Amid a divergent trend among various index constituents, key benchmark indices eked out small gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 45.12 points or 0.18% to settle at 25,330.49. The 50-unit Nifty 50 index rose 10.65 points or 0.14% to settle at 7,714.90. The two key benchmark indices saw volatility during the second half of the trading session. The Sensex and the Nifty staged a rebound in late trade soon after extending losses in mid-afternoon trade as European stocks trimmed initial losses triggered by explosions at the Brussels airport and Maalbeek station on the Brussels Metro in Belgium.
The small gains took the Sensex and the Nifty to their highest closing level in almost eleven weeks. The Sensex edged higher for the third day in a row and the Nifty clocked gains for the fifth trading session in a row.
Most auto stocks rose on hopes of a policy rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India at its monetary policy meeting early next month. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) edged higher after the company announced that its Mahindra Agri Business forayed into dairy business with the launch of its branded dairy products under the brand Saboro. Maruti Suzuki India eked out small gains after the company announced that it would start deliveries of its newly launched compact SUV Vitara Brezza to customers from 25 March 2016.
In overseas stock markets, European stocks trimmed initial losses triggered by deadly attacks in Belgium. Belgium's key index the BEL-20 index was currently off 0.27%. Media reports said that two explosions at the Brussels Airport killed at least 10 people. Earlier, during the global day, Asian stocks ended on a mixed note. US stocks closed slightly higher yesterday, 21 March 2016, steadying after five straight weeks of gains, led by telecommunications and health care stocks.
The Sensex rose 45.12 points or 0.18% to settle at 25,330.49, its highest closing level since 6 January 2016. The index rose 95.96 points or 0.37% at the day's high of 25,381.33. The index fell 201.67 points or 0.79% at the day's low of 25,083.70.
The Nifty rose 10.65 points or 0.14% to settle at 7,714.90, its highest closing level since 6 January 2016. The index rose 23.95 points or 0.31% at the day's high of 7,728.20. The Nifty fell 60.45 points or 0.78% at the day's low of 7,643.80.
Among sectoral indices on BSE, the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index (up 0.28%), the S&P BSE Energy index (up 0.53%), the S&P BSE Utilities index (up 0.9%), the S&P BSE Metal index (up 0.8%), the S&P BSE Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services index (up 0.73%), the S&P BSE Auto index (up 1.08%), the S&P BSE Power index (up 1.23%), the S&P BSE Basic Materials index (up 0.31%), the S&P BSE Capital Goods index (up 1.19%), the S&P BSE Industrials index (up 0.78%), the S&P BSE Finance index (up 0.29%), the S&P BSE Realty index (up 2.68%) and the S&P BSE Consumer Durables index (up 1.6%) outperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE Teck index (up 0.08%), the S&P BSE Bankex (down 0.01%), the S&P BSE FMCG index (down 1.18%), the S&P BSE Telecom index (up 0.07%), and the S&P BSE Healthcare index (up 0.08%) underperformed the Sensex. The S&P BSE IT index remained unchanged and underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market turned positive from negative in late trade. On BSE, 1,341 shares gained and 1,257 shares declined. A total of 176 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.52%. The BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.27%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 3006 crore, higher than turnover of Rs 2929.96 crore registered during the previous trading session.
Metal and mining stocks rose on renewed buying. Vedanta (up 3.03%), Tata Steel (up 2.89%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.86%), Bhushan Steel (up 2.35%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 1.17%), JSW Steel (up 1.8%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.99%) and NMDC (up 2.34%) rose. National Aluminium Company (down 0.5%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.61%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.09%) edged lower.
High Grade Copper for May 2016 delivery was currently off 0.02% at $2.292 per pound on the COMEX.
Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone dropped 1.76% to Rs 239.45 after the stock turned ex-dividend for interim dividend of Rs 1.10 per share for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016). Before turning ex-dividend, the stock offered a dividend yield of 0.45% based on the closing price of Rs 243.75 yesterday, 21 March 2016.
Bank stocks declined. Among private bank stocks, Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 0.04%), ICICI Bank (down 0.47%), Axis Bank (down 0.65%), and IndusInd Bank (down 0.26%) declined. Yes Bank (up 0.31%) and HDFC Bank (up 0.9%) gained.
Among PSU bank stocks, Punjab National Bank (down 0.69%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.51%), IDBI Bank (down 1.57%), Bank of India (down 1.52%) and Union Bank of India (down 0.23%) dropped.
State Bank of India (SBI) gained 0.38%. SBI during market hours today, 22 March 2016, announced that it has issued 5,000 Basel III compliant Tier-II bonds in the nature of debentures aggregating Rs 500 crore on private placement basis. The tenor of the debentures is 10 years with 8.45% per annum (p.a.) coupon payable annually and a call option after 5 years.
