Sensex, Nifty attain highest closing level in over 19 months

Key benchmark indices surged to attain their highest closing level in more than 19 months, with investor sentiment boosted by gains in global markets. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was up 168.99 points or 0.88%, up 153.60 points from the day's low and off 32.80 points from the day's high. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC edged lower in volatile trade. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) also edged lower in volatile trade. The market breadth was positive. Ten of the 13 sectoral indices on the BSE logged gains. Indian stocks rose for the fourth straight trading session today, 30 November 2012. The Sensex has jumped 833.33 points or 4.5% in four trading sessions from a recent low of 18,506.57 on 23 November 2012. The index surged 834.52 points or 4.5% in November 2012. The Sensex has surged 3,884.98 points or 25.13% in calendar 2012 so far (till 30 November 2012). From a 52-week low of 15,135.86 on 20 December 2011, the Sensex has risen 4,204.04 points or 27.77%. Coming back to today's trade, bank stocks rose for the third straight day, with HDFC Bank hitting record high and Axis Bank hitting 52-week high. IDFC hit a 52-week high. Cipla scaled a record high on reports Cipla Medpro won a quarter of the South African government's AIDS medicine procurement contract. Bharti Airtel gained after the company announced the time schedule and price band for the initial public offer (IPO) of its subsidiary Bharti Infratel. Cinemax India rose and PVR was locked at 20% upper circuit on BSE after the board of PVR approved the purchase of entire 69.27% stake from the promoters of Cinemax India at Rs 203.65 per share for a total consideration of Rs 394.97 crore. Metal stocks rose as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, gained 1.97% on Thursday, 29 November 2012. FMCG shares declined as investors dumped defensive stocks amid improving risk appetite in the market. Auto stocks were mostly lower on profit booking after recent gains triggered by expectations of strong sales in November on the back of pick up in sales during festive Diwali season. IT stocks were mostly higher after positive economic data in the US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. HCL Technologies hit a 52-week high after the company said today it has signed a five-year, multi-million dollar transformational engineering services agreement with Manitowoc Cranes. The market pared gains after a firm start. The Sensex and the 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty, both, hit their highest level in over 19 months in early trade. The market was trading off the day's high in morning trade. A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices regained strength after paring intraday gains in mid-morning trade. The market surged to hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. Key benchmark indices pared gains after hitting fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. The market surged in mid-afternoon trade. The market held firm in late trade. The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers of Indian stocks on Thursday, 29 November 2012. FIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 1992 crore from the secondary equity markets on Thursday, 29 November 2012 as per data from Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The BSE Sensex jumped 168.99 points or 0.88% to 19,339.90, its highest closing level since 27 April 2011. The index jumped 201.79 points at the day's high of 19,372.70 in mid-afternoon trade. The index rose 15.39 points at the day's low of 19,186.30 in mid-morning trade. The S&P CNX Nifty was up 54.85 points or 0.94% to 5,879.85, its highest closing level since 21 April 2011 The index hit a high of 5,885.25 and a low of 5,827.85 in intraday trade. The turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 2950 crore, lower than Rs 3328 crore on Thursday, 29 November 2012. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,656 shares gained and 1,305 shares fell. A total of 127 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.1%, outperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.82%, underperforming the Sensex. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 21 stocks rose while the rest of them fell. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.58% to Rs 792.50. The stock hit a high of Rs 807.80 and a low of Rs 790.55. RIL said after market hours on Thursday, 29 November 2012, that it has bought back 4.62 crore shares for about of Rs 3357.27 crore till 27 November 2012 under its ongoing share buyback program. RIL has set maximum buyback price of Rs 870 per share. The company has set aside Rs 10440 crore for share buyback. The buyback program opened on 1 February 2012 and closes on 19 January 2013. Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dr. M. Veerappa Moily informed Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Tuesday, 27 November 2012, that the average gas production from RIL's KG-DWN-98/3 (KG-D6) block during the current year (2012-13 up to October, 2012) was about 29.81 Million Standard Cubic Meter Per Day (MMSCMD) as against 86.73 MMSCMD approved in the Field Development Plans (FDPs) of D1, D3 & MA fields in this block, which are currently on production. He also emphasized that the government has not accepted the contention of the contractor and it has ordered proportionate disallowance of cost of production facilities amounting to $1.005 billon for not fully implementing approved AIDP. RIL has initiated arbitration proceedings on the disallowance and government of India has also appointed an arbitrator in this regard. Bharti Airtel gained 1.17%. The company announced during market hours today, 30 November 2012, that the Red Herring Prospectus filed by Bharti Infratel, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, in relation to its initial public offer of 18.89 crore shares of a face value of Rs 10 each, has been approved by the Registrar of Companies on 29 November 2012. The issue will be opened for subscription on 11 December 2012. The price band for the IPO has been fixed at between Rs 210 to Rs 240 per share. Cipla rose 2.37% to Rs 414.75 after scaling a record high of Rs 415.90 in intraday trade today, 30 November 2012 on reports Cipla Medpro won a quarter of the South African government's AIDS medicine procurement contract. According to reports, Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed pharmaceutical company, Cipla Medpro SA, has been awarded an antiretroviral (ARV) tender from government worth a combined value of approximately 1.4 billion rand (ZAR) for a two year period commencing 1 January 2013. Cipla Medpro distributes Cipla's products in the South African market. Cipla Medpro was earlier known as Enaleni Pharmaceuticals, but it changed its name in 2008, effectively conveying the importance of Cipla to its existence. FMCG shares declined as investors dumped defensive stocks amid improving risk appetite in the market. Hindustan Unilever (down 1.09%), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.78%), Bata India (down 1.47%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.47%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 3.36%) edged lower. Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC fell 0.07% to Rs 297.70. The stock hit a high of Rs 299 and a low of Rs 293.70. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare last month notified new pictorial health warnings to be depicted on tobacco product packs which will come into effect from 1 April 2013. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement on 22 October 2012 that three sets of warnings each have been notified for smoking as well as smokeless forms of tobacco product packages. The well-designed health warnings and messages are part of a range of measures to communicate health risks due to tobacco use. Pictorial health warnings communicate health risks in a visible way, provoke a greater emotional response and increase the motivation of tobacco users to quit and to decrease their tobacco consumption, the ministry's statement said. Graphic warning labels have a greater impact than text-only labels and can be recognized by low-literacy audiences and children, the statement added. Shares of ITC had hit record high on 19 October 2012 after the company announced strong Q2 results during trading hours on that day. The stock had hit record high of Rs 299.20 on 19 October 2012. ITC's net profit jumped 21.27% to Rs 1836.42 crore on 18.65% growth in income from operations to Rs 7226.58 crore in Q2 September 2012 over Q2 September 2011. Metal stocks rose as LMEX, a gauge of six metals traded on the London Metal Exchange, gained 1.97% on Thursday, 29 November 2012. Bhushan Steel, Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel & Power, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Sail, Hindalco Industries and Hindustan Zinc rose by between 0.63% to 5.13%. Bank stocks rose for the third straight day. State Bank of India (SBI) rose 1.82%. SBI's net profit rose 30.16% to Rs 3658.14 crore on 12.21% increase in total income to Rs 32983.47 crore in Q2 September 2012 over Q2 September 2011. The result was announced on 9 November 2012. The bank's ratio of net non-performing assets to net advances stood at 2.44% as on 30 September 2012, higher than 2.22% as on 30 June 2012 and 2.04% as on 30 September 2011. The bank's ratio of gross non-performing assets (NPA) to gross advances stood at 5.15% as on 30 September 2012, higher than 4.99% as on 30 June 2012 and 4.19% as on 30 September 2011. During the quarter ended 30 September 2012, the bank made additional provisions of Rs 115 crore (net) against an account pending restructuring and against certain non performing domestic advances. The bank's provision coverage ratio as on 30 September 2012 works out to 62.78%. The bank's Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) as per Basel II norms stood at 12.63% as on 30 September 2012, lower than 13.14% as on 30 June 2012 and 11.40% as on 30 September 2011. Among other PSU bank stocks, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank gained by between 2.1% to 5.69%. Axis Bank rose 1.26% to Rs 1,322. The stock hit 52-week high of Rs 1,323 in intraday trade today, 30 November 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank rose 3.14%. Kotak Mahindra Bank today, 30 November 2011, denied market rumours that it is looking to acquire The Karnataka Bank. