Markets open on a cautious note; Oil shares gain

Markets have opened tad higher shrugging off weakness in the global markets and Reserve Bank of India's neutral stance on key policy rates. However, China’s steady official PMI data has boosted the sentiments of the market participants.

 

At 9:35AM, the 30-share Sensex is up 9 points at 26,639 and 50-share Nifty is up 2 points at 7,966.
 

However, the broader markets have opened in green with the midcap index up 0.1% and the smallcap index up 0.3%.

 

Global Markets:

 

Asian shares got off on the back foot on Wednesday as continued civil unrest in Hong Kong sapped confidence, while the dollar index was in sight of a four-year high after marking its best quarterly gain in six years.

 

Trading in Asia was expected to be more subdued than usual, with China closed for National Day and investors warily monitoring developments in Hong Kong's pro-democracy unrest, as thousands of protesters stepped up pressure on the city's pro-Beijing government.

 

US stocks slipped on Tuesday, dragged down by energy and materials shares as economic data disappointed.

 

Major indexes also posted losses for the month, but ended the quarter with gains.

 

US consumer confidence fell in September for the first time in five months and home prices in July rose less than expected from a year earlier, underscoring the unsteady nature of U.S. growth. Analysts are skeptical of how many more gains are in store for the market this year.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.17%, to 17,043, the S&P 500 lost 0.28%, to 1,972 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.28%, to 4,493.
 

Sectors & stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Consumer Durables is the top gainer up nearly 1% followed by Healthcare, Auto, IT and Metal indices up between 0.2-1%. However, Realty, FMCG and Oil & Gas indices are losing sheen on the BSE. Bankex is trading 0.3% lower.

 

Auto shares are trading mixed ahead of the release of September sales numbers starting today. Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto are up 1.3% and 0.5% each. However, Maruti Suzuki is down 0.5%. The company will recall 69,555 units of the Dzire, Swift and Ritz models manufactured between March 2010 and August 2013 to repair wiring harness fitment.

 

Pharma shares are trading higher on renewed buying. Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy’s Lab and Cipla have gained between 0.3-1.5%.
 

Brent tumbled to its lowest since July 2012 while benchmark US oil also recorded a heavy fall on Tuesday, amid further signs of excess oil crude supplies on both sides of the Atlantic.
 

ICE November Brent, the international oil benchmark, fell 2.8 per cent to $94.47 after hitting an intraday level of $94.24 – the lowest in more than two years.
 

Thus, oil marketing companies like IOC, HPCL, BPCL have cut petrol prices by 65 paise per litre and are trading higher between 0.5-1%.
 

In the technology pack, TCS and Wipro have gained 0.5%  each.

 

Sesa Sterlite, NTPC and ICICI Bank are aome of the notable names in green among others and are up between 0.5-1%.

 

On the flip side, financial stocks are trading lower after Reserve Bank of India's neutral stance on key policy rates. Axis Bank, SBI and HDFC twins have lost between 0.3-0.6%.

 

ITC and HUL are down on profit booking and are trading lower by 0.5% and 0.3% each.

The market breadth is positive on the BSE with 992 shares advancing and 582 shares declining.