After striking record high, key benchmark held firm in morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, scaled record high. The Sensex was currently up 132.85 points or 0.5% at 26,552.40. The market sentiment was boosted by provisional data showing that foreign funds were net buyers of Indian during the previous trading session. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. News reports said that the Reserve Bank of India may relax its recently issued norms related to lending against shares to allow non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to lend against all categories of shares. PSU bank stocks extended their recent gains triggered by reports the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has approved a draft Cabinet note which proposes to create a holding company structure for state-run banks towards meeting their long-term capital needs. Shares of private sector banks also gained.
Brent crude futures fell for the second day in a row amid speculation that Middle East crude supplies will remain safe amid turmoil across the region. Asian stocks were mixed as investors weighed comments from central bank leaders for clues to monetary policy ahead of conflict negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. US index futures were in green.
At 10:16 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 132.85 points or 0.5% at 26,552.40. The index jumped 162.72 points at the day's high of 26,582.27 in morning trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index gained 70.76 points at the day's low of 26,490.31 in opening trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 30.20 points or 0.38% to 7,943.40. The index hit a high of 7,957.70 in intraday trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index hit a low of 7,927.75 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,284 shares gained and 688 shares fell. A total of 75 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 27.20 points or 0.29% at 9,368.07, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 56.40 points or 0.55% at 10,354.92, outperforming the Sensex.
More From This Section
Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 2.61%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.54%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 1.43%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
PSU bank stocks extended their recent gains triggered by reports the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has approved a draft Cabinet note which proposes to create a holding company structure for state-run banks towards meeting their long-term capital needs. State Bank of India (SBI) (up 1.81%), Canara Bank (up 1.61%), Union Bank of India (up 1.34%), Indian Bank (up 0.29%), Bank of India (up 0.82%), Punjab National Bank (up 1.1%) Syndicate Bank (up 0.62%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 0.15%), Andhra Bank (up 0.26%), and Oriental Bank of Commerce (up 1.28%) gained.
As per reports, the finance ministry has approved draft Cabinet note, which proposes to create a holding company structure for state-run banks, which will consolidate the entire ownership of PSU banks into one company and will raise money in order to recapitalise various public sector banks.
Among private sector banks, ICICI Bank (up 0.82%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.83%), Yes Bank (up 1.06%), Federal Bank (up 0.57%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 1.8%) and Axis Bank (up 0.94%) gained.. HDFC Bank lost 0.11%.
The market sentiment was boosted by provisional data showing that foreign funds were net buyers of Indian during the previous trading session. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 302.06 crore on Friday, 22 August 2014, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The market may remain volatile this week as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month August 2014 series to September 2014 series. The near-month August 2014 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, 28 August 2014.
India's macroeconomic worries have eased on falling crude oil prices. India imports about 80% of its crude oil requirement. Brent crude futures fell for the second day in a row amid speculation that Middle East crude supplies will remain safe amid turmoil across the region. Brent for October settlement was off 15 cents at $102.14 a barrel. The contract decreased 34 cents to settle at $102.29 a barrel on Friday, 22 August 2014.
The stock market has largely shrugged off Indo-Pak tension. Indian and Pakistani troops reportedly intensified firing across the border over the weekend killing at least four, straining ties between the arch rivals who recently called off top-level diplomatic talks. Last week India said its foreign secretary would not meet with her Pakistani counterpart as scheduled on 25 August 2014 because of plans by Pakistan to consult separatists from the border state of Jammu and Kashmir ahead of the meeting.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee was slightly higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 60.455 compared with its close of 60.47 on Friday, 22 August 2014.
Asian stocks were mixed today, 25 August 2014, as investors weighed comments from central bank leaders for clues to monetary policy ahead of conflict negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea were up 0.02% to 0.38%. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Hong Kong and China were off 0.19% to 0.49%.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 49 points at the opening bell on Monday, 25 August 2014. US stocks declined on Friday, 22 August 2014, as a widely watched speech by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen failed to enthuse investors.
In her speech at US Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo, Yellen on Friday, 22 August 2014, said that the US economy has made considerable progress in recovering from the largest and most sustained loss of employment since the Great Depression. She said that these developments are encouraging, but at the same time it speaks about the depth of the damage that, five years after the end of the recession, the labor market has yet to fully recover. Yellen reiterated that early rate hikes are possible, but it will depend on how the economy evolves in the next few months.
At the same event, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi called on European politicians to pivot away from tight budget policies that have held back euro-zone growth and pledged additional central-bank steps if needed to spur growth. Mr. Draghi said European central bankers and politicians both have a role to play in boosting demand and reducing joblessness. It would be helpful for the overall stance of policy if fiscal policy could play a greater role alongside monetary policy, he said. Expectations of future inflation in Europe exhibited significant declines at all horizons in August, he said.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News