SELLING PRESSURE

Indian equity markets are witnessing severe pounding in Wednesday afternoon trades and the frontline indices have receded to fresh lows in the session after selling pressure intensified across the board. Jittery investors squared of hefty positions from the rate sensitive Banking and Real Estate counters and dragged the benchmarks below the important psychological 4,700 (Nifty) and 15,700 (Sensex) levels. However, the key indices have found some support around the intraday lows and are paring some part of losses. The Asian peers too are exhibiting gloomy trends after disappointing Japanese industrial production and South Korean manufacturers' confidence data underscored the fact that the global economic recovery still remains uncertain and fragile. On the domestic front, consistent with the stance of monetary policy and based on the current assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions, the RBI has decided to purchase government securities worth Rs 12,000 crore in order to inject liquidity in the economy. On the BSE sectoral front, there appeared absolutely no index which managed to keep its head above the water while the rate sensitive Banking counter plummeted over two percent followed by the high beta Realty pocket which too traded with similar losses.
Moreover, the broader markets too traded with a negative bias with around half a percent losses, performing in line with their larger peers. The bourses plunged on larger volumes of over Rs 0.60 lakh crore. The market breadth on BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1544:831 while 125 scrips remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,692.77 down by 181.18 points or 1.14% after trading as high as 15,887.80 and as low as 15,666.46. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 declines on the index.
The broader indices were trading on a pessimistic note; the BSE Mid cap index plunged 1.23% and Small cap sank 0.86%.
On the BSE sectoral space, there were no gainers while Bankex down 2.21%, Metal down 2.05%, Realty down 1.92%, Oil & Gas down 1.58% and Consumer Durables down 1.37% were the major losers in the space.
Tata Power up 1.99%, NTPC up 0.99%, BHEL up 0.62%, Infosys up 0.19% and Hero Moto up 0.12% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Jindal Steel down 5.53%, ICICI Bank down 3.24%, JP Associates down 2.41%, Sterlite down 2.41% and Hindalco down 2.34% were the major losers in the index.
Meanwhile, in its bid to inject liquidity in the economy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to purchase government securities worth Rs 12,000 crore on December 29, 2011. The central bank will conduct open market operations (OMO) for purchasing the securities through multi-security auction using the multiple price method, the apex bank said in a statement.
The move by RBI is consistent with the stance of monetary policy and based on the current assessment of prevailing and evolving liquidity conditions. The apex bank, in its mid quarter monetary policy review on December 16, 2011, had stated that OMOs would be conducted as and when considered appropriate.

The RBI statement opined that auction will be in four price methods, government security (G-Sec) maturing 2017 with a coupon of 7.49%, G-Sec maturing 2018 with a coupon of 7.83%, G-Sec maturing 2021 with 7.80% and G-Sec 2022 with 8.08%. While there is an overall aggregate ceiling of Rs 12,000 crore for all the securities in the basket put together, there is also no security-wise notified amount.

In the past month, the central bank has also purchased government securities of over Rs 24,311 crore from the money markets in three installments as part of its efforts to infuse liquidity into the system.
The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,695.60, lower by 54.90 points or 1.16% after trading as high as 4,756.20 and as low as 4,694.85. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 declines on the index.
The top gainers on the Nifty were Tata Power up 1.66%, NTPC up 1.47%, BHEL up 0.87%, Ambuja Cement up 0.34% and Infosys up 0.24%.
Jindal Steel down 5.39%, PNB down 3.95%, ICICI Bank down 3.53%, IDFC down 3% and JP Associates down 2.69% were the major losers on the index.
Asian markets traded largely on a negative note; Hang Seng declined 0.66%, Jakarta Composite shed 0.78%, Nikkei 225 slipped 0.20%, Straits Times eased by 0.30%, Seoul Composite dropped by 0.92% and Taiwan Weighted dipped by 0.40%.
On the flipside only Shanghai Composite added 0.08%.

SENTIMENTS GETTING WEAKER

Sentiments continued to remain bearish and the domestic bourses extended their downfall with Sensex breaching its crucial 15,800 mark amid weak Asian counterparts. The banking sector continued waning sentiments as there are concerns regarding Non-performing assets (NPAs) and high interest rates. NPAs, or bad loans, are expected to rise to about 2.6 percent of the total assets of Indian banks in the fiscal year ending March from 2.3 percent a year ago. Moreover, the sentiments were also dampened by PSU oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC which were edged lower by 2-3 percent in the trade and Aviation stocks viz. Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Air India and Spicejet too fell by 2-3 percent after international crude oil prices extended their northbound journey for the sixth session in a row which is the longest gaining streak in 13 months. The overall market breadth on BSE is in the favour of declines which have thrashed advances in the ratio of 1139:852, while 94 shares remained unchanged. Moreover, investors remained on the safer side and offloaded their positions ahead of F&O expiry.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,759.93, down by 114.02 points or 0.72%. The index has a touched a high and low of 15,887.80 and 15,738.27 respectively.  There were 5 stocks advancing against only 25declines on the index.
The broader indices too were trading with a loss; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices dropped 0.67% and 0.34% respectively.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Power up by 0.06% was the sole gainer while Bankex down 1.72%, Metal down 1.49%, Realty down 1.40%, Oil & Gas down by 1.08% and PSU down 1.03% were the top losers on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 2.33%, NTPC up by 0.48%, Hero MotoCorp was up by 0.24%, Infosys up by 0.12% and TCS up by 0.09%.
On the flip side, Jindal Steel down by 3.08%, ICICI Bank down 2.50%, DLF down 1.86%, Sterlite Industries down 1.80% and SBI down 1.60% were the top loser on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee amid concerns of a slowdown, has expressed confidence that the Indian economy will soon revert back to the path of higher growth trajectory.
The present downturn in economic growth is only temporary, Mukherjee said at the fourth meeting (this fiscal) of the Consultative Committee attached to the Finance Ministry. He said that the world economy is going through turbulent times and the Indian economy has been hit hard by the slowdown in Europe and the United States. The Euro zone crisis, downturn in external demand resulting in slowdown in exports, currency volatility and current account deficit had affected the growth performance of the Indian economy.
Though, the Indian economy grew 6.9 per cent in the second quarter ended September, the lowest quarterly growth in last two years, the Finance Minister pointed out that the food inflation has come down to 1.8 per cent and there is moderation in inflation, in general. Mukherjee further said that the savings rate had also gone up. However, the government has said it would be difficult to meet the fiscal deficit target of 4.6% of gross domestic product in the current fiscal year due to the slowdown and fresh spending commitments and subsidies.
The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,711.75, lower by 38.75 points or 0.82%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,756.20 and 4,703.80 respectively. There were 7 stocks advancing against 43 declines on the index.
The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Power up by 2.04%, Ambuja Cement up by 0.80%, Reliance Power up by 0.62%, NTPC up by 0.45% and PowerGrid up by 0.40%.
On the flip side, Jindal Steel down by 3.16%, Axis Bank down by 2.74%, ICICI Bank down 2.46%, PNB down 2.10% and IDFC down by 2.07% remained the top losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite was down 14.23 points or 0.66% to 2,151.97, Hang Seng was down 125.50 points or 0.67% to 18,503.67, Jakarta Composite was down 16.31 points or 0.43% to 3,773.11, Straits Times was down 6.36 points or 0.24% to 2,667.26, Seoul Composite was down 20.12 points or 1.09% to 1,821.90, Taiwan Weighted was down by 29.61 points or 0.42% to 7,055.42 and Nikkei 225 was down by 12.93 points or 0.15% to 8,427.63.

