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The markets are doing well this morning, thanks to buying interest in index heavyweights in index heavyweights such as ITC, ICICI Bank and RIL. The modest gains on the Asian front would have inevitably aided the sentiment back home. The Sensex is at 22,570, higher by 124 points and the Nifty is at 6734, up 35 points. The broader markets are also seeing action, with the midcap index adding 42 points at 7390 and the smallcap index adding 33 points at 7351. Tha
The markets had snapped a 5-day losing streak on Wednesday, with the Sensex posting marginal gains of 41 points and the Nifty edging higher by four points. While the markets have build on the gains at opening bell, one would have to see whether the gains are sustainable, given the fact that the markets seem to have developed cold feet in the past two weeks (the Nifty has been confined to a range of around 50 points, with selling pressure emerging around 6750 and buying at about 6700). One may point out that this consolidation phase may just be the lull before the storm. While the benchmark indices have been in consolidation mode, the jump in VIX to 35 levels and the large open interest activity in strike prices ranging from Nifty 6000 puts to Nifty 8000 calls suggest that the markets are bracing themselves for volatility ahead of and in the aftermath of the election results on May 16.
On the global front, Asian stocks have made modest gains in early trades on Tuesday. China's Shanghai Composite was up two points at 2,029, Singapore's Straits Times was flat at 3,244 and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted was up eight points at 8,879. However, the markets in South Korea, Hong Kong are Japan shut for the day.
Overnight, Wall Street had ended slightly higher as data showed strength in the services sector and Apple shares rose above USD 600 for the first time since 2012. The Dow Jones rose 17.66 points to 16,530, S&P 500 gained 3.52 points to 1,884 and Nasdaq added 14.16 points to 4,138.
In commodities, crude oil slipped, pressured by reports that China's manufacturing sector contracted and Libya's oil output was recovering.
On the economic front, the rupee has opened absolutely flat at 60.13
The heavyweights are calling the shots in today's trades. ITC has gained for the second consecutive session, jumping by 1.75 at Rs 350 to lead the gainer's list on the BSE. Tata Steel has gained 1.4% at Rs 403, ICICI Bank has added 1.2% at Rs 1269 and RIL has added 0.6% at Rs 950.
However, the auto stocks are having a slightly rough ride this morning. Hero Moto Corp has shed 0.4% at Rs 2201 to top the losers list on the BSE. Bajaj Auto has lost 0.3% at Rs 1911 and M&M is trading flast, with a negative bias at Rs 1028. M&M has launched Rexton RX6, a five-speed manual transmission, high-end sports utility vehicle (HSUV) from its Korean subsidiary SsangYong’s stable.
The market breadth is strong. Out of 927 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 673 advancing stocks against 227 declines.
