Benchmarks extend up-move for third straight day on firm global set-up

Indian stock markets showcased a spirited performance this Friday galloping about a percentage point in the session as fervent bulls relentlessly piled up hefty positions not only in heavyweight stocks but across the broader markets. The vivacious rally in equities helped the Sensex to re-conquer its psychological 18,750 mark while, Nifty snapped the session near its crucial 5,700 mark on their northbound journey. The benchmarks extended their up-move for the third straight day on large volumes as sentiments got fortified owing to persistent foreign fund inflows and appreciating rupee amid firm global setup.

Tentative improvement in investors’ risk taking ability was also evident after the Finance Minister P Chidambaram met Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) to make them informed about the current economic situations and on the steps being taken by the government to boost the economic growth. Meanwhile, investors showed hefty buying interests in consumer durable space which spurted over one and a half percent on hopes that sales growth would pick up in November ahead of the festive season. Stocks from telecom sector too exhibited a good run as stocks like Idea Cellular, Reliance Communication and Tata Communication all edged higher after EGoM allowed the existing players to retain a maximum of 2.5 MHz in prime band spectrum of 900 MHz frequency band instead of the telecom regulator’s suggestion to switch to the 1,800 MHz band when their current licences expire, provided they pay a price which will be determined later through auction.

Cues from global markets too remained supportive as most of the Asian equity indices ended the session in the green buoyed by string of upbeat data from the United States and a rally on Wall Street, while growing confidence in the global outlook saw dealers sell the safe-haven yen. The latest statistics from Washington follow data out of Asia earlier Thursday that showed manufacturing slowly picking up, with China seeming to have come to an end of its recent malaise. However, European counters stuck almost unchanged in early deals ahead of US jobs data that will provide the last major signal on the state of the world’s largest economy before voters go to polls on Nov 6.

Back home, some amount of support also came in from software pack, led by Wipro which spurted about a percent after reporting a better-than-expected Q2 earning. The company, on consolidated basis, registered 24 percent jump in its net profit at Rs 1610.60 crore in Q2FY13 as compared to Rs 1300.90 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Group’s total income has increased by 17.98% at Rs 10943.70 crore for quarter under review. Shares of automobiles companies too remained in limelight on the bourses with most of them trading higher by up to three percent after reporting a strong growth in October vehicle sales. The auto makers hope for higher sales ahead of Diwali as well. Bajaj Auto and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) were at their historic highs after reporting highest monthly sales in October, while Maruti Suzuki India was trading near to its two-year high on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty rose by over fifty points to end near its psychological 5,700 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex surged by about two hundred points to finish above the psychological 18,750 mark. Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks but ended the session in the green with a gain of quarter a percent.

The overall volumes stood at over Rs 1.17 lakh crore, which remained on the higher side as compared to that on Thursday. The market breadth remained in favor of advances as there were 1,534 shares on the gaining side against 1,329 shares on the losing side while 136 shares remain unchanged.

Finally, the BSE Sensex surged 193.75 points or 1.04% to settle at 18,755.45, while the S&P CNX Nifty rose by 52.65 points or 0.93% to end at 5,697.70.

The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 18,793.75 and 18,687.93, respectively. The BSE Mid-cap index was up by 0.36% and Small-cap index was up by 0.33%.

Gail India up 3.75%, Bajaj Auto up 2.90%, L&T up 2.68%, ICICI Bank up 2.12% and Hero MotoCorp up 2.11% were the major gainers on the Sensex. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down 2.12%, Hindustan Unilever down 0.80%, Jindal Steel down 0.80% and Sun Pharma down 0.46% were the major losers on the index.

The top gainers on the BSE sectoral space were, Capital Goods (CG) up 1.74%, PSU up 1.52%, Auto up 1.49%, Bankex up 1.30% and IT up 1.15%, while there was no loser on the BSE sectoral space.

Meanwhile, facing stiff opposition, the government has put on hold the Rs 26.5 price hike on non-subsidized cooking gas (LPG), which consumers buy beyond their cheaper quota of six subsidized cylinders. The petroleum ministry reportedly late night sent out an instruction to public sector oil marketing firms for no hike. Interestingly, this decision has more raised more eyebrows than win applaud by common man, which comes just three days before Himachal Pradesh votes for a new government.

Earlier on November 1, the prices of LPG cylinders, which consumers buy beyond the quota, were hiked by Rs 26.50 to Rs 922 per unit on firming international rates.

The government had in September capped the supply of subsidized domestic LPG cylinders to six per household in a year. Any requirement above this would have to be bought by the consumers at market rate, which is more than double the subsidized price of Rs 410.42 per cylinder in Country’s capital, Delhi. State-owned oil firms review rates of non-subsidized LPG on first of every month based on the average imported cost and rupee-US dollar rate during the previous month.

The S&P CNX Nifty touched a high and a low of 5,711.30 and 5,682.55 respectively.

The top gainers on the Nifty were GAIL up 4.20%, Bajaj Auto up 2.76%, L&T up 2.49%, ICICI Bank up 2.36% and Lupin up 2.29%.

The top losers on the index were Bharti Airtel down 2.19%, Jindal Steel down 1.12%, HUL down 0.65%, BPCL down 0.50% and JP Associates down 0.45%.

European markets were trading mixed. France’s CAC 40 down 0.16%, Germany’s DAX down 0.02% and Britain’s FTSE 100 up by 0.01%.

Most Asian markets closed the shutter with green mark on the back of positive U.S. economic data, which has raised hopes of a global recovery. Regional stocks ended higher ahead of next week's meeting of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party in Beijing. Hong Kong market touched its highest level since August 2011 lightened up by strength in Chinese financials and growth-sensitive sectors. Japan's Nikkei ended at a one-week high as a weaker yen underpinned demand for shares.