Sensex, Nifty continue to consolidate; IT, TECK surge

Indian equity markets continue to consolidate through the late afternoon session on account of high trading in front line blue chip counters and taking cues from European counterparts. The markets trade in the positive as sentiments improved on optimistic note after the IT bellwether Infosys retained its US revenue guidance of 6% to 10% growth in dollar terms for FY14. Traders were seen piling positions in IT, TECK and Capital Goods stocks while selling was witnessed in Consumer Durables, Realty and Auto sector stocks. In scrip specific development, Infosys shares was trading firm after the company reported better-than-expected numbers in first quarter and retained its revenue growth forecast for the financial year 2013-14. Indian Oil Corporation was trading in green after government selected five merchant bankers to manage the sale of 10% of government’s stake in the company.

On the global front, the Asian markets were trading on a mixed note while the European markets were trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 5,950 and 19,800 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was negative in the ratio of 921:1187, while 124 scrips remain unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 19848.96, up by 172.90 points or 0.88% after trading in a range of 19962.78 and 19785.59. There were 17 stocks advancing against 13 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap index were trading down by 0.19% and 0.22% respectively.

The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, IT up by 5.62%, TECK up by 4.38%, Capital Goods up by 1.15%, Power up by 0.65% and Health Care up by 0.58%, while Consumer Durables down by 1.43%, Realty down by 1.01%, Auto down by 0.85%, PSU down by 0.61% and FMCG down by 0.48% were the top losers on the sectoral index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Infosys up by 9.73%, TCS up by 2.48%, Wipro up by 2.27%, Dr. Reddy’s Lab up by 1.70% and NTPC up 1.63%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki was down by 3.30%, ONGC was down by 2.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra was down by 1.87%, Hindalco Industries was down by 1.56% and ITC was down by 1.02% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, with an aim to boost the growth of India’s infrastructure sector, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (MIIUS) with an outlay of Rs 1,030 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan period (2012-2017).

Under the MIIUS scheme, Project Management Agency (PMA) would be appointed to assist the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in appraising proposals and monitoring projects. The project proposals would be scrutinised with the help of the PMA and they would be placed before an apex committee for in-principle approval. After in-principle approval, the project will be monitored and will continue to be monitored until the project achieves completion.

Moreover, out of the total outlay under the scheme, Rs 450 crore will be used for committed liability and the remainder for taking up 14 to 16 new infrastructure upgradation projects in existing or greenfield industrial clusters.  The scheme will cover all states and at least 10 percent of the outlay will be set aside for a minimum of two projects in the North East region of the country.

The move will help to develop better common infrastructure and facilities, including skill development centres, at the selected industrial clusters. It will also positively impact better employment generation in these clusters. The government had launched an Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) in 2003 to enhance the industry's competitiveness by providing infrastructure through the public-private partnership model in selected functional clusters.   

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,970.65, up by 35.55 points or 0.60% after trading in a range of 6,018.40 and 5,951.15. There were 22 stocks advancing against 28 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Infosys up by 9.68%, IDFC up by 2.76%, TCS up by 2.34%, HCL Tech up by 2.14% and L&T up by 1.95%. On the flip side, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.36%, JP Associates down by 3.04%, ONGC down by 3.00%, Ultra Tech Cement down by 2.56%, and IndusInd Bank down by 1.97% were the major losers on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite declined 1.62%, Hang Seng contracted 0.75%, Straits Times dropped 0.48% and Seoul Composite was down by 0.41%.

On the flip side, Jakarta Composite rose 0.01%, KLSE Composite increased 0.12%, Nikkei 225 gained 0.23% and Taiwan Weighted was up by 0.50%.

The European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC 40 was up 0.31%, Germany’s DAX added 0.77% and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 edged higher by 0.32%.