Nifty reclaims 7,800; IT shares underperform

India's WPI dropped for a 12th straight month in October, falling an annual 3.81% mainly due to easing fuel prices

Benchmark indices continued their upward march even though their Asian and European peers are reeling under the pressure following deadly attacks in Paris that killed around 130 people. The firmness in the Indian equities is majorly on the back of surge in banking shares.

At 1:30 PM, the Sensex gained 121 points to trade at 25,731 and the Nifty rose 38 points to trade at 7,800.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are in line with the benchmarks and are up 0.1-0.3%. Market breadth is neutral with 1,272 shares advancing and 1,209 shares declining.

On the macro-economic front, India's wholesale prices dropped for a 12th straight month in October, falling an annual 3.81% mainly due to easing fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the world financial markets are still puzzled and worried over the rate hike by the US Fed.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The Asian markets slide on Monday in the wake of deadly Paris attacks. Currencies, too, took a hit against the US dollar.

Japan’s economy slid in the recessionary mode when it shrank an annualised 0.8% in July-September. Nikkei dropped 1%. However, Shanghai Composite finished with 0.7% gains.

The European equities too opened lower on Monday riding on the emotional wave on account of terror attacks in Paris. The major European indices are down between 0.7-1%

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE Bankex has surged over 1%, followed by Capital Goods index, up  by 0.8%. BSE IT is down by 0.8% following the strength in the rupee.

From the financial sector, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank are up 1-2%. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will meet heads of PSU banks on November 23 to discuss various issues, including bad loans and credit flow to productive sectors of the economy. Axis Bank, however, has slipped nearly 1%

Bharti Airtel is planning to issue sterling bonds of up to £500 million (Rs 5,000 crore), which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange. The stock has advanced nearly 1%

Tata Steel plans to sell its plant in northern England to give it the “best chance of survival" as the UK industry has been struggling under a flood of cheap steel being pumped in from China, which has depressed prices. Tata Steel has surged 2.4%.

From the oil&gas space, OMCs is showing a divergent trend. Petrol price was hiked today by 36 paisa a litre, while that of diesel by 87 paisa per litre in line with firming global rates. However, the global crude prices also inched up in the wake of Paris attacks.

HPCL, RIL, ONGC, Cairn India are all up between 0.1-1.1% each while BPCL, IOC, OIL are all down between 0.5-5.5% each.

Among other shares, shares of Shasun Pharmaceuticals were up nearly 2% at Rs 405 after the company said it has received an approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for Carisoprodol tables USP in dosages from 250mg and 350mg.

Shares of Apollo Tyres were up over 2% at Rs 159 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced that the board of directors of the company, at its meeting held on November 16, 2015, has approved the acquisition of Reifencom GmbH through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company.

Shares of Rolta India were up nearly 4% at Rs 99 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced its foray into Turkey following the appointment of iTelligence Turkey - Elsys Bilgi Sistemleri A.S. as its authorised distributor in Turkey to expand its presence into this high growth market.