After fluctuating between gains and losses, key benchmark indices managed to end slightly higher as gains in European stocks supported domestic bourses. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell below the psychological 20,000 mark, having alternately moved above and below that level in intraday trade. A steep slide had pushed the Sensex below the 20,000 mark on Monday, 23 September 2013. The Sensex today garnered 19.25 points or 0.1%, up close to 137 points from the day's low and off about 130 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative.
Indian stocks snapped two-day losing streak today, 24 September 2013. The market had witnessed a steep slide recently after the Reserve Bank of India, in a surprise decision, raised its key policy rate viz. the repo rate by 25 basis points after a monetary policy review on 20 September 2013 and as the central bank retained hawkish tone in the latest monetary policy. The Sensex had fallen 745.68 points or 3.61% in two trading sessions to settle at 19,900.96 on Monday, 23 September 2013, from a recent high of 20,646.64 on 19 September 2013.
The Sensex has gained 1,300.49 points or 6.98% in September 2013 so far (till 24 September 2013). The Sensex has risen 493.50 points or 2.54% in calendar 2013 so far (till 24 September 2013). From a 52-week high of 20,739.69 on 19 September 2013, the Sensex has declined 819.48 points or -3.95%. From a 52-week low of 17,448.71 on 28 August 2013, the Sensex has risen 2,471.50 points or 14.16%.
Coming back to today's trade, IT stocks edged lower in choppy trade. Auto stocks gained on renewed buying. Capital goods pivotals edged higher in choppy trade. Pharma stocks were mixed, with Dr Reddy's Laboratories hitting record high.
The market may remain volatile in the near future as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month September 2013 series to October 2013 series. The September 2013 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, 26 September 2013.
The S&P BSE Sensex rose 19.25 points or 0.10% to settle at 19,920.21, its highest closing level since 20 September 2013. The index jumped 149.46 points at the day's high of 20,050.42 in morning trade. The index declined 118.18 points at the day's low of 19,782.78 in early trade, its lowest level since 18 September 2013.
The CNX Nifty rose 2.70 points or 0.05% to 5,892.45, its highest closing level since 20 September 2013. The index hit a high of 5,938.40 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 5,854.55 in intraday trade, its lowest level since 18 September 2013.
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The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.08%. The BSE Small-Cap index fell 0.02%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,168 shares dropped and 1,147 shares rose. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 1569 crore, lower than Rs 1798.18 crore on Monday, 23 September 2013.
Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, the S&P BSE Metal index (down 1%), the S&P BSE PSU index (down 0.53%), the S&P BSE IT index (down 0.46%), the S&P BSE Teck index (down 0.46%), the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (down 0.38%), the S&P BSE Realty index (down 0.31%), the S&P BSE Bankex (down 0.28%) and the S&P BSE FMCG index (up 0.01%), underperformed the Sensex.
The S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 0.22%), the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (up 0.23%), the S&P BSE Power index (up 0.78%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 1.05%) and the S&P BSE Auto index (up 1.05%), outperformed the Sensex.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 stocks fell and rest of them rose.
Oil India fell 3.2% to Rs 465.40. The company said at the fag end of the trading sessions today, 24 September 2013, that the company has got a rating of Baa2, Outlook Stable in its maiden International Credit Rating evaluation by Moody's.
NTPC gained 1.72%. The company said during market hours today, 24 September 2013, that the Government of India has paid Rs 536.30 crore to NTPC towards the settlement of claims recoverable in respect of expenditure incurred on Loharinag-pala Hydro Power Project.
IT stocks edged lower in choppy trade. HCL Technologies fell 1.71% to Rs 1,074. The stock reversed direction after hitting record high of Rs 1,104.30 in intraday trade.
TCS shed 0.78%. Infosys dropped 0.13%.
Wipro fell 1.14%, with the stock reversing intraday gains. Wipro becomes a part of the 50-unit CNX Nifty with effect from Friday, 27 September 2013. The IT major replaces Reliance Infrastructure in Nifty.
Capital goods pivotals edged higher in choppy trade. L&T rose 1.82%. Bhel gained 1.12%.
