Markets end marginally higher as metal, realty and Tata stocks rise

S&P BSE Sensex ended at 27,288 up 50 points, while Nifty50 was ruling at 8,413, up 12 points

Equity benchmarks settled on a higher note supported by metals, realty, banking & financials and Tata stocks.
 
Gains were capped by losses in IT index after Infosys cut its revenue outlook and investors remained cautious after Trump administration hinted on stricter H1B visa rules. All eyes will be on US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Friday for any clarity on his economic plans.
 
Back home, WPI inflation rose 3.39% year-on-year in December, its fastest pace in two months accelerating from 3.15% in November. GST Council will also meet today try to find the resolution to issue of administrative turf between the Centre and states, as well as definition of coastal states.

 

The S&P BSE Sensex settled the day at 27,288, up 50 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,413, up 12 points.
 
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices registered an uptick of 0.3%, and 0.6%, respectively.

"Nifty settled marginally higher in a volatile session today, mirroring the trend of the last few days. Indications are favourable for this trajectory to extend further and we expect Nifty to test 8,500 soon. But a stock specific trading approach would be more rewarding even now, considering the prevailing earnings season," said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities  in a note.

 
About 1,556 shares have advanced, 1,211 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged.
 
Meanwhile, Moody's said today that the Indian government is likely to achieve its fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent of GDP in the current fiscal but higher infrastructure spending will limit the room to reduce it further to 3% in 2017-18.

Sectors and Stocks
 
Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, SBI and Hero MotoCorp were the top gainers while Infosys, ONGC, Reliance and Sun Pharma were the biggest laggards in the Sensex.
 
Infosys fell close to 1% after the software exporter pared full-year revenue growth outlook, as it fights uncertainties in its biggest markets that could curb client spending on technology.

 
The IT index was down nearly 1% on Sensex, with losses led by Persistent systems (down 2.09%), HCL Technologies (down 1.99%), and Infosys (down 1.98%) as investors remained uncertain about Trump’s visa policies.
 
BSE Realty gained over 1.5% in an otherwise range-bound market on back of heavy volumes. DLF, Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), Unitech, Omaxe and Godrej Properties were up 0.8% to 4.3%.
 
Among banking stocks, Federal Bank, PNB, SBI, HDFC Bank and Bank of Baroda rose 0.9%-2.8%. The BSE Bankex outperformed headline indices gaining 0.9%.
 
Even though the oil & gas sector was in red, shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) were trading in green on the BSE after these companies raised petrol and diesel prices with effect from midnight of Sunday, January 15th 2017. BPCL, IOC and HPCL rose 1.6%, 0.8% and 0.3% respectively.

 
Among individual stocks, Jubilant Industries reached its record high of Rs 378, up 12% on the BSE on back of heavy volumes.
 
 
Global Markets
 
In Asia, regional share markets were hesitant, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.5%, while Shanghai shed 1.4%.
 
Nikkei share average fell on Monday to its lowest level in more than two weeks, hurt as the yen appreciated on concerns Britain might make a "hard" exit by from the European Union.
 
Japanese stocks were also hurt as the Trump trade continued to fade for the time being, with investors having become less certain about the incoming U.S. president's policies.

 
The Nikkei ended the day down 1% at 19,095.24 after brushing 19,061.27, its lowest level since Dec. 30.
 
Meanwhile, European shares rose on Monday, led higher by banks stocks, with Britain's blue chip index finishing at an all-time high after extending a record winning streak to 14 days.