Canara Bank rose 0.1% after the bank's board of directors permitted the bank to raise capital of Rs 3000 crore through issue of Basel-III compliant Tier II bonds on private placement basis to support the asset growth and maintain comfortable level of Capital to Risk weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 March 2016.
Index heavyweight and housing major HDFC rose 1.77% to Rs 1,172.40. The stock hit high of Rs 1,174 and low of Rs 1,136.50 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC declined 2.04% to Rs 323.65. The stock hit high of Rs 330.90 and low of Rs 322.45 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight Infosys declined 0.43% to Rs 1,189.90. The stock hit high of Rs 1,194 and low of Rs 1,172.30 in intraday trade.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.19% to Rs 1,048.50. The stock hit high of Rs 1,052. 50 and low of Rs 1,036.75 in intraday trade.
Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories dropped 3.78% to Rs 3,062.60. The stock hit high of Rs 3,195 and low of Rs 3,051 in intraday trade.
Most auto stocks rose on hopes of a policy rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India at its monetary policy meeting early next month. Ashok Leyland (up 0.58%), Tata Motors (up 0.63%), Hero MotoCorp (up 2.28%) and TVS Motor Company (up 3.95%) gained. Eicher Motors (down 0.61%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.09%) declined. Lower interest rates may help revive demand for vehicles. Purchases of automobiles, including that of cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles are substantially driven by financing.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.44% after the company announced that it would start deliveries of its newly launched compact SUV Vitara Brezza to customers from 25 March 2016. The vehicles will be retailed from the company's over 1,800 sales outlets spread across India, Maruti Suzuki India said. Within the first fortnight of its launch, the new vehicle from the company has received around 70,000 customer enquiries and 20,000 bookings, it said. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 March 2016.
Meanwhile, a foreign brokerage has reportedly maintained its buy rating on the Maruti stock. The foreign brokerage has reportedly said that a cyclical passenger vehicles recovery is on the horizon in India. It expects Maruti to record a 23% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in its earnings per share (EPS) over FY 2017-18.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 2.09% after the company announced that its Mahindra Agri Business forayed into dairy business with the launch of its branded dairy products under the brand Saboro. It has launched Saboro milk in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The company intends to launch a range of fresh dairy products in Madhya Pradesh over the next one year. The company will invest around Rs 5 crore in the first year for setting up a village level milk collection centre (VLC) and infrastructure and brand building. The company expects to garner around 5% market share of the Rs 260 crore dairy industry in Indore in the first year. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 March 2016.
Power generation stocks gained. Reliance Infrastructure (up 4.76%), Tata Power Company (up 4.4%), CESC (up 1.7%), Reliance Power (up 2.13%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 3.48%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 0.36%), Adani Power (up 0.96%), JSW Energy (up 0.84%) edged higher. NHPC fell 0.9%.
NTPC rose 0.71% after the company announced that unit-I of 250 megawatts (MW) of Nabinagar Thermal Power Station of Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company, a subsidiary of the company, was commissioned on 20 March 2016. With this, the total installed capacity of Nabinagar Thermal Power Station has become 250 MW and the total installed capacity of NTPC group has become 45,798 MW. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 March 2016.
State-run coal-mining giant Coal India was off 0.77% at Rs 294.50. The stock hit a high of Rs 299.70 and a low of Rs 293.70 in intraday trade.
Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 4.29% to Rs 116.75. The stock hit a high of Rs 117.25 and a low of Rs 112.55 in intraday trade.
The Sensex edged higher for the third day in a row. The barometer index has risen 653.12 points or 2.64% in three trading sessions from its close of 24,677.37 on 17 March 2016. The Sensex has risen 2,328.49 points or 10.12% in this month so far (till 22 March 2016). The Sensex has fallen 787.05 points or 3.01% in calendar year 2016 so far (till 22 March 2016). From a 52-week low of 22,494.61 hit on 29 February 2016, the Sensex has risen 2,835.88 points or 12.6%. The Sensex is off 3,764.12 points or 12.93% from a 52-week high of 29,094.61 hit on 15 April 2015. The Sensex is off 4,694.25 points or 15.63% from a record high of 30,024.74 hit on 4 March 2015.
On the macro front, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after market hours yesterday, 21 March 2016, showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to 1.3% of GDP in Q3 December 2015 from 1.7% of GDP in Q2 September 2015 and 1.5% of GDP in Q3 December 2014. The contraction in CAD was primarily on account of a lower trade deficit. After moderating in Q2 September 2015, net foreign direct investment (FDI) again picked up and stood at $10.8 billion in Q3 December 2015. Net FDI inflows during April-December 2015 jumped 24.8% over the level during the corresponding period of the previous year.
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