Post session - Quick review

After a day of consolidation, markets resumed their northbound journey with zeal on Tuesday, as boisterous bulls ran berserk on bourses, leading to yet another session of gains. Much of the exuberance was showcased by the bourses in the second half of the session on renewed fuel price hike hopes after Oil minister Jaipal Reddy said that “The Government will have to hike the price of heavily subsidized fuels such as diesel in the short term”, a decision that could rein in burgeoning subsidy bill. Showcasing much of the resilience in light of sluggish global set-up, markets sustained their positive tempo in light of the reports which suggested that cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) meet, speculated to discuss fuel price hike among other matters, to be held later in the evening has been deferred to an undecided date.

Thus in the day of outperformance of Indian equity markets, 30 share barometer index, Sensex, on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) amassed close to half a percent gains to shut shop above the 17850 psychological mark. Similarly, widely followed index of National Stock Exchange (NSE), Nifty, too collecting over quarter points, concluded above the 5350 crucial mark. Meanwhile, broader indices too went home with modest gains of over 0.25% (Midcap) and 0.50% (Smallcap). Trade of over 1.17 lac core was done in terms of volume turnover by the end of the trade (Provisional)

On the global front, after the lackluster close of Asian pacific shares, European stocks were trading negative Tuesday on news the German Constitutional Court will go ahead with its ruling on the legality of the country participating in Europe's permanent bailout fund, despite a last minute legal challenge.

Closer home, lot of sector specific activity was witnessed. Sugar stocks like, Bajaj Hindusthan, Dhampur Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, were trading sweet for second consecutive session after the Sugar body, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA), forecasted a 8% drop in sugar production for 2012-13 season at 24 million tonnes. Meanwhile, lot of traction was witnessed by IT stocks on weaker Rupee. Hinging with optimism were stocks such as Core Projects, Hexaware Technologies and Polaris Financial Technology, which spurted in the range of 4-6% on the IT pivotal. Additionally, much of the gains also were pumped in from rate sensitive’s Realty and Bankex counters, which ended positive ahead of factory output data, scheduled to be released on Wednesday. Importantly, it was jubilance of PSU Oil Marketing Companies stocks, which pushed the markets into the green zone, as stocks of BPCL, HPCL and IOC clinched over 2% gains on fuel price hike hopes. On the flip side, Metal counter after being out of the shape, emerged as the sole loser on the index, due to the temporary mining ban by the Goa state government. Worst hit amongst the Metal space were stocks of Sesa Goa, Sterlite Industries and Jindal Steel which plunged in the range of 2-6%.The market breadth on the BSE ended positive; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1572:1262 while 129 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex gained 89.33 points or 0.50% and settled at 17856.11. The index touched a high and a low of 17865.39 and 17677.38 respectively. 18 stocks were seen advancing against 12 declining on the index (Provisional).

The BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.28% while Small-cap index was up 0.53%. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, IT was up 0.91%, Power up 0.88%, Realty up 0.84%, TECk up 0.77% and Bankex up by 0.71% were the top gainers, while Metal down 0.78%, was only the loser in the space.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HDFC up 2.26%, NTPC up 1.72%, BHEL up by 1.44%, ICICI Bank up 1.42% and Gail India up1.39% while, Sterlite Industries  down 4.32%, Jindal Steel down 3.08%, Hero Moto Corp down 1.02%, Tata Steel down 0.76% and L&T down 0.46% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, after ruling out the case of immediate fuel price hike, Oil minister Jaipal Reddy on Tuesday, said that “The Government will have to hike the price of heavily subsidized fuels such as diesel in the short term”, a decision that needs to be taken to rein in burgeoning subsidy bill. Further, the Oil Minister was quick to add that the hike may not be decided by the cabinet committee on political affairs (CCPA) at its meeting later in the evening. However, Reddy added that if the CCPA does not discuss the fuel price issue on Tuesday, it would be taken up at the next meeting of the cabinet committee which takes decision that has wider political ramifications.

The Oil Ministry circulated a note to the members of the CCPA, which is headed by the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, detailing the crisis created by rise in crude oil prices and fall in value of rupee against the US dollar. Furthermore, although no suggestions have been made on quantum of increase by the Oil Minister, much of the media reports suggest that oil companies will be permitted to hike the price of petrol by as much as Rs 5, and those prices of diesel and kerosene, which are regulated, will also be increased in a week’s time.

Public State Undertaking (PSU) oil firms are losing a record Rs 560 crore per day on the sale of regulated diesel and cooking fuels, and another Rs 16 crore a day on petrol. These firms are losing about Rs 6 per litre on sale of petrol, a commodity which was deregulated from government in June 2010 but rates haven't moved in tandem with the cost.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility gained 0.72% at 15.38 from its previous close of 15.27 on Monday. (Provisional)

The S&P CNX Nifty gained 26.55 points or 0.50% to settle at 5,390.00. The index touched high and low of 5,393.35 and 5,332.10 respectively. 30 stocks advanced against 20 declining ones on the index. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Nifty were Siemens up 3.80%, IDFC up 3.21%, BPCL up 2.47%, HDFC up 2.27% and Kotak Bank was up 2.21%. Other hand, Sesa Goa down 5.95%, Sterlite Industries down 3.81%, Jindal Steel down 2.98%, Hero Moto Co down 1.51% and Power Grid down 0.98% were the top losers. (Provisional)

The European markets were trading in red with, France’s CAC 40 down 0.41%, Germany’s DAX down 0.10% and the United Kingdom’s FTSE 100 down 0.48%.

Most of the Asian markets closed the shutter with negative mark on Tuesday, as investors espoused a cautious approach ahead of the German Constitutional Court's decision on the Eurozone's bailout fund and the Fed meeting that may yield widely expected stimulus to bolster growth in the world's largest economy. Hong Kong market, for a fourth consecutive day, ended higher tracking gains in European markets after a German court said it would rule on the legality of the European bailout fund as scheduled on Wednesday. However, Japanese shares fell notably, as investors cut their exposure to exporters and riskier stocks.