Markets edge higher; Fed testimony key

Markets edged higher in morning session this Wednesday on surge in inflows after the Bank of Japan maintained its plan to expand the monetary base.

BoJ concluded its two-day policy meet with Governor Haruhiko Kuroda giving a go-ahead to monthly bond purchases in order to achieve 2 per cent inflation target.

Adding to the optimism was the statement of two senior Federal Reserve officials who said that the US central bank should continue  its stimulus plan to support flagging growth.

At 10:30AM, the Bombay Stock Exchange's 30-share index Sensex rose 45 points at 20,157 while the National Stock Exchange's 50-share gained 12 point at 6,126.  

Investors are now looking forward to US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony to US lawmakers and the minutes of the Fed's May meeting, both due later today for further clarification on stimulus measures and economic growth.

Asian shares gained momentum with China’s Shanghai Composite adding 0.2% to 2,312, Singapore’s Straits Times rose 0.5% to 3,460 while Japan’s Nikkei gained 1% to 15,559 today. Trading on Hong Kong equity markets will be delayed due to a storm warning.

Back home, barring real-estate sector, rest all gained with key sectoral indices such as IT, capital goods, banks and power topping on the BSE.

The gainers included counters such as  Coal India rising 2%, Dr Reddy’s rose 1.4%, Infosys and Wipro rose 1.2% and 0.5% respectively, Sun Pharma was up 1.5% on the BSE.

The laggards were Hero MotoCorp down 0.9%,  Bajaj Auto dropped 0.7% while GAIL declined 0.1% on the BSE.

The other key notable movers include, Omaxe which is trading lower by 3% at Rs 147, extending its previous day’s 7.3% fall after the promoter of real estate firm got poor response for its share sale offer.

Tech Mahindra has rallied 6% to Rs 963 after reporting a better-than-expected 37% quarter-on-quarter (qoq) growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 377 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 (Q4) on the back of acquitsions and new deals. The company had a profit of Rs 276 crore in December quarter.

The broader markets gained with mid-caps and small-caps rising nearly 0.3% on the BSE.

The market breadth was positive. Out of 1,769 stocks traded, 1,015 stocks gained compared to 639 declined on the BSE.