Key benchmark indices erased almost entire intraday gains in early afternoon trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 2.24 points or 0.01%, off about 125 points from the day's high. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market was strong. The BSE Small-Cap index was 1% for the day.
Cement shares rose on renewed buying, with UltraTech Cement hitting a record high and ACC scaling a 52-week high. Auto stocks rose on renewed buying, with Hero MotoCorp hitting record high. Tata Motors rose on reports the company will increase prices of its vehicles in April 2014 due to inflationary pressure and higher input costs. Telecom stocks edge higher. PSU OMCs edged higher on renewed buying.
The market opened on a firm note after provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours on Friday, 28 March 2014, showed that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) made substantial purchases of Indian stocks on that day. The Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit record high. The Sensex trimmed initial gains in mid-morning trade. The Sensex erased almost entire intraday gains in early afternoon trade
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1362.87 crore on Friday, 28 March 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
At 12:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 2.24 points or 0.01% to 22,342.21. The index jumped 127.24 points at the day's high of 22,467.21 in early trade, a record high for the barometer index. The index rose 1.94 points at the day's low of 22,341.91 in early afternoon trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 4.15 points or 0.06% to 6,700.05. The index hit a high of 6,730.05 in intraday trade, a record high for the index. The index hit a low of 6,692.55 in intraday trade.
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The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 49.57 points or 0.71% at 7,059.86. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 69.88 points or 1% at 7,068.94. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,527 shares gained and 894 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 18 stocks gained and rest of them declined. Hindalco Industries (up 3.02%), Tata Steel (up 2.07%) and Sesa Sterlite (up 1.97%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 0.61%. The company during market hours today, 31 March 2014, that the company has entered into a preliminary understanding with Standard Chartered Bank for purchase of Standard Chartered Bank's property in Mumbai, subject to successful outcome of its due diligence and compliance/satisfaction of other conditions. Sun Pharma has its corporate office in Mumbai and the purchase of any property for the company's official use does not directly affect the earnings/earning capacity of the company and further the amount which may be paid by the company for the purchase of the said property will amount to minor percentage of its net worth/our asset base, Sun Pharma said while reacting to media reports in this regard.
Cement shares rose on renewed buying. UltraTech Cement advanced 1.83% to Rs 2,176 after hitting a record high of Rs 2,177 in intraday high.
ACC rose 1.24% to Rs 1,378.65 after hitting a 52-week high of Rs 1,383.65 in intraday high.
Ambuja Cements advanced 1.94%.
Telecom stocks edge higher. MTNL (up 1.48%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.55%), Reliance Communications (up 1.55%), Idea Cellular (up 0.97%) and Bharti Airtel (up 2.33%) gained.
PSU OMCs rose on renewed buying. HPCL (up 0.8%) and Indian Oil Corporation (up 1.62%) gained.
BPCL rose 1.32% to Rs 463.10 after hitting record high of Rs 468.80 in intraday trade.
PSU OMCs will review the fuel prices tomorrow, 1 April 2014, based on the average imported oil price in the previous fortnight. PSU OMCs review fuel prices on 1st and 16th of every month based on the average imported oil price in the previous fortnight.
Tata Motors rose 1.45% on reports the company will increase prices of its vehicles in April 2014 due to inflationary pressure and higher input costs. The media quoted Tata Motors' spokeswoman as saying that the company will increase passenger vehicle prices by 1-2% and commercial vehicle prices by about 1% in April 2014.
Hero MotoCorp rose 2.19% to Rs 2,295.70 after hitting a record high of Rs 2,298 in intraday trade.
Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) dropped 0.2%. The company said during market hours today, 31 March 2014, that the company has secured a prestigious contract for setting up a 120 megawatts (MW) Hydro Electric Project (HEP) valued at Rs 125 crore in Uttarkhand. Significantly, this is the major order for electro-mechanical equipment in the hydro sector, to be finalised by a government utility company in Uttarkhand, after the devastating floods, Bhel said.
The government will raise Rs 3.68 lakh crore ($61.4 billion) through bond sales in the first half of the fiscal beginning 1 April 2014, which is 61.6% of the total borrowing scheduled for fiscal year 2014-15. The borrowing programme for the first half of the fiscal year 2014-15 was announced by economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and later notified by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, 28 March 2014. In the interim budget for the year 2014-2015, finance minister P. Chidambaram had announced that the government plans to borrow Rs 4.65 lakh crore from the market in 2014-15 against the Rs 4.54 lakh crore it borrowed in the current fiscal. The gross borrowing programme for the next fiscal will be Rs 5.97 lakh crore, while bonds worth about Rs 1.40 lakh crore are to be paid back to investors in the year to March, Chidambaram said. The gross borrowing plan for 2013-14 was at Rs 5.64 lakh crore.
In a separate announcement, RBI on Friday, 28 March 2014, said it will borrow Rs 1.9 lakh crore through issuance of short-term bills in the market in the April-June 2014 quarter.
The Reserve Bank of India will announce the First Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement, 2014-15 tomorrow, 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 market is Q4 March 2014 and year ended 31 March 2014 (FY 2014) corporate earnings. Investors and analysts will closely watch the management commentary that would accompany the results to see if there is any revision in their future earnings forecast of the company for the year ending 31 March 2015 (FY 2015) and/or for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016). Indian companies will start reporting their Q4 and full year results from mid-April 2014. The result season will conclude in end-May 2014.
Another 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 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.
Asian stocks edged higher on Monday, 31 March 2014, with investors holding out hopes that China would take steps to stimulate its economy. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan were up 0.23% to 0.9%. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.23%.
South Korea reportedly on Monday returned fire into North Korean waters after shells from a North Korean live-fire drill fell south of the rivals' disputed western sea boundary. Residents on one South Korean island near the artillery exchange have been evacuated, according to reports. Reports said North Korean forces had fired into the South's sea territory as part of a live-fire exercise, prompting South Korea to return fire.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could advance 54 points at the opening bell on Monday, 31 March 2014. US stocks climbed after a two-day slide on Friday, 28 March 2014, as consumer shares rebounded amid data showing household purchases rose the most in three months. Household purchases, which account for almost 70% of the US economy, climbed 0.3% in February 2014 after a 0.2% gain in January 2014 that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed.
The influential US non-farms payroll data for March 2014 will be released this Friday, 4 April 2014.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) next undertakes monetary policy review at a two-day meeting on 29-30 April 2014. The Federal Reserve on 19 March 2014 said after the conclusion of a monetary policy review that it will trim its monthly bond purchases by $10 billion to $55 billion. The Federal Reserve will end its bond-buying program before the end of the year with an interest-rate increase likely to follow in "around six months," Chair Janet Yellen said on 19 March 2014. Quarterly Fed forecasts on 19 March 2014 showed more officials predicting that the benchmark interest rate, now close to zero, will rise to at least 1% by the end of 2015 and 2.25% a year later.
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