Markets Trade on a Positive Note

The Global Markets emanate mixed vibes this morning. U.S. stocks fell five straight days, driving the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its biggest weekly loss in a year, as lawmakers’ failure to agree on raising the federal government’s debt limit brought the nation to the brink of default. European stocks slid this week as U.S. lawmakers failed to agree on a deal to raise the federal Governments debt ceiling before the Aug. 2 deadline when rating firms may decide the country has defaulted. This morning Asian stocks rose, snapping three days of declines, after U.S. President Barack Obama said congressional leaders reached an agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and cut the federal deficit, boosting the outlook for banks and exporters. In commodities, Oil advanced from a two-week low in New York after President Barack Obama said leaders of both parties in the U.S. House and Senate approved a deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, stoking optimism over the economic recovery in the world’s biggest crude-consuming nation. Gold dropped from a record as President Barack Obama said that U.S. lawmakers reached a deal to increase the nation’s debt limit and cut the federal deficit, averting a default tomorrow and eroding demand for haven assets. Copper gained to near a more than three-month high as President Barack Obama said leaders of both parties in the U.S. House and Senate agreed to raise the debt limit, avoiding a default in the second-largest user of the metal. The markets had a gap-up opening with the Sensex and the Nifty gaining 1% each in opening trades. The Sensex started the week at 18,416, up 219 points and the Nifty added 66 points at 5,547. This is in line with the resurgent global markets as President Barack Obama announced a last-minute deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avoid a catastrophic default. But as the day progressed the markets are off day's high, mainly on account of weakness in metal stocks. The Sensex which touched a high of 18,440, is now  up 141 points at 18,338. Meanwhile, the Monsoon session of the Indian Parliament will commence from today amid a string of controversies facing the government. Also, The Group of Ministers on coal are likely to meet tomorrow to discuss six coal projects allotted to firms like ADAG, Essar and the Aditya Birla Group , which have been stalled due to pending environmental approvals, among others. The market breadth is very positive. Of the total 1482 stocks traded on the BSE, 1048 stocks have advanced while 373 declined.