Market gains for the third straight day

Key benchmark indices pared intraday gains and settled with small gains to hit highest closing level in two weeks. Market gained for the third straight day. The BSE Sensex was up 34.45 points or 0.2%, off close to 130 points from the day's high and up about 20 points from the day's low. The market breadth was positive. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) logged small gain in volatile trade.

The Sensex has fallen 11.81 points or 0.06% so far in April 2012 (till 18 April 2012). The index has surged 1,937.47 points or 12.53% in calendar 2012 so far (till 18 April 2012). From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 2,256.53 points or 14.9%. From a 52-week high of 19,697.49 on 25 April 2011, the Sensex has lost 2,305.10 points or 11.7%.



Coming back to today's trade, private sector banking major HDFC Bank gained after posting good Q4 results. Truck major Tata Motors scaled a record high, extending recent gains triggered by reporting good global sales. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries hit record high triggered after the company said the US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of its subsidiary in a patent litigation against Novo-Nordisk over its generic version of diabetes drug – Prandin. However, ITC retreated after hitting a record high. Interest rate sensitive auto stocks were in demand after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut repo rate by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points in its monetary policy review on Tuesday, 17 April 2012.

The BSE Sensex was up 34.45 points or 0.2% to 17,392.39, its highest closing level since 4 April 2012. The index gained 164.86 points at the day's high of 17,522.80 in early trade. The index rose 13.99 points at the day's low of 17,371.93 in late trade.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 10.30 points or 0.19% to 5,300, its highest closing level since 4 April 2012. The Nifty hit a high of 5,342 and a low of 5,293.45 in intraday trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.46% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.5%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2410 crore, lower than Rs 2713.78 crore clocked on Tuesday, 17 April 2012.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,639 shares gained and 1,245 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, 19 gained while the rest of them declined.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.4% to Rs 749.35. The stock hit high of Rs 756.90 and low of Rs 743.30. RIL declares its earnings on Friday, 20 April 2012. Marketmen doubt about how much natural gas can be extracted from RIL's KG D6 blocks, and worries over its refining margins, as well as its usage of cash.

Gail (India) rose 0.74% after the company said APGDC has signed Project Framework Agreement with GDF Suez LNG UK, for jointly setting up a Floating Storage and Regasification Unit in Andhra Pradesh. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 18 April 2012.

Oil exploration firms rose as crude oil futures traded near the highest level in two weeks after the IMF boosted its growth outlook and a Spanish debt sale raised more than planned, easing concern of curb in crude demand. Cairn India, ONGC and Oil India gained by between 0.35% to 2.93%.

Crude oil futures for May 2012 delivery were up 3 cents at $104.23 a barrel in Europe today, 18 April 2012. The contract had risen $1.27 a barrel, or 1.23% to settle at $104.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, its highest level since 2 April 2012, on the back of data from the industry- funded American Petroleum Institute (API) that showed the US crude stockpiles climbed a fourth week. Higher crude oil prices will result in higher realization from crude sales for oil exploration firms such as Cairn India.

India's second largest private sector bank in terms of net profit HDFC Bank gained 1.14% after bank said during market hours today, 18 April 2012 that net profit rose 30.4% to Rs 1453.10 crore on 32.1% rise in total income to Rs 8880 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011.

India's largest bank by branch network State Bank of India (SBI) slipped 0.45% to Rs 2289.60, off day's high of Rs 2339. The bank will cut lending rates on loans that have high interest rates, Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri said on Tuesday.

India's largest private sector bank in terms of net profit, ICICI Bank, fell 0.4%.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries rose 2.11% to Rs 596.55 after striking a record high of Rs 600.50 in intraday trade today, 18 April 2012. The company said the US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of its subsidiary in a patent litigation against Novo-Nordisk over its generic version of diabetes drug – Prandin. The stock hit a record high of Rs 599 today. The Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion, concluded that Caraco can seek correction of Novo Nordisks inaccurate use of code regarding the combination use of repaglinide and metformin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This landmark decision will help all generic companies prevent brand companies from improperly delaying or preventing the marketing of generic drugs against their products by misrepresenting their patents to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Sun Pharma said in a statement.

Cigarette maker ITC fell 1.79% to Rs 241.75 after striking a record high of Rs 248.15 in intraday trade today, 18 April 2012. The stock declined on profit booking after gaining 9.86% in the preceding six sessions to Rs 246.15 on 17 April 2012 from a recent low of Rs 224.05 on 9 April 2012. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack

India's largest FMCG firm by sales Hindustan Unilever rose 0.21% to Rs 423. The stock had struck a record high of Rs 427.70 on Friday, 13 April 2012. Marico, Nestle India, United Spirits and Dabur India rose by between 0.08% to 2.71%.

