Firm trade prevails; Nifty holds 6150 mark

Indian equities trimmed minor gains but continued to trade firm in the late afternoon session on account of buying in frontline counters. Markets got a sentimental boost after exchange and regulatory data unveiled that domestic institutional investors (DIIs), had turned buyers of shares worth Rs 330 crore, after twelve long sessions’ on Thursday. Investors also took note of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C. Rangarajan statement that the Current Account Deficit (CAD) is likely to come down below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the current fiscal on the back of measures taken by government. He also exuded confidence that the Indian economy will grow at 5.3% in 2013-14. Traders were seen piling position in Bankex, PSU and Realty stocks. In scrip specific development, NHPC was trading in green as the offer for buyback of fully paid up equity shares opened today. The state-owned hydroelectric power company has fixed buyback offer price at Rs 19.25 apiece and the maximum offer size is approximately Rs 2,367.9 crore.

On the global front, most of the Asian markets were trading in green while the European markets were too trading on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 6,150 and 20,700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1338:941 while 161 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 20771.95, up by 237.04 points or 1.15% after trading in a range of 20,819.77 and 20558.93. There were 24 stocks advancing on the index while 6 stocks were declining.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were trading higher by 0.82% and 0.87% respectively.

Amidst across the board, there were no losers. The gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Bankex up by 2.12%, PSU up by 1.67%, Realty up by 1.57%, Metal up by 1.47% and Capital Goods up by 1.39%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SSLT up by 3.74%, BHEL up by 3.55%, SBI up by 3.15%, Gail India up by 2.59% and ICICI Bank up by 2.53%. The top losers on the indices were M&M down by 0.70%, Tata Motors down 0.49%, Wipro down 0.43%, Hero MotoCorp down 0.20% and NTPC down 0.20%.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved amendments in financial restructuring scheme of State power distribution companies in Jharkhand, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, which are facing financial difficulties. Meanwhile, the scheme is already implemented in various states include Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Power utilities of Bihar, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh were interested to participate in the scheme, but could not do so because of their unavailability in meeting certain requirements of the restructuring scheme. Meanwhile, in order to enable these three states power companies to participate in the scheme for issuance of bonds/reschedulement by lenders, the government has extended the cut-off date for reckoning the eligible amount of short-term liabilities to March 31, 2013 from March 31, 2012. The scheme will be available to these states up to 31 December 2013.

Earlier, in September, the power ministry has also moved a draft note to CCEA with a proposal of about Rs 11,000 crore payout to subsidise costlier power. India’s total installed power generation capacity is 225,793 MW, of which 18,714 MW or nearly 8 percent, is gas-based. Under the new approved pricing formula, the gas prices will increase to $8.40 per million British thermal unit from the current price at $ 4.20 per mbtu, leading to cost of electricity generation of Rs 10.47 per unit. The power ministry has argued that consumers cannot absorb such a high cost of electricity and so the government should subsidise any cost over and above Rs 5.50 per unit to power utilities.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 6,169.60, up by 77.75 points or 1.28% after trading in a range of 6,182.40 and 6,103.80. There were 42 stocks advancing against 8 declining on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were JP Associates up by 7.99%, NMDC up by 4.82%, Bank of Baroda up by 3.89%, SSLT up by 3.85% and BHEL up by 3.78%. On the flip side, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.89%, Tata Motors down 0.46%, NTPC down 0.44%, Wipro down 0.35% and Power Grid Corporation of India down by 0.32% were the top losers on the index.

The Asian equity indices were trading mostly in green; Shanghai Composite up by 0.05%, Hang Seng up by 0.39%, Jakarta Composite up by 0.04%, KLSE Composite up by 0.06% and Taiwan Weighted up by 0.53%. 

On the other hand, Seoul Composite down by 0.04%, Nikkei 225 down by 0.41% and Straits Times down by 0.36%.

The European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC 40 was up 0.06%, Germany’s DAX added 0.07% and UK’s FTSE 100 inched higher 0.20%.