OPTIMISM FIZZELES OUT

Indian benchmark indices buckled under across the board selling pressure exerted by market participants two days ahead of December series Futures and Options contract expiry, leading the key indices to partly undo the good work done in the previous session. The key gauges displayed listless performance in the first half of trade as the aimless benchmarks appeared exhausted and showed only sideways kind of movement in a tight band, lacking any significant upside triggers. The frontline indices got dragged around the psychological 4,750 (Nifty) and 15,900 (Sensex) levels as investors started taking profits off the table in the late hours of the session. Investors were apprehensive about the market outlook amid the lingering uncertainties while leads from Asia too remained discouraging as all the indices exhibited pessimistic trends with China being the leading loser in the space, plunging over a percent. The European counterparts though traded on a positive note but with moderate gains as investors at large lacked conviction to take big bets ahead of the year end as they concentrated on Euro-zone sovereign debt trouble and cooling global growth. Investors globally looked ahead for the US markets for direction ahead of some US economic reports, including the S&P Case-Shiller house price index for October and consumer confidence for December. Back home, investors overlooked encouraging reports which suggested that industrial growth in core infrastructure areas bounced back to 6.8% in November after touching a five-year low of 0.3% in October.
Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a flat opening as cues from the Asian markets were unsupportive and marketmen remained on the sidelines waiting for foreign markets to open after the Christmas holidays. The frontline indices thereafter showed signs of consolidation but some buying in Capital Goods and defensive - Healthcare majors helped the indices to touch highest point in the day. However, the positive sentiments soon waned as profit booking at higher levels dragged the key indices to lowest point in the session. Though, some short covering in the late hours ensured that the bourses settle off the day's lows. Eventually, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty shed over half a percent to close at the crucial 4,750 levels while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index - Sensex suffered about a hundred point cut and closed below the psychological 15,900 mark. Moreover, the broader markets too went home with around half a percent loss in the session and performed in  tandem with their larger peers. On the BSE sectoral space, barring the Consimer Durables counter which rose marginally, all other indices went home in the negative terrain. The rate sensitive counters like Realty and Bankex got severely punished in the session while the Metal pocket too was not spared. The markets declined on weaker volumes of over Rs 1.35 lakh crore while the turnover for NSE F&O segment too remained on the higher side as compared to Monday at over 1.25 lakh core, despite this being the second day of December series F&O expiry week. The market breadth was pessimistic as there were 1184 shares on the gaining side against 1480 shares on the losing side while 152 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 96.80 points or 0.61% to settle at 15,873.95, while the S&P CNX Nifty declined by 28.50 points or 0.60% to close 4,750.50.
The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 16,049.12 and 15,799.63 respectively. The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were down by 0.69% and 0.35% respectively.
The major gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up 1.92%, Bajaj Auto up 1.19%, ONGC up 0.50%, ITC up 0.37% and L&T up 0.30%. While, DLF down 2.70%, Cipla down 2.68%, Coal India down 2.44%, Tata Steel down 2.42% and Tata Motors down 2.36%, were the major loser on the index.
On the BSE sectoral space, Consumer Durables (CD) up 0.15%was the only gainer while Realty down 1.72%, Metal down 1.38%, Bankex down 1.23%, PSU down 1.18% and Power down 1.08% were the only losers on the BSE sectoral space.
Meanwhile, giving a big relief to the government and industry, industrial growth in key infrastructure areas bounced back to 6.8% in November after touching a five-year low of 0.3% in October. As per the data released, the turnaround in industrial production has been possible due the combined output rise of eight core industries - coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilizers, steel, cement and electricity - which recorded the highest growth in 4-months, and also sharply higher than the annual growth of 3.7% in November last year.
On the other hand, due to lagging performance in the previous months, the April-November growth of core industries stood at 4.6% as against 5.6% in the same period last financial year, according to the data released. Except for crude oil, natural gas and fertilizers, all other segments registered a healthy growth in November. The maximum growth was witnessed in cement, which expanded by 16.6%, while there was a contraction of 4.3% in the same period last financial year.
The eight infrastructure sectors, account for nearly 38% of the IIP, the measure of industrial activity in India and hence are likely to improve the total industrial production. The biggest relief in core sector's data was the 4.9% rise in coal production, the highest since March 2010 and the first expansion after three straight months of contraction. Electricity and steel output grew by 14.1% and 5.1% against 3.5% and 7.6%, respectively, in the same month last year. Petroleum refinery products growth also went up by 11.2% during the month under reference.
Power grew 14.1% from a year earlier, compared with 5.4% in the previous month. In the eight months to November, it added 9.3% compared with 4.6% in the previous year. However, crude oil and natural gas output posted a de-growth of 5.6% and 10.1% from a positive growth of 17% and 5.5%, y-o-y, respectively.
During October, the core sector, registered a dismal growth of 0.3%. This slowdown in the industry output was obvious from the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, which stood at 6.9% - the lowest in the past nine quarters, during the July-September quarter. The economic growth in the first half of the current fiscal also slowed down to 7.3% from 8.6% in the year ago period.The S&P CNX Nifty touched a high and low of 4,800.50 and 4,723.65, respectively.
The top gainers on the Nifty were RCOM up 5.11%, Ranbaxy up 2.79%, Tata Power up 2.71%, Siemens up 2.14% and Ambuja Cement up 1.87%. On the flip side, Axis Bank down 3.10%, IDFC down 3.05%, DLF down 2.70%, Cipla down 2.60% and Coal India down 2.56% were the top losers on the index.

