Markets open strong on global cues
The markets have opened in the green this morning. The fear that the income-tax authorities would go after participatory note investments in equities saw the benchmark stock indices take a beating on Monday. The Sensex is up 75 points at 17,128. Nifty is up 23 points at 5,207.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 1.2 per cent to 13,242 and the S&P 500 Index gained 1.4 per cent to 1,416 levels.
Asian stocks rebounded on Tuesday and the dollar eased after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said ultra-loose monetary policy was still needed to reduce unemployment even though the US economy has shown signs of improvement. Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened up 1.3 per cent at 10,152.90, while the broader Topix gained 1.2 per cent to 862.
BSE realty index has gained 2% at 1,759. Metal, consumer durables, FMCG and power shares are also in the green - up about a per cent each.
Hindustan Unilever from the FMCG space has gained 2.7% at Rs 413. Sterlite, Tata Steel and Hindalco have gained 1-2% each. DLF, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp and Bharti AIrtel are some of the other gainers. HDFC Bank and HDFC account for a 33 point upmove in the Sensex this morning.
Maharashtra government has hiked the tax on diesel and petrol cars sold in the state.
Maruti Suzuki has slipped 2% to Rs 1,273. ICICI Bank has dropped 1% at Rs 862.
Among individual stocks, keep a tab on sugar companies. Reports suggest that the government has decided to allow the export of another 1 million-tonne of sugar under the open general license. Shree Renuka Sugar has gained 3.5%, Balrampur Chini has added 1% while Bajaj Hindustan has advanced 2% respectively.
Tata Metaliks’ board has approved an issue of preference shares worth Rs 100 crore to its promoter, Tata Steel. Shares of Tata Metaliks has surged 5% o Rs 71.