Nifty below 8,400; Cipla, NTPC down 2%

Markets have erased some of the early gains on fresh selling among the power shares and defensive stocks in the noon trades. However, decline in brent crude and hopes on easing consumer inflation data  have helped the benchmark indices to hold on the gains 

 

The  Sensex surged 203.97 points or 0.73 per cent to trade at a new record-high of 28,114.03 and the Nifty hit a new life-time high of 8,407.35 in the morning trades.

 

At 2,30 PM, the Sensex is up 67 points at 27,977 whereas the Nifty is up 10 points at 8,372.

 

The broader markets are performing almost in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices have gained between 0.3-0.6%.

 

The market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,508 shares advancing and 1,426 shares declining.

 

Meanwhile, the provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours on Tuesday showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 458.04 crore on that day.

 

The rupee is trading at 61.50 vs Tuesday's close of 61.55/56. Shares will be watched for clues on foreign fund flows.

 

Brent crude dropped below $81 a barrel on Wednesday, holding just above a four-year low as concerns over a mounting oil glut outweighed geopolitical and supply disruption risks in Ukraine and Libya.

 

Global Markets:

 

Japanese stocks gained on Wednesday, as investors gave the thumbs-up to a media report that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will delay a second sales tax hike to avoiding damaging Japan's economic recovery, and call a snap election to cement his position.

 

The Nikkei benchmark closed up 0.4% at 17,197.05, its highest since October 2007.

 

China stocks were mixed on Wednesday, dragged down by weak mainland banking shares as investors took profits after a big rally on Tuesday, but Hong Kong indexes edged up on continuing strength in offshore-listed Chinese financials.

 

The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen fell 3.10 points, or 0.12%, to 2,555.51 at the end of the morning session, while the Shanghai Composite Index lost 7.51 points, or 0.3%, to 2,462.16.

 

Sectors & Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Auto index is the top gainer up 1.4% followed by Bankex up 1%. BSE FMCG, Consumer Durables and Realty indices have gained between 0.2-0.5%. However, BSE Power index is down nearly 1%. BSE Oil & Gas and Meatl indices have lost 0.3%.

 

Rate sensitive sectors like auto, banks and realty are leading the upmove, all gaining between 1-2%. However, BSE Power, Oil & Gas and Metal indices are trading marginally lower.

 

Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and Maruti Suzuki from auto sector are trading higher between 1-2.5% on the National Stock Exchange. NSE CNX Auto index hit a record high of 8,315.70 up by 1.6%.

 

SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Union Bank of India, Canara Bank, Indusind Bank and Axis Bank from banking are trading firm with gains between 1-2% each. Bank Nifty hit a record high of 17,617.60 up by 1.2%.

 

Consumer price inflation (CPI) to moderate to 5.7 per cent in January 2016, lower than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) target of 6 per cent, UBS said in a report.

 

Among the realty stocks, Anantraj, DLF and India Bulls have gained between 1-1.5%.

 

Other notable gainers are BHEL, ITC, Hindalco, Sesa Sterlite, TCS, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy’s Labs, all surging between 1-2%.

 

On the flip side, Power stocks are trading dim in today’s trade. NTPC and Tata Power have lost between 1.5-2%.

 

Engineering Conglomerate L&T has dipped 1.3% on caution ahead of the IIP data to be released later during the day.

 

RIL and GAIL are trading lower by 0.5% on decline in crude oil prices.

 

Fresh selling is evident among the defensive stocks. HUL, Sun Pharma, Wipro, Infosys and Cipla have dropped between 0.3-2% on profit taking.