Key benchmark indices edged higher as firmness in European stocks and higher US index futures boosted market sentiment. Fall in crude oil prices after sharp gains on Monday triggered by crisis in Ukraine also eased fiscal deficit and current account deficit worries. India imports two-thirds of its oil requirements. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, settled above the psychological 21,000 mark. The Sensex was provisionally up 261.46 points or 1.26%, up about 270 points from the day's low and off close to 15 points from the day's high. The Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit their highest level in 5-1/2 weeks. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. Except BSE IT index and the BSE Healthcare index all the other sectoral indices on BSE were in the green.
Metal stocks rose across the board. GMR Infrastructure rose after a consortium led by the company has won construction package of rail line doubling between Jhansi and Bhimsen stations in Uttar Pradesh. IVRCL jumped after the company said that its irrigation division and water division have bagged orders worth an aggregate Rs 2632.85 crore.
The market edged higher in early trade. It hovered in positive terrain in morning trade. It extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. It further strengthened and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade in afternoon trade. It held firm in mid-afternoon trade. It hit fresh intraday high in late trade.
The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Monday, 3 March 2014. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 198.53 crore on Monday, 3 March 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Crude oil futures fell for the first time in three days on Tuesday amid speculation that supply concerns because of tension between Russia and Ukraine may be exaggerated. Brent crude oil futures for delivery in April 2014 were down $1.57 a barrel or 1.41% at $109.63 a barrel.
As per provisional figures, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 261.46 points or 1.26% to 21,211.11. The index rose 277.99 points at the day's high of 21,224.64 in late trade, its highest level since 24 January 2014. The index dropped 6.26 points at the day's low of 20,940.39 in early trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 76.55 points or 1.23% to 6,298, as per provisional figures. The index hit a high of 6,302.15 in intraday trade, its highest level since 24 January 2014. The index hit a low of 6,215.70 in intraday trade.
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The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 83.19 points or 1.28% to 6,563.93, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 63.63 points or 0.99% to 6,512.79, underperforming the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2148 crore, lower than Rs 3862.96 crore on Monday, 3 March 2014.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,599 shares gained and 1,108 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 28 stocks rose and rest of them fell. AXIS Bank (up 3.53%), GAIL (India) (up 3.11%), and ICICI Bank (up 3.77%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Metal stocks rose across the board. Sesa Sterlite (up 4.7%), JSW Steel (up 2.52%), Hindalco Industries (up 8.1%), Hindustan Zinc (up 4.15%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.97%), Tata Steel (up 2%), Sail (up 2.9%), National Aluminum Company (up 3.34%) and Hindustan Copper (up 3.69%) gained.
GMR Infrastructure rose 2.21% after a consortium led by the company has won construction package of rail line doubling between Jhansi and Bhimsen stations in Uttar Pradesh. The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 4 March 2014.
GMR Infrastructure (GMR) is the lead member of the consortium with TATA Projects & Kalindee Rail Nirman as the partner for OHE and track works, S&T works respectively. The total contract is valued at approximately Rs 267 crore of which GMR's share of work is about Rs 135 crore, the company said. The project is scheduled to commence from 2 April 2014 and duration for completion of the project is 42 months.
GMR said that Rail Vikas Nigam has issued the letter of award (LoA) to GMR consortium on 20 February 2014.
Mr. Arun Kumar Sharma, CEO, GMR Urban Infrastructure & Highways said, "As a part of our Asset Light strategy, we are very happy to announce our first foray into the very promising railway construction sector. This win reflects our long term vision of building our EPC expertise in a niche segment like Railways, and will pave the way for similar projects in future".
IVRCL jumped 8.47% after the company said that its irrigation division and water division have bagged orders worth an aggregate Rs 2632.85 crore. The company made the announcement during trading hours today, 4 March 2014.
IVRCL said its irrigation division bagged five orders worth Rs 2492 crore. The division won three separate orders from Karnataka Neeravari Nigam (KNNL) and two separate orders from Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam (KBJNL) in Karnataka state.
The water division won a single order worth Rs 140.85 crore from Government of Andhra Pradesh, INCAP, Hyderabad, the company said in a statement.
Thomas Cook (India) rose 1.28% to Rs 75.45 after the company said it has partnered with Y-Axis, a premier immigration and visa consultant in the country. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 4 March 2014.
Thomas Cook (India) said that the association with Y-Axis will offer the convenience of a holistic and seamless product-service experience to Indians travelling overseas for permanent residency, on work permits or education. Internal research at Thomas Cook (India) has highlighted a significant potential growth in Indians travelling abroad on work permit, permanent residency and studies, especially to Australia, Canada & Denmark, and this strongly viable market is one that Thomas Cook (India) & Y-Axis intend to jointly target, Thomas Cook said in a statement.
