As Asian stocks fell amid concern Greece will exit the European currency union, key equity benchmark indices in India slipped into the red from green in afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently trading below the psychological 28,000 level, having alternately moved above and below that psychological level so far during the day. Earlier, the Sensex had moved past the psychological mark earlier during the trading session. The Sensex was currently off 6.94 points or 0.02% at 27,880.96. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. Global crude oil prices hit 5-1/2-year low. Fall in crude oil prices augur well for India as the country imports about 80% of its crude oil requirements.
Deregulation of diesel price announced by the Indian government in October 2014 and a sharp decline in global crude oil prices over the past few months will help reduce the government's fuel subsidy burden and help contain its fiscal deficit. The steep slide in global crude oil prices will also help India in containing its current account deficit and fuel price inflation. India imports 80% of its crude oil requirement. However, a weakness in rupee against the dollar will restrict the benefit of falling global crude oil prices to that extent. A weak rupee raises the cost of imports.
Ashok Leyland rallied to record high after reporting strong sales in December 2014. Shares of biscuits major Britannia Industries also scaled record high. Shares of credit rating agencies were in demand on renewed buying. Education stocks were also in demand on renewed buying.
Earlier, the 50-unit CNX Nifty had hit 4-week high and the Sensex had hit its highest level in almost four weeks in morning trade.
Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net Rs 259.82 crore during the previous trading session on Friday, 2 January 2015, as per provisional data.
In overseas markets, Asian stocks edged lower amid concern Greece will exit the European currency union. Key equity benchmark indices in the US closed flat for the day on Friday, 2 January 2015, after giving back intraday gains following disappointing reports on US manufacturing and construction.
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In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on broad strength for the dollar.
Brent crude futures hit 5-1/2-year low as worries about a surplus of global supplies amid weak demand continued to drag on oil markets.
At 13:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 6.94 points or 0.02% at 27,880.96. The index fell 25.06 points at the day's low of 27,862.84 in afternoon trade. The index jumped 176.59 points at the day's high of 28,064.49 in morning trade, its highest level since 9 December 2014.
The CNX Nifty was down 8.15 points or 0.1% at 8,387.30. The index hit a low of 8,381.80 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 8,445.60 in intraday trade, its highest level since 8 December 2014.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 34.84 points or 0.33% at 10,565.04. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 32.31 points or 0.29% at 11,340.46. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,486 shares gained and 1,236 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1620 crore by 13:15 IST.
Ashok Leyland jumped 7.77% at Rs 57.55 after scaling a record high of Rs 58.30 in intraday trade. The company before market hours today, 5 January 2015, said its total sales rose 48% to 9,290 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) surged 85% to 7,210 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Sales of light commercial vehicles (LCV) declined 13% to 2,080 units in December 2014 over December 2013.
Shares of biscuits major Britannia Industries gained 1.81% to Rs 1,913.55 after scaling a record high of Rs 1,925 in intraday trade.
Shares of credit rating agencies were in demand on renewed buying. ICRA advanced 2.15%. CRISIL rose 0.64%.
Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) surged 5.84% to Rs 1,657 after scaling a record high of Rs 1,683.80 in intraday trade
Education stocks were in demand on renewed buying. CORE Education & Technologies (up 14.84%), Everonn Education (up 11.07%), Educomp Solutions (up 6.61%), MT Educare (up 1.03%), NIIT (up 1.11%), Zee Learn (up 3.98%) and Aptech (up 1.53%) gained.
Career Point gained 3.02% after the company said it has joined hands with Techno India Group to provide best in class tutorial services to students of various schools managed by Techno India. As per the agreement, Career Point will provide tutorial services to students of Techno India Group Public Schools (TIGPS) in class 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th students of Pre-Engineering and Pre-Medical entrance test preparation courses. The agreement is valid for five academic sessions commencing from 1 April 2015. The company made announcement during market hours today, 5 January 2015.
VA Tech Wabag rose 6.27% after the company said it has won an order worth Rs 220 crore for design and construction of a sewage treatment plant at Varanasi including operation and maintenance for ten years. VA Tech Wabag said the scope of work for the company includes design, engineering, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of the sewage treatment plant whereas the civil construction will be carried out by the joint venture partner. The announcement was made on Sunday, 4 January 2015.
B L Kashyap and Sons surged 9.24% after the company said that the proposal of the company regarding the restructuring of its debt has been approved by the CDR Empowered Group of Corporate Debt Restructuring Cell. The company is in the process of executing Master Restructuring Agreement (MRA) with the CDR lenders. The company made announcement before market hours today, 5 January 2015.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar on broad strength for the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 63.36, compared with its close of 63.29 during the previous trading session on Friday, 2 January 2015.
Brent crude futures hit 5-1/2-year low as worries about a surplus of global supplies amid weak demand continued to drag on oil markets. Brent for February settlement was off 99 cents at $55.43 a barrel. The contract had declined 91 cents or 1.6% to settle at $56.42 a barrel during the previous trading session on Friday, 2 January 2015, its lowest settlement since 30 April 2009.
Asian stocks edged lower today, 5 January 2015, amid concern Greece will exit the European currency union. Key indices in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, and Indonesia were off 0.24% to 1.24%. China's Shanghai Composite surged 3.58%.
In Japan, the final Markit/JMMA Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) came at 52 in December, slightly less than a preliminary reading of 52.1 and unchanged from the final reading in November.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 21 points at the opening bell today, 5 January 2015. US stocks ended near unchanged on Friday, 2 January 2015, with the S&P 500 down for a third session, after economic reports showed manufacturing slowing but still in expansion mode at the end of 2014. Factory activity in the United States grew at the slowest pace in six months in December 2014, weakened by declines in orders and production. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, said on Friday, 2 January 2015, that its manufacturing index fell to 55.5 in December from 58.7 in November, which was just below a three-year high reached in October.
Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota yesterday, 4 January 2015, said that the Federal Reserve should not be forced to adopt any set rules to determine how it makes monetary policy. Discretion is better than any rule, Kocherlakota said in discussing tying policy moves to data or other indicators. The Fed has information about inflation pressures that would be hard to boil down into a rule, Kocherlakota said during a talk at the American Economic Association meeting.
In Europe, Greece's political parties have embarked on a campaign for elections this month that may determine the fate of the country's membership in the euro currency area, with Der Spiegel magazine reporting German Chancellor Angela Merkel is ready to accept a Greek exit.
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