Benchmarks open positive tracing firm Asian cues

The Indian equity markets have pared majority of their initial gains as most of the Asian peers reversed their trend and trading mixed at this point of time. Initially, the domestic bourses opened on a euphoric note as Asian stocks rose after data showed cooling of inflation in China while, sentiments were also supported on plans by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to resign as a step toward resolving crippling debt problems in Europe. Back home, BSE’s Sensex reclaimed its psychological 17,600 mark as trading sentiment in the domestic market was buoyed by a firming trend in other Asian bourses following overnight gains in the US. On the sectoral front, metal witnessed the maximum gain in trade followed by consumer durables and fast moving consumer goods while, capital goods and healthcare remained the only losers on the BSE sectoral space. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks. Meanwhile, Reserve Bank of India’s, deputy governor Subir Gokarn has said that bad loans are not threatening the entire banking system and the policy guidance given so far would hold until further notice. The market breadth on the BSE, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong; there were 1,212 shares on the gaining side against 546 shares on the losing side while 78 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex opened at 17,641.98; about 72 points higher compared to its previous closing of 17,569.53, and has touched a high and a low of 17,658.34 and 17,599.02 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 17,609.68, up by 40.15 points or 0.23%. There were 21 stocks advancing against 9 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a strong start with 66.01% stocks advancing against 29.74% declines. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices rose 0.35% and 0.66% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 0.73%, CD up by 0.66%, FMCG up by 0.45%, Power up by 0.36% and TECk was up by 0.27%. While, CG down by 0.17% and HC down by 0.08% were the only losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.49%, HUL up by 1.17%, Wipro up by 1.04%, Jindal Steel up by 0.83% and Tata Power was up by 0.83%.

On the flip side, Sun Pharma was down by 1.11%, Maruti Suzuki was down by 0.56%, L&T was down by 0.55%, DLF was down by 0.52% and HDFC Bank was down by 0.38% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, decelerating western economy has depicted its impact on India’s exports performance. The exports for month of October saw moderation in growth; it stood at 10.8% to $19.9 billion. Whereas, import for the same month surged by 21.7% to $39.5 billion, widening trade deficit to its four-year high level at $19.6 billion. For the month of September, India’s exports have surged by 36.3% and imports by 17.2%. 

In the first seven months of current financial year, India’s exports surged by 46% to $179.8 billion;  imports too surged by 31% to $273.5 billion, making trade deficit of $93.7 billion. 

During financial year 2010-11, Indian exporters enjoyed record growth and had touched two-digit growth in recent months owing to sustained demand for cars, petroleum products and precious stones.

However, Commerce Secretary Khullar has expressed concerns over economic slowdown in western economies and increasing trade deficit, for October, which is almost equal to exports’ value. Commerce Secretary said, the balance of trade “is something to be very worried about because at this rate you are going to breach the $150-billion mark for the fiscal 2011-12.”

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 5,309.70; about 20 points higher compared to its previous closing of 5,289.35, and has touched a high and a low of 5,317.50 and 5,292.15 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 5,297.50, higher by 8.15 points or 0.15%. There were 30 stocks advancing against 20 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Reliance Infra up by 2.29%, Tata Steel up by 1.50%, IDFC up by 1.23%, HUL up by 1.13% and HCL Tech up by 1.10%.

On the flip side, Ranbaxy down by 1.37%, BPCL down by 1.14%, GAIL down by 1.11%, Sun Pharma down by 0.77% and L&T down by 0.66%, were the major losers on the index.

Asian equity indices were trading mixed after a decent start; Hang Seng was up 311.83 points or 1.58% to 19,990.30, Jakarta Composite was up 31.14 points or 0.82% to 3,836.78, KLSE Composite was up 5.64 points or 0.38% to 1,486.10 and Nikkei 225 was up by 45.14 points or 0.52% to 8,700.65.

On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was down 8.79 points or 0.35% to 2,495.05, Straits Times was down 4.67 points or 0.16% to 2,861.85, Seoul Composite was down 4.19 points or 0.22% to 1,898.95 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 11.84 points or 0.16% to 7,588.95.