Commenting on the association, Mr. Mahesh Iyer, COO & Head - Foreign Exchange, Thomas Cook (India) said, "Thomas Cook India's pioneering expertise in providing world class travel & foreign exchange solutions and the legacy of Y-Axis in the immigration and visa consultancy segment will ensure a truly comprehensive product offering for consumers. The focus of both our organizations on excellence in product and service delivery forms a crucial element of this alliance and we look forward to jointly leveraging the opportunity in this growing market of immigration, long term work and education".
Commenting on the association, Mr. Xavier Augustin, Founder & CEO, Y-Axis Solutions said, "Our endeavor at Y-Axis is not only to ensure good counseling by looking into the needs of our clients but also provide an array of immigration services. Encompassing all possible requirements from assistance in evaluating the right destination, thorough visa documentation to meeting submission timelines through our concierge services. Now with Thomas Cook India, market leaders in travel and travel services, as our partners, we will be able to offer value added services, mainly, Foreign Exchange. This will help us provide a more comprehensive solution to our clients who are aspiring to relocate overseas".
Dhanlaxmi Bank spurted 16.08% to Rs 34.65 after the bank said its board by circulation on 1 March 2014 has approved to issue and allot 5.96 crore shares at Rs 39 per share aggregating to Rs 232 crore through preferential allotment. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 4 March 2014. Dhanlaxmi Bank has scheduled an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on 29 March 2014 to take necessary approval from the shareholders for the preferential share allotment.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee reversed intraday losses against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.96, compared with its close of 62.04/05 on Monday, 3 March 2014.
Markit Economics will unveil the result of a monthly survey on the performance of India's services sector for February 2014 tomorrow, 5 March 2014. The HSBC Services Business Activity Index increased from December's 46.7 to 48.3 in January 2014.
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.
European stocks rose on Tuesday, rebounding from their biggest loss in more than five weeks on Monday, as investors watched the military standoff in Ukraine. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK rose 1.03% to 1.41%.
A policy meeting of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) will be held on Thursday, 6 March 2014, in Frankfurt to decide euro zone interest rates. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi recently signaled the central bank's March policy meeting could be critical in determining whether the ECB will provide additional stimulus to shore up the nascent euro-zone economic recovery.
A two-day meeting of Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be held on Wednesday 5 March 2014 and Thursday 6 March 2014 to decide interest rates in UK. Policy rates are expected to remain unchanged at record low. The UK's central bank slashed interest rates to record low of 0.5% at the height of the financial crisis in 2009.
Asian stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday as investors weighed the crisis in Crimea and ahead of the National People's Congress annual meeting in China starting tomorrow. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong rose 0.21% to 0.7%. Key benchmark indices in China, Taiwan and South Korea were off 0.18% to 0.55%.
Investors are considering signs of a global economic recovery against tension in the Crimea after Ukraine said Russia has 16,000 troops onto its soil and that Russian forces are threatening to seize its warships. Crimea, where ethnic Russians comprise the majority, has become the focal point of Ukraine's crisis after an uprising triggered last month's ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych. Ukraine has mobilized its army and called for foreign observers after Russian forces took control of the peninsula. Russia, which keeps its Black Sea fleet at Sevastopol, raised its key interest rate yesterday as asset prices plummeted.
A meeting of China's lawmakers to set economic policy and growth targets begins tomorrow, 5 March 2014. The latest meeting of the legislature, the first to be overseen by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, comes as leaders pledge to give markets a "decisive" role in the economy. Investors will be watching the National People's Congress (NPC) meeting for clues to the next steps to fix local-government finances, charge market prices for natural resources, rein in shadow-banking risks, free up deposit rates and open up state businesses to private investment.
Australia's central bank reiterated that it's likely to maintain a period of record-low interest rates and renewed a reference to the currency's strength. Governor Glenn Stevens and his board kept the overnight cash-rate target at 2.5%, saying in a statement that housing prices have increased significantly and the Aussie remains high by historical standards.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 112 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 4 March 2014. US stocks sank the most in a month, joining a global selloff in equities on Monday, as investors sought havens on concern that Russia's military presence in Ukraine could lead to a larger conflict.
Data in the US Monday showed manufacturing expanded at a faster pace than projected in February, a sign the industry was beginning to overcome bad weather across much of the country. The Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index rose to 53.2 in February from 51.3 a month earlier. Readings above 50 signal expansion. A separate report indicated consumer spending rose 0.4% in January after a 0.1% gain the prior month.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review on 18-19 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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