Key benchmark indices moved in a narrow range as investors refrained from building large positions ahead of the outcome of the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee which concludes today, 18 September 2013, and also ahead of the mid-quarter monetary policy review by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) later this week. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 26.88 points or 0.14%, off 69.77 points from the day's high and up 55.62 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market turned negative from positive in afternoon trade.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) was off the day's high. Capital goods pivotals saw mixed trend. Shares of gold financing firms extended Tuesday's fall triggered by the Reserve Bank of India announcing tightening of rules for finance companies which lend against gold.
The market edged higher amid initial volatility. Key benchmark indices pared initial gains and swung alternately between gains and losses near the flat line in morning trade. The market hovered in green in early afternoon trade. The market was range bound in afternoon trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 318.05 crore on Tuesday, 17 September 2013, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 13:18 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 26.88 points or 0.14% to 19,830.91. The index rose 96.65 points at the day's high of 19,900.68 in early trade, its highest level since 16 September 2013. The index fell 28.74 points at the day's low of 19,775.29 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 6 points or 0.1% to 5856.20. The index hit a high of 5,877.90 in intraday trade, its highest level since 16 September 2013. The index hit a low of 5,840.20 in intraday trade.
Also Read
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive in afternoon trade. On BSE, 1,108 shares fell and 1,032 shares rose. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 836 crore by 13:20 IST.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks rose and rest of them fell. Tata Power Company (up 2.51%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.87%) and NTPC (up 1.85%) edged higher. HDFC (down 2.69%), Sesa Goa (down 1.55%) and Hero MotoCorp (down 1.27%) edged lower.
Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC rose 0.65% to Rs 340.95. The stock hit a high of Rs 343.05 and low of Rs 339.30 so far during the day. ITC's hospitality unit ITC Hotels on Monday, 16 September 2013, said it has tied up with RP Group Hotels & Resorts to manage 5 hotels in India and Dubai, under ITC Hotels' 5-star 'WelcomHotel' brand and the group's mid-market to upscale 'Fortune' brand. The tie-up has been firmed up through a Memorandum of Understanding between ITC Hotels and RP Groups Hotels & Resorts. While the two WelcomHotels are already under a management contract and will be flagged off immediately, the three Fortune hotels are a part of the signed MOU and will be launched subsequently, ITC Hotels said in a statement. As part of its expansion drive, ITC Hotels proposes to add several managed hotels to its brand portfolio, it said. On the anvil are an ITC super-premium luxury hotel in Mahabalipuram, a WelcomHotel in Jodhpur, Patna and Chandigarh and more than 30 hotels under the Fortune brand.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.83% to Rs 865.20. The stock hit a high of Rs 869.70 and low of Rs 857 so far during the day.
Capital goods pivotals saw mixed trend. L&T rose 0.89%. Bhel lost 2.23%.
Shares of gold financing firms extended Tuesday's fall triggered by the Reserve Bank of India announcing tightening of rules for finance companies which lend against gold. Muthoot Finance (down 5.41%) and Manappuram Finance (down 4.84%) edged lower.
Muthoot Finance had lost 8.28% to Rs 103.60 on Tuesday, 17 September 2013. Manappuram Finance had declined 4.62% to Rs 15.50 on Tuesday, 17 September 2013.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened rules for finance companies which lend against gold. The RBI on Monday, 16 September 2013, said lenders need to value the pledged gold at the average closing price of 22-carat gold for the preceding 30 days as quoted by the Bombay Bullion Association to arrive at the loan-to-value ratio. The ratio would remain at 60% for loans against jewellery. Currently, there is no standard method for arriving at the value of gold accepted as collateral and valuation is arbitrary and opaque, the central bank said in a notification issued late on Monday, 16 September 2013.
The central bank also streamlined the process by which lenders auction gold when a borrower defaults, saying lenders need to declare a reserve price for the pledged ornaments. Lenders would also need RBI approval to open branches exceeding 1,000. No new ones would be allowed without adequate storage facility for gold. Unbridled growth may not be in the overall interests of the concerned NBFC or the sector and there is a need for consolidation of the existing network, the central bank said.
Shriram City Union Finance (up 5.52%), Wockhardt (up 5%), L&T Finance Holdings (up 4.56%), Bajaj Finance (up 3.73%) and Financial Technologies (India) (up 3.44%) were among the top gainers from the BSE's 'A' group.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 63.125, stronger than its close of 63.37/38 on Tuesday, 17 September 2013.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cracked down on offshore foreign exchange trading by Indians through online trading websites, asking banks to report any such remittances to the regulator. In a circular issued late on Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked banks to advise customers not to undertake forex trading on foreign websites that offer currency contracts by accepting margins through credit card and online money transfer mechanisms. The RBI also asked banks to close the credit card or online bank account of a customer that is found to be in violation of the rule.
Foreign direct investment inflows into India rose an annual 12.9% to $1.66 billion in July 2013, the government said in statement released late on Tuesday, the highest monthly inflow for three months.
At its upcoming mid-quarter monetary policy review on Friday, 20 September 2013, the Reserve Bank of India will have to decide whether to give in to industry demands and lower interest rates in order to boost slowing economic growth, or leave interest rates unchanged for the third straight policy review as it guards against risks of a fresh rise in inflationary pressures.
European stock markets opened cautiously higher on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, as investors awaited the latest policy decision from the US Federal Reserve, expected to announce the beginning of tapering of its asset purchases. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up 0.03% to 0.16%.
Most Asian stocks rose on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, before the Federal Reserve decides later today whether to slow its $85 billion of monthly asset purchases. Key benchmark indices in China, Japan and Singapore rose by 0.29% to 1.35%. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Indonesia shed by 0.25% to 1.2%. South Korean stock market was closed for a holiday.
Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Wednesday, 18 September 2013. US stocks rose slightly on Tuesday on expectations the Federal Reserve will make a modest cut in its stimulative bond buying and keep interest rates extraordinarily low. A report in the US on Tuesday showed the cost of living rose less than forecast in August, with the consumer-price index increasing 0.1%, the least in three months.
Investors across the globe are eyeing the two-day policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), considered by many to provide an indication on the timing and size of the Fed's cutbacks in its bond-purchase program. The FOMC's two-day policy meeting on interest rates in the United States ends today, 18 September 2013. The US central bank currently buys $85 billion a month in US debt and mortgage-backed securities in a bid to hold interest rates low and encourage economic growth. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has on several occasions stressed that the tapering process is dependent on an improvement in data. Fed's bond-buying program has kept global markets flush with liquidity in recent years.
Investors are also eyeing Fed's forward guidance on policy. The Fed is due to offer its rate expectations for 2016, and it has previously said it wanted to see the US unemployment fall to 6.5% from its current 7.3% before it raises the benchmark fed funds rate target from its present 0-to-0.25% range.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News