Gains in frontline stocks sent key benchmark indices surging on the last trading session of the week. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, attained 3-1/2-week closing high. The Sensex garnered 380.36 points or 1.38% to settle at 27,887.90. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. The rally for key indices materialised today, 2 January 2015, after the government yesterday, 1 January 2015, evening announced the setting up of NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) as replacement for the Planning Commission and said that the NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process.
The government after trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, also announced increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre each to raise money to build 15,000 kilometers of roads during current and next financial year. Meanwhile, a monthly survey today, 2 January 2015, showed that manufacturing activity momentum in India accelerated to a two-year high in December, led by a healthy increase in new orders from both at home and from abroad.
Bank stocks rose on renewed buying. Tata Motors advanced after reporting strong sales for December 2014. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) gained after the company bagged an order worth Rs 3810 crore for setting up a supercritical thermal power plant in Telangana. Coal India rose after announcing production and offtake figures for December 2014. Cement shares edged higher after the government after trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, announced increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre each to raise money to build 15,000 kilometers of roads during current and next financial year.
Shares of paint makers gained on renewed buying, with Berger Paints India scaling a record high. Construction stocks rose after the government pledged to build more roads and increase investment in the sector.
In overseas markets, European stocks edged higher in choppy trade. Asian stocks edged higher amid thin volumes following the New Year's Day holiday.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar in choppy trade.
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Brent crude futures edged higher in choppy trade after a larger-than-expected fall in weekly US crude stocks.
The S&P BSE Sensex garnered 380.36 points or 1.38% to settle at 27,887.90, its highest closing level since 8 December 2014. The index jumped 429.93 points at the day's high of 27,937.47 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 11.72 points at the day's low of 27,519.26 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty gained 111.45 points or 1.35% to settle at 8,395.45, its highest closing level since 8 December 2014. The index hit a high of 8,410.60 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 8,288.70 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,787 shares gained and 1,149 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index garnered 90.03 points or 0.86% to settle at 10,530.20. The BSE Small-Cap index garnered 82.93 points or 0.74% to settle at 11,308.15. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
Bank stocks rose on renewed buying. BSE's banking sector index, the S&P BSE Bankex jumped 1.66% at 21,830.10. The index hit record high of 21,891.26 in intraday trade. Among PSU bank stocks, State Bank of India (SBI) (up 0.46%), Bank of Baroda (up 0.98%), Bank of India (up 1.2%) gained. Punjab National Bank (down 0.14%), Canara Bank (down 0.34%), Union Bank of India (down 0.46%) declined.
A two-day Bankers Retreat called 'Gyan Sangam' organized by the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance begins in Pune today, 2 January 2015. This retreat has been held to take forward the government's commitment to reforms in the financial sector, the finance ministry said in a statement today, 2 January 2015, ahead of the beginning of the seminar. The growth and change in the financial sector ought to be in tune with the development in the real sector, the finance ministry said. The idea of organising such a retreat is to provide an informal academic environment, which can bring out the creative best of the minds of professionals and regulators, the finance ministry said. The objective of this retreat is to arrive at a common understanding among the professionals, regulators and the government on the reform, required in the public sector banks in the current economic situations, the finance ministry said.
Among private bank stocks, HDFC Bank (up 1.86%), IndusInd Bank (up 0.55%), ING Vysya Bank (up 1.81%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.48%), Axis Bank (up 2.43%), Yes Bank (up 3.28%) and ICICI Bank (up 2.91%) gained.
Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) gained after the company bagged an order worth Rs 3810 crore from Telangana State Power Generation Corporation (TSGENCO) for setting up a supercritical thermal power plant in Telangana. The stock was up 2.83%. Bhel during market hours today, 2 January 2015, said that the company has received an advance of Rs 350 crore against the order from TSGENCO. Significantly, the project is targeted to be commissioned in 36 months on fast track basis with both Bhel and TSGENCO setting up teams to expedite clearances and execution of the project. Bhel further said that TSGENCO has entered into an MoU with Bhel for construction of new thermal power plants totalling to 6,000 megawatts (MW) in Telangana in the next three years to meet the increasing demand for power, which has been identified as a crucial factor for the development of the state.
Coal India rose 0.18%. The company announced during market hours today, 2 January 2015, that the company and its subsidiaries achieved 98% of targeted production at 47 million tonnes in December 2014. The company achieved 94% of targeted offtake at 43.91 million tonnes in December 2014.