Asian shares eased on Tuesday as investors squared positions in thin volume before US markets reopen after a long weekend and investors see fresh data that could offer clues about prospects for the world's largest economy. Meanwhile, Chinese shares ended flat on Tuesday as investors remained cautious ahead of the New Year holiday. Seoul Composite declined about 0.80 percent after South Korean consumer confidence fell to a three-month low in December on concern that the political situation in the region might worsen in the wake of Kim Jong-Il's death. The sentiment index fell to 99, from 103 in November, the Bank of Korea said in a statement today. A reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists.

Jakarta Composite was down 7.73 points or 0.20% to 3,789.43, Nikkei 225 was down 38.78 points or 0.46% to 8,440.56, Straits Times was down 2.85 points or 0.11% to 2,673.62, Seoul Composite was down 14.68 points or 0.79% to 1,842.02 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 7.55 points or 0.11% to 7,085.03.
On the flip side Shanghai Composite was up by 1.12 points or 0.05% to 2,191.23.
Stock market in Hong Kong remained closed on Tuesday in observance of a public holiday.
The European markets were trading on a positive note. France's CAC 40 surged 0.59% and Germany's DAX gained by 0.54%. Britain's stock markets remained closed on Tuesday in observance of the public holiday.

LACK LUSTER PERFORMANCE

Indian equities continued its lackadaisical trade below neutral line in the late afternoon session in absence of buying due to lack of any positive upside trigger. High volatility is expected on the bourses this week as traders are expected to roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near-month December, 2011, series to January, 2012, series. Investors at large lacked conviction to take big bets ahead of the year end as they concentrated on Euro-zone sovereign debt trouble and cooling global growth. Market participants looked ahead for the European and the US markets for direction ahead of some US economic reports, including the S&P Case-Shiller house price index for October and consumer confidence for December. Traders were seen piling up position in Capital Goods and FMCG sector while selling was witnessed in Realty, Bankex and PSU sector.
Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and PNB from Banking counters were seen trading in red pulling the markets down. Industry heavyweights RIL is seen trading in red with a cut off around more than half percent helping markets bleed. DLF from realty sector was down with cut of around more than two and half percent exerting pressure on the markets. On the global front, all Asian markets traded largely on pessimistic mood barring Shanghai Composite while the European markets were trading in green on optimistic note. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading above their psychological 4,750 and 15,900 levels, respectively. The market breadth on BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1134:1360 while 132 scrips remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,902.72 down by 68.03 points or 0.43% after trading as high as 16,049.12 and as low as 15,885.63. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 declines on the index.
The broader indices were trading on a negative note; the BSE Mid cap index was down 0.49% while Small cap dropped 0.21%.
On the BSE sectoral space, Capital Goods up 0.24% and FMCG up 0.12% were the only gainers while Realty down 1.50%, Bankex down 1.13%, PSU down 1.06%, Metal down 0.88% and Power down 0.86% were the top losers in the space.
Bajaj Auto up 0.97%, M&M up 0.94%, L&T up 0.76%, Jindal Steel up 0.61% and Wipro up 0.28% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while DLF down 2.57%, Cipla down 2.40%, Coal India down 2.18%, Tata Motors down 2.09% and JP Associates down 1.90% were the major losers in the index.
Meanwhile, giving enough scope for the government to lift a ban on exports of wheat and non-basmati rice and introduce the Food Security Bill in Parliament, the agriculture sector performed exceptionally well in 2011, with record food grains production of over 240 million tonnes. Farmers' very old demand for crop loans at a 4% rate of interest was met during the year, although with a rider that the facility would be available to only those farmers that pay their crop loans on time.
The major highlights of the year was sharp rise in the farm credit target by Rs 1,00,000 crore to Rs 4,75,000 crore and the launch of new schemes with a total outlay of Rs 1,500 crore to raise production of nutri-cereals, fodder, palm oil, vegetables and protein supplements.
Further, helped by timely and abundant rains last year, the agriculture sector rebounded with a record harvest of 241.56 million tonnes of food grains in the 2010-11 crop year, with production of wheat, pulses and coarse cereals touching an all-time high. In the 2009-10 crop year (July-June), food grains production fell by 16 million tonnes to 218 million tonnes due to a severe drought in 2009.
Remarkable performance was seen in pulses and oilseeds production, on which the government has focused its efforts to make India self-sufficient and reduce dependence on imports. India produced 18.09 million tonnes of pulses and 31.1 million tonnes of oilseeds during the year, an all-time high for both these essential items, also had a positive impact on imports, which declined by 6% in the case of vegetable oils, while inward shipments of pulses fell by over 20%.
Sugarcane output also improved and as a result, sugar production exceeded domestic output after two years. The country turned exporter of the sweetener this year, from a net importer in 2010. The bumper farm production was reflected in the growth numbers. The agriculture sector grew by a healthy 6.6% in the 2010-11 financial year compared to 0.4% in the previous year.

Record food grains production, together with abundant stocks in FCI godowns, prompted the government to allow exports of wheat and non-basmati rice under Open General Licences (OGL) in September this year after a long gap. Though wheat exports were banned in early 2007, overseas rice shipments were restricted in April, 2008, as part of the Centre's measures to curb high inflation, which has been hovering above the comfort zone.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,753.20, lower by 25.80 points or 0.54% after trading as high as 4,800.50 and as low as 4,750.85. There were 17 stocks advancing against 33 declines on the index.
The top gainers on the Nifty were RCOM up 3.09%, Ambuja Cement up 1.84%, Ranbaxy up 1.52%, Bajaj Auto up 1.25% and Reliance Infra up 1.21%.
Axis Bank down 3.04%, IDFC down 2.90%, Power Grid down 2.78%, DLF down 2.54% and Coal India down 2.45% were the major losers on the index.
Asian markets traded on a negative note; Jakarta Composite declined 0.86%, Nikkei 225 slipped 0.46%, Straits Times eased by 0.17%, Seoul Composite dropped by 0.79% and Taiwan Weighted dipped by 0.11%. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite inched up 0.05%.
Stock market in Hong Kong remained closed on Tuesday for a public holiday.
The European markets were trading in green, France's CAC 40 added 0.48%, Germany's DAX jumped 0.38% and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 1.02%

