Nifty shy of 5800

Major headlines

Inflation stands at 8.5% in August

Suzlon Energy bags 50MW repeat order; the stock closes 1.37% higher

ABB India to buy Metsys; the stock closes higher by 0.76



Indian indices

Bulls sustained its winning run for the sixth consecutive day, with the domestic indices scaling a new 32-month high in today’s trade. The Nifty crossed the 5800 levels, but could not manage to hold those levels at the close. The benchmark indices continued to witness strong buying, however, the broader markets laid low for the second consecutive day. From last couple of sessions, it seemed that money is chasing quality largecaps and retail investors remained sideways. India's wholesale price index (WPI) for August 2010 came in at 8.5% as compared to 9.8% seen in July 2010, based on New WPI Series. The domestic markets witnessed strong volatility in today's trade. Buying was seen in auto, information technology (IT) and telecom stocks.

Top gainers on the BSE Midcap were - Dewan Housing, Ashok Leyland, Wockhardt, Motilal Oswal and Titan Industries were up by 4-7%. Top losers on the BSE Midcap were - S Kumars Nation, MVL, Britannia, Coromandel International and Texmaco were down by 4-6%.

Top gainers on the BSE Smallcap were - V-Guard Industries, Shristi Infra, India Securities, BL Kashyap and Gemini Communications rose by 6-11%. Top losers on the BSE Smallcap were - PNB Gilts, Nagarjuna Agrichem, Resurgere Mines, Accentia Techno and EIH Assoc Hotel fell by 5-6%.

The Sensex began the session 10 points higher at 19218 and that was also its day's low. The index picked up speed and began to climb higher in morning trades. The Sensex hit the day's high of 19487 in mid-morning trades owing to strong buying in index heavyweights. However, the index in its afternoon trades, trimmed gains from day’s high. The index continued to trade higher, with occasional bouts of volatility.

At the finishing line, the Sensex shut shop at 19347, 139 points higher. The Nifty closed tad below the 5800 levels at 5796, up by 36 points.

Bond update: India's Bonds gained as report showed that the inflation slowed in August.

Market Outlook: Tonight in the US, retail sales data will be out.

Market sentiment

Despite of strong finish by the domestic indices, the market breadth was negative as falling stocks outdid the gaining ones. Out of the 3,097 stocks traded on the BSE, 2,005 declined while 986 advanced. Hundred and six stocks remained unchanged.

Sectoral & stock screening

The consumer durables (CD) and IT stocks witnessed buying interest, with BSE CD and BSE IT gaining by 1.56% and 1.45% respectively. On the other hand, BSE Metal was hit the most, down by 0.53%, followed by BSE Realty that slid by 0.39%.

Looking in to 'A' group stocks, Ashok Leyland was the star stock of the day, up by 6.25%, followed by Indian Oil Corporation that rose by 4.68% and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained by 4.46%. On the losers’ side, Housing Development & Infrastructure was down by 4.52%, followed by Sintex Industries that fell by 3.52% and Max India slipped by 3.46%.

Viewing volumes

Leading integrated steel makers - Ispat Industries was traded the most for the third consecutive day, with over 1.31 crore shares changing hands on the BSE, followed by wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.59 crore shares), leading commercial vehicle maker - Ashok Leyland (0.36 crore shares), industrial finance company - IFCI (0.30 crore shares) and India's second largest developer - Unitech (0.27 crore shares).

Global signals

European shares edged lower, as disappointing economic data from Germany heightened jitters over the pace of recovery, with investors awaiting data from the US for further evidence on the health of the economy.

The major Asian indices closed mixed today. Nikkei, Kospi and Straits Times shut in the negative terrain.

The US stock index futures signal towards a mixed opening on the Wall Street today, ahead of the important retail sales data for August.