Muhurat trading: Sensex ends 124 points higher; Nifty reclaims 7,800

Markets rebounded after five-straight day of losses after the government announced FDI norms in 15 sectors

Benchmark share indices ended their five-day losing streak to end the customary 'Muhurat' trading session held to usher in the new year Samvat 2072 after the government on Tuesday eased regulations on foreign direct investment in key sectors.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 124 points at 25,867 and the 50-share Nifty closed 42 points higher at 7,825

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended up 1-1.5% each. Market breadth ended positive with 1966 gainers and 416 losers on the BSE.

"Gains were on account of sentimental buying while the FDI norms announced by the government is strategically positive for the market," said Mayuresh Joshi, Fund Manager, Angel Broking

In Samvat 2071, the BSE Sensex dropped 4%, the most in four years while NSE Nifty lost nearly 3%. Market participants expect Samvat 2072 to be a better year as the economy is likely to be on a growth trajectory amid monetary easing by the central bank and reforms by the government.

The government on Tuesday eased FDI regulations in 15 sectors with single-brand retail, private sector banking, construction, defence and broadcasting to benefit the most. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion also raised the cap for approval by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,000 crore earlier. Further,

the government also announced full fungibility with regards to private sector banking as foreign institutional investors and foreign portfolio investors can now invest upto 74% as long as no change in control.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 662 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. In November till date, FIIs were net sellers in equities worth Rs 430 crore. Foreign funds have been net sellers in May, June, August & September with August witnessing the highest outflows this calendar
year, at Rs 17,209 crore

SECTORS & STOCKS

All sectoral indices ended in the green led by Realty index up 2% followed by Capital Goods and Healthcare among others.

Among the index heavyweights, Reliance Industries, Infosys and L&T ended up 0.6-1.9% each.

Private banks ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Yes Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 1-3% each as they would benefit the most after full fungibility for foreign investment in banking announced by the government.

Direct-to-home companies such as Dish TV and cable firm Hathway Cable & Datacom ended up 3-6% on 100% FDI with up to 49% under the automatic route and over 49% under the approval route.

In the real estate sector, DLF, Unitech, IndiaBulls Real Estate, Godrej Properties and HDIL ended up 3-%5 after after restrictions were removed on floor area, capitalisation in addition to 100% FDI under automatic route for townships, mall and business centres.

GVK Power & Infra ended up 3% after consolidated net loss declined nearly 50% to Rs 123.50 crore in September 2015 quarter compared to same quarter last fiscal.

InterGlobe Aviation the operator of the country's largest airline Indigo which made its debut on Tuesday ended up over 6%..

Auto shares are likely to extend gains on robust growth in October with passenger and utility vehicle segments growing over 20.8-21.8% while two-wheeler segment grew 13.3% compared to October 2014.

Tata Motors ended up 0.9% after the company reported that its global sales, including Jaguar Land Rover were up 13% at 92,949 units in October 2015 compared to 82,026 units in October 2014.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian markets ended mixed with Japan and China closing with marginal gains. Japan's benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.1% while China's Shanghai Composite ended 0.3% higher. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended down 0.2% weighed down by oil shares amid weak global crude oil prices while Straits Times ended down 0.5%.

European shares were trading higher amid encouraging earnings with beverage major Carlsberg gaining the most. Among the major indices, DAX was up 0.9%, CAC-40 and FTSE-100 were up 0.7-1.3% each.