A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices regained positive terrain after slipping into the red in mid-afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 11.13 points or 0.05%, up about 35 points from the day's low and off close to 220 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive.
IT stocks edged lower as the rupee edged higher against the dollar. Realty stocks reversed intraday gains in choppy trade.
The market edged higher in early trade on firm Asian stocks. The Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit new record high. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains in morning trade. The Sensex fell below the psychological 22,000 mark after hitting record high above that level in early trade. The Sensex further trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. The Sensex retained positive zone in early afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices regained positive terrain after slipping into the red in mid-afternoon trade.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 982.19 crore on Friday, 14 March 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The stock market was closed on Monday, 17 March 2014, on account of Holi.
At 14:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 11.13 points or 0.05% to 21,820.93. The index jumped 230.92 points at the day's high of 22,040.72 in early trade, a new record high for the barometer index. The index lost 24.42 points at the day's low of 21,785.38 in mid-afternoon trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 1.95 points or 0.03% to 6,506.15. The index hit a high of 6,574.95 in intraday trade, a new record high. The index hit a low of 6,497.65 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 48.35 points or 0.73% at 6,704.53. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 40.90 points or 0.62% at 6,668.58. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
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The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,400 shares rose and 1,258 shares fell. A total of 187 shares were unchanged.
Tata Motors (down 2.54%), L&T (down 1.63%) and HDFC (down 1.69%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
IT stocks edged lower as rupee edged higher against the dollar. A firm rupee adversely affects operating profit margins of IT firms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (down 0.66%) and Wipro (down 1.07%) declined. HCL Technologies was flat. Tech Mahindra rose 0.57%.
Infosys dropped 0.87%, with the stock reversing intraday gains. The company announced on Monday, 17 March 2014, that it has been selected by Volvo Cars as a strategic supplier to provide application development services for its global operations. This agreement builds on the long-standing relationship as Infosys has been supporting Volvo Cars since 2010 to rationalize and integrate its enterprise systems.
As part of the new agreement, Infosys will bring its proven global service delivery experience and ability to drive innovation and transformation- efficiently and effectively. It will develop applications to support multiple domains, including marketing and sales, customer service, manufacturing, product development, and corporate functions and deploy best practices specifically related to business process harmonization and delivery excellence, across transformation projects.
Nitesh Bansal, Vice President Manufacturing Europe, Infosys said, "we will be a strategic supplier for Volvo Cars to deliver excellence and innovation to transform their IT landscape to a modern architecture. We are very pleased to collaborate with Volvo Cars in their strategic journey. We have an industry heritage, deep automotive expertise, and established track record of delivering that leaves us well positioned to be a strategic supplier to Volvo Cars. This agreement also reflects our strategic focus on the Nordic market and strengthens our presence in Sweden."
Separately, Infosys said after market hours on Friday, 14 March 2014, that the US District of Columbia has extended its contract with Infosys Public Services, a US-based subsidiary of Infosys. Earlier, the District signed a $49.5 million agreement with Infosys Public Services in January 2013 to develop its Health Insurance Marketplace, the DC Health Link. One of the first state-based marketplaces to be operational as scheduled on 1 October 2013, DC Health Link offers health insurance options to over half a million residents and small businesses.
Under the new agreement, Infosys Public Services will modernize the legacy eligibility system and additional federal and local health and social programs for the US District of Columbia. Infosys Public Services will leverage the foundational capabilities developed in 2013 to enable the District's agencies to collaborate with their constituents to achieve sustainable health and social benefit outcomes.
Eric Paternoster, President and Chief Executive Officer, Infosys Public Services, Inc. said, The District is a leader in implementing the new healthcare insurance mandates and insurance marketplace. We're excited to continue our partnership with the District on this important healthcare program.
Cairn India rose 0.95%. Cairn Energy PLC today, 18 March 2014, said it has suspended a share buyback program until the position regarding its interest in Cairn India is resolved. In January 2014, Cairn Energy received a request from the Indian income tax department for information relating to its 2006 reorganization, which was compliant with tax legislation in place at the time. The Indian income tax department has cited legislation introduced in 2012 as the reason for these enquiries. About 10% residual shareholding in Cairn India (CIL) valued at about $1 billion as on 31 December 2013 which, while interactions are ongoing with the Indian Income Tax Department, Cairn is not able to sell, Cairn Energy PLC said.
