Markets end strong ahead of derivatives expiry

The Indian markets had a good session today ahead of December series expiry and closed at one & half month high on the back of all-round buying

Major headlines

Aban Offshore surges on Kotak upgrade

ABG Infralogistics rises on announcing buyback schedule

Nitin Fire Protection Industries soars as US company buys stake in arm



Indian indices

The Indian markets sprung to life in today’s session after several days of lacklustre trade. The markets closed at one & half month high on the back of all-round buying. The strength primarily came from banking, metal and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies’ stocks. The traders squaring positions ahead of December series expiry also played a part in today’s rally. The Nifty stayed above 6050 levels for the first time since November 15, 2010.

Today, no sectors were left in the red. The metal shares surged after copper advanced to a record high. Sterlite Industries (India), the nation’s biggest copper and zinc producer, rose by 3.38%. Hindalco Industries, India’s largest aluminum maker, gained by 1.73%. JSW Steel, the country’s third-biggest producer, climbed by 0.93% for the first time in three days.

The Sensex rose 35 points at 20060 in the opening trade. The index hit the day’s low of 20054 in the initial trade. The index traded in the positive terrain and remained in a narrow range for most part of the morning session. The Sensex gathered pace and climbed higher in the afternoon session. Extending its gains, the index hit the day’s high of 20274 in late trade on the back of all-round buying.

The Sensex surged 231 points to close at 20256 and the Nifty shut 64 points higher at 6060.

Bond update: India’s 12-year bonds were little changed before the central bank purchases Rs120 billion of bonds today. The yield on the most-traded 8.13% bond due in September 2022 was unchanged at 8%.

Rupee update: India's rupee weakened against the US dollar. Indicative bid prices for the rupee were at 45.1300 per dollar at morning in Mumbai versus 45.0800 the previous trading day.

Market sentiment

The market breadth was strong as advancing stocks outpaced losing ones. Out of the 1,782 stocks traded on the BSE, 1,082 rose while 1,266 fell. Hundred and eighty-six stocks traded unchanged.

Sectoral & stock screening

It was all in green on the sectoral indices’ front. BSE Consumer Durables (CD) surged the most by 1.93%, followed by BSE FMCG up by 1.64% and BSE Metal jumped by 1.48%. Rest of the sectoral indices rose in the range of 0.26-1.46%.

Looking into 'A' group stocks, JP Infratech was the star performer of the day gaining by 6.82%, followed by Hindustan Zinc up by 4.73% and Hindustan Construction Company rose by 4.41%. On the flip side, Power Finance slid the most by 2.86%, followed by Housing Development & Infrastructure down by 1.45% and JSW Energy dipped by 1.42%.

Viewing volumes

Wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.60 crore shares) was traded the most, with over 0.36 crore shares changing hands on the BSE, followed by construction firm - Hindustan Construction Company (0.30 crore shares), Indian shipbuilder - Pipavav Shipyard (0.17 crore shares), ADAG’s telecom firm - Reliance Communications (0.14 crore shares) and sugar major - Shree Renuka Sugars (0.13 crore shares).

Global signals

European shares edged higher, tracking gains in Asia, with oil stocks among the top gainers as oil prices hovered near their highest in more than two years.

All the major Asian markets ended the session in the positive territory. China's central bank has raised the rediscount rate to 2.25% from 1.8%, the first such change in two years.

The US stock futures indicate slightly higher opening on the Wall street.

Market Outlook: No major data in the US tonight.