A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed gains after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The Sensex was up 130.91 points or 0.62%, off close to 30 points from the day's high and up about 90 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Thursday, 26 December 2013. Gains in Asian and European stocks also boosted sentiment on the domestic bourses.
IT stocks rose after the latest data showed US jobless claims fell last week. Infosys scaled record high. Realty stocks extended their recent gains triggered by ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC cutting interest rates on home loans last week.
Asian and European stocks edged higher on Friday, 27 December 2013, as improved economic data sent US stocks surging overnight.
The market edged higher in early trade on firm Asian stocks. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices regained strength after trimming initial gains in morning trade. Firmness continued on the bourses in mid-morning trade. Key benchmark indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. The Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit their highest level in more than two weeks. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains in mid-afternoon trade.
The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Thursday, 26 December 2013. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 743.70 crore on Thursday, 26 December 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 14:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 130.91 points or 0.62% to 21,205.50. The index jumped 160.55 points at the day's high of 21,235.14 in mid-afternoon trade, its highest level since 10 December 2013. The index gained 38.66 points at the day's low of 21,113.25 in early trade.
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The CNX Nifty was up 33.95 points or 0.54% to 6,312.85. The index hit a high of 6,324.90 in intraday trade, its highest level since 11 December 2013. The index hit a low of 6,289.40 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,312 shares gained and 1,108 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 stocks gained and rest of them declined. Hindustan Unilever (up 1.02%), Cipla (up 1.1%) and Sesa Sterlite (up 1%) gained.
Realty stocks extended their recent gains triggered by ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC cutting interest rates on home loans last week. The reduction in home loan rates by these three major lenders could lead to a revival of interest in the real estate sector, which has been hit by high prices amid a sluggish economy. Purchases of both residential and commercial property are largely driven by finance. DLF (up 1.5%), Unitech (up 0.64%), Godrej Properties (up 0.06%) and Parsvnath Developers (up 0.38%) gained. Sobha Developers fell 0.06%.
IT stocks rose after the latest data showed US jobless claims fell last week. US is the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. Tech Mahindra (up 1.73%), and Wipro (up 1.31%) gained.
TCS rose 3.2%, with the stock extending intraday gains.
Infosys rose 1.38% to Rs 3,564 after hitting record high of Rs 3,570 in intraday trade.
HCL Technologies fell 0.02%.
Shares of Polaris Financial Technology surged after the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) quashed and set aside a Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) order that barred Polaris Financial Technology chairman Arun Jain from market activities on charges of insider trading. The stock was up 3.96%. Jain filed an appeal before the appellate body. A 23 December SAT order said, "In view of peculiar facts of present case, without going into the merits of the case and without giving any reasons, impugned order dated October 9, 2012 may be set aside." It may be recalled that Sebi had in October 2012 barred Jain from market activities on charges of insider trading for a period of two years. The incident dates back to 2000.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar on global risk on sentiment. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.92, compared with its close of 62.16/17 on Thursday, 26 December 2013.
European stocks rose on Friday, 27 December 2013, after US jobless claims dropped more than forecast and as markets reopen after the Christmas holiday. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK were up 0.57% to 0.76%.
Asian stocks edged higher on Friday, 27 December 2013, as improved economic data sent US stocks surging overnight. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore were up 0.03% to 0.61%.
Chinese shares rose after money-market rates posted the biggest decline since February 2011. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index was up 1.36%. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was up 0.27%.
China data today, 27 December 2013, showed industrial companies' profits rose 9.7% from a year earlier in November, compared with a 15.1% jump in October.
Japan's inflation accelerated to the fastest pace since 2008 last month, bringing the rate closer to policy makers' target while threatening to erode household spending power unless employers boost wages. Prices excluding fresh food rose 1.2% from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said today in Tokyo.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could drop 13 points at the opening bell on Friday, 27 December 2013. US stocks extended all-time highs on Thursday as a drop in jobless claims fueled optimism in the economy. Fewer Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the US labor market is improving. Jobless claims declined by 42,000 to 338,000 in the week ended Dec. 21, a Labor Department report showed in Washington. US consumer confidence climbed last week to a four-month high as an improving job market and holiday discounts put Americans in the mood to shop.
US President Barack Obama on Thursday signed a compromise budget that reduces the risk of another government shutdown and a defense bill that cracks down on sexual assault in the military and smooths the path for transferring detainees from the US prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The two-year US budget agreement, negotiated by Congress earlier this month, and the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2104 were among seven pieces of legislation signed by Obama, who is vacationing with his family in Hawaii. The US Senate passed the budget deal on December 18 to ease automatic spending cuts and reduce the risk of a government shutdown. It was negotiated by Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington state and Paul Ryan, Republican from Wisconsin, who is chairman of the House Budget Committee. The Senate approved the annual defense policy bill on December 20, one of its final actions before leaving for the Christmas break. The act authorizes a Pentagon base budget of $526.8 billion in the 2014 fiscal year. That amount will have to be reconciled early in the new year with the $498 billion agreed to in the budget deal.
The US Federal Reserve said after a two-day monetary policy review on 18 December 2013 that it will cut its monthly bond purchases to $75 billion from $85 billion starting in January 2014 amid an improved outlook for the job market in the world's largest economy. The US central bank is poised to continue winding down its stimulus measures gradually over the next year.
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