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 0.48% to Rs 702.10. The stock hit a record high of Rs 705 in intraday trade today, 30 November 2012. HDFC Bank's net profit jumped 30.06% to Rs 1559.98 crore on 24.47% growth in total income to Rs 9869.8 crore in Q2 September 2012 over Q2 September 2011. HDFC Bank announced the second quarter results on 12 October 2012. ICICI Bank rose 1.35% after surging 4.59% on Thursday. ICICI Bank has clarified today that the bank is currently not considering merger or acquisition of any bank. ICICI Bank early this week said it successfully launched and priced a $250 million tap of its $750 million 4.70% 2018 notes originally issued in August 2012. The securities referred were offered only to non-US persons outside the United States under Regulation S of the Securities Act and will be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The notes are fungible with the existing Reg S/144A tranche after the expiration of a 40-day distribution compliance period, taking the total aggregate nominal amount issued under the series to $1 billion. The offering was oversubscribed by 5.6 times and had an order book of $1.4 billion. The notes were offered at an issue price of 102.953%, which is a spread of 318 basis points over equivalent LIBOR. Shares of Karnataka Bank jumped 7.58%. Karnataka Bank has also denied rumours that it is in merger talks with ICICI Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. IDFC rose 3.65% to Rs 173.05. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 174.40 in intraday trade today, 30 November 2012. The government will table the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011, among other bills, in the winter session of parliament which began Thursday, 22 November 2012. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 includes increasing the voting rights of large shareholders in private banks to 26% from 10%, and giving the central bank more powers. The Reserve Bank of India has held back approvals of new bank licenses, urging the government to first get the bill passed in parliament. Auto stocks were mostly lower on profit booking after recent gains triggered by expectations of strong sales in November on the back of pick up in sales during festive Diwali season. Auto companies will start unveiling monthly sales figures for November from tomorrow, 1 December 2012. India's largest commercial vehicle maker by sales Tata Motors declined 0.81%. The company early this week announced its entry in the Bangladesh new car market, introducing two sedans and a hatchback viz. Tata Indigo eCS, India's most fuel-efficient compact sedan, the Tata Indigo Manza, a luxury sedan, and the Tata Indica Vista hatchback, with class defining space. The Manza and the Vista are born out of Tata Motors' new car platform. Car major Maruti Suzuki India fell 0.97% to Rs 1,473. The stock had hit 52-week high of Rs 1,514.95 in intraday trade on 22 November 2012. The company early this month said its total sales jumped 85.5% to 1.03 lakh units in October 2012 over October 2011. Maruti Suzuki India said total passenger car sales surged 93.8% to 79,811 units in October 2012 over October 2011. Total domestic sales jumped 86.6% to 96,002 units and total exports rose 71.8% to 7,106 units in October 2012 over October 2011. The sharp surge in sales in October 2012 was due to base effect. Maruti's sales in October of 2011 were hit adversely due to labour unrest at the company's Manesar and Gurgaon factories in Haryana. India's largest utility vehicle maker by sales Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.62% to Rs 948.40. The stock had hit record high of Rs 960.95 in intraday trade on 26 November 2012. Motorcycle major Bajaj Auto fell 1.77% to Rs 1,918. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 1,977 in intraday trade Thursday, 29 November 2012. The company on 2 November 2012 said its total sales rose 4% to 4.11 units in October 2012 over October 2011. Three-wheeler sales jumped 14% to a record 50,316 units in October 2012 over October 2011. Exports declined 4% to 1.26 lakh units in October 2012 over October 2011. Bajaj Auto's motorcycle sales rose 3% to 3.61 lakh units in October 2012 over October 2011. Bajaj Auto said its domestic motorcycle clocked record monthly sales of 2.62 lakh units in October 2012. The company also said that sales of its Discover brand of motorcycles clocked record sales of 1.55 lakh units in October 2012. Hero MotoCorp rose 0.29% to Rs 1,828. The company's total motorcycle sales rose 3.31% to Rs 5.29 lakh units in October 2012 over October 2011. Hero registered its highest ever sales for scooters in a single month in October 2012. Scooter sales crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time in the company's history. Encouraged by the strong sales of its scooters Maestro and Pleasure, the two-wheeler giant has increased its scooter production to over 60,000 units a month. IT stocks were mostly higher after positive economic data in the US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro advanced 2.05%. On a consolidated basis under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Wipro's net profit rose 24% to Rs 1611 on 17% increase in total revenue to Rs 10657 crore in Q2 September 2012 over Q2 September 2011. The company announced the result on 2 November 