Auto stocks were mixed. Tata Motors advanced 2.83%. Tata Motors' total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles rose 10% to 41,734 units in December 2014 over December 2013. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles rose 8% to 37,776 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Tata Motors' exports jumped 40% to 3,958 units in December 2014 over December 2013. The sales figures were announced during market hours today, 2 January 2015.
Tata Motors' passenger vehicles rose 30% to 12,040 units in December 2014 over December 2013. The trend of growth in passenger vehicles continued with the strong Zest and Nano sales, Tata Motors said.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.55%. The company during trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, said its total sales rose 20.8% to 1.09 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013. Domestic sales rose 13.3% to 98,109 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Exports jumped 171% to 11,682 units in December 2014 over December 2013.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) shed 0.97%. M&M's total tractor sales declined 27% to 12,474 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Domestic tractor sales fell 31% to 11,286 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Exports rose 52% to 1,180 units in December 2014 over December 2013. The sales figures were announced at the fag end of the trading session yesterday, 1 January 2015.
M&M's total auto sales fell 8.28% to 36,328 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Domestic auto sales fell 7% to 34,460 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Exports declined 32% to 1,868 units in December 2014 over December 2013.
Bajaj Auto shed 0.32% to Rs 2,446.30. The stock was volatile. The stock hit high of Rs 2,475.20 and low of Rs 2,434. Bajaj Auto's total sales fell 3% to 2.89 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013. The company's motorcycles sales declined 6% to 2.46 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013. Sales of commercial vehicles rose 16% to 43,011 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Exports rose 10% to 1.66 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013. The company announced the monthly sales data during market hours today, 2 January 2015.
Hero MotoCorp fell 0.23%. With respect to news titled, "Hero Motocorp to be title sponsor of Federation Cup", Hero MotoCorp clarified during trading hours today, 2 January 2015, that the company has agreed to become the title sponsor of both the Federation Cup (FC) and the I League (IL). The details of the arrangement are under negotiation and no agreements have been executed as yet between the parties, Hero MotoCorp said. This sponsorship is a normal routine sales promotion activity of the company and there is nothing significant or price sensitiveness in this, the company added.
TVS Motor Company fell 3.2% to Rs 268. The stock was volatile. The stock scaled a record high of Rs 280.75 in intraday trade. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 267.10.
TVS Motor Company said after market hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, that it recorded 20% growth in total sales to 1.91 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013. Three wheeler sales of the company registered an increase of 61% to 9,886 units in December 2014 over December 2013. The company's total exports grew by 28% with to 32,969 units in December 2014 over December 2013. Total two wheeler sales increased by 19% to 1.81 lakh units in December 2014 over December 2013.
Cement shares edged higher after the government after trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, announced increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre each to raise money to build 15,000 kilometers of roads during current and next financial year. Construction of roads may boost cement demand. UltraTech Cement (up 3%), Ambuja Cements (up 1.38%), ACC (up 1.82%) edged higher.
Grasim Industries, which holds a majority stake in UltraTech Cement, was up 2.94%.
Realty shared edged higher on renwed buying. Parsvnath Developers (up 10.95%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 6.1%), Unitech (up 3.25%), Oberoi Realty (up 3.91%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 2.41%), DLF (up 1.57%), Godrej Properties (up 0.7%) edged higher.
Housing finance major HDFC advanced 4.07% to Rs 1,169.20. The stock hit high of Rs 1,176.90 and low of Rs 1,123.
Construction stocks rose after the government pledged to build more roads and increase investment in the sector. The government after trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, announced increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre each to raise money to build 15,000 kilometers of roads during current and next financial year.
Hindustan Construction Company (up 5.45%), Gammon India (up 8.73%), Jaiprakash Associates (up 6.36%), IRB Infrastructure & Developers (up 1.16%), Unity Infraprojects (up 0.63%), Patel Engineering (up 0.87%), and IL&FS Transportation Networks (up 2.87%) gained.
Kalpataru Power Transmission rose 2.65% to Rs 236 after HDFC Mutual Fund Equity bought a total of about 17.81 lakh shares in bulk deals on BSE and NSE yesterday, 1 January 2015. HDFC Mutual Fund Equity bought 8.23 lakh shares of Kalpataru Power Transmission at Rs 229.96 per share in a bulk deal on NSE yesterday, 1 January 2015. It also bought 9.58 lakh shares of Kalpataru Power Transmission at Rs 230 per share in a bulk deal on BSE yesterday, 1 January 2015.
