Sensex, Nifty near two-week closing highs

Key benchmark indices logged gains for the third consecutive trading session, with data showing buying of Indian stocks by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) for the second day in a row supporting sentiment. The barometer index BSE Sensex, and the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty attained their highest closing level in almost two weeks. The Sensex jumped 119.27 points or 0.68%, off 66.68 points from the day's high and up 27.41 points from the day's low. Ten of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE logged gains. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 245.94 crore on Monday, 2 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. Their inflow totaled Rs 1208.59 crore in two sessions on 30 March 2012 and 2 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. The Sensex has gained 538.81 points or 3.15% in three trading sessions from a recent low of 17,058.61 on 29 March 2012. The index has surged 2,142.50 points or 13.86% in calendar 2012 so far (till 3 April 2012). From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 2,461.56 points or 16.26%. From a 52-week high of 19,811.14 on 6 April 2011, the Sensex has lost 2,213.72 points or 11.17%. Coming back to today's trade, index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) pared intraday gains. Power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose after the company reported good provisional results for the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012). Hero MotoCorp slipped after company reported muted growth in sales in March 2012. Interest rate sensitive realty stocks gained for the third straight day on reports some banks have cut home loan rates for new borrowers, sparking hope of increased property sales in the country. Metal stocks rose as metal prices gained on London Metal Exchange on Monday, 2 April 2012. Interest rate sensitive banking stocks gained for the third straight day on expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will start cutting interest rates in the coming months to prop up slowing economy. Aviation stocks rose on report foreign airlines may be allowed to pick up 49% stake in domestic airlines soon. The market edged higher to hit its highest level in more than 1-1/2 weeks in early trade. The market pared gains in volatile trade later. The Sensex surged to fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The market held firm in early afternoon trade. Firmness continued in afternoon trade. The market extended gains to hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed in late trade as key benchmark indices trimmed intraday gains as European stocks reversed initial gains. The Sensex jumped 119.27 points or 0.68% to settle at 17,597.42, its highest closing since 21 March 2012. The index jumped 185.95 points at the day's high of 17,664.10 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 91.86 points at the day's low of 17,570.01 in late trade. The S&P CNX Nifty advanced 40.60 points or 0.76% to settle at 5,358.50, its highest closing since 21 March 2012. The Nifty hit a high of 5,378.75 in intraday trade. The Nifty hit a low of 5,344.45 in intraday trade. BSE clocked turnover of Rs 2230 crore, higher than Rs 2049.98 crore on Monday, 2 April 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,764 shares gained and 1,053 shares declined. A total of 118 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.95% and the BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.14%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 16 stocks fell and rest of them rose. Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki India and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shed by between 1.01% to 2.235%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) advanced 1.44% to Rs 751.50, off the day's high of Rs 762.40. RIL said after market hours on Monday that its Jamnagar manufacturing unit is planning to take Maintenance and Inspection (M&I) shutdown of one of the diesel hydro treating unit for approximately three weeks duration from 2 April 2012. Routine activity of catalyst replacement is planned to be carried out during this shutdown and the opportunity will also be utilized to carry out revamp jobs so as to further enhance BS-IV grade diesel production capability from DTA refinery, RIL said. Remaining units of refinery, including crude processing units, are planned to operate at full throughput during this period, RIL said. RIL is seen reporting weak Q4 earnings due to falling refining margins and reduced output from its KG-D6 gas blocks. Auto stocks were mixed. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors rose 1.41%, with the stock gaining for the second straight day after the company reported strong sales for the month just gone by. Tata Motors' total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles in March 2012 were 1,00,414 vehicles, a growth of 20% over 83,363 vehicles sold in March 2011. The company's monthly sales crossed 1,00,000 mark for the first time. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for March 2012 were 95,047 units, a 23% growth over 77,431 units sold in March last year. Tata Motors clocked record sales of commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012). India's largest utility vehicles and tractors maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.19%. The company posted 25% increase in sales at 47,001 units in March 2012 over March 2011. This is the highest ever monthly sales number in the history of the company. M&M's total tractor sales rose 10.2% to 2.35 lakh units in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012) over the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). Domestic tractor sales rose 10% to 2.21 lakh units in FY 2012 over FY 2011. For the month of March 2012, the total tractor sales stood at 17,405 units. Exports for the month registered an impressive growth of 33% at 1,485 units, M&M said. The company said it maintained its leadership position in the tractor industry in FY 2012. India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 2.23%, with the stock falling for the second straight day. The company said during market hours on Monday that its total sales rose 3.3% to a record 1,25,952 units in March 2012 over March 2011. The company's domestic sales rose 2.1% to a record 1,12,724 units in March 2012 over March 2011. The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp slipped 2.39% after company reported muted growth in sales in March 2012. The company reported 2.41% increase in its sales at 5,28,290 units in March 2012 over March 2011. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack. The country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto shed 0.75% to Rs 1641.10, off day's high of Rs 1669. During market hours today, 3 April 2012, the company said total sales rose 9% to 3.35 lakh units in March 2012 over March 2011. The company's total sales rose 14% to a record 43.49 lakh units in FY 2012 over FY 2011. Interest rate sensitive banking stocks gained for the third straight day on expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will start cutting interest rates in the coming months to prop up slowing economy. India's biggest private sector bank in terms of net profit, ICICI Bank, rose 1.87%. India's second largest bank by net profit HDFC Bank gained 0.51%. India's largest bank by branch network State Bank of India rose 1.95% to Rs 2170.90. The Executive Committee of the Central Board of the bank, at its meeting held on 30 March 2012 approved the allotment of 3.6 crore shares at an issue price of Rs 2,191.69 per share, to Government of India (GoI) by way of preferential allotment. GoI held 59.4% stake in SBI at end December 2011. Vijaya Bank rose 1.51%, with the stock extending Monday's 1.79% gains triggered by the bank receiving approval from its allotment committee for preferential allotment of equity shares to LIC. Among other banking stocks, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank rose by between 0.05% to 1.18%. Interest rate sensitive realty stocks rose for the third straight day on reports some banks have cut home loan rates for new borrowers, sparking hope of increased property sales in the country. Unitech, HDIL, Godrej Properties, Oberoi Realty and Sobha Developers rose by between 0.03% to 3.42%. But, DLF fell 0.14%. According to reports, lenders like Canara Bank and IDBI Bank have slashed home loan rates for new borrowers. Reports suggested that Canara Bank slashed home loan rates by up to 175 basis points (100 basis points equal one percentage point), while IDBI Bank cut rates by up to 75 basis points. In both cases, only new borrowers will benefit, while the existing borrowers will have to continue with the old rates. Reports suggested that other rival banks would be forced to match the cuts in the loan rates. Lower interest rates may help revive demand for properties. Purchases of both residential and commercial property are largely driven by finance. IT pivotals were mixed. India's second largest software services exporter by revenue Infosys rose 0.11%. The company announces Q4 March 2012 results on 13 April 2012. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro rose 0.08%. India's largest software services exporter by revenue Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) fell 0.95% on reports a US district court has allowed two former employees of TCS to proceed with a class-action lawsuit against the company over a wage dispute. US District Court Judge Claudia Wilken on Monday, 2 April 2012, permitted the lawsuit which alleges that TCS and its parent Tata Sons wrongfully withheld wages, thus violating employment contracts and California labor laws. Metal shares rose across the board as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, rose 1.70% to $3,642.40 on Monday, 2 April 2012. Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sail, and Hindalco Industries gained by between 0.17% to 3.09%. Capital goods pivotals extended recent gains. India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 1.5%. As per the provisional results unveiled by the company during market hours today, 3 April 2012, Bhel's profit after tax (PAT) rose 14.25% to Rs 6868 crore on 13.76% growth in turnover to Rs 49301 crore in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012) over the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). Order inflow totaled Rs 22096 crore in FY 2012, much lower than Rs 60507 crore in FY 2011. Bhel also said during market hours today that consequent upon the receipt of 'no-objection' for withdrawal of draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) for follow on public offer (FPO) from Department of Heavy industry/Department of Disinvestment, the board of directors of Bhel at its meeting held on 3 April 2012 has approved the withdrawal of DRHP filed by Bhel with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Engineering and construction major L&T rose 1.93%, with the stock gaining for the third straight day. The company said during market hours on Friday that its construction division has won new orders valued over Rs 1875 crore across various business segments in March 2012. Reliance Power fell 1.23% on profit booking after the stock rose 6.07% in the preceding two sessions to Rs 122.30 on 2 April 2012 from Rs 115.30 on 29 March 2012. Cigarette maker ITC rose 0.18% to Rs 226.70. The stock's intraday high matched a record high of Rs 228 hit on Monday, 2 April 2012. Most cement stocks rose after cement firms reported higher dispatches for March 2012. ACC rose 1.62%. The company said during market hours on Monday its cement dispatches rose 7.33% to 2.34 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. Production rose 5.02% to 2.3 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. UltraTech Cement rose 1.89% after the company cement dispatches rose 6.28% to 4.01 