 "Sensex opens 100 points higher aided by banks, telecom stocks")
Benchmark indices have trimmed gains on account of profit booking at higher levels but continue to trade in positive zone led by banking shares.
By 10:47 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 134 points at 25,731 and the Nifty50 gained 43 points to trade at 7,892.
ICICI Bank, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, TCS and Tata Motors are the top five Sensex gainers, all up 1%-2%.
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Asian Paints has moved higher to its record high of Rs 928, up 2% on the BSE, after the company reported 20% year on year (YoY) jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 409 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16), on the back of healthy operational income.
On the losing side, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki are down between 0.2%-1%.
Among other shares, Ricoh India was locked in upper circuit for the second straight day, up 5% at Rs 287 on the BSE, after the company announced that its board will consider the financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 (Q2FY16) on May 17, 2016.
Shares of Sutlej Textiles and Industries were up nearly 15% at Rs 607 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported 78% growth in net profit at Rs 49 crore compared with Rs 27 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.
Tyche Industries is locked in upper circuit of 20% at Rs 49 on the BSE after the small-sized pharmaceuticals company received the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) approval for a plant in Andhra Pradesh.
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Updated at 9:30 am
Markets have commenced the session on a higher note with banking stocks leading the gains after the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code Bill.
Further, investors brace up ahead of the key macro data- March IIP and April CPI numbers due to be unveiled today.
By 9:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was higher by 168 points at 25,765 and the Nifty50 gained 47 points to trade at 7,896. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.4%-0.5%.
On Wednesday, markets snapped two day winning streak and ended lower amid a volatile session after participants turned jittery over foreign fund inflows after the country decided to impose capital gains tax arising in Mauritius from sale of shares in Indian companies starting from April 1, 2017.
“Yesterday’s intense volatility could dominate early proceedings today, with 7,835-7,900 expected to be the initial range. Volatility is likely to subside once inside the 7,540-7,780 region, which is also seen as a region for accumulation from a medium term –uptrend point of view”, points out Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note.
Among overseas markets, Asian stocks dropped following overnight losses in US stocks amid growing pessimism over corporate earnings. US stocks dropped yesterday as disappointing earnings from Disney and a slump among retailers led to selling.
Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 362.19 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Nestle India, PTC India Financial Services, Arvind, Mangalore Refinery And Petrochemicals, SREI Infrastructure Finance will unveil their Q4 numbers today.
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Bank stocks are trading firm after the Rajya Sabha passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy code Bill, enabling a single law to deal with distressed companies, their promoters, creditors, employees and other stake holders for the first time in India. ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank have surged between 1%-2%.
Asian Paints has risen by 1.5% after reporting a 20% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 408.75 crore for the March quarter.
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Capital goods majors BHEL and L&T are trading higher by almost 1% each ahead of the IIP numbers due to be released today.
The Adani group has ended 2015-16 with record debt and its increased finance cost could come in the way of acquisitions and an ambitious coal mining project in Australia, according to analysts. Shares of Adani Ports are up over 0.5%.
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Shares of telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications are trading higher by upto 1% after the Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down compensation policy for call drops levied by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