Realty stocks reversed intraday gains in choppy trade. DLF (down 2.57%), Sobha Developers (down 2.08%), Housing Development & Infrastructure (down 1.74%) and Unitech (down 0.57%) declined.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.08, compared with its close of 61.19/20 on Friday, 14 March 2014. Indian financial markets were closed on Monday, 17 March 2014, on account of Holi.
The government has extended the last date for payment of final installment of advance tax for financial year 2013-14 to 18 March from 15 March earlier. "To facilitate payment of final installment of advance tax for the financial year 2013-14, the Central Board of Direct taxes (CBDT) has issued an order to extend the time limit to make such payments of advance tax, from 15 March to 18 March," the finance ministry said in a statement.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday, 14 March 2014, said it has completed a switch operation of Government of India securities, wherein swapping of securities from 2014-15 and 2015-16 maturity buckets for a face value of about Rs 4400 crore to a longer tenor security, was conducted with an institutional investor on 13 March 2014. It may be recalled that a similar switch operation for a face value of about Rs 27000 crore was conducted with another institutional investor in the last week of January 2014 and hence, the aggregate face value of securities swapped to a longer tenor security in these two operations amounted to about Rs 31000 crore in 2013-14 so far, the RBI said. The Union Budget 2013-14 has provided Rs 50000 crore for buyback/switching.
The Reserve Bank of India next undertakes monetary policy review on 1 April 2014. Citing price pressures, the Reserve Bank of India raised its key lending rates by 25 basis points after Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 on 28 January 2014.
The next major trigger for the stock market is the outcome of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Lok Sabha elections will be held between 7 April 2014 and 12 May 2014 in nine phases. The counting of votes will be take place on 16 May 2014. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31. Along with the Lok Sabha election, Andhra Pradesh (AP), including the regions comprising Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect new assemblies. AP, Odisha and Sikkim assemblies come to end on June 2, June 7 and May 7 respectively.
European stocks edged lower on Tuesday, 18 March 2014, as investors waited for the German ZEW data to be released midmorning and continued to monitor developments in Ukraine. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK shed 0.21% to 0.66%.
UK Foreign Secretary William Hague urged Russia to begin talks with Ukraine to resolve the issue over Crimea and said "continuing to ignore those calls will bring serious consequences for Russia." The EU and the US on Monday, 17 March 2014, imposed visa bans and asset freezes on Russian and Crimean officials linked to the unrest in the region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he supported a request from Ukraine's Crimean region to join Russia. He will address Russian lawmakers and regional leaders at 3 p.m. in Moscow today, 18 March 2014. Crimea voted on 16 March 2014 to join Russia.
Asian stocks edged higher on Tuesday, 18 March 2014, as an improvement in US factory output boosted optimism for the world's biggest economy. Key benchmark indices in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and China rose 0.08% to 0.94%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore and Indonesia fell 0.16% to 1.19%.
New-home price growth in China slowed last month, led by the four Chinese cities the government defines as first tier, amid tighter credit to rein in excessive borrowing and individual city measures to curb property prices.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 7 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 18 March 2014. US stocks surged on Monday, 17 March 2014, as investors shrugged off the narrow scope of EU and US sanctions following the vote in Crimea in favor of leaving Ukraine. Industrials and technology stocks lead broad-based gains after better-than-expected economic data, including industrial production and manufacturing activity in the New York region. However, stocks rose amid the lowest trading volumes this year.
Factory production in the US rose in February by the most in six months, indicating the industry started to recover from severe winter weather. The 0.8% gain at manufacturers followed a revised 0.9% slump in the prior month that was the biggest since May 2009, figures from the Federal Reserve showed. A separate gauge of manufacturing in the New York area rose less than forecast last month, climbing to 5.61 from 4.48. Separately, a gauge of confidence among home builders ticked up in March, but remained close to the lowest level since May and signaled that builders, generally, are pessimistic about sales trends.
A two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) for monetary policy review begins today, 18 March 2014. After a monetary policy review, the FOMC on 29 January 2014 announced it will reduce monthly bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion.
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