Key benchmark indices hovered in positive terrain in early trade. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged higher. The S&P BSE Sensex was up 30.13 points or 0.15%, up close to 15 points from the day's low and off about 65 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. Capital goods pivotals rose. Realty stocks edged higher on bargain hunting after recent losses.
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 9:30 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 30.13 points or 0.15% to 19,834.16. The index rose 96.65 points at the day's high of 19,900.68 in early trade. The index gained 15.32 points at the day's low of 19,819.35 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 7.10 points or 0.12% to 5,857.30. The index hit a high of 5,877.90 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,853.45 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 525 shares rose and 254 shares fell. A total of 54 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 23 stocks rose and rest of them fell. Tata Motors (up 1.3%), Wipro (up 1.21%) and Bajaj Auto (up 1.13%), edged higher.
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Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC rose 0.66%, with the stock extending Tuesday's gain. 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.
Capital goods pivotals rose. Bhel (up 0.33%) and L&T (up 0.96%), rose.
Realty stocks edged higher on bargain hunting after recent losses. HDIL (up 0.73%), Unitech (up 0.58%), D B Realty (up 0.36%) and DLF (up 1.4%), gained.
Foreign direct investment inflows into India rose an annual 12.9% in July to $1.66 billion, the government said in statement released late on Tuesday, the highest monthly inflow for three months.
The government said on Tuesday that to protect the interests of small artisans, the customs duty on articles of jewellery and of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof is being increased from 10% to 15%. A notification notifying the revised rates of customs duty on articles of jewellery and of goldsmiths' or silversmiths' wares and parts thereof has been issued on Tuesday. As part of measures to contain the current account deficit, the customs duty on gold has been revised upwards periodically in the past two years. The government said jewellery making is a labour intensive industry. Millions of artisans are dependent on this sector for their livelihood. In the absence of any duty differential between articles of jewellery and primary metal, which was 8% in the case of gold jewellery and 4% in the case of silver jewellery in January 2012, there is an apprehension that Indian jewellery makers would not be able to compete with cheaper imports, particularly when majority of the imported jewellery is machine-made as compared to handmade jewellery in India.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reportedly 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.
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.
Most Asian stocks fell on Wednesday amid prospects the Federal Reserve will announce today whether it intends to pare back economic stimulus. Key benchmark indices in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indonesia shed by 0.07% to 0.72%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore and Japan rose by 0.58% to 1.85%. South Korea's stock markets were closed for a holiday.
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 U.S. 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, Labor Department figures showed.
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.
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