The benchmark indices moved higher by almost a percent to make it seven days in a row. And there were no perceptible signs of tiredness, leave alone any profit-booking, atleast as yet. It was again heavyweights such as RIL and IT that called the shots; the Sensex ended at 19,502, higher by 155 points and the Nifty shut shop at 5,860, up 65 points, while the midcap and smallcap indices slumbered along to end virtually unchanged at 8066 and 10,184 respectively. The markets are now up 7% in the last seven sessions and 8.5% over the last ten trading days.
On the global front, Japan intervened in foreign exchange markets for the first time in six years to stem economic damage from the surging yen, pushing its currency sharply lower and lifting Tokyo stocks by almost 3%. Other Asian markets also edged higher, with the exception of China. On the other hand, the European bourses are having an absolutely flat session of trade ahead of fresh economic data, including the British jobless numbers and euro zone inflation figures, due later in the day. US stocks were little changed overnight after promising data from the retail sector fed recent optimism that the economic recovery. The Dow dropped 17 points to 10,526 and Nasdaq gained four points to 2,289.
There was a lot to cheer on the domestic front. Exports grew by 22.5% to $16.64 billion in August compared with the same period last fiscal. And there was a quantum leap in the advance tax figures for the second quarter of the 2010-11. Home finance major HDFC paid around Rs 400 crore vis-a-vis Rs 320 crore in the year-ago period and Yes Bank paid 81 per cent more advance tax in FY11, at Rs 105 crore, as against Rs 58 crore in the year-ago period.
The frontline information technology (IT) stocks touched life-time highs on the buzz that the IT players were seeking a hike in contract prices. Infosys Technologies topped the gainers charts, gaining 2.4% at Rs 3,050, on the BSE. Wipro strengthened by 2.2% at Rs 426 and TCS added 2.1% at Rs 913. And RIL regained the 1000k mark to end at Rs 1010, up 2.3%. According to reports, the petroleum giant has been offered up to $5.25 per mbtu for D6 gas by two Andhra companies.
On the losers side, Tata Motors shrugged off a 29% jump in its global vehicle sales at 85,114 units to weaken by 2.8% at Rs 1024 and ACC shed 1.7% each at Rs 954. And banking stocks had a mixed session of trade ahead of the credit policy. SBI ended at Rs 3060, lower by 1.7%, while HDFC Bank ended at Rs 2376, higher by 1.7% and HDFC ended at Rs 681, up 1.3%. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is seen raising short-term interest rates by 25 basis points at a mid-term policy review on Thursday, 16 September 2010, as inflation remains above RBI's comfort level.
The market breadth on the BSE turned negative at close, with 1269 advancing stocks as against 1663 declines.
