)
Markets gained ground in opening moves on Wednesday with the benchmark indices – the S&P BSE Sensex and the CNX Nifty gaining around 0.5% each to 28,500 and 8,615 levels. However, market participants are likely to remain cautious ahead of a meeting of euro area finance ministers on Wednesday to renegotiate Greece’s bailout package.
Meanwhile, investors, who had feared a victory for the anti-establishment party would further spook the markets, took AAP’s victory in their stride. Analysts said defeat in the Delhi polls would spur the central government to boost capital spending and announce a reform-oriented Budget later this month.
“Going forward, we maintain our view that so long as the Nifty sustains below the 8650 mark, the index is likely to remain under pressure and hence, can slide towards 8,450 – 8,400 levels,” points out a morning note from Angel Broking
Among the S&P BSE Sensex stocks, Axis Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Coal India, Tata Power and TCS gained 1% - 2.3%. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) also moved up 2.1% in opening deals to Rs 1,607 on reports that the company is set to bag Rs 40,000 crore order in a consortium with Bharat Electronics (BEL).
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Cipla, Infosys and Gail (India) are among the top Sensex losers that slipped 0.7% to 0.9%.
Gains are also visible in the mid-and small-cap segment with the S&P BSE Mid-cap index and S&P BSE Small-cap index moving up around 0.8% each. Fortis Healthcare, NBCC, India Cements, Religare Enterprises, J&K Bank, JK Paper, Texmaco Infrastructure & Holdings and Rolta India are some of the stocks in these segments that have gained ground in morning deals.
BPCL, Alok Industries, Escorts, Chennai Petroleum, Godrej Ind., IL&FS Engineering, India Cements, NCC, PFC, Power Grid Corporation and Syndicate Bank are likely to announce their December quarter results today.
GLOBAL MARKETS:
Asian stock markets were subdued on Wednesday while major currencies barely budged as looming euro zone meetings to discuss the Greek debt crisis overshadowed a firmer finish on Wall Street.
Shares in Shanghai edged up 0.2% as pressure grew for more stimulus after a very low reading on inflation stirred fears of deflation. China's central bank on Tuesday said it was ready to fight a downturn, while not taking excessive risks with credit creation.
The Dow ended up 0.79%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.07 percent and the Nasdaq 1.3%.