MARKETS SLIP IN RED

The Indian equity markets came off the highs of the day and shifted in to red territory amid alternate bouts of buying and selling in front line stocks. The Nifty was hovering just around its previous closing value on thin trade, while Sensex was down 3.17 points. Investors were trading cautiously as there are no prominent triggers to warrant any strong buying. On sectoral front capital goods, consumer durables and information technology stocks were attracting attention. Power, oil, IT and healthcare stocks were mostly trading flat. Realty stocks are quite subdued. Bank stocks were trading weak. However, shares of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies and those of Mukesh Ambani's firms were finding good support today amid talks of a pacth-up between the Ambani brothers. On the global front, markets in the Asia-Pacific region markets were trading in red. Back home, the market breadth favoring the positive trend; there were 1,220 shares on the gaining side against 987 shares on the losing side while 121 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,967.58, down by 3.17 points or 0.02%. The index has a touched a high and low of 16,049.12 and 15,928.92 respectively. There were 14 stocks advancing against only 16 declines on the index.
The broader indices also pared early gains; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 0.10% and 0.24% respectively.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Capital goods up by 0.66%, Consumer Durables up by 0.26%, IT up by 0.17%, HC up by 0.16%, and TECk up by 0.15%. While, Bankex down 0.57%, PSU down by 0.37%, Realty down by 0.23%, Auto down by 0.18% and Metal down 0.13% were the top losers on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 1.92%, L&T up by 1.48%, Wipro up by 0.86%, M&M up by 0.74% and Jindal Steel up by 0.59%. On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.29%, JP Associates down 1.18%, Cipla down 1.14%, Tata Steel down 0.95% and Coal India down 0.92% were the top loser on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, India's mineral production climbed 10.54% higher in the month of October 2011 as compared to the preceding month according to the data released by ministry of mines. However, the data also showed that mining sector activity measured by the index of mineral production, registered negative growth of 7.19% during October as compared to that of the corresponding month of 2010. The recent decline in iron ore and coal production owing to ban in some key mining areas has become a major issue with mining ministry and companies.
Out of the six minerals which together contributed about 96% of the total value of mineral production in October 2011, the petroleum (crude) remained the highest contributor at Rs 5,806 crore which is 40% of Rs 14,555 crore, the total value of mineral production (excluding atomic & minor minerals) during October 2011. Coal production was next in the order of importance with a value of Rs 3,748 crore, which is around 26% of the total value followed by Iron Ore which contributed Rs 2,321 core, around 16% of the total value. Natural gas (utilized), Lignite and Limestone contributed Rs 1,472 core, Rs 288 core and Rs 276 crore respectively which is around 10%, 2% and 2% of the total value correspondingly.
The output of chromite increased by 47.18%, magnesite 34.90%, coal 33.88%, limestone 5.90%, manganese ore 5.20%, petroleum (crude) 3.21%, natural gas (utilized) 1.37 percent in October 2011. The production of lignite remains at the level of previous month. However, the production of iron ore decreased by 1.24%, dolomite 2.17%, copper conc. 2.48%, lead conc. 2.61%, zinc conc. 2.71%, apatite & phosphorite 9.80%, bauxite 11.06%, diamond 28.14% and gold 29.25 percent.
The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,778.85, down by 0.15 points. The index has touched a high and low of 4,800.50 and 4,765.35 respectively.  There were 27 stocks advancing against 23 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were RCOM up by 3.74%, Reliance Infra up by 2.29%, Tata Power up by 2.21%, Ambuja Cement up by 1.91% and Ranbaxy up by 1.56%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.63%, IDFC down by 1.40%, Axis Bank down 1.36%, Powergrid down 1.34% and Kotak Bank down by 1.32% remained the top losers on the index.
Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite down by 0.52%, Jakarta Composite was down 0.84%, Nikkei 225 was down 0.42%, Straits Times was down by 0.03%, Seoul Composite was down by 0.62% and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.11%.

FLAT MARKETS

The Indian equity markets have made a flat start and dipped into the red in initial trade as investors booked their previous sessions' profit amid feeble cues from Asian markets. Investors shrugged off the positive domestic news that industrial growth in key infrastructure areas bounced back to 6.8 per cent in November after touching a five-year low of 0.3 per cent in October. On the sectoral front capital goods witnessed the maximum gain in trade followed by oil and gas and power while, banking, fast moving capital goods and auto remained the top losers on the BSE sectoral space. Meanwhile, telecom stocks like, Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) edged lower in the trade after the Telecom Commission recommended a uniform licence fee of 8% as against existing 6-10% depending upon type of service and circle. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks. The market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 852 shares on the gaining side against 661 shares on the losing side while 73 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex opened at 15,983.98; about 13 points higher compared to its previous closing of 15,970.75, and has touched a high and a low of 15,991.72 and 15,928.92 respectively.
The index is currently trading at 15,959.47, down by 11.28 points or 0.07%. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 declines on the index.
The overall market breadth has made a positive start with 53.72% stocks advancing against 41.68% declines. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices rose 0.18% and 0.32% respectively.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, CG up by 0.90%, Oil and Gas up by 0.39%, Power up by 0.26%, CD up by 0.25% and Realty was up by 0.24%. While, Bankex down by 0.72%, FMCG down by 0.46%, Auto down by 0.26% and PSU down by 0.17% were the only losers on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 1.81%, L&T up by 1.72%, Hindalco up by 1.07%, Sun Pharma up by 0.95% and RIL was up by 0.80%.
On the flip side, Jaiprakash Associates was down by 1.27%, Cipla was down by 1.07%, HDFC Bank was down by 1.07%, ITC was down by 0.95% and M&M was down by 0.83% were the top losers on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, India's foreign direct investment (FDI) declined by over 50% to $1.16 billion in October for the second month in a row, reflecting economic slowdown in the world's major economies. India received $2.33 billion overseas investment in the same month last year. In September, the inflows were at $1.76 billion, down by 16.5% year-on-year.
However, in April-October 2011, the FDI rose 50.3% to $20.8 billion, from $13.84 billion in the year-ago period as inflows were healthy in the initial months. Though in August FDI inflows had increased over two-fold to $2.83 billion, year-on-year, in July they declined after a significant jump for two consecutive months - May and June. 
Uncertain economic conditions in the US and Europe are one of the major reasons for the declining FDI in India. However, despite uncertainties in the global economy, FDI is likely to touch $35 billion in 2011-12, as against $19.4 billion in the last fiscal on account of major deals like RIL-BP and Posco.
Mauritius, Singapore, the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, Germany and the UAE are major sources of FDI for India. In April-October 2011, the sectors that engrossed the maximum FDI include services, construction activities, power, computers and hardware, telecom and housing and real estate.
In order to attract more inflows by easing FDI procedures, the Reserve Bank of India said that transfer of shares between Indians and non-residents will not require its permission in several key areas like financial services.
During 2010-11, equity inflows through the FDI route had declined 25% to $19.43 billion, from $25.6 billion in 2009-10 compared to $27.3 billion in 2008-09.
The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 4,780.20; flat compared to its previous closing of 4,779.00, and has touched a high and a low of 4,784.80 and 4,765.35 respectively.
The index is currently trading at 4,774.05, lower by 4.95 points or 0.10%. There were 26 stocks advancing against 24 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were RCom up by 4.03%, Reliance Infra up by 2.84%, Ambuja Cement up by 2.16%, Tata Power up by 2.04% and L&T up by 1.76%.

