Sensex makes smart gains, ends 147 points higher

The Indian market staged a smart comeback in the second half of trade and closed higher led by gains in index heavyweights and positive global cues

Major headlines

HDFC Bank Q1 net profit up 34%

Cadila Healthcare Q1 consolidated net profit up 15%

Ashok Leyland Q1 net profit dips 30%



Indian indices

Good global cues lifted the sentiments in today’s trade, with the Indian stock markets closing on a strong note after two-day losses. Gains in the index heavyweights like DLF, SBI, Infosys, RIL, Bharti Airtel, ITC, ICICI Bank were supporting the markets. Buying interest in technology, realty, consumer durables and banking stocks led the upmove.

HDFC Bank, the third biggest bank, reported earnings above estimates, which buoyed investor mood. Banking stocks also rose after HDFC Bank’s strong results.

Sensex movements: The Sensex started the session 14 points higher at 18521. The index hit the day’s low of 18482 in mid-morning session amid rangebound trade. The first half of the trade saw index trading lacklustre. In second half, the Sensex picked up pace and moved higher. Good buying interest and positive European cues led the index to touch the day’s high of 18690 in late trade. The Sensex shut shop at 18654, up by 147 points and the Nifty rose 47 points to close at 5614.

Bonds & Rupee

India’s 10-year bonds gained, pushing their yield to the lowest level in almost a month. India’s rupee strengthened, snapping a two-day decline.

Market sentiment

The market breadth stood strong, with 1,652 shares rising, 1,219 shares declining and 133 traded unchanged.

Viewing volumes

India's largest private sector enterprise - Crompton Greaves was traded the most, with over 0.46 crore shares changing hands on the BSE. It was followed by India's second largest real estate developer - Unitech (0.43 crore shares), the largest Indian media and entertainment company - Zee Entertainment Enterprises (0.23 crore shares), a leading real estate builder/developer - Housing Development & Infrastructure (0.16 crore shares) and a tyre manufacturer - Apollo Tyres (0.14 crore shares).

Sectoral & stock screening

Ten sectors closed higher, while three fell. BSE Consumer Durables (CD) was the major gainer, surging by 1.42%, following that BSE Information Technology (IT) rose by 1.17% and BSE TECk up by 1.16%. The losers - BSE Auto fell by 0.43%, BSE Power slipped by 0.26% and BSE Capital Goods (CG) down by 0.13%.

Coming to 'A' group stocks, Zee Entertainment Enterprises was the star performer, surging by 3.58%, then comes Shree Renuka Sugars up by 3.51% and Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone jumped 3.42%. Top losers - Crompton Greaves fell the most by 14.23%, followed by Sun TV Network down by 5.26% and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals lost by 3.23%.

Global signals

Commodity and banking stocks helped push European markets higher on Tuesday after recent sharp losses, with sovereign debt concerns limiting upside potential.

The Asian stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious amid ongoing debt jitters in Europe and the US.

The US stock index futures rose, indicating a positive start on the Wall Street on Tuesday.

Market Outlook: Housing Starts data will be out in the US on Tuesday.