Among other capital goods shares, ALSTOM India (up 1.94%), AIA Engineering (up 1.29%), Havells India (up 0.29%), Punj Lloyd (up 0.22%), Siemens (up 0.16%) and SKF India (up 0.01%), edged higher.
However, Alstom T&D India (down 3.04%), Crompton Greaves (down 2.59%), Jindal Saw (down 2.11%), Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Company (down 1.41%), Bharat Electronics (down 1.31%), Thermax (down 1.07%), Praj Industries (down 0.82%), ABB (down 0.75%), BEML (down 0.42%) and Lakshmi Machine Works (down 0.21%), declined.
Auto stocks gained on renewed buying. Ashok Leyland (up 7.93%), Eicher Motors (up 5.82%) and Tata Motors (up 0.76%), edged higher. Car major Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.3%.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.38%. M&M announced during trading hours on Monday, 23 September 2013, the appointment of Dr. Pawan Goenka to the board of the company as Executive Director (ED), the first ED appointment to the board since 1992. He has been designated Executive Director and President (Automotive & Farm Equipment Sectors), with effect from Monday, 23 September 2013.
Two-wheeler stocks rose on expectations of pick up in sales during the upcoming festive season and on hopes good rains this year will boost rural sales. The festive season starts with the Durga Puja in October. The festival is followed by Dussehra and Diwali. TVS Motor Company advanced 3.72%, Bajaj Auto gained 2.73% and Hero MotoCorp gained 0.25%.
Pharma stocks were mixed. IPCA Laboratories (up 2.07%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.80%), Cipla (up 1.21%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.02%), Biocon (up 0.99%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.66%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.38%), Wockhardt (up 0.27%) and Strides Arcolab (up 0.15%), edged higher.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories rose 0.68% to Rs 2,397 after hitting record high of Rs 2,418.60 in intraday trade.
Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 1.07%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.64%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.40%), edged lower.
Lupin fell 0.02%, with the stock reversing intraday gain. The company announced after market hours on Monday, 23 September 2013, that it has signed a strategic co-promotion agreement with US-based Onset Dermatologics, LLC (Onset) that grants Lupin exclusive rights to promote Onset's Locoid Lotion (hydrocortisone butyrate 0.1%) to Pediatricians in the US. Locoid is the most highly prescribed mid-potency steroid brand in the US. Locoid Lotion is a corticosteroid indicated for the topical treatment of mild to moderate Atopic Dermatitis in patients 3 months of age and older, Lupin said in a statement.
The addition of Locoid Lotion will enable Lupin to strengthen its US Brand business and expand its product portfolio for the US Pediatrics segment. "We are very pleased with the addition of Locoid Lotion to our brand portfolio and are committed to bring meaningful products to the US Pediatric community," said Vinita Gupta, CEO, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Lupin. Bob Moccia, President of Onset Dermatologics said: "This partnership will give pediatricians greater opportunity to utilize Locoid lotion in their patients while Onset maintains its focus on promoting Locoid to the dermatology community. We are confident that Locoid will continue to be the most prescribed mid-potency steroid brand in the US".
Kingfisher Airlines was locked at 10% upper circuit at Rs 5.14 on BSE after the company's Chairman Vijay Mallya today, 24 September 2013, said that the company is in talks with a foreign investor for a potential stake sale. Kingfisher Airlines has been grounded for almost a year for want of cash.
Telecom stocks were mostly lower. Bharti Airtel (down 1.51%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.65%) and Reliance Communications (down 0.32%), edged lower. Idea Cellular was flat at Rs 164.80.
Telecommunications Secretary M.F. Farooqui was quoted by the media as saying today, 24 September 2013, that the government expects to conduct its next mobile phone airwave auction in January 2014. The government has estimated Rs 11000 crore of revenue from the auction, he added. The telecommunications regulator earlier this month recommended a sharp cut in the auction reserve prices. The reserve prices are yet to be finalised by the government.
Shares of state-run telecom services provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) were locked at 10% upper circuit at Rs 15.32 on BSE on reports that the company has signed a pact with Bharat Sanchar Nigam to share infrastructure and provide joint services to corporate customers. Under the pact, the two carriers will share assets like buildings, mobile masts and international long-distance phone networks. BSNL operates mobile, fixed-line and Internet services in 20 of India's 22 telecommunications zones, while MTNL operates in the key Delhi and Mumbai zones.