On the flip side, Jaiprakash Associates down by 1.36%, Kotak Bank down by 1.31%, HDFC Bank down by 1.24%, Axis Bank down by 1.21% and Cipla down by 1.10%, were the major losers on the index.
Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Jakarta Composite was down 26.70 points or 0.70% to 3,770.45, Nikkei 225 was down 30.96 points or 0.37% to 8,448.38, Straits Times was down 4.36 points or 0.16% to 2,672.11, Seoul Composite was down 18.98 points or 1.02% to 1,837.72 and Taiwan Weighted was down 29.58 points or 0.42% to 7,063.00.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 1.12 points or 0.05% to 2,191.23.

MARKETS HOLD GAINS

The Indian equity bourses continued trading in positive territory holding its early gains after a fairly good start for stocks this morning. Investors were hopeful about a strong recovery of the US economy and expecting that the Reserve Bank of India will soon come out with some monetary easing moves following a sharp decline in food inflation, were driving stock prices up today. Meanwhile, Indian rupee moved up 10 paise to 52.86 per US dollar, supported by gains posted by the euro and other currencies against the American dollar overseas. A positive start in stock markets too aided the rupee's surge. On sectoral front, Telecom stocks have moved higher on the back of reports that the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal has set the next date for hearing the case related to telecom firm's appeal against the government order that enforced a ban on 3G roaming arrangement between operators. Shares from interest rate sensitive banking, automobile and realty sectors were moving higher amid expectations of a rate cut early next year. Several stocks from capital goods space too have gained significant ground in positive territory. On the global front, markets in the Asia-Pacific region markets were trading in red. Back home, the market breadth favoring the positive trend; there were 1,579 shares on the gaining side against 728 shares on the losing side while 108 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,934.80, up by 196.10 points or 1.25%. The index has a touched a high and low of 15,956.93 and 15,761.18 respectively. There were 28 stocks advancing against only 2 declines on the index.
The broader indices too were trading with decent gains; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 0.81% and 1.01% respectively.
Buying was witnessed across the board. The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, TECk up by 1.81%, Realty up by 1.58%, CG up by 1.57%, IT up by 1.55%, and Metal up by 1.19%. While, there was no loser on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were Bharti Airtel up by 3.40%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.96%, TCS was up by 1.94%  Jaiprakash Associates up by 1.86% and Sterlite Industries up by 1.86%. On the flip side, Cipla marginally down by 0.24% and Hindalco Industries down by 0.04% were the top losers on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Duvvuri Subbarao has said that India's economic growth will probably fail to meet the central bank's GDP target of 7.6% for the fiscal year 2011-12 citing concerns over the domestic macro-economic situation. The governor also was of the belief that RBI may revise the growth forecast for Asia's third largest economy downward in its third quarter monetary policy review meeting scheduled on January 24, 2012.
Subbarao underscored that factors like stubborn inflation and depreciating rupee are serious cause of concerns for the economy's growth. On one hand, the headline (WPI) inflation in the month of November stayed above the uncomfortable 9% levels for the twelfth straight month, despite thirteen interest rate hikes by Indian central bank since March 2010. While on the other, Indian rupee has become the worst performing currency in Asia depreciating over 15% in 2011 against the dollar.

The RBI had revised the GDP growth forecast for 2011-12 to 7.6%, from 8% on October, 2011 while, the government cut its full-year growth target to between 7.25 - 7.75% earlier this month from 9% in February. Meanwhile, an influential brokerage firm CLSA has slashed India's GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal year ending March, 2012 from its earlier projection of 7.3%, owing to cyclical deceleration caused by high interest rates, policy inertia and the adverse impact of global headwinds.  

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,767.75, higher by 53.75 points or 1.14%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,777.60 and 4,718.15 respectively. There were 41 stocks advancing against 8 declines on the index and one remained unchanged.
The top gainers of the Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 3.39%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.17%, Cairn up by 2.06%, JP Associates up by 2.05% and RCOM up by 2.01%.
On the flip side, Ranbaxy down by 1.41%, Powergrid down by 0.74%, Axis Bank down by 0.64%, BPCL down by 0.59% and PNB down by 0.24% remained the losers on the index.
Most of the bourses in the Asian region were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite was down 0.32%, Seoul Composite was down by 0.56% and Taiwan Weighted was down by 0.26%.
On the flip side, Nikkei 225 was up by 93.22 points or 0.99% to 8,478.
However, Stock markets in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore remained closed on Monday in observance of the Christmas holiday.

