A range bound movement was witnessed as key benchmark indices retained positive zone in morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently hovering slightly below the psychological 29,000 mark. Earlier during the trading session, the Sensex had surpassed the psychological 29,000 mark for the first time in its history. The Sensex was currently up 110.14 points or 0.38% at 28,999. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong.
ITC recovered after a slide during the previous trading session triggered by the company's disappointing Q3 December 2014 results. Steel Authority of India (Sail) rose after the state-run steel major said that as per the draft Vision document presented before a board level subcommittee of the company, the installed capacity of the Bokaro steel plant is to be enhanced from the present level of 4.36 MTPA crude steel to 13.4 MTPA in a phased manner spread over next 10 to 15 years.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2065.49 crore yesterday, 21 January 2015, as per provisional data.
Earlier, the Sensex and the 50-unit CNX Nifty, both, hit record high in morning trade. The Sensex moved past the psychological 29,000 level for the first time in its history.
In global markets, Asian shares edged higher after China's central bank injected 50 billion yuan ($8 billion) of liquidity into the financial system. US stocks eked out small gains yesterday, 21 January 2015, on speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) will unveil a government-bond-buying program aimed at spurring Europe's ailing economy.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar.
Brent crude futures edged lower.
At 10:15 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 110.14 points or 0.38% at 28,999. The index jumped 148.85 points at the day's high of 29,037.71 in morning trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index rose 53.07 points at the day's low of 28,941.93 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was up 32.95 points or 0.38% at 8,762.45. The index hit a high of 8,764.60 in intraday trade, a lifetime high for the index. The index hit a low of 8,734.90 in intraday trade.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 43.46 points or 0.41% at 10,745.70. The BSE Small-Cap index was 56.21 points or 0.49% at 11479.09. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,272 shares advanced and 784 shares declined. A total of 77 shares were unchanged.
Steel Authority of India (Sail) rose after the state-run steel major said that as per the draft Vision document presented before a board level subcommittee of the company, the installed capacity of the Bokaro steel plant is to be enhanced from the present level of 4.36 MTPA crude steel to 13.4 MTPA in a phased manner spread over next 10 to 15 years. The stock was up 0.78%. Sail clarified that the vision document is yet to be approved by the company's board. The investment proposal cannot be frozen until and unless the vision document has been approved by the board, the company added.
ITC recovered after a slide during the previous trading session triggered by the company's disappointing Q3 December 2014 results. The stock was up 1.57% at Rs 358.15. The stock hit a high of Rs 359.60 and a low of Rs 353 so far during the day.
ITC's net profit rose 10.46% to Rs 2635 crore on 2.47% growth in total income from operations (net) to Rs 8942.59 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013. Segment wise results showed that sales of the cigarette division rose 0.62% to Rs 4141.94 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013. Sales of the FMCG business jumped 11.37% to Rs 2314.12 crore in Q3 December 2014 over Q3 December 2013. ITC announced the third quarter results during market hours yesterday, 21 January 2015.
Realty stocks were mixed. Sunteck Realty (up 4.59%), Anant Raj (up 3%), D B Realty (up 2.22%), Parsvnath Developers (up 1.69%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.51%), Godrej Properties (up 0.38%), DLF (up 0.21%), Peninsula Land (up 0.14%), Phoenix Mills (up 0.04%) and Oberoi Realty (up 0.02%) edged higher. Unitech (down 0.3%), Sobha (down 0.36%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (down 0.52%) and Prestige Estates (down 3.59%) edged lower.
Cement stocks were mixed. UltraTech Cement (up 1.64%), J K Cements (up 1.15%), Prism Cement (up 0.69%), Birla Corporation (up 0.67%), Shree Cement (up 0.53%), ACC (up 0.40%) and Ambuja Cements (up 0.10%), edged higher.
HeidelbergCement India (down 0.17%), JK Lakshmi Cement (down 0.52%), Mangalam Cement (down 0.57%), Saurastra Cement (down 0.6%), Dalmia Cement (Bharat) (down 0.68%), The Ramco Cement (down 1.02%), India Cements (down 1.17%) and Jaiprakash Associates (down 1.56%) edged lower.
Grasim Industries was up 0.18%. The company holds major stake in UltraTech Cement.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) yesterday, 21 January 2015, announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed all concerned departments to immediately finalise the programme and finalise the financing models for alternate sets of housing requirements with regard to the government's Housing for All Mission. The programme proposes to build 2 crore houses across the nation by 2022. At a review meeting of the Housing for All programme held yesterday, 21 January 2015, Modi has emphasized the need to ensure that there is no compromise in quality during the roll-out of this ambitious programme, the PMO said. The Prime Minister said that the first priority under the new scheme should be on towns and cities along the banks of the River Ganga and its tributaries
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.4975, compared with its close of 61.635 during the previous trading session.
Brent crude futures edged lower. Brent for March settlement was off 17 cents at $48.86 a barrel. The contract had risen $1.04 a barrel or 2.17% to settle at $49.03 a barrel during the previous trading session.
In his foreword to the fourth edition of the annual Status Paper on Government Debt which gives detailed analysis of the government's debt position released yesterday, 21 January 2015, Finance Minister Arun Jaitely has said that the overall liabilities of the Central Government are on a medium-term declining trajectory with low roll-over risk, notwithstanding the slight increase in a couple of years in recent past due to stimulus spending in the wake of the global financial crisis. The share of public account liabilities in the total liabilities of the General Government are also on a declining trend. The average interest cost, which is stable and well below nominal GDP growth rate, indicates that India is comfortably placed in terms of sustainability parameters of public debt, Jaitley said. The government's debt portfolio is characterized by prudent risk profile with share of short-term debt within safe limits. Most of the debt is of domestic origin insulating the debt portfolio from currency risk. The limited external debt is almost entirely from official sources on concessional terms, providing safety from volatility in the international financial markets. The relatively long maturity of debt and its predominantly fixed-coupon character point to low roll-over and interest rate risks, Jaitley said.
This paper reiterates the government's commitment to keep the level of public debt within sustainable limits, the finance ministry said at the time of releasing the fourth edition of the annual Status Paper on Government Debt yesterday, 21 January 2015.
Most Asian shares were trading higher as investors bet the European Central Bank will unveil a bond-buying stimulus programme later in the day in an attempt to revive the flagging euro zone economy. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.11% to 0.48%. Key benchmark indices in Japan and China was off 0.09% to 0.20%.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could rise 26 points at the opening bell today, 22 January 2015. The US stock market ended Wednesday's choppy trading day with modest gains, extending its winning streak to three sessions, as investors widely expect the European Central Bank to deliver on monetary stimulus at its key meeting today, 22 January 2015.
The People's Bank of China has rolled over the maturing 269.5-billion-yuan Medium Lending Facility to banks and added an extra 50 billion yuan via the tool to cope with seasonally tight liquidity ahead of the Chinese New Year festival, the Chinese central bank said yesterday, 21 January 2015, night.
In Europe, the governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to undertake monetary policy review today, 22 January 2015. The ECB may announce a large-scale bond-buying program today, 22 January 2015, aimed at spurring Europe's ailing economy.
Meanwhile, uncertainties over the status of Greece including its possible exit from the eurozone are likely to persist until the early election in the country on 25 January 2015. Greece is set to hold snap elections on 25 January 2015 after it failed to elect a new president in a third round of voting late last year. The Greek leftist opposition party Syriza leads opinion polls ahead of national elections on 25 January 2015. Syriza has demanded debt relief from the eurozone and promised to roll back the austerity and reform measures that the country has undertaken in exchange for the international bailout that the government negotiated in 2012.
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