Market breadth turns negative from positive

After moving in a narrow range in early afternoon trade, key benchmark indices trimmed gains in afternoon trade. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently hovering below the psychological 29,000 mark, having alternately moved above and below that level so far during the trading session. The Sensex was currently up 75.19 points or 0.26% at 28,964.05.

There are expectations that inflows from foreign funds into Indian equities will rise if the European Central Bank (ECB) boosts monetary stimulus for the eurozone economy after a monetary policy review later in the global day. The ECB is widely expected to announce a government-bond-buying program aimed at spurring Europe's ailing economy.

Realty stocks gained after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday, 21 January 2015, announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed all concerned departments to immediately finalise the programme and finalise the financing models for alternate sets of housing requirements with regard to the government's Housing for All Mission. Shares of index heavyweight and IT major Infosys hits record high. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) also hit record high. Shares of public sector banks fell.

Earlier, the Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit record high in mid-morning trade as these two key benchmark indices extended their initial gains. The Sensex moved past the psychological 29,000 level for the first time in its history.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2065.49 crore yesterday, 21 January 2015, as per provisional data.

In overseas markets, Asian shares edged higher after China's central bank injected 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) of liquidity into the financial system. US stocks eked out small gains yesterday, 21 January 2015, on speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) will unveil a government-bond-buying program aimed at spurring Europe's ailing economy.

Canada's central bank, the Bank of Canada, delivered a shock interest-rate cut after a monetary policy review yesterday, 21 January 2015, becoming the first Group of Seven country to slash rates in response to the oil-price collapse and its impact on economic growth.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar.

Brent crude futures edged slightly lower as traders braced for the outcome of the European Central Bank meeting.

At 13:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 75.19 points or 0.26% at 28,964.05. The index jumped 171.55 points at the day's high of 29,060.41 in mid-morning trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index rose 53.07 points at the day's low of 28,941.93 in early trade.

The CNX Nifty was up 17 points or 0.19% at 8,746.50. The index hit a high of 8,772.70 in intraday trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index hit a low of 8,734.90 in intraday trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 3.73 points or 0.03% at 10,705.97, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 46.53 points or 0.41% at 11,469.41, outperforming the Sensex.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was turned negative from positive in afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,372 shares declined and 1,283 shares gained. A total of 100 shares were unchanged.

Realty stocks gained after the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday, 21 January 2015, announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed all concerned departments to immediately finalise the programme and finalise the financing models for alternate sets of housing requirements with regard to the government's Housing for All Mission. DLF (up 1.74%), D B Realty (up 3.67%), Unitech (up 0.6%), Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 0.32%), Godrej Properties (up 1.28%), Anant Raj (up 3.67%), and Parsvnath Developers (up 1.13%), edged higher. Sobha (down 0.76%), Phoenix Mills (down 0.7%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.36%) and Prestige Estates (down 5.31%) declined.

The government's Housing for All programme proposes to build 2 crore houses across the nation by 2022. At a review meeting of the Housing for All programme held yesterday, 21 January 2015, Modi has emphasized the need to ensure that there is no compromise in quality during the roll-out of this ambitious programme, the PMO said. The Prime Minister said that the first priority under the new scheme should be on towns and cities along the banks of the River Ganga and its tributaries.

IT stocks were mixed. Infosys rose 1.38% to Rs 2,195.05, after hitting record high of Rs 2,202 in intraday trade.

Tech Mahindra (down 0.72%), TCS (down 0.17%), and HCL Technologies (down 1.59%) declined.

Wipro rose 0.67%. Shares of Wipro turned ex-dividend today, 22 January 2015, for interim dividend of Rs 5 per share for the financial year ending 31 March 2015 (FY 2015).

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) gained 1.25% to Rs 952.20 after hitting record high of Rs 961 in intraday trade.

Shares of public sector banks fell. State Bank of India (down 1.07%), Union Bank of India (down 0.77%), Punjab National Bank (down 1.69%), Bank of India (down 1.46%), IDBI Bank (down 1.24%), Indian Bank (down 1.36%), UCO Bank (down 1.52%), Allahabad Bank (down 1.42%), Syndicate Bank (down 1.28%), Andhra Bank (down 1.44%), Canara Bank (up 0.28%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 0.46%), Central Bank of India (down 1.49%), United Bank of India (down 1.18%), Dena Bank (down 0.67%), and Punjab & Sind Bank (down 1.62%) edged lower.

