 "Sugar stocks rise in a firm market; Rupee up for fourth straight day")
After a firm opening, markets continue to remain positive in the late morning trades after the mood remained upbeat on the back of positive global cues as investors digested the impact of Paris attack. A strong rupee and positive slew of macroeconomic data boosted the sentiments.
At 11:45am, the Sensex was at 25,809 levels, up by 49 points while the Nifty is at 7,819 levels, up by 13 points. The broader markets are trading firm with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up by 0.2-0.5% each. The market breadth is strong with 1,310 advances against 954 declines on the BSE.
RUPEE
The rupee gained for a fourth straight session, trading higher at 65.94 per US dollar after India’s trade deficit narrowed down to 8-month low owing to dropping international crude oil prices.
MACRO-ECONOMIC DATA
General wholesale prices fell in October for 12th month in a row by 3.81 per cent, official data released on Monday show. It was back in 1975-76 that there was Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based deflation for a full year. It was in October 2014 that inflation was last seen, at 1.66 per cent.
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The country's merchandise exports shrank 17.53 percent in October from a year ago to $21.35 billion, government data showed on Monday, on weak global demand.
The trade deficit marginally narrowed to $9.77 billion last month from $10.48 billion in September, the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed. It was $13.5 billion in October 2014.
KEY STOCKS
The large telecom operators have decided to spend Rs 34,000 crore in the current financial year to roll out fourth-generation technology (4G) networks and boost their existing one, to address call drops. RCom, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have dropped 0.5-1%.
ICICI Bank has decided to sell a six per cent stake in its life insurance venture, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, to Premji Invest and its affiliates, and Compassvale Investments Pte, a unit of Singapore-based Temasek, for Rs 1,950 crore. The stock has dropped 0.5%.
Infosys is eyeing on prominently improving its win rates of large deals, apart from increasing its employee utilisation rates, as part of its growth execution strategy in the medium term. Infosys warned of weaker margins in the December quarter and the second half of the current financial year, weighed down mainly by lower spending by top clients due to the holiday season. The stock is down 2%.
Reliance Infrastructure would commence the Rs 1,263 crore open offer to acquire additional 26 per cent stake in Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company on December 2. However, the stock is down nearly 2%.
Haryana Industries Minister Captain Abhimanyu after meeting MD & CEO Kenichi Ayukawa suggested that Maruti Suzuki should set up a skill development centre and driving school in the state. The stock is trading flat with a negative bias.
Sugar stocks are trading higher after media reports stated that the government is planning to offer a subsidy ofRs 1,200 crore to farmers. Dhampur Sugar Mills is up 1%, Shree Renuka 9%, Bajaj Hindusthan 2.3%, EID Parry India 3.8%, Engineering and Industries 2.7%, Mawana Sugars 10%, Uttam Sugar Mills 9.3% and Oudh Sugar Mills 1%.
Food regulator FSSAI moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order lifting the ban on Maggi noodles in the country. The stock is trading with marginal losses.
Coal India has imported about five lakh tonnes of coal so far in the current fiscal for the power producers as their response has not been encouraging. Coal India is trading with marginal gains.
Arogya Finance has tied up with Dr Reddy's Laboratories for providing medical loans for treatment of Hepatitis C, according to media reports
Talwalkars Better Value Fitness has picked up a majority stake in Chennai-based firm Inshape Health and Fitnez, for an undisclosed sum, the fitness and gymnasium chain announced on Monday. The stock is down 2%.