PSU OMCs slipped after the government after market hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, decided to increase basic excise duty on petrol and diesel (both branded and unbranded) by Rs 2 per litre each. These increased rates of basic excise duty will be effective from 2 January, 2015. There will be no change in other excise duty rates applicable to these commodities. BPCL (down 1.04%), HPCL (down 1.12%) declined.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) fell 0.71%. With respect to news reports titled IOC to commission Paradip refinery, IOC after market hours today, 2 January 2015, clarified that the commissioning its 15 MMTPA Grass Root Refinery Project is likely to begin on stage-wise basis from year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016).
Shares of paint makers gained on renewed buying. Asian Paints (up 3.43%), Shalimar Paints (up 6.09%), Akzo Nobel India (up 2.17%) and Kansai Nerolac Paints (up 0.75%) edged higher.
Berger Paints India galloped 10.87% to Rs 449.15 after scaling a record high of Rs 464.25 in intraday trade.
Reliance Power rose 1.44%. Reliance Power during market hours today, 2 January 2015, announced that boiler light up has been achieved for sixth and last 660 megawatts (MW) unit of the 3,960 MW Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP) of the company. This is a critical milestone of the boiler commissioning activities for the unit, Reliance Power said. 3300 MW of the project are already operating and have been performing well, the company said.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar in choppy trade. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 63.29, compared with its close of 63.34 during the previous trading session.
Brent crude futures edged higher in choppy trade supported by a larger-than-expected fall in weekly US crude stocks. Brent for February settlement was up 30 cents at $57.63 a barrel.
A monthly survey today, 2 January 2015, showed that manufacturing activity momentum in India accelerated to a two-year high in December, led by a healthy increase in new orders from both at home and from abroad. Adjusted for seasonal factors, the headline HSBC India Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) climbed to a two-year high of 54.5 in December, up from 53.3 in November. A steep rise in new orders from the consumer sector more than offset a slowdown in new order growth from investment goods. In line with falling commodity prices over the last few months, input price inflation was modest, and this trend was also mirrored in output prices. With the disinflationary trend gaining ground, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to find space for some rate cuts in 2015, according to Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC. Cost pressures at Indian manufacturers eased to weakest in more than five-and-a-half years, according to the survey.
Meanwhile, the Indian government yesterday, 1 January 2015, announced the setting up of NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) as replacement for the Planning Commission and said that the NITI Aayog will seek to provide a critical directional and strategic input into the development process. The centre-to-state one-way flow of policy, that was the hallmark of the Planning Commission era, is now sought to be replaced by a genuine and continuing partnership of states, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement. NITI Aayog will emerge as a "think-tank" that will provide governments at the central and state levels with relevant strategic and technical advice across the spectrum of key elements of policy. The NITI Aayog will also seek to put an end to slow and tardy implementation of policy, by fostering better Inter-Ministry coordination and better Centre-State coordination, the PMO said. It will help evolve a shared vision of national development priorities, and foster cooperative federalism, recognizing that strong states make a strong nation. The NITI Aayog will create a knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurial support system through a collaborative community of national and international experts, practitioners and partners. It will offer a platform for resolution of inter-sectoral and inter-departmental issues in order to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda. Among other obectives, the NITI Aayog aims to enable India to better face complex challenges, through policy support to more than 50 million small businesses, which are a major source of employment creation.
The government after trading hours yesterday, 1 January 2015, also announced increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 a litre each to raise money to build 15,000 kilometers of roads during current and next financial year.
European stocks rose marginally in choppy trade today, 2 January 2015. Key benchmark indices in UK and France rose 0.1% each. Germany's DAX slipped 0.52%.
Activity in the eurozone's manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace in December, a survey today, 2 January 2015 showed. The headline measure from data firm Markit's monthly survey of purchasing managers of around 3,000 manufacturers rose to 50.6 in December from 50.1 in November, but was lower than the preliminary estimate of 50.8. A reading above 50 for the index indicates an expansion in activity, while one below that level signals a contraction.
Meanwhile, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi hinted that the bank is moving closer to launching a full-scale quantitative easing program.
UK manufacturing unexpectedly slowed to a three-month low in December as weak growth in overseas markets such as the euro area undermined demand. Markit Economics said its Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 52.5 from a revised 53.3 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.
Asian stocks edged higher today, 2 January 2015, amid thin volumes following the New Year's Day holiday. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea were up by 0.16% to 1.07%.
Stock markets in China, Japan and Taiwan are closed today, 2 January 2015, for holiday.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 85 points at the opening bell today, 2 January 2015. US markets had remained shut yesterday, 1 January 2015 for New Year's Day holiday.
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