Markets trade near highs of the day; Auto leads the rally

Indian markets have strengthened further, trading at the high points of the day supported by some comforting news from the global economic front and surge in the regional peers, where some of the indices are trading higher by around two percent. Back home, all the sectoral gauges are trading in green with auto sector taking the lead, up by over 3 percent, metal, FMCG and power too have moved higher by over two percent. The markets have turned optimistic after the teleconference of G7 nations; also, the rupee appreciated on Wednesday against the US dollar amid selling of the American currency by exporters, adding strength to the sentiments of the market. Telecom stocks are trading cautiously as an EGoM headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, though cleared the auction of a minimum of 10 MHz of 2G spectrum but put off a decision on determining the reserve price for spectrum auction.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,293.02, up by 272.38 points or 1.70%. The index has touched a high 16,298.25 and low 16,100.36 of respectively. There were 29 stocks advancing against 1 decline on the index. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favor of advances in the ratio of 1540:770, while 98 shares remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid-cap index was up by 1.19%, while Small-cap index was up by 1.04%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Auto up by 2.94%, Metal up by 2.33%, FMCG up by 2.20%, Power up by 2.20%, Realty up by 1.84%, and while, there were no loser on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.38%, Hero Moto Corp up by 4.18%, Jindal Steel up by 3.62%, ITC up by 3.03% and Maruti Suzuki up by 2.88%.

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 0.23% remains only loser on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, in a move that is expected to add inflationary pressure on the economy, railways have once again hiked the parcel and luggage rates by 25% on all goods with immediate effect, barely 2 months after increasing the freight rates. With the recent hike, the railways aim additional revenue of Rs 370 crore in the current financial year. In 2011-12, from parcel and luggage, railways earned Rs 1,600 crore.

The new rates would be applicable on all goods including newspapers and magazines. Among the goods generally booked in parcel service of the railway are tyres, newspapers and magazines, pharmaceuticals, pulses and flour. On the other hand, the hike will not be applicable on special parcel trains.

On the whole, there are 3 types of parcel rates - Standard, Premium and Rajdhani. Standard rates are valid on goods booked in parcel service of non-express trains whereas premium rates are applicable in express and mail trains. Rajdhani rates are valid for goods booked in Rajdhani and Shatabdi.

Before the hike, standard rate was Rs 1.31 per 10 kg for 50 km and for the same weight and distance, the rate has now been increased to Rs 1.61. Similarly, premium rate is raised to Rs 3.28 per 10 kg for 50 km whereas Rajdhani rates are at Rs 4.92 for the same weight and distance.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,947.80, up by 84.50 points or 1.74%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,947.80 and 4,886.15 respectively. There were 45 stocks advancing against 5 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Hero Moto Corp up by 4.92%, Tata Motors up by 4.85%, Jindal Steel up by 3.86%, Reliance Infra up by 3.69%, and IDFC up by 3.69%. On the flip side, Dr Reddy down by 0.80%, BPCL down by 0.70%, Ranbaxy down by 0.38%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.30% and Cipla down by 0.21% were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Jakarta Composite up 2.66%, Straits Times Index up 1.02%, Taiwan Weighted up 0.80%, Nikkei 225 up 1.81%, KLSE Composite up 0.48%, Shanghai Composite up 0.06% and Hang Seng Index was up 0.89%.

South Korea’s KOSPI Composite Index remained closed for a holiday.