Markets open higher; Budget Session kick-starts today

Top gainers on the Sensex are Hindalco, L&T, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and Cipla

Markets have commenced the trading session on a higher note as investors are focussing on the key events (Economic Survey, Railway Budget and Union Budget) along with the expiry of February series due later during the week.

Meanwhile, investors will patiently await for the Budget session will commence today with the address of President of India Pranab Mukherjee to the members of both the Houses of Parliament in the Central Hall of Parliament.  

By 9:30, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 66 points at 29,298 whereas the 50-share Nifty gained 19 points at 8,853.

However, the broader markets continue to outperform the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.5% each.

Market breadth in BSE is positive with 838 shares advancing and 295 shares declining.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 89.41 crore on Friday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 204.85 crore on Friday, as per provisional data.

GLOBAL MARKETS

US stocks rallied on Friday, 20 February 2015 sending the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average to record levels on news that eurozone ministers agreed to a four-month extension of Greece's bailout.

Japan's Nikkei share average hit a new 15-year high on Monday after euro zone finance ministers reached a deal to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months.

The Nikkei was up 0.9% at 18,490.98 points by mid-morning after rising as high as 18,509.08 earlier, its strongest level since May 2000.

The agreement removed the immediate threat that Greece could run out of money next month and be forced out of the single currency area. The new leftist-led Athens government now can try to negotiate longer-term debt relief with official creditors.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectors like Capital Goods, Banks, Auto and IT have gained by nearly 1% each. However, BSE Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices are trading marginally in negative zone.

The top gainers on the Sensex are Hindalco, L&T, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Cipla, ICICI Bank and Infosys, all gaining between 1-2%.

The first round of coal block e-auction that ended on Sunday saw some of the key names in the industry bagging 18 mines with a combined extractable reserve of 90 million tonnes, along with attached end-use infrastructure. According to the auction amount and royalty payable, six mineral-rich states are likely to earn a little more than Rs 1 lakh crore over the next 30 years.

Infosys, after signing its first big-ticket acquisition under CEO Vishal Sikka last week, is evaluating a dozen more startups - all aimed not at bulking revenues or adding clients, as Indian IT companies typically do, but at gaining cutting-edge technology such as automation and artificial intelligence (AI). The stock is up nearly 1%.

Coal India is gearing up to invest about Rs 6,000 crore towards capital expenditure in the next fiscal and an equal amount on augmenting other infrastructure, including rail connectivity.  The stock has gained nearly 1%.

On the losing side, HDFC, GAIL, RIL, NTPC and ITC have slipped between 0.2-1%.