2012. Wipro expects 1.23% to 3.17% growth revenues from IT services business at $1.56 billion to $1.59 billion in Q3 December 2012 over Q2 September 2012. Wipro's board of directors on 1 November 2012 approved demerger of the Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (including Furniture business), Wipro Infrastructure Engineering (Hydraulics & Water businesses), and Medical Diagnostic Product & Services business (through its strategic joint venture), into a separate company to be named Wipro Enterprises. Wipro will remain a publicly listed company that will focus exclusively on information technology. Wipro Enterprises will be an unlisted company. India's largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) gained 1.51%. The company announced before market hours Thursday, 29 November 2012, that it has won a multi-million, multi-year contract from the Home Office, a key department of the United Kingdom government to manage the technology needs and support services of the newly formed Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). TCS will implement a programme to transform DBS, including the introduction of electronic applications and improved online services to enhance user experience. The company will provide end-to-end process, technology and operations support for an initial period of five years, as per the agreement. The two organisations, DBS and TCS, will also collaborate to update the organisation's business processes to help improve decision making and reduce processing times. TCS will also build new integrated case management system to support seamless integration and information gathering between disclosure and barring services. India's second largest software services exporter by revenues Infosys fell 0.40%. Infosys on 19 November 2012 announced the launch of a new solution called "India in a Box" for its Japanese clients. The new solution is based on industry-standard Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It enables Japanese companies to jumpstart their business operations in India in a shorter time by moving to a robust IT infrastructure in just eight weeks. The pre-packaged solution is tailor-made for the unique Indian market, addressing issues such as local taxation and accounting. HCL Technologies rose 1.26% to Rs 649.10 after scaling a 52-week high of Rs 658.95 in intraday trade today, 30 November 2012 after the company said today it has signed a five-year, multi-million dollar transformational engineering services agreement with Manitowoc Cranes. Realty stocks extended recent strong gains. DLF (up 0.84%), HDIL (up 0.04%), Omaxe (up 2.16%), Godrej Properties (up 1.32%) and Parsvnath Developers (up 0.78%) edged higher. Unitech fell 0.94%. Cinemax India rose 3.42% to Rs 190.55 and PVR was locked at 20% upper circuit at Rs 306.50 after the board of PVR approved the purchase of entire 69.27% stake from the promoters of Cinemax India at Rs 203.65 per share for a total consideration of Rs 394.97 crore. PVR on Thursday, 29 November 2012, announced a mandatory open offer to the shareholders of Cinemax India for acquisition of upto 72.80 lakh equity shares of face value of Rs 5 each at Rs 203.65 per share, representing 26% of the fully diluted voting equity share capital of Cinemax India. United Spirits was the top traded counter on the BSE with turnover of Rs 112.31 crore followed by Karnatak Bank (Rs 104.01 crore), SBI (Rs 86.77 crore), Godrej Consumer Products (Rs 72.65 crore) and United Breweries (Rs 57.79 crore). Suzlon Energy was the volume topper on the BSE with volume of 2.23 crore shares followed by Lanco Infratech (1.13 crore shares), Unitech (1.06 crore shares), Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision (95.12 lakh shares) and Cals Refineries (83.84 lakh shares). The deadlock in Lok Sabha ended on Thursday, 29 November 2012, as Speaker Meira Kumar allowed a debate in the Lower House on FDI in multi-brand retail under Rule 184 that entails voting. The FDI decision will be debated in Lok Sabha on 4 and 5 December 2012. The vote will be non-binding on the government, meaning the UPA faces no threat even if it loses the vote. However, it would be a political embarrassment if the government fails to prove numbers on the floor of the House during the voting. The debate on FDI in multi-brand retail under rule 168 that entails voting will take place in the Rajya Sabha on 6 and 7 December. The government was forced to relent after the Opposition stalled proceedings of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and demanded that the government face a trial of strength on its nod for 51% FDI in multi-brand retail. Earlier, the Lok Sabha remained paralyzed for four days in a row and Rajya Sabha for five days amid opposition's demand for discussion and voting on the issue of FDI in retail after the Winter Session of Parliament that began on 22 November 2012. The government braved intense political opposition by allowing 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail in September 2012. The winter session of the parliament which began on 22 November 2012, has heavy legislative agenda. The key financial sector reforms bills that the government intends to pass this session include insurance and pension bills and the Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011. The