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. Cement production rose 4.53% to 3.92 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. The company announced the data during trading hours today, 3 April 2012. Jaiprakash Associates surged 4.66%. Birla Corporation advanced 3.15%. JK Cement rose 1.85%. Ambuja Cements shed 1.33%. The company on Monday said cement shipments rose 12.38% to 2.178 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. Production rose 12.28% to 2.194 million tonnes in March 2012 over March 2011. Aviation stocks rose on report foreign airlines may be allowed to pick up 49% stake in domestic airlines soon. Kingfisher Airlines (up 10.26%), SpiceJet (up 7.44%) and Jet Airways (India) (up 3.62%), edged higher. According to the media report, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will float a Cabinet note for allowing foreign carriers to buy up to 49% stake in local airlines in 8-10 days. Allowing foreign carriers to invest in domestic carriers will bring much-needed cash for the ailing domestic aviation sector that has been badly hit by high jet fuel price and a weak rupee. At present, while foreign airlines are barred from investing in Indian carriers, other foreign investors are allowed to pick upto 49% stake. Pfizer rose 3.38% after the company said it has completed the sale of its animal health business to its wholly owned subsidiary -- Pfizer Animal Pharma for a consideration of Rs 440 crore The company made this announcement before trading hours today, 3 April 2012. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals rose 1.05% after the company said a subsidiary of Glenmark Generics has received final approval from US Food and Drug Administration to market Desogestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets in US. The company made this announcement during trading hours today, 3 April 2012. Titan Industries rose 1.92% after the company said commercial production has begun from its new integrated state-of-the-art jewellery unit set up in the excise free zone in Pantnagar in Uttarakand. The company made this announcement after market hours on Monday, 2 April 2012. Among the mid-cap stocks, Manappuram Finance, Pantaloon Retail (India), Edelweiss Capital, Whirlpool of India, VST Industries, 3M India, Berger Paints, CRISIL, TTK Prestige and VIP Industries gained by between 6.15% to 9.91%. Among the small-cap stocks, Sayaji Hotels, Gammon India, TV Today Network, Zee News, Disa India, ARRS Infrastructure Projects, Sujana Towers, NDTV and United Breweries (Holdings) gained by between 9.96% to 15.98%. SBI was the top traded counter on the BSE with turnover of Rs 92.06 crore followed by Tata Motors (Rs 57.41 crore), Kingfisher Airlines (Rs 50.64 crore), RIL (Rs 47.28 crore), and Pantaloon Retail (India) (Rs 46.59 crore). Avance Technologies was the volume topper on the BSE with volume of 4.46 crore shares followed by Kingfisher Airlines (3.05 crore shares), Cals Refineries (1.24 crore shares), SpiceJet (90.24 lakh shares) and Suzlon Energy (57.34 lakh shares). The stock market remains closed on Thursday 5 April 2012 on account of Mahavir Jayanti and again on Friday 6 April 2012 on account of Good Friday. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased its overseas direct investment norms by waiving the need for Indian entities to seek its approval to open foreign currency accounts abroad. The norm has been liberalised to provide operational flexibility to Indian entities, the central bank said in a statement on Monday. However, all other norms required to open, hold and maintain foreign currency accounts for overseas investment remain unchanged, the statement said. The next major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) earnings. Investors will focus on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook. IT bellwether Infosys announces Q4 March 2012 results on 13 April 2012. Lube oil major Castrol announces Q1 March 2012 results on 16 April 2012. Private sector bank HDFC Bank unveils FY 2012 results on 18 April 2012. ACC unveils Q1 March 2012 results on 19 April 2012. IndusInd Bank reports FY 2012 results on the same day. Axis Bank announces Q4 results on 27 April 2012. Titan Industries announces FY 2012 results on 30 April 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012. The expansion of the manufacturing sector slowed for a third month in March as growth in new orders eased and costs for raw materials kept rising, a business survey showed on Monday. The HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, eased to 54.7 in March from 56.6 in February. In January, the PMI reading was 57.5. The index has now stayed above the 50 mark - which shows growth rather than contraction - for three years. India's exports grew an annual 4.3% to $24.6 billion in February, while imports rose 20.7% to $39.8 billion, government data showed on Monday. The trade deficit widened to $15.2 billion during the month from $14.8 billion in January, while exports between April and February grew 21.4 percent to $267.4 billion. European markets reversed initial gains on Tuesday, as bank stocks fell. Key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were down between 0.05% to 0.44%. Unemployment in Spain rose 0.8% in March to 4.75 million, the Ministry of Employment and Social Security announced Tuesday. Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia and South Korea rose by between 0.99% to 1.31%. Key benchmark indices in Japan, Singapore and Taiwan fell by between 0.04% to 1.3%. China's Stock markets were shut for holiday. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 23 points at the opening bell on Tuesday, 3 April 2012. US stocks ended Monday's session with gains after the closely watched ISM manufacturing survey showed a faster pace of improvement in March. Separate data showed US construction spending fell 1.1% to an annual rate of $808.86 billion, the lowest level since October as investment in private and government projects fell.