Markets End Day Positive

The Indian markets closed on a positive note after remaining in the negative territory for most part of the day. This was on the back of the buying seen in the last hour of trading after the markets, which tanked on yesterday's trade, gave a buying opportunity for investors. Among the sectors IT, Capital Goods and Metals closed down by almost 1%, while FMCG is one of the biggest sectoral gainers, up by almost 2%. Auto, Bankex, Realty, etc. also closed the day higher.

The peer Asian markets closed in a mixed bag, with Hang Seng and Nikkei closing the session on a negative note, while Shanghai closed almost 1% higher. Earlier, the Chinese markets were trading in the red but they later moved higher on the back of speculations that the government will take steps to boost the economy.

The European markets will react to the dismal US job data and rising concerns over the sovereign debt crisis. The 3 major indices, viz. the CAC, DAX and FTSE are trading lower by more than 1% each.

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading 22 points or 0.17% up at 12850, indicating a positive sentiment in the US markets.

Back home, Tata Power closed the trades emerging the biggest index gainer, up 3.83% to Rs 104.40. FMCG, which is considered as a defensive bet, moved higher on today’s trade as the markets were trading in a very narrow range through the day and gave no clear directions. HUL and ITC closed 2.63% and 2.19% higher. Auto majors including Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra closed higher 2.85% and 1.35% respectively. Other stocks like Cipla, HDFC, HDFC Bank and RIL closed marginally in the green zone.

On the other hand, BHEL remained the major index loser, down 2.89% to Rs 255.80. Metals stocks showed a lacklustre performance in today’s trading session after China, the major country to use metals, showed a slowdown in its economy. Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel and Hindalco closed lower in the range of 0.71%-1.42%. Other stocks like Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, TCS and DLF closed marginally in the red zone.

Indraprastha Gas is down 34% to Rs 229.80 following media reports that the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) directed it to refund excess tariff. Other gas companies like Gujarat State Petronet is also down 7.50% to Rs 70.90.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was negative. Out of the 3243 stocks traded on the BSE, 1617 declined, 1487 advanced and 139 remained unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain volatile and don’t see any major overhaul likely in the investor sentiment in these volatile market conditions.