MOMENTUM LOST

Indian benchmark indices failed to keep the momentum going for the third session on the last trading day of the week as the relief rally finally petered out ahead of Christmas. The psychological 4,750 (Nifty) and 15,900 (Sensex) levels proved as firm resistance levels for the benchmarks as they witnessed a sharp intraday trend reversal and plunged over a percentage point from around those levels to lowest levels in the session. Investors chose to take profits off the table from Oil & Gas and rate sensitive Banking counters in particular. The Indian bourses not only halted the two session gaining streak but also resumed their streak of underperformance against their global peers as they were outclassed by all the Asian as well as the European counterparts. Sentiments also got dampened by reports that RBI may revise the growth forecast for Asia's third largest economy downward in its third quarter monetary policy review scheduled on January 24, 2012. Meanwhile, an influential brokerage firm CLSA slashed India's GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal year ending March, 2012 from its earlier projection of 7.3%, owing to cyclical deceleration caused by high interest rates, policy inertia and the adverse impact of global headwinds. Domestic investors also shrugged off growing evidence of a rebound in the US economy as reports showed US initial jobless claims fell last week to their lowest in more than 3-1/2 years while consumer sentiment there improved in December to its highest level in six months. Meanwhile, shares of air carriers like SpiceJet and Jet airways spurted on reports that the government may allow the financially stressed segment to import fuel directly. Besides, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee asserted that the government was committed to pushing reforms like PFRDA and foreign investment in retail, and also assured that government would strive to build political consensus on broader issues and hoped the economy would grow by 7.5% this fiscal.
Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to an optimistic start following supportive leads from Asian markets and sentiments got bolstered in thin pre-Christmas trade triggered by a slew of encouraging economic reports from the US. The frontline indices kept oscillating in a narrow range through the morning trades. The key gauges showed signs of recovery in early afternoon trades as they gradually crawled towards intraday highs but the indices witnessed sudden bouts of profit booking which dragged the indices to intraday lows by the end of trade and settled with moderate losses. Eventually, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty shed close to half a percentage points to settle above the crucial 4,700 levels while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index - Sensex slipped by seventy five points and closed above the psychological 15,700 mark. Moreover, the broader markets too pared gains in the session but settled on a positive note. On the BSE sectoral space, the beaten down Capital Goods counter remained the top gainer in the space with over half a percent gains while the rate sensitive Auto and Realty pockets closed with marginal gains. On the flipside, the Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas counters remained the top laggards as they settled over a percent loss each. The markets declined on weaker volumes of over Rs 1.42 lakh crore while the turnover for NSE F&O segment too remained on the lower side as compared to Thursday at over 1.30 lakh crore. The market breadth was optimistic as there were 1528 shares on the gaining side against 1194 shares on the losing side while 167 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 74.66 points or 0.47% to settle at 15738.70, while the S&P CNX Nifty declined by 19.85 points or 0.42% to close 4,714.00.
The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 15,911.23 and 15,671.28 respectively. The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were up by 0.07% and 1.07% respectively.
The major gainers on the Sensex were Wipro up 2.17%, BHEL up 1.91%, Hindustan Unilever up 0.83%, Tata Motors up 0.52% and Maruti Suzuki up 0.38%. While, NTPC down 3.27%, DLF down 2.23%, Jaiprakash Associates down 2.01%, Tata Steel down 1.81% and Bajaj Auto down 1.47%, were the major loser on the index.
On the BSE sectoral space, Capital Goods (CG) up 0.66%, Auto up 0.23%, Realty up 0.12% and FMCG up 0.09% were the major gainers while Consumer Durables (CD) down 1.15%, Oil & Gas down 1.05%, Bankex down 1.04%, PSU down 0.65% and Metal 0.42% were the only losers on the BSE sectoral space.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Duvvuri Subbarao has said that India's economic growth will probably fail to meet the central bank's GDP target of 7.6% for the fiscal year 2011-12 citing concerns over the domestic macro-economic situation. The governor also was of the belief that RBI may revise the growth forecast for Asia's third largest economy downward in its third quarter monetary policy review meeting scheduled on January 24, 2012.
Subbarao underscored that factors like stubborn inflation and depreciating rupee are serious cause of concerns for the economy's growth. On one hand, the headline (WPI) inflation in the month of November stayed above the uncomfortable 9% levels for the twelfth straight month, despite thirteen interest rate hikes by Indian central bank since March 2010. While on the other, Indian rupee has become the worst performing currency in Asia depreciating over 15% in 2011 against the dollar.
The RBI had revised the GDP growth forecast for 2011-12 to 7.6%, from 8% on October, 2011 while, the government cut its full-year growth target to between 7.25 - 7.75% earlier this month from 9% in February. Meanwhile, an influential brokerage firm CLSA has slashed India's GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal year ending March, 2012 from its earlier projection of 7.3%, owing to cyclical deceleration caused by high interest rates, policy inertia and the adverse impact of global headwinds.  
The S&P CNX Nifty touched a high and low of 4,763.45 and 4,693.20, respectively.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Siemens up 2.35%, BHEL up 2.26%, Grasim up 2.04%, Wipro up 1.92% and Axis Bank up 0.97%. On the flip side, Ranbaxy down 4.12%, NTPC down 3.24%, RCOM down 3.06%, BPCL down 2.73% and IDFC down 2.66% were the top losers on the index.

The European markets were trading on a positive note. France's CAC 40 surged 1.16%, Britain's FTSE 100 soared by 0.67% and Germany's DAX gained by 0.39%.

Sentiments remained bolstered in the Asian region and all the Asian equity indices ended higher as signs that the US economic recovery is gathering pace lifted investor sentiment following better-than-expected economic data on Thursday. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level since April 2008, the third week in a row that applications fell. The Conference Board reported that its measure of future economic activity jumped last month, the second straight gain. Investors were also encouraged by an agreement in the US Congress to extend a payroll tax cut for two months.
Credit ratings agency Fitch said it expects growth in Asia's developing economies will slow slightly next year but still expand by a robust 6.8 percent, which should help bolster the region's wealthier nations. Meanwhile, China stocks ended up 0.85%, in line with gains in the Hong Kong market, which rose amid signs of strengthening in the US economy.

