Firmness continued on bourses in morning trade as higher Asian stocks boosted sentiment. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 139.14 points or 0.66%, off close to 10 points from the day's high and up about 80 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. Except BSE FMCG index all the other sectoral indices on BSE were in the green.
Metal stocks edged higher on hopes demand for metal would pick up after the World Bank raised its global growth forecasts. Tata Steel rose after the company announced that it opened the UK's largest profiling centre for steel plate in the West Midlands, increasing its plate processing capacity in the region by up to 50%. Capital goods stocks gained on renewed buying.
The market edged higher in early trade. The Sensex hit highest level in nearly two weeks. Firmness continued on bourses in morning trade.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism the global economy is strengthening.
At 10:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 139.14 points or 0.66% to 21,172.02. The index rose 148.42 points at the day's high of 21,181.30 in early trade, its highest level since 2 January 2014. The index gained 58.58 points at the day's low of 21,091.46 in opening trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 39.35 points or 0.63% to 6,281.20. The index hit a high of 6,286.80 in intraday trade, its highest level since 13 January 2014. The index hit a low of 6,265.30 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,014 shares gained and 544 shares fell. A total of 92 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 25 stocks rose and only five of them fell. TCS (up 1.43%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.44%) and Coal India (up 2.29%) gained.
Capital goods stocks gained on renewed buying. ABB (up 0.43%), Bhel (up 0.55%), BEML (3.56%), L&T (up 0.75%) and Punj Lloyd (up 1.25%) gained.
Siemens rose 0.91%. The stock turned ex-dividend today, 15 January 2014 for the dividend of Rs 5 per share for the year ending September 2013.
Metal stocks edged higher on hopes demand for metal would pick up after the World Bank raised its global growth forecasts.
Tata Steel rose 0.64% after the company announced after market hours on Tuesday, 14 January 2014, that it opened the UK's largest profiling centre for steel plate in the West Midlands, increasing its plate processing capacity in the region by up to 50%.
The new Profiling Centre, at Steelpark in Wednesfield, transforms steel plate into a multitude of shaped and machined components, from high-volume production runs for offroad vehicle wheels and booms for earth-moving equipment, to large one-off components for construction projects and specialist engineering applications. The 3.1 million facility provides a step change in Tata Steel's capability to supply plate that has been cut and finished to exact size, shape and quality specifications. Steelpark's profiling capacity will be increased to 47,000 tonnes per annum, the company said in a statement.
Paul Steele, Managing Director at Tata Steel Distribution UK and Ireland, said: "This investment is one of a series of developments that is strengthening Steelpark's position as one of the key foundations for UK manufacturing. We are transforming the UK's largest steel service centre into an operation that is entirely focused on meeting customer requirements and supporting their success."
The development amalgamates Tata Steel's plate cutting and machining capability into a single facility able to offer a comprehensive suite of tailored processing services to meet customers' specific requirements, the company said.
The investment will shorten order and delivery times, enabling Tata Steel to offer a range of benefits to customers in the lifting & excavating and construction sectors, including greater consistency of quality and a single point of contact for the purchasing process, it said.
Paul Steele added: "We have a unique ability to support our customers because of our Tata Steel ownership, which makes us the only steel distribution group to have both its mill and processing operations in the UK and Ireland. This means not only that we know our products and services inside out, but we can offer customers consistent quality and repeatability. We can work together from the outset to advise customers on specifications for their particular product application and, by tailoring our products and services in this way, we are best placed to meet their needs with a personal and professional service."
Among other metal stocks, Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.67%), NMDC (up 1.88%), Sesa Sterlite (up 0.75%), Sail (up 1.13%), JSW Steel (up 0.32%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.88%), National Aluminum Company (up 2.19%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.04%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.96%) and Bhushan Steel (up 0.01%), edged higher.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) is seen easing up a bit at 7.1% in December 2013, from 7.52% in November 2013, as per the median estimate of a poll of economists carried out by Capital Market. WPI had accelerated to 7.52% in November 2013, from 7% in October 2013. The government will unveil WPI data for December 2013 at 12 noon today, 15 January 2014.
The Reserve Bank of India's Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy for 2013-14 is scheduled on 28 January 2014. The Reserve Bank of India kept its main lending rate viz. the repo rate unchanged after its last policy review in December and said at that time that it expected inflation to ease in the following months.
Asian stocks rose on Wednesday on optimism the global economy is strengthening. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up 0.27% to 2.04%. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.63%.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 2 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 15 January 2014. US stocks rose on Tuesday, giving the Standard & Poor's 500 Index its biggest gain of the year, as better-than-forecast retail sales and corporate merger activity signaled confidence in the economy.
US retail sales increased 0.2% after a 0.4% advance in November that was smaller than previously reported, Commerce Department figures showed in Washington.
Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser said that the central bank's stimulus program should end later this year because the economy is on a "firmer footing" than it has been in the past several years. Richard Fisher, Fed president in Dallas, likened quantitative easing to "beer goggles" that makes everything look good. There are signs that "we have made for an intoxicating brew as we have continued pouring liquidity down the economy's throat," he said in a speech.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day monetary policy meeting on 28 and 29 January 2014. By a 9-to-1 vote, the Fed on 18 December 2013 decided to trim its asset-purchase program by $10 billion to $75 billion per month starting in January 2014.
The World Bank raised its global growth forecasts as the easing of austerity policies in advanced economies supports their recovery, boosting prospects for developing markets' exports. The Washington-based lender sees the world economy expanding 3.2% this year, compared with a June projection of 3 percent and up from 2.4% in 2013. The forecast for the richest nations was raised to 2.2% from 2%. Part of the increase reflects improvement in the 18-country euro area, with the US ahead of developed peers, growing twice as fast as Japan. The report by the institution that's trying to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030 indicates a near-doubling of the growth in world trade this year from 2012, as developed economies lift export-reliant emerging nations. At the same time, the withdrawal of monetary stimulus in the US may raise market interest rates, hurting poorer countries as investors return to assets such as Treasuries, according to the bank.
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