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Markets have extended their gains and are trading near day’s highs, aided by strong buying among pharma, IT and rate-sensitive sectors.
At 11:37, the Sensex was trading higher by 295 points at the 27,802 mark and the Nifty gained 92 points at 8,411.
The broader markets are trading firm in line with the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 1-1.2%.
The market breadth is strong. Out of 2,233 stocks traded on the BSE, there are 1,333 advancing stocks as against 820 declines.
The June series is expected to be volatile. The government is scheduled to announce the gross domestic product (GDP) data for Q4 March 2015 during the day.
And the upcoming Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy review meet due on Tuesday is also likely to add to the volatile movements on Dalal Street.
On the currency front, the rupee edged higher by 5 paise to 63.75 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange due to increased selling of the US currency by exporters and banks.
Q4 RESULTS CALENDAR
On the earnings front, Cipla, Berger Paints, Blue Star, IOC, IRB Infra, M&M, NTPC, SAIL, RCom and Oil India are likely to announce their Q4 numbers during the day.
ASIAN MARKETS
Chinese share markets extended a bruising selloff on Friday after the previous day's plunge, while the dollar took a breather from a sharp run up this week.
The slide in China forced Asian markets off earlier gains, with the MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan flat. It shed more than 1% on Thursday. South Korean share gained 0.4% and Australian stocks rose 1.2%. Japan's Nikkei was flat.
In choppy trade, the Shanghai Composite Index was down 3.9% after diving nearly 7% on Thursday, when investors dumped stocks after more brokers tightened margin trading requirements and the central bank drained money to reduce flush liquidity in the financial system.
SECTORS & BUZZING STOCKS
Sectors such as Auto, IT, Healthcare, Capital Goods, Banks, Oil & Gas and Realty are trading higher by over 1% each. Infact, all the sectoral indices are trading comfortably in the positive zone.
Rate-senstive sectors are trading firm on hopes of a rate-cut by the central bank. According to the results of a Reuters poll, the Reserve Bank of India is likely to cut its benchmark interest rates by 25 basis points to 7.25% when it meets early next week and make a similar move before December.
Among financials, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI have risen over 1% each.
Telecom major Bharti Airtel is the top Sensex gainer, up almost 4%. Vodafone Group PLC said on Thursday it sold its stake in telecom infrastructure firm Bharti Infotel to its holding company Bharti Enterprises for $200 million. The stake represents about a 4.2% interest in the Indian mobile carrier Bharti Airtel, which is also a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises.
Coal India has surged over 2%.The company’s net sales for the quarter ended March, rose 3.9% to Rs 20,774 crore from Rs 19,998 crore in the year-ago period, on the back of higher output and offtake.
Cipla and Sun Pharma are trading higher by almost 2% ahead of their Q4 numbers today.
From the IT space, Wipro, TCS and Infosys have gained 1-1.5% each. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been rated as the best company in India on various financial and operational parameters by Dun & Bradstreet.
Other notable gainers are Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, HUL and RIL.
On the losing side, ONGC and BHEL have dropped between 0.5-1.3%.
SMART MOVERS
Shares of oil marketing companies, mainly Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), have rallied by up to 6% each on the bourses after the companies reported better-than-expected results for the March 2015 quarter.
Shares of nine out of 14 companies included in the future and options (F&O) segment with effect from today were trading higher by up to 6% each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Page Industries has surged 8% to Rs 16,370, extending its previous day’s 5% gains on the NSE, after the company reported a healthy 34% year-on-year (YoY) jump in net profit at Rs 47 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 (Q4), on the back of strong sales.
