Market breadth turns positive from negative

Building on the gains registered in afternoon trade, key equity indices surged in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 422.94 points or 1.7% at 25,316.75. The 50-unit CNX Nifty was currently up 133.65 points or 1.77% at 7,692.45. A rally in Chinese stocks boosted sentiment on the domestic and global markets. The Sensex was currently trading above the psychological 25,000 level. Earlier during the trading session, the Sensex alternately moved above and below the psychological 25,000 level. A further decline took the index below the psychological 25,000 level yesterday, 7 September 2015.

The sentiment on the domestic bourses was also boosted by the recommendation by a committee set up by the previous government to assess and make recommendations regarding international competitiveness of Indian financial sector that the levy of Securities Transaction Tax (STT) in the futures & options be abolished.

Steel shares led rally in metal and mining stocks after media reports suggested that an Indian government body has found evidence that rising imports of hot-rolled steel products pose a threat to the domestic industry.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned positive from negative in mid-afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,353 shares rose and 1,176 shares rose. A total of 119 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.42%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.74%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The Sensex and the Nifty saw volatility earlier during the trading session. The Sensex hit its lowest level in more than 15 months when it lost 60.27 points at the day's low of 24,833.54 hit in mid-morning trade. The Nifty hit its lowest level in almost 14 months when it dropped 19.30 points at the day's low of 7,539.50 in mid-morning trade.

In sector trends, Steel shares led rally in metal and mining stocks after media reports suggested that an Indian government body has found evidence that rising imports of hot-rolled steel products pose a threat to the domestic industry. JSW Steel (up 5.91%), Bhushan Steel (up 2.28%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.08%), Tata Steel (up 6.23%), and Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 8.16%), gained. The recommendation of the committee could pave the way for imposition of import levy known as a safeguard duty.

Among metal and mining stocks, Hindustan Copper (up 0.39%), Vedanta (up 3.89%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.79%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.23%), National Aluminum Company (up 1.6%) and NMDC (up 2.01%) gained.

Cement stocks were mixed. ACC (up 0.03%) and Ambuja Cements (up 0.92%) gained. Shree cement (down 2.4%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.17%) declined.

Grasim Industries gained 0.89%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Tata Power Company rose 4.17% after the company announced that the foundation stone laying ceremony for a greenfield defence production facility was held at Vemagal in Karnataka today, 8 September 2015. Over the next one year, Tata Power will make an investment of Rs 450 crore in this unit.

A firm trend in global markets aided rally on the domestic bourses. European stocks surged after the latest data showed German exports and imports rose to their highest level on record in July. Chinese stocks edged higher in volatile trade after Beijing introduced fresh measures - including tax cuts and a proposed "circuit breaker" system - to discourage speculation and stem further slide in share prices. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 250 points at the opening bell.

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