After having slipped into the negative zone in late morning trades, the markets are trading near their day highs led by gains in capital goods, FMCG and select bank shares. The BSE Sensex is 16,903, up 40 points at and the Nifty is at 5,134, up 18 points.
So far, the BSE benchmark index had touched the day's high at 16,910 while the Nifty touched a high of 5,139.
In Asia, gains in a few large cap stocks boosted Japan's Nikkei share average on Wednesday, but the broader market was weak as investors remained concerned about Spain's struggle to finance its debt and looming elections in Greece. The Nikkei is currently at 8,588, up 0.60%. The Shanghai Composite index has advanced 1.19% and the Hang Seng index is up 0.36%.
Meanwhile, the rupee failed to maintain initial gains against the dollar and was down 10 paise at 55.90 on fresh demand for the American currency from banks and its firming in the overseas market. The rupee resumed higher at 55.75 per dollar as against 55.80 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market on mild selling of dollars from banks.
Among the Sensex 30 stocks, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma Industries, BHEL and ICICI Bank, up 1-2% each, are the prominent gainers. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is trading higher by 2% at Rs 441, also its lifetime high market price in an otherwise subdued market on the National Stock Exchange. A combined 1.18 million shares have changed hands on the counter till noon deals on both the exchanges. The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stock is outperforming the market by rising 6% since the announcement of Q4 earnings on April 30, compared to 3% drop in the benchmark Sensex.
Back home, on the sectoral front, BSE Auto index is leading the losses, down 1.42%. Shares of automobiles companies are under pressure on reports that the government may impose a special tax on diesel cars. According to media reports, the government plans to impose additional levies of 170,000 rupees on small diesel cars and 255,000 rupees on medium and large diesel vehicles such as sedans and SUVs. The notable losers from the space are Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors, down 1-3% each.
BSE Consumer Durables, Realty and Oil & Gas indices are also in the negative terrain.
BSE Capital Goods, Healthcare, FMCG and IT indices are among the ones leading the gains, up nearly 1% each.
Among the Sensex 30 stocks, Hindustan Unilever, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma Industries, BHEL and ICICI Bank, up 1-2% each, are the prominent gainers. Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is trading higher by 2% at Rs 441, also its lifetime high market price in an otherwise subdued market on the National Stock Exchange. A combined 1.18 million shares have changed hands on the counter till noon deals on both the exchanges. The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stock is outperforming the market by rising 6% since the announcement of Q4 earnings on April 30, compared to 3% drop in the benchmark Sensex.
In the capital goods space, power equipment makers L&T was up over 3% while BHEL was up over 1% after the government's initiative for expansion of power capacity by 18,000MW.
Reliance Communications (RCom) has moved higher by 3.2% to Rs 69 after the company said that on June 12, 2012 the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited granted an “eligibility to list” to the business trust, subject to the requisite conditions being satisfied. “On April 10, 2012, RCom announced that it was evaluating a potential initial public offering and listing in Singapore of its subsea telecommunications infrastructure network business, through a Singapore business trust,” the Anil Ambani led company said in a filing.
The overall market breadth is positive as 1,367 stocks have advanced against 1,038 declining ones, on the BSE.