insurance bill will aim to raise the limit for foreign direct investment in the sector to 49% from 26%, while the pension bill will seek to allow foreign investments of up to 49% in local pension-fund managers. The Banking Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2011 includes increasing the voting rights of large shareholders in private banks to 26% from 10%, and giving the central bank more powers. The Reserve Bank of India has held back approvals of new bank licenses, urging the government to first get the bill passed in parliament. On the macro front, data released by the government today, 30 November 2012, showed that India's GDP grew 5.3% in Q2 September 2012, which was lower than 5.5% growth in Q1 June 2012. The economic activities which registered significant growth in Q2 September 2012 are construction at 6.7%, 'trade, hotels, transport and communication' at 5.5%, 'financing, insurance, real estate and business services' at 9.4%, and 'community, social and personal services' at 7.5%. The growth rates in 'agriculture, forestry & fishing' is estimated at 1.2%, 'mining and quarrying' at 1.9%, manufacturing at 0.8%, and 'electricity, gas and water supply' at 3.4%. The Reserve Bank of India next undertakes monetary policy review on 18 December 2012, which is a mid-quarter policy review. After Second Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2012-13 on 30 October 2012, RBI kept its key policy rate viz. the repo rate unchanged at 8% citing high inflation. At that time, the central bank announced a reduction in cash reserve ratio (CRR) requirement of scheduled commercial banks by 25 basis points to 4.25%. The baseline scenario suggests a reasonable likelihood of further policy easing in Q4 March 2013, RBI said on 30 October 2012. RBI said that the policy guidance will, however, be conditioned by the evolving growth-inflation dynamic. The Congress led UPA government at the Centre has been reduced to a minority government after Trinamool Congress (TMC) withdrew support to the UPA in September 2012. Trinamool Congress withdrew support to the UPA in September this year over the big bang reforms introduced by the Centre which included a cap on subsidised LPG cylinders and 51% FDI in multi-brand retail, among others. The next general elections must be held in India before May 2014. Assembly polls will be held in Gujarat in two phases on 13 and 17 December 2012. Counting of votes of assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh (HP) Pradesh will take place on the same day on 20 December 2012. Assembly polls were held in HP on 4 November 2012. European stock markets edged slightly higher Friday, as investors awaited a report on American consumer spending. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK rose by between 0.07% to 0.24%. The European Commission's monthly business and consumer survey showed on Thursday euro zone economic morale improved for the first time in almost a year in November, with Germany and France gaining strongly, but industry's reluctance to invest next year bodes poorly for a quick recovery from recession. Asian stocks rose Friday as Japan's cabinet approved a second economic stimulus package and its industrial production unexpectedly increased in October. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore rose by between 0.48% to 1.02%. Key benchmark indices in South Korea and Indonesia fell by 0.10% and 0.99%. Japan's cabinet approved a second round of fiscal stimulus worth 880 billion yen ($10.7 billion) using budget reserves as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda attempts to boost the economy before next month's elections. Japan's output unexpectedly rose the most since December, signaling a contraction in the world's third-largest economy may be short lived. Industrial production in October increased 1.8% from the previous month, when it dropped 4.1%, the Trade Ministry said in Tokyo today. Trading in US index futures indicated a flat opening of US stocks on Friday, 30 November 2012. US stocks edged higher on Thursday but remained pressured on uncertainty that US politicians will succeed in hammering out a deal to prevent more than $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts from taking place automatically in January. Dampening sentiment, Republican US House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday morning there has been "no substantive progress" in negotiations on the so-called fiscal cliff, briefly rattling the US market. Investors are focused on US fiscal cliff. The US fiscal cliff refers to the year-end deadline for the expiration of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tax cuts and the triggering of $109 billion in across-the-board spending cuts, if the US Congress fails to act. The US Congress created the hazardous deadline of 31 December 2012 in August 2011 when it agreed to a deficit deal as a way out of a deadlock over raising the US debt ceiling. The US government said on Thursday third-quarter gross domestic product expanded at a 2.7% annual rate for its fastest pace since late 2011 and much quicker than the 2% rate the government estimated last month, with export growth helping to offset the weakest consumer spending and first drop in business investment in more than a year.