Benchmarks continue to trade in green on positive global cues

Indian benchmarks are trading in a range about half a percent higher from previous day's closing on fresh buying by funds and retail investors. Sentiments got some support by better trend on other Asian bourses after US markets surged to new record highs yesterday on strong corporate earnings. On the global front, Asian markets too were trading jubilantly after Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank will take all steps necessary to meet a 2 percent inflation target.

Back home, the traders were seen piling up positions in IT, Realty and TECK, while selling was seen in Oil & Gas, Power and PSU sector. In scrip specific development, IT stocks were up ahead of the earnings season.

In scrip specific actions, Infosys shares soared ahead of its fourth quarter earnings due Friday. Essar Oil jumped as the company is in talks with a consortium of Chinese banks and financial institutions to raise USD 1 billion via overseas loans and bond sales over the next 3-6 months in an effort to reduce its debt. Gujarat Apollo rose as the company is selling 70 percent in its arm for a sum of Rs 280 cr. Kingfisher Airlines surged after it submitted a plan to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to restart operations, saying its parent group would provide initial funding and asking for its flying licence to be renewed. Tata Motors gained after its overseas subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover reported a robust 16% growth in global sales to 53,772 units in March 2013 compared with March 2012. For the first quarter of 2013 (Jan-Mar), sales grew 17% to 115,504 units compared to the same quarter in 2012. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra slumped on reports of strike by workers at its Igatpuri unit in Nasik, Maharashtra. Jet Airways tumbled on reports that Etihad Airways’ purchase of a stake in Jet Airways could be delayed until at least August as the Abu Dhabi carrier seeks assurances following setbacks for several Gulf investors in India.

Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading just above their psychological 5,500 and 18,500 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was showing positive trend with advances to declines in ratio of 984: 523.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18,522.16, up by 107.71 points or 0.58% after trading in a range of 18,595.12 and 18,469.83. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.45% and Small cap index was up by 0.61%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, IT up by 1.67%, Realty up by 1.47%, TECK up by 1.18%, Bankex up by 1.18% and Auto up by 0.93% while, Oil & Gas down by 0.68%, Power down by 0.25% and PSU down by 0.16% were the losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 4.46%, ICICI Bank up by 3.04%, Infosys up by 2.58%, Cipla up by 1.55% and Sterlite Industries up by 1.48%.

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel was down by 1.65%, Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 1.47%, HDFC was down by 1.19%, NTPC was down by 1.05%, and Gail India was down by 0.84% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, Clearing the air that India will buy oil from wherever it ‘gets the best deal’, the government has refused to ‘lay down a quota’ for importing oil from any country, including Iran which is facing strict financial sanctions imposed by the UN and the US. On the other hand, India is unwilling to impose restrictions or restrict its oil imports from Iran, and will continue its energy ties with Tehran as long it gets a good deal and logistic support.

The government also cleared that there is no issues between the two countries and the present decline in oil import from Iran is due to the logistics reason. Lack of logistic support, mainly in financing, has over the months created problems for Indian refining companies. However, two Indian insurance companies recently agreeing to provide insurance to the oil imports from Iran have removed a great hurdle in oil imports.

The following western sanctions were aimed at cutting Iran's funding of its contentious nuclear programme. Although, Iran has always maintained that its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes. Currently, India imports 12% of its oil requirement from Iran, which is the second largest supplier to the country.

On the other hand, the government on the domestic front is working towards securing energy independence for India and has formulated new vision and set ambitious targets to reduce India’s energy dependence on crude oil imports achieving self-sufficiency by 2030.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,587.25 up by 28.55 points or 0.51% after trading in a range of 5,610.60 and 5,566.85. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Motors up by 4.53%, DLF up by 3.51%, ICICI Bank up by 3.14%, Infosys up by 2.71%, and HCL Tech up by 1.86%.

On the flip side, HDFC down by 1.60%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.49%, M&M down by 1.47%, NTPC down by 1.33% and Power Grid down by 1.20% were the major losers on the index.

All Asian equity indices were trading in green; Shanghai Composite rose 3.45 points or 0.15% to 2,229.57, Hang Seng surged 189.98 points or 0.82% to 22,214.54, Jakarta Composite increased 33.54 points or 0.69% to 4,911.02, KLSE Composite jumped 10.82 points or 0.64% to 1,707.02, Nikkei 225 soared 179.72 points or 1.35% to 13,467.84, Straits Times strengthened 13.71 points or 0.41% to 3,306.56, KOSPI Composite added 5.82 points or 0.30% to 1,941.23 and Taiwan Weighted was up by 90.85 points or 1.17% to 7,843.16.