Pre Session-Sensex may witness positive opening on China stimulus bets

The key Indian equity benchmarks are poised to witness a gap up opening on Tuesday amidst bets of further China stimulus after underwhelming Q4 GDP data. China’s economy grew by 6.8 per cent, year on year in the December 2015 quarter, slowing from the 6.9 per cent expansion witnessed in Q3 while full-year 2015 growth came in at 6.9 per cent, the slowest since 1990 and missing the government target of about 7 per cent, raising calls for further monetary and fiscal easing measures to tame a deepening slowdown. Strength in the CNX Nifty Index futures for January delivery which advanced by 0.22 per cent or 16 points at 7,375 at 10:23 am Singapore time also signals that the Sensex may open higher today. The three-day run of losses at Dalal Street may offer a good bargain buying opportunity for investors, in beaten-down stocks, at existing levels, supporting the bourses. The Sensex has been hit hard lately as a China-induced global mayhem and sinking oil prices weigh alongside concerns over the domestic economy amidst tepid factory, exports and Q3 earnings numbers. Marking a third straight session in the red, the 30-share Sensex on Monday plunged by 266.67 points or by 1.09 per cent to end at a 20-month low of 24,188.37 as oil prices dipped to a fresh 12-year low to USD 28 per barrel, taking toll on energy stocks while exports shrank for a thirteenth straight month, down 14.75 per cent to USD 22.2 billion in December 2015 as the trade deficit widened to USD 11.6 billion from USD 9.1 billion in the same month a year ago, dimming the outlook for Asia’s third biggest economy. Shares of Reliance Industrial Limited and HCL Technologies Limited will be in focus today as the companies unveil their Q3 earnings numbers.

Asian stocks swung between gains and losses as traders weighed the Chinese Q4 GDP data which came in below estimates but raised the probability of a stimulus boost in the world’s second biggest economy. China’s industrial output grew 5.9 per cent in December 2015 from the same month a year ago, compared to an annual growth of 6.2 per cent in November 2015. China’s Shanghai Composite logged mild gains as energy companies rallied amid government measures to support fuel prices. Hang Seng was trading tad lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell even as a weaker yen bolstered the appeal of exporter stocks. Wall Street was closed on Monday due to the Martin Luther King Holiday.

Top traded Volumes on NSE Nifty – State Bank of India 35653244.00, ICICI Bank Ltd. 27490009.00, Vedanta Ltd. 18767695.00, Axis Bank Ltd. 14117119.00 and Bank of Baroda 12717221.00.

On BSE, total number of shares traded was 38.95 Crore and total turnover stood at Rs. 3191.81 Crore.

On NSE Future and Options, total number of contracts traded in index futures was 363562 with a total turnover of Rs. 18752.87 Crore. Along with this total number of contracts traded in stock futures were 665252 with a total turnover of Rs. 30532.85 Crore. Total numbers of contracts for index options were 4419641 with a total turnover of Rs. 243961.19 Crore and total numbers of contracts for stock options were 424634 with a total turnover of Rs. 21030.37 Crore.

The FIIs on 18/01/2016 stood as net seller in equity and debt. Gross equity purchased stood at Rs. 3176.35 Crore and gross debt purchased stood at Rs. 394.63 Crore, while the gross equity sold stood at Rs. 4211.22 Crore and gross debt sold stood at Rs. 668.23 Crore. Therefore, the net investment of equity and debt reported were Rs. -1034.87 Crore and Rs. -273.60 Crore.