Post Session: Quick Review

Indian equity benchmarks extended their northward journey for fifth straight session as traders remained buyers ahead of the release of national income figures for fourth quarter, as well as for 2015-16, due on Tuesday. Meanwhile, India Ratings and Research said that the economic growth is expected to be 7.5 percent in 2015-16, lower than advance estimate of 7.6 percent by the Central Statistics Office. Some support also came with the report that a normal monsoon this year is expected to provide 20% boost to the income of farmers, whose debt leverage has touched 22% following two years of droughts. On an average, farmers’ income has come down by 3 per cent in 2014-15 and by 4 per cent in 2015-16.

Investors also got some encouragement with the report that India is one of the best-placed among emerging market economies as domestic factors have started to turn 'incrementally positive' indicating a nascent recovery.  According to the report, several economic data such as electricity generation, cement production, diesel consumption and tractor growth are showing a sharp improvement over 2015. However, gains remained capped as weakness in Indian rupee weighed down sentiments. The rupee depreciated 21 paise to 67.25 against the dollar at the time of equity markets closing following month-end demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

On the global front, Asian markets ended mostly in green, led by Japan, as the yen weakened amid growing confidence that the US economy is strengthening enough to handle higher borrowing costs as early as this summer. European counters too have made a positive start on Monday.

Back home, on the sectoral front, metal stocks remained on buyers’ radar with global industry body World Steel Association’s (WSA) report that India, the world's third largest steel producer, was among the top 10 importers of the alloy last year. Infrastructure related scrips too edged higher, as Finance Minister starting his 6-day visit to Japan aimed at attracting investments from Asia's second biggest economy, has said that a number of Japanese investors have shown keen interest in investing in India’s infrastructure growth story. Stocks related to Information Technology counter too edged higher tracking weakness in the Indian rupee.

The NSE's 50-share broadly followed index -- Nifty -- rose by over twenty points to end near the psychological 8,200 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index -- Sensex -- surged by over seventy points to finish above the psychological 26,700 mark. Broader markets too traded in-line with benchmarks and ended the session with a gain of over one third of a percent.

The market breadth remained in the favour off decliners, as there were 1,234 shares on the gaining side against 1,376 shares on the losing side while 191 shares remain unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex ended at 26725.60, up by 72.00 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 26623.33 and 26794.96. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices ended in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.35%, while Small cap index up by 0.42%. (Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 2.28%, IT up by 1.33%, TECK up by 1.17%, Auto up by 1.11% and Industrials up by 1.07% while, Realty down by 1.02%, Oil & Gas down by 0.40%, Finance down by 0.16, FMCG down by 0.05% and Healthcare down by 0.02% were the losing indices on BSE. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.42%, Coal India up by 4.03%, NTPC up by 3.15%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.76% and TCS up by 2.64%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 5.85%, HDFC down by 2.16%, Tata Steel down by 1.96%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.58% and Sun Pharma down by 1.27% were the top losers. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, industry body Assocham, coming down strongly against comments made against RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, by some sections of the government has said that politicans should not make such adverse comments against a man with impeccable rack record and leave the decision to Prime Minister Modi to decide.

Assocham in a statement said that the post of RBI Governor should not be dragged into avoidable controversies unless serious offence has been committed by an incumbent, contending the central bank has played a pivotal role in bringing about a macroeconomic stability for India, making it the best among the emerging markets.

The chamber further stated that “Surely, it is the prerogative of the government to appoint and re-appoint a person to the coveted position of RBI Governor, but the kind of media statements being issued about Dr Raghuram Rajan by senior politicians do not augur well for the country’s financial system, which is passing through a challenging time because of unprecedented levels of stressed assets in the banks.

It also said that, while one can argue about the inflation staying an obsession of the RBI, the central bank has been mandated by the targets of inflation set by an agreement set by the Finance Ministry. Besides, the RBI has been talking about sustainable growth trajectory, rather than infusing a bubble into an over-leveraged economy. The industry body said that it would only urge restraint on the part of senior politicians and others and leave it to the good wisdom and judgement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi so far as the re-appointment of the RBI Governor is concerned.

The CNX Nifty ended at 8178.50, up by 21.85 points or 0.27% after trading in a range of 8150.80 and 8200.00. There were 27 stocks advancing against 24 stocks declining on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on Nifty were Hindalco up by 12.02% and Tata Motors up by 4.30% and Coal India up by 4.00% and Tata Motors - DVR up by 3.59% and Tata Power up by 3.51%. On the flip side, BHEL down by 5.78%, Tata Steel down by 2.20%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.10%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.81% and HDFC down by 1.72% were the top losers. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC rose 0.37 points or 0.01% to 4,515.11, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 5.14 points or 0.08% to 6,270.79 and Germany’s DAX was up by 25.31 points or 0.25% to 10,311.62.

Asian equity markets ended mostly higher on Monday as a weaker yen and steadier oil prices added to optimism about the health of the US economy. Investors shrugged off comments by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggesting than an interest rate hike could be around the corner. Chinese shares closed marginally higher ahead of manufacturing data due on Wednesday, though it is expected to show that growth in China's manufacturing sector likely stalled in May after slight expansions in the previous two months, throwing more cold water on hopes that the world's second-largest economy is reviving. Further, Japanese shares hit a one month high as US rate hike bets and media reports that the government would delay a sales tax hike scheduled for next April helped the dollar/yen pair to break above 111 levels for the first time since late April.