Markets Open In Gains

The Indian markets have snapped the negativity created in the last few sessions and have opened in positives today. The Sensex is trading up 1.02% to 16194, while the 50-share Nifty is up 1.05% to 4909. On the sectoral front, all indices except IT are trading up. FMCG has gained 2.15% this morning.

After yesterday’s heavy bearish sentiment, the Asian markets are also in the green. The Japanese economy grew above expectations in the Jan-Mar 2012 quarter, as domestic demand and government spending helped the country to show some signs of recovery post a series of incidents in the last year like the disastrous tsunami and the nuclear mishap. The US economic growth slowed down a bit, while that of China was 8.1% during the quarter. The Japanese Nikkei index opened in the positive and has continued its run in the green. Hang Seng and Shanghai are also up by over 0.5% each.

The Singaporean economy has also expanded by 10% during the quarter, but the government there is playing cautious over the uncertainty in the Euro zone.

Yesterday, the rupee tanked heavily to post its all-time low. The national currency is currently trading over the 54 levels. The widening deficit in the current account has put pressure on the rupee. Now, when the dollar is in demand, there are speculations that the rupee may keep falling till it touches the 60/dollar mark. The government has said that it will not press the panic button yet. The USD-INR currency futures indicate that the rupee may touch 56.25 by November this year. Investors, markets and corporates will keenly watch the next action of the government and the RBI.

Only 3 of the Sensex stocks, TCS, L&T and Infosys, are trading below the separating line. All the other stocks are up. In the gainers list, ITC is on the buyers’ radar. DLF has also surged by 2.95%. Tata Motors, which tanked 7% yesterday, is at the bottom of the gainers list.

Among individual stocks, the shares of Astrazenecea have surged by 11.61% again. This stock keeps surging and tanking at intervals, as there is uncertainty on whether the company will go ahead with delisting. The shares of Dish TV India have also gained 7.35% over the better earnings posted.

On the earnings front, Bajaj Finserv posted its quarterly results yesterday, reported good financial performance and improved NPAs. As per the brokerage house Sharekhan, the stock looks to be a buying opportunity. It is up by 0.82% today.JK Lakshmi Cement's shares have surged 5.87% after the company reported a marginal decline in profits. The company declared a divided of Rs 2 for its shareholders.

Piramal Healthcare announced yesterday that it will buy the US-based healthcare information company DRG for USD 635 million. Its shares, which tanked yesterday, have now been bought and the stock is marginally up. Ind-Swift has announced that it has launched the generic version of Atorvastatin in the UK market, which has rocked its shares by 4.26% at this time. Mcnally Bharat Engineering has reported winning an order worth Rs 81 crore. The shares are up by 1%.

AstraZeneca and Dish TV have reported a surge in volumes. ‘T’ group stocks such as WYN Aqua Exports, Aricent Infra, Alka Diamond, Swagruha Infra, Parikh Herbals and VSSL are trading at new highs.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is positive as more than 50% stocks have advanced in value.

Ahead today, the markets may remain positive. However, any adverse news on the Euro zone front may mar the expected positive run.