Bank of Baroda fell 1.03% to Rs 223.25. The stock turned ex-split today, 22 January 2015, for 5-for-1 stock split.

Corporation Bank declined 3.01% to Rs 75.30. The stock turned ex-split today, 22 January 2015, for 5-for-1 stock split.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.715, compared with its close of 61.635 during the previous trading session.

Brent crude futures edged slightly lower as traders braced for the outcome of the European Central Bank meeting. Brent for March settlement was off 2 cents at $49.01 a barrel. The contract had risen $1.04 a barrel or 2.17% to settle at $49.03 a barrel during the previous trading session.

In his foreword to the fourth edition of the annual Status Paper on Government Debt which gives detailed analysis of the government's debt position released yesterday, 21 January 2015, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has said that the overall liabilities of the Central Government are on a medium-term declining trajectory with low roll-over risk, notwithstanding the slight increase in a couple of years in recent past due to stimulus spending in the wake of the global financial crisis. The share of public account liabilities in the total liabilities of the General Government are also on a declining trend. The average interest cost, which is stable and well below nominal GDP growth rate, indicates that India is comfortably placed in terms of sustainability parameters of public debt, Jaitley said. The government's debt portfolio is characterized by prudent risk profile with share of short-term debt within safe limits. Most of the debt is of domestic origin insulating the debt portfolio from currency risk. The limited external debt is almost entirely from official sources on concessional terms, providing safety from volatility in the international financial markets. The relatively long maturity of debt and its predominantly fixed-coupon character point to low roll-over and interest rate risks, Jaitley said.

This paper reiterates the government's commitment to keep the level of public debt within sustainable limits, the finance ministry said at the time of releasing the fourth edition of the annual Status Paper on Government Debt yesterday, 21 January 2015.

US President Barack Obama arrives on a visit to India this weekend. The US President is the Chief Guest for India's Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on 26 January 2015.

Asian shares edged higher today, 22 January 2015, after China's central bank injected 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) of liquidity into the financial system. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan were up by 0.28% to 0.77%. South Korea's Seoul Composite was off 0.02%.

China's central bank today, 22 January 2015, injected cash into the money markets using short-term instruments it hasn't used in a year, spurring speculation that further loosening of monetary policy may be on the way as the economy grows at its slowest rate in more than two decades. The People's Bank of China offered 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) of seven-day reverse repos, a short-term lending facility to commercial banks, in its open-market operation today, 22 January 2015. The move to keep the banks flush with cash comes ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday next month when demand for funds normally increases substantially as people spend on gifts and dining.

The injection of funds into the country's money markets came after the central bank yesterday, 21 January 2015, said that it rolled over three-month loans of 269.5 billion yuan ($43.5 billion) and offered 50 billion yuan of medium-term loans to designated commercial banks.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 29 points at the opening bell today, 22 January 2015. The US stock market ended Wednesday's choppy trading day with modest gains, extending its winning streak to three sessions, as investors widely expect the European Central Bank to deliver on monetary stimulus at its key meeting today, 22 January 2015.

In Europe, the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to undertake monetary policy review today, 22 January 2015. The ECB may announce a large-scale bond-buying program today, 22 January 2015, aimed at spurring Europe's ailing economy.

Meanwhile, uncertainties over the status of Greece including its possible exit from the eurozone are likely to persist until the early election in the country on 25 January 2015. Greece is set to hold snap elections on 25 January 2015 after it failed to elect a new president in a third round of voting late last year. The Greek leftist opposition party Syriza leads opinion polls ahead of national elections on 25 January 2015. Syriza has demanded debt relief from the eurozone and promised to roll back the austerity and reform measures that the country has undertaken in exchange for the international bailout that the government negotiated in 2012.

In Canada, the nation's central bank, the Bank of Canada, delivered a shock interest-rate cut after a monetary policy review yesterday, 21 January 2015, becoming the first Group of Seven country to slash rates in response to the oil-price collapse and its impact on economic growth. The Bank of Canada, which had been widely expected to hold rates steady before raising them later in the year or in early 2016, cut its benchmark overnight rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.75%the first cut to the rate since April 2009, when the economy was mired in recession. Sliding oil prices, which the central bank said it expects will recover to around $60 in the medium term, will erode growth and inflation for Canada, it said in a statement announcing the interest-rate cut. It lowered its growth forecast for the first half of 2015 to 1.5%, and to 2.1% for the full year from 2.4%.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News