Markets end with modest gains

Markets traded rangebound throughout the day and ended the session with marginal gains. Sensex rose 0.20% and Nifty closed 0.19% higher
Major Headlines:
HCL Tech hits weekly high post Q3 nos
HDFC Bank FY12 cons net profit up 31%
March retail Inflation at 9.47%



Indian Indices
Indian markets rose for the second consecutive day in trade today. The markets opened the day on a positive note led by strong global cues and remained rangebound whole day. The European peers were not supportive today. Buying in Auto, Healthcare, Oil & Gas and Metal stocks led the markets higher, while selling in realty, FMCG, Consumer Goods and Bankex stocks capped the upside. Heavyweights which supported the markets today were Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Tata Power and Hindalco Industries.
From the earnings point of view, IT major HCL Technologies and banking major HDFC Bank beat the street expectations as they announced their earnings.
- HCL Technologies surged nearly 6% and touched the weekly high of Rs508.90 on the BSE after the company's announced good Q3 results but ended today’s trade 3.06% up.
- HDFC Bank surged over 1% and touched the monthly high of Rs539.85 on the BSE as the company announced its Q4 & FY12 results. Though, the company reversed the upside and ended today’s session 0.24% lower.
On the other hand, CLSA has cut its target for the BSE Sensex to 19,000 from 20,000, citing risks such as the widening current account and fiscal deficits, as well as the uncertainty over foreign taxation.
On the economic front, the Indian consumer prices rose 9.47% in the year to March, faster than the previous month's reading of 8.83%
The Sensex closed at 17392, up by 34 points and the Nifty rose 10 points to close at 5300.
Market sentiment:
The market breadth stood in favour of advances. Of the 3012 stocks traded on the BSE, 1625 (53.95%) rose, 1251 (41.53%) fell and 136 (4.52%) stocks remained unchanged.
Viewing volumes:
A real estate development company - HDIL was traded the most, with over 0.47 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. An integrated infrastructure development company - Lanco Infratech (0.43 crore shares), an infrastructure holding company - GMR Infrastructure (0.39 crore shares), Industrial finance company - IFCI - (0.25 crore shares), a major Indian telecommunication company - Reliance Communications (0.23 crore shares).
Sectoral & stock screening:
Among the 13 sectoral indices, nine indices closed in positive, while remaining four closed in negative. Top Gainers: BSE Auto which rose 1.52%, BSE HC surged 1.01% and BSE Oil & Gas advanced 0.77%. Top Losers: BSE Realty which fell 0.97%, BSE FMCG down 0.53% and BSE CG declined 0.27%.
Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Bhushan Steel which surged 8.57%, Sun TV Network rose 6.86% and Wockhardt advanced 5.40%. Top three losers were- Exide Industries which declined 4.83%, Idea Cellular fell 4.05% and Manappuram Finance down 3.92%.
Global Indices:
European shares fell on Wednesday (April 18, 2012), as investors refrained from building exposure ahead of Thursday's Spanish bond auction.
Asian stock markets rose on Wednesday, after a slew of solid earnings boosted Wall Street and positive news from Europe helped restore risk appetite.
The US stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on the Wall Street on Wednesday.
Market Outlook
Data to be released in the US on Wednesday is:- EIA Petroleum Status Report.