Benchmarks continue the jubilant run; slump in crude and gold prices aid

Benchmark equity indices continue to trade firm on account of sustained buying activity by funds and retail investors despite mixed global cues. Three year low inflation data, which fuelled hopes of an interest rate cut by the central bank in its May 3 policy has mainly given a shot in arm to the equity markets. Investors also took cues from the sharp slump in gold and crude oil prices, which if sustained, would help narrow the ballooning current account deficit, a factor which has been cited by the central bank as a key variable in its monetary policy making.  However, facing resistance near 18600 level, Sensex is currently trading hovering around it with gains of over 200 points, while widely followed index Nifty is comfortably trading above the psychological 5600 level. Broader indices too were trading higher by half a percent. With extensive buying, most of the sectoral indices were up in green with impressive gains. Banking, Capital Goods and Auto stocks were among the most prominent gainers. However, Information Technolgy, Metal and Technology were the dark spots.

On the global front, Asian shares were trading mixed as investors continued to fret over China's slowing economy, while miners and gold producers underperformed amid sharp declines in commodity prices. Meanwhile, European shares fell early on Tuesday, retreating for the third consecutive session, mirroring a sharp sell-off in US stocks and commodity prices as mounting worries over the pace of global growth rattle investors.

Back home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 18588.16, up by 230.36 points or 1.25% after trading in a range of 18603.11 and 18325.73. There were 23 stocks advancing against 7 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were trading higher by 0.61% and 0.39% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Bankex up by 1.89%, Power up  by 1.77%, Capital Goods up by 1.67%, Auto up by 1.55% and FMCG up by 1.09%. while, IT down by 0.71%, Metal down by 0.51% and Teck down by 0.25% were the top losers on the BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp up by 3.12%, Tata Power up by 3.03%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 2.92%, HDFC up by 2.73% and HDFC Bank up by 2.57%.

On the flip side, Sterlite Industries down by 2.61%, Infosys was down by 1.12%, TCS down by 0.38%, Wipro down by 0.22% and Hindalco Industries down by 0.05% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, Assuring the road and coal sectors, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the government will set up independent regulators for coal and road sectors in next four months, which would become effective mechanisms to address problems being faced in implementation of road and coal projects. Currently, a lot of road and coal projects have been blocked for long due to various reasons including delays in environment clearances among others.

Finance Minister, who is on a week-long visit to US-Canada projected India as an attractive investment destination with stable fiscal regime and invited Canadian investments in sectors like infrastructure and food processing. Further, he said that India sees no difficulty in concluding a free trade pact with Canada. On the Foreign Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (FIPPA), Chidambaram said there are certain legal issues which are being sorted out by the government.

Referring to the fiscal position of the Indian government, Chidambaram said that the government was committed to bring down the fiscal deficit. Right now the fiscal deficit is 5.3 per cent of the GDP and we want to reduce it by 0.6 per cent every year till it comes down to 3 per cent by 2016-17.

Recently Chidambaram had visited other major global financial hubs including Germany, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong to sell the India growth story.  The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,636.40, up by 68.00 points or 1.22% after trading in a range of 5,642.35 and 5,555.85. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index. The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Power up by 3.14%, Hero Moto Corp up by 3.06%, M&M up by 3.04%, Maruti Suzuki up by 2.78% and HDFC up by 2.77%.

On the flip side, Sesa Goa down by 1.64%, Infosys down by 1.45%, Ambuja Cements down by 1.39%, Lupin down by 1.13% and Cairn India down by 1.05% were the major losers on the index.

Asian equity indices were trading in mixed; Hang Seng dropped 0.05%, KLSE Composite slipped 0.07%, Nikkei 225 decreased 0.41%.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite up by 0.64%, Jakarta Composite rose 0.70%, Straits Times added 0.28%, Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.48% and KOSPI Composite was up by 0.09%.

European markets made a negative start; with CAC 40 trading lower by 0.37%, DAX sliding by 0.21% and FTSE 100 shedding 0.37%