Benchmark shares indices ended marginally higher, snapping a 2-day decline, amid a volatile trading session on Friday led by gains in index heavyweight Reliance Industries and fast moving consumer goods shares.
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended at 15,885 up 28 points and the 50-share Nifty ended at 4,761 up 11 points.
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(Updated at 14:37hrs)
Markets trimmed losses in afternoon trades and entered the green, led by Reliance Industries and firm European cues with the BSE Sensex marginally higher at 15,870, up 13 points and the Nifty at 4,758, up 8 points. In Euorope, CAC, DAX and FTSE are up by nearly 1%.
The Indian stock markets had opened marginally lower tracking weak global cues and the Sensex had touched a low of 15,822.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei share average slipped more than 1%, backing further away from its 25-day moving average as investors fretted over the euro zone debt crisis and weakness in the single currency. The Nikkei fell 1.2 percent to 8,390.35, declining
below its 25-day moving average at 8,500, and marking a 0.8 percent loss for the week. Hang Seng index ended lower by 1.2% at 18,593 while the Shanghai Composite index ended at 2,163, higher by nearly 1%.
According to Salil Sharma, technical analyst, partner kapursharma.com, "The Nifty has been moving in the range of 4700-4800 for the past few trading sessions. The 20 DMA of the Nifty is at 4725 and the Nifty movement has confirmed a breakout above this average."
"A close below 4700 will be bearish and would take the Nifty down to its supports at 4639 and 4580. A close above 4800 would imply a higher top and bottom keeping the intermediate trend up," suggests Sharma.
On the sectoral front, BSE Oil & Gas index is at 7,662, up 1%.
BSE Bankex is at 9,737, up nearly 1%. HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bak of India, up 1-2% each, are the notable gainers.
BSE Capital Goods is leading the losses, having shed nearly 2%.
Crompton Greaves, Punj Llyod, BHEL, Usha Martin and Lakshmi Machine Works, down 2-3% each, are the notable gainers from the Capital Goods' space.
BSE Power, Metal, Consumer Durables, Auto and IT indices are also in the red, down 1% each.
Hero MotoCorp, JP Associates, Bharti Airtel, BHEL and Tata Power, down 3-4% each, are the notable losers among the Sensex 30 stocks. Reliance Industries has shed 1% at Rs 709 and is the most prominent gainer on the Sensex. Other prominent gainers from the pack are Maruti Suzuki, Hindalco Industries, HDFC Bank and Sterlite Industries.
Among the individual shares, shares of telecom companies are under pressure on the bourses ahead of Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) hearing on the third-generation (3G) roaming case due Monday.
PG Electroplast has slipped 5% to Rs 122, its lowest level since its listing on September 2011, after four non executive independent directors of the company resigned from the board, over the allegations contained in the exparte order passed by market
Kingfisher Airlines has plunged 11% to Rs 18.25 in morning trades after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has given the company three days time (till Monday) to come back with a detailed plan of financial recovery and safety.
Shares of companies engaged in retail business have rallied on the bourses on reports that the government will issue a formal order to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail. Pantaloon Retail, Shoppers Stop, Vishal Retail and Koutons Retail are trading higher by 5%-15% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
The trading volumes on these counters more than doubled, as compared to an average trading volume in past ten trading days. “The government is likely to soon issue a formal order for the full opening up of the country’s single-brand retail segment to foreign direct investment,” a report suggests quoting PK Chaudhary, secretary at the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion.