Monday, March 28, 2011

Markets continue rally; Sensex up 127.5 pts

Markets continued last week's rally on back of continued buying by investors. Sensex revisited 19,000 levels before ending at 18,943.14 pts up by 0.68% and Nifty is at 5687.25 up by 0.58 %. BSE Mid-cap stood at 6,749.81up by 28.25 points and BSE S-cap stood at 8,011.63 up by 10.00 points.

The top gainers on BSE are Tata Motors up 3.25% at Rs 1220.30, Bharti Airtel gaining 2.57%, L&T up 2.56%, Reliance Infra up 1.76% and Maruti up 1.69%. The top losers on Sensex are JP Associates down by 2.06%, RCOM down by 1.5%, Sterlite Industries down by 0.89%, Infosys down by 0.71% and DLF down by 0.66%.

The BSE Sectoral indices ended on a mixed note. BSE sectoral gainer are Auto up by 1.52%, CG by 1.27% and Bankex by 1.21%. BSE sectoral losers are HC down by 1.17%, Realty down by 0.56% and IT by 0.29%.

The breadth of the market is positive with 1251 advancing stocks and 1734 declining stocks.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Sensex zooms by over 400 points...Nifty tops 6560

The bulls had an excellent day on Friday, taking inspiration from Dhoni & Co. after they pulled off a splendid win over defending champions Australia in Ahmedabad last night. The Indian market extended its rally to a fourth straight trading session on Friday, ending the week with smart gains.

Today’s rally was led by IT heavyweights like Infosys, TCS and Wipro after reports stated that Nasscom has requested the Centre to extend the Software Technology Parks of India scheme for one year. IT stocks also received a boost following strong results from Oracle and Accenture.

Telecom, Banking and Realty stocks were among the other big gainers. Technically, after breaching the 50 DMA yesterday, the NSE Nifty jumped started its upswing today, inching closer to the 200DMA which is placed at 5684 levels.

"The undertone was dictated by persistently healthy gains in global equities this week, notwithstanding a series of ongoing concerns.  Also, fund inflows from both - overseas as well as domestic institutions have been pretty good in the past few days. In addition, the Government has shown signs of gradually pushing through some key pending reforms," says Amar Ambani, Head of Research (India Private Clients) - IIFL.

The BSE Sensex ended at 18,815 gaining 465 points. It had earlier touched a day's high of 18,858 and a day's low of 18,480. It opened at 18,480. While, the NSE Nifty rose 132 points to close at 5,654.

Among the BSE sectoral indices, the BSE IT index was the top gainer, the index gained 4% followed by BSE Teck index adding 3.5%, while, BSE Banking index gained 2.8%. BSE Mid-Cap index gained 1%, while the BSE Small-Cap index added 1%.

The European markets were trading with positive bias, the FTSE index was up 0.7%, CAC index was up 0.5% and DAX index was up 0.8%.

Outside the frontline indices, the big gainers in the broader market were Fintech, Corp Bank, PFC and Areva. On the other hand, losers included DB Realty, Jubilant Life, Pantaloon and IndusInd Bank.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Markets end higher; auto shares in top gear





Markets closed in the green after three consecutive days of losses buoyed by gains in auto and realty shares. However, investors continue to remain watchful of the developments in west Asia.

The Nifty opened at 5,391 and scaled to a high of 5,428 followed by positive cues from the Asian peers as radiation concerns from Japan eased. The S&P CNX Nifty held on to the gains and closed up 49 points, at 5414 and the benchmark Sensex advanced 149 points, at 17,988.
In west Asia, coalition forces renewed air strikes on Libya, intensifying the skirmish and stoking fears of oil supply. Brent Crude fell 0.5% at 114.63, below $115 mark. Back in India, the government introduced a nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill into parliament today but the opposition immediately threatened adjournment on back of cash-for-votes scandal.                                                                  n India markets rallied on account of value buying by (FIIs) Foreign Institutional Investors in selective stocks. Gopal Agrawal, Head Equity and Deputy CIO, Mirae Asset Global Investments said, "after witnessing a correction of almost 15% from recent highs, values started emerging in many individual stocks on the back of significant earnings growth visibility and long term prospects." FIIs have been net buyers of $320 million in Indian equities in March so far.
Even technical charts indicate bounce back in the near term. Kunal Bothra, Technical Analyst, LKP Securities said "the Nifty is due for sharp bounce back; the markets have absorbed all the bad news in the last few weeks, which can be a positive trigger for the market."
Agarwal recommends investors to focus on quality stocks with reasonable valuations which are thrown in large numbers due to market volatility.
All the sectoral indices ended in the green. BSE Realty and Auto shares were the top sectoral gainers, the indices were up 2.2% and 1.5% each.
From the realty space, Anant Raj Industries was the top gainer, up 7.5%, followed by Phoenix Mills, up 4.8%, Mahindra Lifespace gained 3.7% and DLF advanced 3.2%.
Auto shares were in the top gear, Maruti Suzuki climbed 3.5%, Ashok Leyland advanced  1.8% and Mahindra & Mahindra was up 1.7%.
Top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel, up 2.7%, JP Associates advanced 2.1% and HDFC zoomed 1.7%.
Reliance Industries gained 1.1% after declining 5.4% in the past three days. Only four components on the Sensex ended in the red, Jindal Steel and TCS declined 0.3% each, ICICI Bank was off 0.2%, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Auto ended flat.
Broader markets also ended in the green, the midcap and small cap indices were up 0.8% and 0.5% each. Market breadth was positive, 1555 stocks advanced for 1294 stocks which declined.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Sensex slips 0.2 pc as Libya, oil worries weigh

Indian markets edged 0.2 percent lower in a choppy trading session on Monday as an escalating Libyan crisis and firm oil prices weighed on investor sentiment.

Oil prices rose by more than 1 percent on Monday as a United Nations mandated wave of air strikes on Libya and proliferating unrest in the Middle East fanned concerns about oil supply from the region.

The 30-share BSE index closed 0.22 percent, or 39.76 points, lower at 17,918.59 points, with 17 of its components declining. It rose as much as 0.7 percent early.

"People are cautious. The situation in Libya is worsening and all eyes are on oil prices. Let us see how the situation unfolds," said Deven Choksey, managing director and CEO of KR Choksey Shares.

The benchmark index is already down 13 percent year-to-date, making it one of the worst performing major markets in 2011.

The broader MSCI's measure of Asian markets other than Japan is down 4.1 percent in 2011, while MSCI's emerging markets index has shed 3.7 percent in the period.

Foreign funds have pulled out $1.8 billon from Indian equities since the start of the year up to March 17, pestered by sticky inflation.

Amongst the BRIC nations, Indian witnessed highest net redemption at $183 million in the week to March 16, fund tracker EPFR said.

Global equity funds at large faced outflows in that week as the Japan disaster combined with a bloody revolt in Libya, protests in Bahrain and the downgrading of Portuguese debt undermined investor appetite.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Nifty ends at 5450; Japan nuclear crisis weighs

Indian markets ended in the negative territory Tuesday in line with global peers as leakage of harmful radiation from Japan's nuclear plants weighed sentiments.

The radiation levels in Japan have increased high enough to harm humans after explosion at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was crippled after the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, said news reports.

Investors were also wary ahead of Reserve Bank of India's meet Thursday. The central bank is likely to hike rates to curb inflation which rose to 8.31 per cent in February against 8.23 in January.

Indian market opened with a gap-down in line with peers but buying activity in heavy-weight Reliance ind helped the benchmarks to pare some of the intra-day losses.

"Gross refining margins are expected to be good around $11.8 for this quarter and there's buzz of advance tax payment as well," said, Anita Gandhi, whole time director, .

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18167.64, down 271.84 points or 1.47 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 17920.55 and high of 18326.33 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5449.65, down 81.85 points or 1.48 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5373.65 and high of 5497.85 intra-day.

"Volatility will continue for next few sessions due to crisis in Japan. There are concerns of harmful radiation spreading further and if Japanese funds start selling actively then it will put some pressure on the market. Market will also keenly await RBI's meet outcome. 5400 looks like a good support and the Nifty may hold on to it," she added.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.163 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index fell 3.14 per cent, BSE Auto Index declined 2.03 per cent and BSE Metal Index was down 2.02 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.32 per cent.

Nifty ends at 5450; Japan nuclear crisis weighs

Indian markets ended in the negative territory Tuesday in line with global peers as leakage of harmful radiation from Japan's nuclear plants weighed sentiments.

The radiation levels in Japan have increased high enough to harm humans after explosion at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant which was crippled after the devastating earthquake and tsunami last week, said news reports.

Investors were also wary ahead of Reserve Bank of India's meet Thursday. The central bank is likely to hike rates to curb inflation which rose to 8.31 per cent in February against 8.23 in January.

Indian market opened with a gap-down in line with peers but buying activity in heavy-weight Reliance ind helped the benchmarks to pare some of the intra-day losses.

"Gross refining margins are expected to be good around $11.8 for this quarter and there's buzz of advance tax payment as well," said, Anita Gandhi, whole time director, .

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18167.64, down 271.84 points or 1.47 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 17920.55 and high of 18326.33 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty closed at 5449.65, down 81.85 points or 1.48 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5373.65 and high of 5497.85 intra-day.

"Volatility will continue for next few sessions due to crisis in Japan. There are concerns of harmful radiation spreading further and if Japanese funds start selling actively then it will put some pressure on the market. Market will also keenly await RBI's meet outcome. 5400 looks like a good support and the Nifty may hold on to it," she added.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.163 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index fell 3.14 per cent, BSE Auto Index declined 2.03 per cent and BSE Metal Index was down 2.02 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.32 per cent.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Sensex ends lower on Japan quake, economic woes

Indian markets pared some off the intra-day losses and ended near support levels Friday reacting to earthquake and tsunami waves in Japan, weak US economic data and protests in the middle-east.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.9, worst in 140 years, struck northern coast of Japan triggering Tsunami waves as high as 10 meters. Nuclear reactors and airports were affected as the waves damaged everything that came in their way.

According to experts, apart from sentimental knee-jerk reaction, Indian markets will not be affected by the tragedy in Japan.

?Does it make any difference to Indian economy? I do not think so. Is it hitting sentiment in the market today? Absolutely, the markets moved down. But I do not think people can change their investment decisions in India because of this tragedy in Japan,? said Adrian Mowat , MD & Chief EM Strategist, JP Morgan to ET Now.

The tremors hit global markets badly which were already under pressure on economic concerns. Indian markets had opened in the red reacting to weekly jobless claims in the US which increased to 397000. Trade deficit also worsened more than expected to $46.3 billion.

Public unrest in the middle-east also kept the investors jittery. Demonstrators had planned protests in the Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh for political reforms.

There was some relief back home as January IIP data turned out to be better-than-expected. India?s Industrial Output in January grew at 3.7 per cent against 2.5 per cent in December.

?With the base effect impacting the numbers, Jan industrial output remained subdued but came in higher than ours and consensus expectations (Citi 2.8%; Consensus 2.9%).

Given the continuation of the high base effect in the coming quarter (growth averaged 15%), we except the numbers to remain in low single-digits,? said Rohini Malkani, Economist, Citi India.

?We thus maintain our view of the RBI hiking by an additional 50bps in 2011 with a 25bps hike likely in its review next week and a further 50bps 2012,? she added.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he was not satisfied with the pace of expansion of India's industrial output.

National Stock Exchange?s Nifty ended at 5445.45, down 48.95 points or 0.89 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5411.55 and high of 5502.70 in today?s trade.

Bombay Stock Exchange?s Sensex closed at 18174.09, down 153.89 points or 0.84 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18063.29 and high of 18368.43 intraday.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.07 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.12 per cent.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index fell 1.91 per cent lower, BSE IT Index slipped 1.49 per cent and BSE Power Index was down 1.49 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 0.81 per cent and BSE FMCG Index was up 0.03 per cent.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bank, metal drag Sensex down 142 points

Cutting short the two-day gaining streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by 142 points due to selling by funds as rising crude oil prices sparked fears of interest rate hike amid a weakening global trend.
The 30-share barometer fell by 141.97 points to 18,327.98 points. The index had gained 247 points in the last two trading sessions. Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty dropped by 36.60 points to 5,494.40 points.
Global stock markets declined on renewed concern about the euro debt crisis and rising crude oil prices that might curb the global economic growth.
Banking and metal stocks fell on fears that easing food inflation might be temporary and the Reserve Bank of India might further hike interest rate at its policy meeting next week.
The food inflation fell to 9.52 per cent for the week ended February 26 from 10.39 per cent in the previous week.
Crude oil climbed as escalating violence in Libya, Africa’s third-largest producer, renewed concern that supply disruptions may spread in West Asia.
Marketmen said the investor confidence remained jittery on fears of more tightening measures to stabilise economic growth in the RBI policy review scheduled next week.
Financial company stocks remained under pressure and suffered the most as the Government has increased its repurchase rate seven times in the past year to 6.5 per cent to stem inflation.
The Sensex has lost 13 per cent from its record level on November 5, making it the world’s third-worst performing benchmark index on concern that the Government measures to quell inflation will hurt economic growth.
Banking index fell by 1.16 per cent to 12,313.14 as the stocks of SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined. Metal index dropped by 1.3 per cent to 15,666.92 followed by Teck index by 0.54 per cent to 3,656.65.
IT index lost 0.53 per cent to 6,242.98, Consumer Durables index 0.53 per cent to 5,760.96 and FMCG index 0.46 per cent to 3,490.64.
As the selling pressure spread over a wide-front, small cap index lost 0.25 per cent to 7,989.69 and mid cap index 0.07 per cent to 6,599.79.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

sensex ends marginally higher

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today ended higher by 30 points after a volatile trade as investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios on easing political concerns and dropping crude oil prices.
The 30-share index of the Bombay Stock Exchange closed with a moderate gain of 30.30 points at 18,469.95. During the day, the barometer touched a high of 18,583.30 points and a low of 18,303.80 points.
In a similar fashion, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed up by 10.2 points at 5,531 points.
Putting to rest political worries, the DMK, an ally of the UPA Government at the Centre, agreed to a seat-sharing deal with the Congress for the coming Tamil Nadu elections.
A better trend in the Asian region as cheer from a drop in crude oil prices also supported the market to some extent.
Crude oil prices fell from a 29-month high in the global markets, eroding inflationary concerns and reducing the fears of another interest rate hike.
Maximum support to the gauge came in from the realty, consumer durables, auto and power sector stocks, while a weak trend in healthcare and IT sectors on profit-selling mainly capped the gains.
Market leader Reliance Industries gained nearly 1 per cent which also supported the market.
The realty sector index gained the most by rising 1.74 per cent to 2,106.44 followed by consumer durables index 0.88 per cent to 5,791.41. The auto index rose 0.72 per cent to 8,854.54 and power index by 0.48 per cent to 2,597.79.
As investors indulged in adjusting their portfolios with low value strong stocks, small cap index rose 0.82 per cent to 8,009.65 and mid cap index 0.65 per cent to 6,604.72.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Nifty ends 58 points up; Bharti, Suzlon, ONGC gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note as easing crude oil prices and reports of efforts between DMK and Congress over seat sharing ahead of Tamil Nadu elections boosted sentiments. Oil prices fell over $2 per barrel after reports that OPEC was likely to boost oil production in order to stem rising prices.

Markets opened in the green taking cues from Asian peers and as buying emerged after profit booking in previous session. The benchmarks held on to their gains and moved higher towards the close of session as the DMK leaders met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

We believe the political environment will remain uncertain in the near term as various political parties shift positions in the run-up to assembly polls. This may keep financial markets volatile in the near term. However, medium-term performance of markets will still be shaped by the evolving macroeconomic outlook, said Edelweiss report.

Bombay Stock Exchange s Sensex ended at 18439.65 up 216.98 points or 1.19 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18266.62 and high of 18466.81 intraday.

National Stock Exchange s Nifty closed at 5520.80, up 57.65 points or 1.06 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5464.75 and high of 5530.55 in today s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.97 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.76 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 1.90 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved 1.49 per cent higher and BSE Bankex moved 1.48 per cent up.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Sensex ends 264 points lower; auto, banks, realty down

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended in the red but off day’s lows as investors bought frontline stocks available near support levels. Concerns of interest rate hike due to inflationary pressure after spike in crude oil prices saw bears hammering stocks from rate sensitive sectors.

Fears of political instability back home due to fall-out between DMK and UPA government on seat-sharing hurt sentiments. According to reports, the talks between both the parties have resumed and some amicable solution with out ahead of forthcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.

According to market experts the weakness is likely to continue in the near term due to weak economic data and political developments back home.

"On the international front, the events in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other Middle East countries have increased the Indian crude oil basket again to a $108 mark indicating a red flag on equity markets world over.
Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 18222.67, down 263.78 points or 1.43 per cent. The 30-share index touched a low of 18058.71 and high of 18361.65 intraday.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5463.15, down 75.60 points or 1.36 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5408.45 and high of 5491.25 in today’s trade.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.41per cent and BSE Smallcap Index declined 1.43 per cent.
Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index fell 2.55 per cent, BSE Capital Goods Index was down 2.36 per cent, BSE Realty Index moved 1.66 per cent lower and BSE Bankex declined 1.60 per cent.



To add to this, the fallout of the DMK withdrawal would again keep pressure on the Indian markets. With the political risks rising we believe that the government machinery will be less inclined to take decision, the direct of impact of which will be on a lot of infrastructure projects that needs green signals.

Friday, March 4, 2011

Nifty ends volatile session on flat note

Indian equity benchmarks saw consolidation for another day on Friday, after the budget rally. The Nifty touched the 5600 mark in early trade today for the first time since January 28 on strong global cues. But as the day progressed those gains got completely wiped out on rising concerns on Libya and the index ended on a quiet note.
Worries on account of Middle East and North African political turmoil do not seem to be over yet though the London brent crude stabilised around USD 115-116 a barrel and crude oil around USD 102-103 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Amrita Sen, Assistant Vice President, Commodities Research at Barclays Capital sees extremely high volatility and choppy trade in crude. She says, "Oil infrastructure is not at risk and Bahrain is extremely important to watch out for."
Praveen Kumar, Head-South Asia (Oil and Gas Team), FACTS Global Energy expects crude to trade around USD 105 a barrel in 2011.
The United Kingdom has frozen nearly USD 3.2 billion of Libyan wealth fund assets, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting agencies. There were also some reports that rebels in North Yemen threw bombs and staged anti-government protests resulting in many being dead and wounded. The army used rockets on protesters, agencies reported.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell just 3.31 points, to close at 18,486.45 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 2.55 points, to settle at 5,538.75, after shedding more than 250 points and nearly 70 points from day's high, respectively.
For the week, both benchmarks rallied over 4.4%.
There was profit booking in the capital goods space - L&T, BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates cracked 2-3%. ITC and HUL from FMCG space declined around 1%.
SAIL, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries too were down nearly 1%. Among others, TCS, Bharti, ONGC, Wipro and ICICI Bank were down 0.3-1%.
However, heavyweights like Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI, HDFC, HDFC Bank and NTPC were quite supportive with 0.5-1% gain.
Reliance Power was the top gainer with 7% gain followed by Tata Power, which gained nearly 3%.
In midcap space, Essar Shipping gained another 10% today as Gujarat HC approved demerger of Essar Shipping Ports yesterday. Company said demerger process would be completed in about a month.
Motilal Oswal, PTC India, Deccan Chronicle and Stride Arcolab gained 4-6% while Ramky Infra, Money Matters, Gammon India, Jindal PolyFilm and Phoenix Mills fell 5%.
In smallcap space, Rane Holdings, Jindal Worldwide, Vindhya Telelink, Lloyds Metals and Prime Securities rallied 8-10% whereas SML Isuzu, VST Tillers, TTK Healthcare, Allied Digital and R M Mohite lost 5-7%.
Oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1-2% as government sought parliament nod for sanction of additional Rs 21,000 crore for compensating oil marketing companies for under-recoveries, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting Reuters.
About 1286 shares advanced as against 1416 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
On the global front, Asian markets ended 0.5-1.7%. European markets were trading higher by more than 0.5%, at the time closing of Indian equities.

Demat account

The term Demat, in India, refers to a dematerialised account for individual Indian citizens to trade in listed stocks or debentures, required for investors  by The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI). In a demat account, shares and securities are held electronically instead of the investor taking physical possession of certificates. A Demat Account is opened by the investor while registering with an investment broker (or sub broker). The Demat account number is quoted for all transactions to enable electronic settlements of trades to take place.
Access to the Demat account requires an internet password and a transaction password as well as initiating and confirming transfers or purchases of securities. Purchases and sales of securities on the Demat account are automatically made once transactions are executed and completed.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

In the post-budget rally, the Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share benchmark Sensex, zoomed 623.10 points and closed at 18446.50 on Tuesday, its biggest single day jump since May, 2009, against 17823.40 on Monday. The broad-based National Stock Exchange 50-share index, Nifty shot up by 189.05 points to 5522.30 from 5333.25.
The rally was led by automobile, bank, realty and capital goods stocks and all sectoral indices recorded handsome gains. The automobile sector index gained 5.64 per cent to 8718.22, followed by banking index by 4.35 per cent to 12355.22. The realty sector shot up by 4.20 per cent to 2064.81 and the capital goods index by 4.19 per cent to 12918.87.
“Budget announcement was the major trigger for the market and it brought in huge short covering. It was centred on investment in infrastructure, agriculture, education and financial sector which was cheered by the marketmen on Tuesday,” said Alex Mathews, Research head, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
Oil prices have eased a bit but regional uprising seen in Oman which supplies around one per cent of global oil is a concern. But assurance from Saudi Arabia to make good any supply disruption may keep the price cool at least for some time.
During the day, the market has taken note of the trade data which showed exports in January rising an annual 32.4 per cent to $20.6 billion while imports rose 13.1 per cent to $28.6 billion. Even though Wednesday being a holiday for markets on account of Mahashivratri, investors remained invested showing their confidence.
Automobile companies rallied on better February sales report which was out during the day showing decent numbers which further supported the uptrend in the sector. Power sector shares were in demand as tax exemption under Sec. 80-1A for power generation companies was extended by one more year for one more year and also exemption was given for ultra mega power plants from excise duty in the Union Budget. Education stocks remained attractive as before.
In the global arena also the trend was positive with the Asian markets rising on falling oil prices and rising U.S. personal income. Buying was so strong that all 13 sectoral indices ended up, gaining 1.71 per cent to 5.64 per cent with auto, banking, realty, capital goods and metal stocks leading the gains. The total market breadth was highly positive as 2,128 stocks ended with gains while 759 finished with losses on the BSE.
Meanwhile, BSE and NSE will remain closed on Wednesday on account of Mahashivratri.