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The markets have steadied this morning, after a tentative start, on the back of strength in the this oil and gas space. The Sensex has bounced back more than 100 points from intra-day lows and is now at 22,480, stronger by 76 points and the Nifty is hovering around the 6700 mark at 6710, up 17 points. The broader markets are quiet; the midcap index is at 7370, higher by 13 points and the smallcap index is at 7537, up four points.
The benchmark indices had ended lower in the truncated last week on back of growth concerns and profit booking. The Sensex had lost 1.25% and the Nifty had lost 1.30% for the week ended May 02, 2014.
Oil and gas stocks are leading from the front this morning. ONGC has gained 2% at Rs 335, RIL has jumped by 2% at Rs 947 and Gail India has added 1.5% at Rs 376. In the broader, non-index, oil and gas space, BPCL has added 1.6% at Rs 470, HPCL has added 1.6% at Rs 334 and IOC has added 1.5% at Rs 271.
Other index heavyweights such as ITC, L&T have gained in the region of about a per cent each.
Sanitaryware stocks are buzzing for the second consecutive session. Cera Sanitaryware is the top gainer in this space, soaring by 15%, followed by HSIL (up 9%) and Kajaria Ceramic and Nitco (up 4%).
On the other hand, BHEL has shed 0.9% at Rs 178 to top the losers list on the BSE. Auto stocks are under pressure, with Tata Motors losing 0.6% at Rs 412 and Maruti Suzuki losing 0.4% at Rs 1877. Tata Motors had reported weak April sales, with total sales declining 34% to 33,892 units.
Reliance Comm has declined 1% at Rs 120 after the company reported a PAT of Rs 156 crore up 44% in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. Revenue for the quarter was up 5% at Rs 5,671 crore compared to the third quarter.
On the stock-specific front, the Alstom Group shares are mixed after GE open offer General Electric has made an open offer to acquire stake in Alstom T&D India at Rs 261.25 per share and Alstom India at Rs 382.20 per share. Alstom T&D India is trading higher by 5% at Rs 285, while Alstom India is down 3% at Rs 443.
Century Textiles and Industries has rallied 11% to Rs 394, also its 52-week high, thereby extending its Friday’s 6% surge, ahead of board meeting today to consider fund raising proposals and audited accounts for the year ended March 31, 2014.
Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) has dipped 4% to Rs 288, extending its 9.3% fall in past two trading sessions, after the company said it has decided to postpone its decision for divesting 24% stake in the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) to May 10, as bidders did not submit binding bids.
Ashok Leyland has fallen 1.56% to Rs 22.10 after the company reported 21% decline in total sales to 5897 units in April 2014 over April 2013.
The market breadth is positive. Out of 1777 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 919 advancing stocks as against 783 declines.