PROFIT BOOKING

Indian equities pared off accumulated gains to trade below neutral line in red in the late afternoon session after investors turned skeptics and started booking profit off the table. The momentum which the market carried on encouraging economic reports from the US which helped benchmark to trade in green faded away with selling pressure coming in. However, upside for the local markets was also limited by reports that RBI may revise the growth forecast for Asia's third largest economy downward in its third quarter monetary policy review meeting scheduled on January 24, 2012. Traders were seen piling up position in Capital Goods, Realty and Auto sector while selling was witnessed in Oil & Gas, TECk and Consumer Durables sector.
RIL, ONGC, Oil India, IOC, HPCL, BPCL and Gail India from Oil & Gas pack were trading weak in red pulling the markets lower. HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and PNB from Banking counters were weak in red exerting pressure on the market. L&T, BHEL, Thermax, Suzlon Energy, Punj Lloyd and Crompton Greaves from Capital Goods space were trading in green pushing the markets higher. M&M and Maruti Suzuki from Auto space were seen trading in green giving the much needed support.
On the global front, all Asian markets were seen trading on an encouraging note while the European markets were trading in green on optimistic note.  In Europe, Standard & Poor's downgraded Hungary's sovereign credit rating to junk status with a negative outlook, citing unpredictable policy framework that is harming the economy's medium-term growth prospects. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 4,750 and 15,800 levels, respectively. The market breadth on the BSE was in favor of advances in the ratio of 1543:1042 while 122 scrips remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,771.40 down by 41.96 points or 0.27% after trading as high as 15,911.23 and as low as 15,734.79. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.
The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid cap index surged 0.43% while Small cap jumped 1.21%.
On the BSE sectoral space, Capital Goods up 2.10%, Realty up 0.51%, Auto up 0.45%, Power up 0.13% and Metal up 0.01% were the only gainers while Oil & Gas down 0.61%, TECk down 0.53%, Consumer Durables down 0.48%, PSU down 0.47% and Bankex down 0.38% were the top loser in the space.
BHEL up 2.95%, L&T up 1.85%, Maruti Suzuki up 1.31%, Wipro up 0.89% and M&M up 0.71% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while NTPC down 3.39%, JP Associates down 2.37%, Bharti Airtel down 1.92%, Jindal Steel down 1.77% and ONGC down 1.45% were the major losers in the index.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Duvvuri Subbarao has said that India's economic growth will probably fail to meet the central bank's GDP target of 7.6% for the fiscal year 2011-12 citing concerns over the domestic macro-economic situation. The governor also was of the belief that RBI may revise the growth forecast for Asia's third largest economy downward in its third quarter monetary policy review meeting scheduled on January 24, 2012.
Subbarao underscored that factors like stubborn inflation and depreciating rupee are serious cause of concerns for the economy's growth. On one hand, the headline (WPI) inflation in the month of November stayed above the uncomfortable 9% levels for the twelfth straight month, despite thirteen interest rate hikes by Indian central bank since March 2010. While on the other, Indian rupee has become the worst performing currency in Asia depreciating over 15% in 2011 against the dollar.

The RBI had revised the GDP growth forecast for 2011-12 to 7.6%, from 8% on October, 2011 while, the government cut its full-year growth target to between 7.25 - 7.75% earlier this month from 9% in February. Meanwhile, an influential brokerage firm CLSA has slashed India's GDP growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal year ending March, 2012 from its earlier projection of 7.3%, owing to cyclical deceleration caused by high interest rates, policy inertia and the adverse impact of global headwinds.  

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,723.45, lower by 10.40 points or 0.22% after trading as high as 4,763.45 and as low as 4,713.00. There were 18 stocks advancing against 31 declines while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.
The top gainers on the Nifty were BHEL up 3.06%, L&T up 2.36%, Sesa Goa up 2.10%, Grasim up 2.05% and Maruti up 1.64%.
NTPC down 3.00%, BPCL down 2.86%, IDFC down 2.12%, Bharti Airtel down 1.85% and JP Associates down 1.83% were the major losers on the index.
Asian markets traded largely on a positive note, Shanghai Composite climbed 0.85%, Hang Seng surged 1.37%, Straits Times added 0.42%, Seoul Composite soared 1.07% and Taiwan Weighted jumped 2.07%.
On the flipside, Jakarta Composite slipped 0.24%. Stock market in Japan remained closed for a national holiday.
The European markets were trading in green, France's CAC 40 added 0.90%, Germany's DAX jumped 0.42% and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.57%.

RALLY CONTINUES

A session after staging a marvelous performance, Indian benchmark indices managed to pull through yet another strong rally on Thursday, thanks to the hefty short covering in the beaten down rate sensitive counters that prevailed for second straight session. The psychological 4,650 and 15,500 levels proved as strong supports for the benchmarks as they bounced over two percentage points from around those levels after investors hunted for badly beaten down but fundamentally strong bargains on getting encouraging domestic economic report and on optimism in European markets. Market participants rejoiced as government released weekly inflation data which showed that India's food inflation plunged to a near four-year low to 1.81% for the week ended December 10 from 4.35% in the previous week. On the global front, most markets in the Asian region exhibited pessimistic performance however, the European markets bucked the trend and rose, buttressing domestic sentiments. Investors also were optimistic ahead of the release of US consumer confidence and initial jobless claims data, which are likely to highlight the improving economic situation in world's largest economy. Meanwhile, sugar stocks including Shri Renuka Sugars and Bajaj Hindustan surged higher in the session after Food Minister said that the government is contemplating demands for partial decontrol of the sector while he also assured that he would take up the issue with Finance Minister and Agriculture Minister after Parliament's winter session. While software and technology counters bucked the optimistic trend after dismal results from Oracle Corp, the world's No.3 software maker raised concerns over the prospects of domestic companies too. While jitters in IT stocks also were evident since a bipartisan bill has been tabled in the US House of Representatives to make companies that move call centres overseas ineligible for grants or guaranteed loans from the federal government.
Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a somber opening following unsupportive leads from Asian markets as worries over Euro-zone's sovereign debt woes once again caming to the fore. The frontline indices kept oscillating in a narrow range through the morning trades. The key gauges hit intraday lows in early afternoon trades after which the indices witnessed sudden spurt in sentiments which helped them to capitalize on the impetus and settle around the highest point of the day, extending the gaining streak for a second straight day. Eventually, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty garnered close to a percentage points to settle above the crucial 4,700 levels while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index - Sensex amassed whopping over a hundred points and closed above the psychological 15,800 mark. Moreover, the broader markets too matched the fervor with which their larger peers rallied and closed with gains of around a percent. On the BSE sectoral space, the beaten down rate sensitive Realty counter remained the top mover in the space with close to three percent gains while the Bankex pocket too made its presence felt by surging over two percent. On the flipside, the IT and TECk counters remained the only chinks in the armor and settled with over a percent losses each. The markets climbed on stronger volumes of over Rs 1.69 lakh crore while the turnover for NSE F&O segment too remained on the higher side as compared to Wednesday at over 1.56 lakh crore. The market breadth was optimistic as there were 1547 shares on the gaining side against 1149 shares on the losing side while 147 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex garnered 128.15 points or 0.82% to settle at 15,813.36, while the S&P CNX Nifty amassed by 40.70 points or 0.87% to close 4,733.85.
The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 15,834.63 and 15,472.70 respectively. The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were up by 0.78% and 0.70% respectively.
The major gainers on the Sensex were DLF up 4.80%, Tata Motors up 3.76%, ICICI Bank up 3.52%, SBI up 2.79% and Tata Power up 2.36%. While, Wipro down 2.67%, Bharti Airtel down 1.77%, Infosys down 1.07%, Coal India down 0.96% and TCS down 0.94%, were the major loser on the index.
On the BSE sectoral space, Realty up 2.91%, Bankex up 2.27%, Power up 1.97%, Consumer Durables up 1.85% and PSU up 1.73% were the major gainers while IT down 1.20% and TECk down 1.10% were the only losers on the BSE sectoral space.
Meanwhile, India's weekly food inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), sliding for sixth successive week, cooled off to a nearly four-year low of 1.81% for the week ended December 10, its lowest rate since the week ended February 9, 2008, when it stood at 2.26%. The decline was mainly on the back of declining prices of essential items like vegetables, onion and potato.  Food inflation was 4.35% in the previous week. It had stood at 13.22% in the corresponding week of 2010.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the index for 'Food Articles' group declined by 0.5% to 191.0 (Provisional) from 191.9 (Provisional) for the previous week to lower prices of fruits and vegetables and condiments and spices (2% each) and ragi, tea and rice (1% each).  However, the prices of jowar, gram and masur (2% each) and fish-inland, poultry chicken and fish-marine (1% each) moved up.
The index for 'Non-Food Articles' group declined by 0.6% to 177.4 (Provisional) from 178.4 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of flowers (13%), cotton seed (7%), sunflower (4%) and coir fibre,  copra  and gingelly seed (2% each). However, the prices of gaur seed (5 %), soyabean (4%), raw silk (2%) and linseed, raw rubber, castor seed, rape and mustard seed and groundnut seed (1% each) moved up.
As a result the index for 'Primary Articles' which accounts for 20.12% of the WPI declined by 0.2% to 197.7 (Provisional) from 198.1 (Provisional) for the previous week. The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 3.78% (Provisional) for the week ended December 10, 2011 as compared to 5.48% (Provisional) for the previous week ended December 3, 2011.
Meanwhile, the index and annual rate of inflation calculated on point to point basis for 'Fuel and Power' group, which accounts for 14.91% of WPI, remained unchanged at their previous week's level of 172.4 (Provisional) and 15.24% (Provisional) for the week ended December 10, 2011.

