Nifty hovers around 7,775; July WPI at 5-month low

Markets continue to hold on to early gains as the wholesale inflation eased to 5-month low 5.19% in July  helped mainly by a moderation in fuel costs, government data showed on Thursday.

 

At 12:55 PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 125 points at 26,043 and the 50-share Nifty was up 29 points at 7,769.

 

The main gainers on the Sensex are GAIL, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, all up between 2-3%.

 

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updated on 11.50


Benchmark indices continue to maintain the upbeat trend led by consistent buying among index heavyweight shares along with Asian markets leading the gains.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 718.27 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

On the macro-economic front, the government will announce data on inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for July 2014 at about 12:00 PM today.

At 11:45AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 133 points at 26,052 and the 50-share Nifty was up 31 points at 7,770.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares pushed higher on Thursday after a flood of soft economic data led investors to wager on a ceaseless fountain of stimulus from major central banks, sending bond yields tumbling across the globe.

An economic contraction in Japan, a shock fall in Chinese loans, a surprisingly dovish turn by the Bank of England and a sluggish reading on US retail sales all combined to make any tightening in policy seem a very distant prospect.

Japan's Topix rose 0.6%, while the Australian market added 0.4%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.1%.

RUPEE

The rupee rose to 61.04/05 versus the dollar from its previous day close of 61.215/225, tracking gains in Asian currencies and shares.

A flood of soft economic data sparked hopes of continued stimulus from central bank

SECTORS AND STOCKS

BSE Consumer Durables, Metal, Oil & Gas, Bankex, Capital Goods and Healthcare indices have gained by nearly 1% each. Infact, all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in positive zone.

The main gainers on the Sensex are GAIL, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, ONGC and Sun Pharma, all surging between 1-3%.

ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are contributing the most to the Sensex gains.

On the losing side, Hero Moto, HDFC, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and SBI have declined between 0.4-3%.

Among other shares, Whirlpool of India has surged 8% to Rs 405 after reporting 66% year on year (yoy) jump in net profit at Rs 83 crore for the first quarter ended on June 30, 2014 (Q1), on strong sales figures.

Marico Kaya Enterprises has soared 14% to Rs 348, extending its past three day’s rally on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after reporting a consolidated net profit of Rs 15 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1).

The broader markets are performing in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have gained between 0.5-1%.

The market breadth in BSE remains marginally positive with 1,218 shares advancing and 1,199 shares declining.