Nifty@Fifty-Fifty

The Indian markets extended yesterday’s gains, and closed higher by more than 1%. It saw some nervous trades during the first half, but ended the day on a positive note. Nifty closed at 5050, while Sensex closed at the 16650 levels. Among the sectoral indices, Realty continues to be the major gainer, up by 2.32%, while Bankex, Auto, Metals, etc. closed higher by over 1%.

The peer Asian markets closed the day with mixed results. The Hang Seng and Nikkei closed up by 0.85% and 1.24% respectively. Shanghai closed down by 0.72% on media reports that the Chinese economy had expanded 8.1% in the first 3 months of 2012, the slowest pace in the last 11 quarters.

European markets are trading positive, with FTSE, CAC and DAX trading higher in the range of 0.5%-1%. This is after media reports that investors are waiting to take cues from the Spanish and French debt auctions and Bank of England’s decision on the interest rate. Investors are also hopeful that Ben Bernanke would say something positive today on the third round of Quantitative Easing (QE).

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading up 12 points or 0.1% at 12431, indicating a positive sentiment in the US markets.

Back home, Sterlite Industries is the leading index gainer, up 3.85% to Rs 97.2. The banking space inched higher on expectations that the RBI may cut the interest rate, which would fuel growth in the economy. Stocks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank closed up by 3.75% and 3.67% respectively, while SBI closed marginally in the green zone, up 0.39% to Rs 2167.85. Auto stocks like Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, etc. closed higher in the range of 2%-3%. Others like Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and HUL closed marginally in positives.

On the other hand, the IT scrips were the worst performers. Wipro and TCS closed higher by 1.91% and 1.02% respectively. Other stocks like GAIL India, Hindalco and Cipla closed the day down in the range of 0.13%-1%.

Reliance Industries closed the day higher by 0.92% to Rs 720.70 after its annual general meeting today. According to media reports, the Chairman, Mukesh Ambani, said that the company would invest Rs 1 lakh crore across the business over the next 4 years. He added that in the next 3-4 years, the company plans to achieve a total production of 60 mmscmd of gas for a sustained period.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, remained positive today. Out of the 3196 stocks traded on the BSE, 2160 advanced, 913 declined and 123 remained unchanged.

In conclusion, we expect the markets to remain volatile for tomorrow and advise our readers to play with caution.