India's second largest software services exporter by revenues Infosys shed 0.32%. The company's consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) fell 2.4% to Rs 2316 crore on 4.8% decline in revenue to Rs 8852 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q3 December 2011. The result was declared before market hours on Friday, 13 April 2012.

Infosys had set a weak forecast in dollar terms for the current year ending 31 March 2013 as the uncertain global economic environment continued to weigh on the software services exporter.

HCL Technologies jumped 3.06% after consolidated net income rose 5.2% to Rs 602.50 crore on 0.6% decline in revenues to Rs 5215.60 crore in Q3 March 2012 over Q2 December 2011. The result was announced before trading hours today, 18 April 2012.

"A key strategic shift in the global IT Industry has been the leveling of the playing field between the Indian Origin Service Providers and the Global MNCs. It is encouraging to note that HCL has continued its growth trajectory even in this environment thanks to our globally competitive business model which is emerging as an attractive alternative to enterprises worldwide,” said Shiv Nadar, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, HCL Technologies.

India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro rose 1.4%. India's largest software services exporter by revenues TCS shot up 0.57%.

PSU OMCs rose for the second straight day after the Reserve Bank of India in its monetary policy review on Tuesday said hike in rates of petroleum products is necessary to arrest fiscal slippages, making a case for raising prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG. BPCL, HPCL and IOCL rose by between 0.76% to 2.6%. While petrol prices are market-linked, the government fixes the rates of LPG, kerosene and diesel, which results in a large budgetary expenditure on subsidies.

Capital goods stocks reversed initial gains. ABB, L&T, Bhel and SKF India fell by between 0.06% to 0.82%.

Bharat Electronics rose 1.36% after company said during market hours today that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on April 25, 2012, to consider a proposal for buy back of shares.

Metal shares rose as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange gained 0.79% to $3,463.60 on Tuesday, 17 April 2012. Jindal Steel & Power, Sterlite Industries, Bhushan Steel, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sail, and Hindalco Industries rose by between 0.52% to 7.92%.

Interest rate sensitive auto stocks were in demand after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut repo rate by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points in its monetary policy review on Tuesday, 17 April 2012.

The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp rose 0.87%. The country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto jumped 2.7%.

India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.62%. The company on Thursday, 12 April 2012, unveiled industry's first Life Utility Vehicle (LUV) - Ertiga. Designed primarily for India at Suzuki, Japan, Ertiga represents aspirations of young urban Indian families that are active and connected, Maruti said. The company further said that India is the first market to sell Ertiga, to be followed by other South East Asian markets.

India's largest utility vehicles and tractors maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) gained 1.15%.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors gained 2.7% to Rs 309.60. The stock scaled a record high of Rs 310.65 in intraday trade today, 18 April 2012. The stock extended four-day 6.76% gain after global vehicle sales rose 26% to 1.39 lakh units in March 2012 over March 2011. Global sales of all commercial vehicles were reported at 63,791 units in March 2012, a growth of 12% over March 2011.

Passenger cars sales stood at 75,864 vehicles, a rise of 41% from a year previously. Sales of its Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) brands stood at 36,471 vehicles in the month, an annual rise of 51%. Tata Motors sold 12.52 lakh vehicles globally in the fiscal year ended March 2012, a 16% increase on sales in the fiscal year ended March 2011.

Auto firms stand to benefit from lower interest rates as purchases of automobiles, including that of cars, utility vehicles and commercial vehicles are substantially driven through financing.

SpiceJet rose 5.75% after the company said it has received approval from the Director General of Foreign Trade for importing aviation turbine fuel directly from overseas market.

Shares of Gold financing companies declined after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual monetary policy review for 2012-13 on Tuesday, 17 April 2012 directed banks to reduce their exposure to non-banking finance companies providing gold loans to 7.5% of their capital funds from the existing 10%. Muthoot Finance shed 1.72% and Manappuram Finance declined 3.92%.

Cement stocks rose ahead of announcement of quarterly results by cement majors, ACC and Ambuja Cements tomorrow, 19 April 2012. UltraTech Cements, India Cements, ACC and Ambuja Cements rose by between 1.18% to 3.37%.

