Markets Trading Higher

The Indian markets have opened on a positive note today following the reshuffle of the Union Cabinet yesterday. Both the major indices, Sensex and Nifty, are trading up by 0.34% and 0.29% respectively. Yesterday, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Cabinet announced its biggest reshuffle. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inducted 17 new faces and a total of 22 ministers, giving young turks a chance to prove their mettle.

The other Asian indices have lost their early gains and are trading with marginal losses. The Hang Seng, Nikkei and Shanghai are down by 0.19%, 0.12% and 0.05% respectively. Nikkei's share average rose in the morning as investors bet that Bank of Japan will substantially expand its easing programme when it meets on Tuesday, Oct 30.

Back home, among the BSE sectoral indices, Oil & Gas, Pharma and Auto have gained 0.73%, 0.65% and 0.63% respectively. Others like FMCG, Metals, CG, Power and Realty are also trading positive in the range of 0.13%-0.52%. On the other hand, IT, Bankex, Tech and PSU are in the negative zone, lower in the range of 0.03%-0.23%.

Of the Sensex shares, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel and M&M are in leading gains of 1.07%, 1.55%, 1.65% and 1.86% respectively. Sterlite Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank and HUL are among the major losers, lower in the range of 0.57%-1.19%.

In individual stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra is up by 1% at Rs 885.25, extending its two-day gains that have been triggered by the company reporting strong Q2 results.

JSW Steel rose 1.19% after the company reported decent results for the Sept 2012 quarter. Its consolidated net profit stood at Rs 691.25 crore in the elapsed quarter as against a net loss of Rs 669.32 crore in Q2 (Sept) 2011.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is positive as of now. On the BSE, 1116 shares have advanced, 784 shares have declined and 103 shares are unchanged.