The markets are going strong this morning on the back of strength in ITC and RIL. The Sensex is within teasing distance of the 17700 mark at 17690, higher by 140 points and the Nifty is at Nifty is at 5,313, up 35 points. The broader markets are, however, trading in the negative territory; the midcap index is down five points and smallcap index is down 23 points.
The benchark indices had edged lower in opening trades after an uneventful closing on Wednesday. The US markets had dropped overnight in the absence of any positive comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke; The Dow had slid 0.6% and Nasdaq had lost 0.6%. And Asia had also started on a wrong foot, with Hang Seng shedding nearly 0.7% and the likes of Seoul Composite and Taiwan losing 0.5% each. But while those Asian indices remain in a state of stupor, the bourses back home have overcome their 2-day lethargy, atleast for now, on the back of a rebound on the RIL counter after the disappointing close in the previous session and continuation of the momentum on ITC. Infact, ITC was the only counter to buck the weak trend in the FMCG space on Wednesday after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) prediction that the southwest monsoons would be below normal.
ITC has strengthened by 2.3% at Rs 189 to top the gainers list on the BSE and RIL has jmped 2% at Rs 869. And RCom, Jaiprakash Associates and Sterlite have gained inthe region of 1%-2% each.
On the other hand, Maruti has shed 1.6% at Rs 1100, its lowest since July 2009, on concerns that the 13-day work stoppage at the company’s Manesar plant will have an impact on its sales, especially those of its best selling models, Swift, Dzire and SX4. Cipla, BHEL and Bajaj Auto are the other significant losers.
The market breadth is extremely negative, with only around 1047 stocks advancing against 1,320 declining.