Markets remain firm; ITC gains 2.3%, Infosys dips 1.6%

Markets continue to remain in the positive zone mainly on the back of buying seen in metal and fmcg shares. However, the upside is capped due to index heavyweights such as Infosys.

At 10:50 am, the Sensex was at 25,849 levels, up by 90 points while the Nifty opened at 7,832 levels, up by 26 points.

The top gainers on the Sensex are Hindalco, Vedanta, ITC, Tata Steel, and Gail (India), all up between 1.6-3.3% each

The top losers on the Sensex are Axis Bank, Hero motocorp, Bharti Airtel , Infosys, and Dr. Reddy’s, all down between 0.5-2% each




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(updated 9:30 am)

Markets commenced the session on a positive note following strong cues from the global markets after the world stocks recovered from a setback of Paris terror attacks. However, the market participants are likely to remain on the edge as mixed global economic data and the recent sell off by the FIIs have weighed on the sentiment.

At 9:30 am, the Sensex was at 25,824 levels, up by 64 points while the Nifty opened at 7,830 levels, up by 24 points.

The broader markets are outperforming their larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up by 0.4-0.5% each. The market breadth is strong with 855 advances against 286 declines on the BSE.  

Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were the net sellers to the tune of Rs 1,051.26 cr as per the provisional stock exchange data.
MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA

General wholesale prices fell in October for 12th consecutive month by 3.81%, official data released on Monday show.

India’s merchandise exports dropped for the eleventh month in a row in October. Exports shrank by 17.53% to $21.35 billion in October, as compared to $25.89 billion in the same period last year, according to data released by the commerce ministry on Monday.

MARKET OUTLOOK

According to a morning note by Anand Rathi Technicals, “Nifty now needs to hold above 7,775 to continue its bounce back towards 7880 and 7920 zones. On the downside if it sustains below 7750 then a hope of positive price action would wiped out and selling pressure may continue to drag the index towards 7700 and even lower levels. Index is trading at oversold territory on daily chart with positive divergence in price and mechanical indicators so the current juncture is a perfect zones if bulls have to take the grip over the market.”

On Sensex, the note says, “. Now it needs to hold above 25750 levels to continue the bounce back move towards 26000 then 26250 levels, while if it fails to hold 25500 then weakness may continue towards 25250 and psychological 25000 levels”

GLOBAL STOCKS

Asian stocks climbed today taking cues from the Wall Street after investors digested the deadly attacks in Paris while possibility for a rate hike by the Federal Reserve in December kept the dollar on a bullish footing. Japan’s Nikkei, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hnag Seng are up between 1-2%.

Wall Street had its strongest session in three weeks on Monday with Paris attacks having a little impact on the US economy and corporate earnings. The Dow rose 1.4%  and the S&P 500 surged 1.5%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE Metal, Capital Goods and FMCG indices are rallying between 0.7-0.8% each. BSE IT index is marginally down.

In order to address the call drop issue, telecom operators have planned to spend Rs 34,000 crore, which will boost the existing connection as well as help them roll out fourth generation (4G) technology.

Idea Cellular has jumped over 1% while Bharti airtel has dropped nearly 1%

Infosys is eyeing on prominently improving its win rates of large deals, apart from increasing its employee utilisation rates, as part of its growth execution strategy in the medium term. Infosys warned of weaker margins in the December quarter and the second half of the current financial year, weighed down mainly by lower spending by top clients due to the holiday season. The stock has slipped 1.4%

ICICI Bank has decided to sell a six per cent stake in its life insurance venture, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, to Premji Invest and its affiliates, and Compassvale Investments Pte, a unit of Singapore-based Temasek, for Rs 1,950 crore.  The stock has soared 1.8%

The metal pack is rallying on the back of a recovering in global commodity prices. Vedanta, Hindalco, Coal India are all up between 0.3-2% each.

Other notable gainers on the Sensex are Tata Steel, ITC, Sun Pharma, SBI and Cipla, all up between 1-1.4%

On the flip side, Dr Reddy’s is down by 2%