FIIs remain resilient; Sensex up 150 points

Market surged to new intra-day high levels on Tuesday after markets opened on a positive note following postive global cues.

Investors breathed easy as situation in Crimea eased even as the region voted in favor of quitting Ukraine.

At 1200 hrs, the 30-share Sensex is trading 152 points higher at 21,962 levels after toching a new high of 22040.72. 

While the 50-share Nifty index was up 62 points higher at 6,55 levels at the time, it touched an all-time high level of of 6,574.95 in early trades.

Top gaining stocks at this hour include ITC, Reliance, Maruti Suzuki, SBI and ICICI Bank which are trading 1-8% higher at this hour.

The rupee edged up to 60.95/96 versus its Friday close of 61.19/20, tracking gains in the domestic share market. Most other Asian currencies are trading stronger compared with the dollar. Traders will also monitor the domestic share market for cues on foreign fund flows.

Foreign investments remain resilient as provisional data from the regulator showed FIIs bought Indian shares worth Rs 982 crore or $160.6 million in the secondary market on Friday.

US stocks rose more than 1 percent overnight, rebounding from a steep drop in the previous week as concerns eased over the situation in Crimea, even as the region voted to join Russia.

The 97-percent vote in Crimea in favor of quitting Ukraine was condemned as illegal by Kiev and the West, with the White House calling Russian actions "dangerous and destabilizing," though the referendum passed without violence.

In addition, while markets are considered to be vulnerable to further developments in what is considered the biggest crisis between Russia and the United States since the Cold War, anticipated sanctions against Russia have yet to materialize.

Asian shares rose on Tuesday and the yen remained well off recent highs as the threat of immediate military conflict in Ukraine receded, though investors remained cautious ahead of this week's US Federal Reserve policy meeting.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added about 0.3%.

On Wall Street on Monday, US stocks turned in a solid performance, with the S&P 500 adding about 1%.

The United States and the European Union imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on a small group of officials from Russia and Ukraine after the weekend referendum.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.1%, recovering from a six-week closing low hit on Monday.

For the time being, risk appetite improved as the likelihood of immediate military conflict faded, and market participants turned their attention back to the US economic outlook and the conclusion of the Fed's two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The Fed is expected to continue to stick to reducing its monthly asset purchases by an additional $10 billion, and could also alter its forward guidance in its statement.

Fed policymakers could adopt less specific language to describe conditions under which it might tighten policy, instead of the bank's current threshold of a 6.5% unemployment rate for considering a rate rise. The rate now stands at 6.7%, though Fed officials are still signalling that rates need to stay low for some time to support the economy.

The dollar was slightly higher on the day at 101.78 yen, while the euro added about 0.1% to 141.80 yen.

The euro edged up about 0.1% to $1.3932, within sight of a 2-1/2-year high around $1.3967 touched on Thursday.

The single currency's resilience was despite data on Monday showing a dip in euro zone inflation, the latest indicator to back the view that the European Central Bank needs to take further monetary steps to support growth.

The improvement in risk sentiment took a toll on gold, which hit a six-month high on Monday before plunging more than 1%. It was last down about 0.4% at $1,360.21 per ounce, well shy of the previous session's peak of $1,391.76.

US crude edged down 0.1% to $97.97 a barrel, falling for the second day in a row, as expectations of growing petroleum stockpiles in the world's biggest oil user offset any fears that Ukraine tensions could worsen.

Stocks to watch

AstraZeneca Pharma India is trading higher by 4% to Rs 1,208, extending its Friday’s 9% rally, after its board approved the delisting proposal received from the Sweden based parent AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals AB.

L&T Finance Holdings: The stock is up 1.1% at Rs 75.15 on the BSE as share sale got oversubscribed today and the offer expected to mop up at least Rs 583 crore.

Maruti Suzuki: Trading 7.8% higher at Rs 1873 after the compnany agreed to seek the approval of minority shareholders for its plan to house the proposed Gujarat factory in a fully owned Suzuki subsidiary.

Infosys: Trading 0.6% lower at Rs 3,368.75 after signing a multi-year contract with Volvo Car Corporation (Volvo Cars) to provide application development services to the latter’s global operations.

ONGC & RIL: The upstream regulator has backed ONGC’s demand for appointment of an international expert to assess if Reliance Industries Ltd was drawing out any of its gas in the KG basin.

RIL is up 1.6% currently at Rs 900 while ONGC is trading 1.7% higher at Rs 328.20.