Markets shed morning gains, but continue to be in green

Mid-Session Commentary 4th Nov 2011

Positive trends continue Indian markets have given up their morning gains, but continue to remain positive. All the sectors are trading in the green zone, with metals, realty and capital goods showing good strength, while oil & gas and healthcare are lacklustre.

The Asian markets continued make positive moves after US factory orders increased and the European Central bank unexpectedly cut the interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25%, reducing concerns that the debt crisis will spur a credit crunch.
 
The European markets had a quiet start, and are trading in the green zone after Greece abandoned the referendum on the bailout plan, reducing the risk of default.

Back home, metal heavyweights like Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel and Hindalco continued moving northwards in the range of 2-3%. Other stocks like Sun Pharma, SBI, BHEL, L&T, Coal India, etc are up by more than 1%. Hindustan Unilever continued yesterday’s profit booking, and is down by 1% to Rs 379. After the hike in petrol prices however, auto stocks like Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors are trading marginally lower.

HCL Infosystems is down 3.21% to Rs 63.40 after posting disappointing Q2 FY12 earnings. Its Net Profits declined 74% to Rs 12 cr, while the Net Sales declined 6% to Rs 2787 cr on a YoY basis. Sesa Goa is trading up 1.64% to Rs 213.90 after the news came in that company will acquire 100% stake in Goa Energy from Videocon Industries and other shareholders for Rs 53.72 cr. The shares of Videocon Industries are also trading higher by 1% at Rs 174.25

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1584 shares rose and 1083 shares fell. 129 shares remained unchanged.

The markets are expected to remain volatile for the rest of the day. Investors should also watch out for the outcome of the G-20 summit, which is currently in progress.