Markets Open Flat To Positive, Telecom Extends Gains

The Indian markets opened on a flattish today with not much of a move happening on either sides. Global markets however continue to remain weak due to increasing worries over the US fiscal cliff, employment data and the European recession. These factors are likely to cap the amount of gains in Indian markets and keep them under pressure. Currently the Sensex is trading higher by 58.15 points at 18529.52, up by 0.31% and the Nifty is trading higher by 10.65 points at 5641.65, up by 0.19%. 

Global pressures have resulted in a lacklustre trading in other Asian markets as well. The Shanghai Composite has been trading lower by 0.90% due to these macroeconomic factors. However, Japanese markets have been on a rise since yesterday and continue to trade positive.

On the domestic front, gains can be seen across the market and not just in broader indices. The BSE Mid and Smallcap indices are trading higher by 0.50% and 0.30% respectively. The overall market breadth remains positive with 1157 advances (58.70%) and 715 declines (36.28%). Of the 13 sectoral indices, only 2 are trading negative at the moment. Losses can be seen in Auto and Consumer Durables, which are trading lower by 0.28% and 0.38% respectively.

Telecom stocks extended their gains and were riding high on the fact of having got spectrum at a cheaper price than what was expected. Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Videocon Industries are trading higher by 1.89%, 2.10% and 0.94% respectively.

One stock that has been in the limelight today has been Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services which gained 1.23%. The company’s QIP issue received an overwhelming response with being subscribed by over 5 times. It raised money by issuing shares at Rs 889 per share which is a 0.94% premium to the SEBI floor price of Rs 880.70.

Another stock that is pushing the markets up is Reliance Industries (RIL). The stock has been trading higher by 0.66%. RIL received a nod to drill a new well in the KG-D6 basin. (Read today’s Stocks In Action for more on this).

Although the global sentiment is low, individual stocks are keeping the markets on the higher side. However, on account of the overall sentiment not being favourable for big bullish moves, we expect it to not see significant gains and trade flat to positive.