Markets end first trading day of 2012 with modest gains

The Indian markets broke four-day losing run and closed the trade in the positive terrain. The Sensex rose by 63 points and the Nifty surged by 12 points

Headlines for the day:

Factory activity hits six-month high

November exports rise 3.9%

Bajaj Auto tumbles post December auto sales numbers

Hindalco slips 4% after court dismisses plea against tax dept



Indian indices

The start to the first trading session of the year 2012 was unenthusiastic. The Indian markets fluctuated between gains and losses throughout the day. Lack of support from global and domestic cues led to a lacklustre trade. Most of the indices across the world remained closed for an extended New Year's holiday.

Gains in consumer durables, oil & gas, technology and metal space supported markets while losses in FMCG, auto, power and realty pack added pressure. Index heavyweights like Infosys, RIL, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Coal India, TCS and L&T helped markets to close with modest gains. Volumes were also low today.

Sensex movements: The Sensex started the trade 80 points higher at 15535 as against the previous close of 15455. The index turned volatile and witnessed a dull trade. In late morning session, the index touched an intraday low of 15358 on selling pressure. Later, the index began to trim losses after Europe opened in green alongwith some buying interest and touched an intraday high of 15543 in late trade. The Sensex closed 63 points higher at 15518 and the Nifty settled at 4637, up by 12 points.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 2791 stocks traded on the BSE, 1408 (50.45%) rose, 1259 (45.11%) fell and 124 (4.44%) remained unchanged.

Viewing volumes

Industrial finance company - IFCI was traded the most, with over 1.52 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. Following that, wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.34 crore shares), integrated infrastructure development company - Lanco Infratech (0.19 crore shares), India's second largest developer - Unitech (0.19 crore shares) and India's largest automobile company – Tata Motors (0.18 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Among the 13 sectoral indices, eight closed in the positive terrain. Top Gainers - BSE CD up by 1.35%, BSE Oil & Gas up by 1.31% and BSE IT up by 1.23%. Top Losers - BSE FMCG down by 1.31%, BSE Auto down by 1.20% and BSE Power down by 0.44%.

Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers - JSW Steel gained by 5.90%, National Aluminium Company up by 4.44% and Coal India up by 3.61%. Top three losers - Bajaj Auto fell by 7.40%, Jaypee Infratech down by 5.77% and Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone down by 4.94%.

Global indices

The European shares inched higher on Monday (January 02, 2012) with trading light due to British markets being shut and gains expected to be limited as worries about the euro zone debt crisis remained. FTSE 100 was shut.

Most of the Asian markets were closed on Monday. Indices like Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite, Nikkei and Straits Times were shut. Other indices like Kospi stood in green whereas Taiwan and Jakarta Composite were in red.

The US stock markets will remain close on Monday.