity markets closing at Interbank Foreign Exchange market on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters. Covering-up of pending short positions by speculators in view of tomorrow’s May monthly expiry in the derivatives segment contributed to the rally.

On sectoral front, infra sector stocks remained on buyers’ radar with the government announcing the names of 13 more cities that will be developed under the Centre’s “Smart City Mission.” Each city will receive Central assistance of Rs. 200 crore in the first year and Rs. 100 crore over the three subsequent financial years. Oil exploration and production stocks too edged higher on increase in crude oil prices.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- rose by around one hundred and ninety points to end above the psychological 7,900 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- surged by over five hundred and seventy points to finish above the psychological 25,800 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 1,572 shares on the gaining side against 963 shares on the losing side while 184 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 25881.17, up by 575.70 points or 2.28% after trading in a range of 25430.59 and 25897.87. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.97%, while Small cap index up by 0.94%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 3.17%, Capital Goods up by 2.96%, Finance up by 2.59%, IT up by 2.25% and TECK up by 2.21%, while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral front. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 4.52%, BHEL up by 4.42%, Bajaj Auto up by 4.26%, Larsen & Toubro up by 3.60% and Maruti Suzuki up by 3.42%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 4.63% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, industry body, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) has welcomed the signing of the long envisioned agreement on developing the key Chabahar port between India and Iran as a landmark development and a big leap forward in co-operation between Iran and India. The Federation in its statement on the development has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s outreach to Tehran has infused vigour into the momentum to develop connectivity, infrastructure and in India’s energy security goals. Chabahar port, located in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province on Iran's southern coast, is of great strategic importance for India.

The industry body added that the signing of commercial contract for the Chabahar Phase 1 will open a route to land-locked Afghanistan and cut transport costs/time by third.  India and Iran had in 2003 agreed to develop Chabahar on the Gulf of Oman outside the Strait of Hormuz, near Iran's border with Pakistan. India, Iran and Afghanistan inked an agreement on the Chabahar port on the Gulf of Oman that will make it a transport and transit hub to boost trade.

The bilateral agreement to develop the Chabahar port and related infrastructure signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, underlines the extraordinary strategic opportunities that present themselves for India in the region. The signing of commercial contract for the Chabahar Phase 1 will open a route to land-locked Afghanistan and cut transport costs/time by third. The development of the port for which India will provide $500 million will help Indian companies enhance engagement in Iran and gain access to Afghanistan & Central Asia. In the long run Chahabar will also serve as the point of origin for the proposed Iran-Oman-India pipeline.

FICCI added that a multiplier effect rests on the possibility that other international investors may also see the rationale of this important investment, thus paving the way for creation of a strategic bulwark that facilitates greater flow of people and goods among the three countries, as well as in the region and contributes to economic growth of Afghanistan. FICCI also sees PM Modi’s timely visit to Iran setting the stage for boosting trade in a big way.

The CNX Nifty ended at 7934.90, up by 186.05 points or 2.40% after trading in a range of 7809.30 and 7941.20. There were 50 stocks advancing against 1 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Tech Mahindra up by 10.05%, Indusind Bank up by 5.03%, ICICI Bank up by 4.65%, BHEL up by 4.12% and Bajaj Auto up by 4.03%. On the flip side, Cipla down by 4.91% was the lone loser. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; UK’s FTSE 100 increased 45.94 points or 0.74% to 6,265.20, France’s CAC surged 51.03 points or 1.15% to 4,482.55 and Germany’s DAX was up by 151.4 points or 1.51% to 10,208.71.

Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with Hong Kong leading the gains, inspired by solid overnight gains in US and European markets even as upbeat US housing data fueled speculation the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in June or July. US new-home sales in April surged to the highest level in more than eight years. Investor sentiment was buoyed by gains in oil prices, easing Brexit worries and news of a ‘major breakthrough’ in talks between Eurozone finance ministers and Greece to unlock 10.3 billion euros ($12 billion) in new bailout loans as well as debt relief for Athens as demanded by the IMF. Japanese shares hit their highest level in nearly a month, thanks to a weaker yen and hopes that the government would delay an April sales tax hike. However, Chinese shares gave up early gains to end a tad lower on worries about fresh capital outflows, as the yuan dropped to a fresh 10-week low against the US dollar on fears of a possible US rate hike next month.