SpiceJet clocked highest volume of 1.64 crore shares on BSE. GVK Power & Infrastructure (70.87 lakh shares), Cals Refineries (57.82 lakh shares), K S Oils (56.44 lakh shares) and Escorts (53.59 lakh shares) were the other volume toppers in that order.

Karur Vysya Bank clocked highest turnover of Rs 120.88 crore on BSE. SBI (Rs 105.85 crore), Infosys (Rs 77.14 crore), SpiceJet (Rs 57.41 crore) and RIL (Rs 54.77 crore) were the other turnover toppers in that order.

India received $2.21 billion in foreign direct investment in February, showing an annual growth of 74%, taking cumulative inflows to $28.40 billion for the April-February period of the last fiscal.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its annual monetary policy for 2012-13 on Tuesday, 17 April 2012 cut repo rate, by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points to give a boost to flagging economic growth. The RBI, however, warned that there is limited scope for further rate cuts. The RBI left unchanged the cash reserve ratio (CRR), the share of deposits that banks must hold with the central bank, at 4.75%, in line with expectations, after cutting it by 125 basis points since January 2012 to ease tight market liquidity. The RBI said its baseline expectation for GDP growth in the fiscal year that ends in March 2013 is 7.3%, compared with an expected 6.9% in the year ended March 2012. It expects headline inflation to end the year at 6.5%, with little deviation expected during the year. The RBI had raised rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011 as it struggled to contain price pressures.

Retail inflation spurted to 9.47% in March 2012 because of higher prices of milk, vegetables, protein-based items and edible oil products, as per the government data released today, 18 April 2012. Retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), was 8.83% in February. Inflation rates for rural and urban areas were 8.79% and 10.30% respectively in March 2012. According to the revised data, the inflation rates for rural and urban areas were 8.36% and 9.45% respectively in February 2012.

Data released on Monday, 16 April 2012 showed wholesale price index (WPI) inflation for March 2012 rose a faster-than-expected 6.89% from 6.95% in February 2012, on higher food prices. The inflation for food articles came in at 9.94% from 6.07% in February. The WPI data for the month of January was revised upwards to 6.89% from 6.55% earlier.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 441.15 crore on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Investors will closely watch India Inc's Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) earnings. Focus is on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook.

ACC and Ambuja Cements unveil quarterly results on 19 April 2012. Cairn India reports FY 2012 results on 20 April 2012. RIL announces Q4 results on 20 April 2012. TCS unveils FY 2012 results on 23 April 2012. Sesa Goa unveils Q4 results on 24 April 2012. Wipro and Sterlite Industries unveil their Q4 results on 25 April 2012.

ICICI Bank unveils FY 2012 results on 27 April 2012. Axis Bank Jindal Steel & Power and Siemens unveil quarterly results on the same day. Maruti Suzuki India unveils FY 2012 results on 28 April 2012. FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever unveils FY 2012 results on 1 May 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012. Ranbaxy Laboratories will declare its Q1 March 2012 results on 9 May 2012. Dr Reddy's Laboratories announces FY 2012 results on 11 May 2012.

European stock markets fell on Wednesday, pulling back from a sharp rally the prior day, with banks and oil stocks contributing to losses. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK shed by between 0.37% to 1.54%.

Spain sold 3.2 billion euros worth of 12- and 18-month bills on Tuesday, 17 April 2012, above the target of 3 billion euros due to good demand from domestic banks, helping ease some concerns about the country's refinancing ability. However, Spain faces a far more significant challenge on Thursday, 19 April 2012 when it tests investor demand in an auction of two- and 10-year bonds.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered a cautiously optimistic view on global growth and raised its 2012 global growth forecast to 3.5% from 3.3%, citing improved activity in the United States and receding worries about Europe's sovereign debt crisis. But it said on Tuesday risks remain high and the situation is very fragile. The IMF also warned it did not see Spain meeting its deficit goals this year or next.

Asian markets rose on Wednesday after firm demand at Spanish debt sales, positive U.S. corporate earnings boosted investor confidence. Key benchmark indices in China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by between 0.25% to 2.14%.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 24 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 18 April 2012. US stocks edged higher on Tuesday after Coca-Cola led a round of strong earnings and concerns over Europe's debt crisis seen easing. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 194.13 points, or 1.50%, to 13,115.54. The S&P 500 index gained 21.21 points, or 1.55%, to 1,390.78. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 54.42 points, or 1.82%, to 3,042.82.