Pidilite Industries rose 3.2% to Rs 257.75. A block deal of 6 lakh shares was executed in the counter on BSE at Rs 256 per share at 11:53 IST.
PI Industries rose 3.61% to Rs 149.30, with the stock extending recent gains triggered by the company's announcement that it has increased the limit for investment by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to 40% of its equity from 24% earlier.
State Bank of India clocked a highest turnover of Rs 119.39 crore on BSE. Yes Bank (Rs 117.07 crore), Axis Bank (Rs 48.23 crore), Sesa Goa (Rs 41.09 crore) and Tata Motors (Rs 39.03 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.
Cals Refineries reported highest volumes of 1.71 crore shares on BSE. SpiceJet (69.16 lakh shares), SMS Techsoft (India) (62.59 lakh shares), Yes Bank (35.96 lakh shares) and Dhanus Technologies (35.45 lakh shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.
Bond prices rose after the government kept the borrowing target for the fiscal year through March 2014 unchanged at Rs 5.79 lakh crore ($92.49 billion). The yield on the benchmark federal paper 7.16% GS 2023 was hovering at 8.8475%, lower than its close of 8.8505% on Monday, 23 September 2013. Bond prices and bond yields are inversely related.
Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram said on Monday, 23 September 2013, that the government will raise Rs 3.44 lakh crore by the end of September. That will be Rs 5000-crore short of the target it had initially set for the first half of the fiscal year, Mr. Mayaram said. The shortfall will be made up in the October-March period, taking the total borrowing during the second half to Rs 2.35 lakh crore, he said.
Mr. Mayaram said that the government would cut spending if revenue falls short of the budget projections, but won't breach the full-year fiscal-deficit target which is 4.8% of gross domestic product for this year. The gap was 4.9% last fiscal year. Last week, the government announced austerity measures to slash nonessential spending, as it sought to reinforce its commitment to meeting the deficit target.
There had been concerns off late that the heavy spending on social-development programs at a time when the government's revenue growth has been hit by a slowdown in the economy would mean that the government may have to increase its borrowing this year. Data late August showed the government's fiscal deficit between April and July reached about 63% of the target it had set for the full fiscal year.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar in choppy trade. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 62.77, compared with its close of 62.60/61 on Monday, 23 September 2013.
European stock markets edged higher on Tuesday, 24 September 2013, as German business confidence increased for a fifth month in September. Key benchmark indices in UK, France and Germany were up 0.10% to 0.63%.
German business confidence rose for a fifth straight month in September 2013. The Ifo business-climate index rose to 107.7 from a revised figure of 107.6 in August. "Although companies assessed their current business situation slightly less favorably, their business expectations were once again more optimistic. The German economy made a confident start to the autumn," Kai Carstensen, director at Ifo, said in the release.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday, 22 September 2013, won re-election by the largest amount in more than 20 years.
Asian stocks dropped on Tuesday, 24 September 2013, following overnight decline in the US stocks. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea were off 0.07% to 2.25%. Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted rose 0.08%.
Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Tuesday, 24 September 2013. US stocks fell on Monday after notching three weeks of gains, as investors heard from Federal Reserve officials and worried about another standoff in Washington. Addressing business leaders in New York Monday morning, Fed Bank of Atlanta President Dennis Lockhart said the economy is losing some steam. Fed Bank of New York President William Dudley told an audience at the Fordham University Graduate School of Business that an accommodative monetary policy is still needed. In a speech about US banking in San Antonio, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said he advocated slowing down the pace of central-bank asset purchases at last week's policy session.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day policy meeting on 29-30 October 2013. On 18 September 2013, the Fed surprised economists and investors with its decision to delay scaling back its stimulus.
Political showdown in Washington over the US budget also weighed on US stocks on Monday, 23 September 2013. House Speaker John Boehner and his Republican caucus are pushing the federal government closer to a shutdown in a fight over funding and the debt limit, Democrats Max Baucus and Patty Murray said in a letter to colleagues yesterday, 23 September 2013.
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