Sensex up nearly 300 points; GAIL and L&T top gainers

The Sensex and Nifty rose sharply due to fresh buying by investors owing to fall in global crude oil prices amid geopolitical concerns and monsoon woes.

 

At 11.30 A.M., the Sensex was trading at 25,311 levels up 281 points and the Nifty was trading at 7,567 levels up 74 points.

 

The broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap, are in tandem with their large counterparts and are up 1.3% and 1.5%, each  

The market breadth is strong with 1760 advances and 721 declines.

 

Asian Markets:

 

Asian shares clinched slender gains on Tuesday as improved manufacturing data from China, Japan and the United States augured well for global growth, despite a disappointing result from the euro zone. 

 

Japan’s Nikkie rose 0.09%, Hong Kong'Hang Seng Index gained 0.4%, Straits Times Index advanced 0.3 and Shanghai Composite Index appreciated 0.1%

 

However, foreign institutional investors, who supported a 21 percent rally in the Nifty so far this year, sold Indian shares for the second straight day on Monday, with 2.15 billion rupees of stock offloaded.

Crude:

Brent crude recorded its largest one-day decline in seven weeks on Monday, falling toward $114 a barrel as oil exports from Iraq remained unaffected by Islamic insurgents' continued advance on Baghdad.

 

Local Currency:

 

 The rupee recovered by 9 paise to 60.11 against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased selling of the American currency by exporters amidst fall in global crude oil prices.

 

Sectors & Stocks:

 

All BSE sectoral indices excluding BSE IT index, were trading in the green with Realty, Capital goods, Power and Oil & Gas indices driving the rally. 

 

Among them, Realty index was up 2.2%, followed by Capital goods up 2.1% and Power up 1.7%.

GAIL, Larsen, HDFC, SBI and Axis Bank were the major gainers on the BSE, while Infosys, Sun Pharma and Wipro lost sheen.

 

In Oil & Gas space, shares of oil and gas companies gained after Brent crude recorded its largest one-day decline in seven weeks on Monday. GAIL, ONGC and Reliance surged between 0.3%-4.4% , each

 

BSE Bankex rose 1.4% during the morning trades as RBI fixed schedules for various regulatory approvals, including grant of private bank licences. Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC twins gained between 0.8%-2%,each

 

BSE Metal index climbed 1.2% on the back of positive Chinese PMI data with Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Coal India up between 0.8%-1.8%, each

 

In Capital goods pocket, Larsen and BHEL gained 2.2% and 1.2%, each

 

BSE Auto index rose 0.9% with M&M, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki up between 0.4%-1.3%, each   

 

An appreciating rupee casted its shadow on the technology stocks with Infosys and Wipro down between 0.1%-0.7%, each

  

Pre Budget Rally:

 

Index heavyweight ITC has climbed 1.7% on the account of value buying after it plunged 5% yesterday after health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, proposed to increase the excise duty on cigarettes by 100% in the upcoming union budget. 

 

Shares of sugar companies such as Bajaj Hindustan, Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini Mills, Oudh Sugars, Ugar Sugar Works, Ponni Sugar Erode, Simbhaoli Sugars and EID Parry rallied after Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan proposed to hike the import duty on sugar from 15% to 40%.

 

Among other gainers,

 

IRB Infrastructure Developers is trading higher by 4% to Rs 214 after the company said it has entered into a pact with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for an Rs 2,300 crore project for widening of a highway stretch in Haryana under National Highways Development Project (NHDP).