After taking a two-day break, bulls re-entered the market today buoyed by good results from Maruti Suzuki India and ITC.
The country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, posted a 25 per cent growth in its first quarter profits, largely due to higher exports and demand for new hatchback. ITC, the largest cigarette maker, also posted better-than-expected results.
Among other major companies, ACC’s quarterly profits rose 84.64 per cent and Marico’s profits climbed 20.91 per cent. Bharti Airtel was the only disappointment as it missed analyst estimates.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, surged 387.92 points, or 2.61 per cent, to 15,231.04, the highest in a month. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 124.85 points, or 2.84 per cent, to 4,523.75.
“International markets were quite buoyant. Domestically, the mood improved considerably because of corporate results and growth of 6.5 per cent in the six core industries. Consequently, IIP numbers are expected to be better next month,” said V K Sharma, director and head of research, Anagram Capital.
US markets were largely flat yesterday. The Nasdaq registered its 11th straight daily gain of 0.53 per cent, buoyed by good profits from Apple and Starbucks Corporation. The Dow Jones was down 34.68 points, or 0.39 per cent.
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Stock markets in Asia were quite positive today. The Hang Seng climbed 2.8 per cent, led by financial shares. Japan’s Nikkei-225 was up 1.17 per cent, extending its advance to a seventh day, as the yen weakened against the dollar, thereby raising earnings outlook for car and electronics makers.
The market breadth was mostly positive. While 1,803 stocks advanced, 835 stocks declined and 80 remained unchanged.
All the sectoral indices were in the green today. The realty index rose 5.08 per cent, while the consumer durables and metals indices were up over 4 per cent. Among the Sensex stocks, the rally was led by Reliance Infrastructure, which rose 6.91 per cent. DLF, Maruti Suzuki and Hindalco all climbed by over 6 per cent.