The sharp fall in food inflation numbers, which were in double-digit till the first week of November are seen as a big relief to both the government and the Reserve Bank who have been battling high prices for over two years. In a bid to rein inflation, RBI has hiked key policy rates by 13 times since March 2010. However, this time around, the RBI has kept policy rates on hold at its policy review last Friday, sending a strong signal that its next move is likely to be an easing of monetary policy as risks to growth increase.

The S&P CNX Nifty touched a high and low of 4,740.60 and 4,632.95, respectively.
The top gainers on the Nifty were DLF up 5.62%, PNB up 4.37%, Tata Motors up 4.10%, IDFC up 3.39% and JP Associates up 3.37%. On the flip side, Wipro down 3%, Sesa Goa down 2.04%, Bharti Airtel down 1.92%, Cairn down 1.55% and SAIL down 1.24% were the top losers on the index.
The European markets were trading on a positive note. France's CAC 40 surged 1.40%, Britain's FTSE 100 soared by 1.13% and Germany's DAX jumped by 1.11%.
Asian stock markets ended mostly lower on Thursday amid expectations that the European Central Bank's massive lending to euro-zone banks will not solve the region's debt crisis. The performance in Asia followed a flat finish for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday, after an ECB bank-lending program garnered higher-than-expected demand. The ECB loaned 489 billion euro to 523 banks for three years.
Chinese key share market closed down 0.2 percent after hitting its lowest level since March 2009, as investors worried liquidity will tighten at the year-end following fundraising by large corporates. However, the index bounced back from a decline of as much as 1.9 percent, led by the energy sector, especially green energy-related shares due to the government's support for environmental protection. Moreover, Seoul shares inched down as market cheer from the ECB's release of cheap liquidity was met with doubt over how much would flow to euro zone countries.

MARKETS GAIN STRENGTH

Indian equities gained strength and pared most of their losses, hovering just below the neutral line in the late afternoon session. Investors started accumulating front line counters on back of encouraging weekly inflation numbers which moderated substantially to 1.81% in the week ended December 10, as per the government data. In the fight between bulls and bears to gain control over the market, bears were seen continuing their rally but losing out momentum while marking its run on the benchmarks. Traders were seen piling up position in Realty, Bankex and FMCG sector while selling was witnessed in TECk, IT and Metal sector.
DLF, Unitech, HDIL and DB Realty from Realty pack were seen trading firm in green pulling the markets higher. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, PNB and ICICI Bank from Banking sector were trading with gain of around more than one percent to three percent helping market edge higher. ITC, HUL, Colgate Palmolive and Nestle from FMCG space was firm in green giving the much needed support. Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel, NMDC and Hindustan Zinc from Metal counters were trading weak in red pulling the markets down. Infosys, TCS, Wipro, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra and Mphasis from IT space were weak in red after US-based Oracle Corporation's dismal quarterly results sent shock waves across the technology sector, exerting pressure on the market.
In the scrip specific development, telecom companies Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication, Idea Cellular and TTML declined lower on reports that the Telecom Ministry has asked service providers to discontinue their 3G roaming agreements and is also contemplating imposing penalty on them. Monnet Ispat rose ahead of board meeting of the company scheduled for today, to consider a proposal for buyback of the company's own shares. Shares of sugar firms Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Shree Renuka Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar Industries, Dhampur Sugar Mills and Simbhaoli Sugars were firm on reports that the government will consider the demand for partial decontrol of the sugar sector after winter session of parliament gets over.
On the global front, all Asian markets were seen trading in red while the European markets were trading in green on optimistic note.  Even as the European Central Bank infused 489.19 billion euro into 523 financial institutions in Europe at ultra-low interests under its newly-activated three-year lending facility, uncertainty over how the banks will use the funds and also doubts over how much of the funds banks raised will actually flow into struggling euro zone economies, persisted among investors. Back home, the NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were trading below their psychological 4,700 and 15,700 levels, respectively. The market breadth on the BSE was in favor of declines in the ratio of 1143:1419 while 109 scrips remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,679.56 down by 5.65 points or 0.04% after trading as high as 15,692.25 and as low as 15,472.70. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 declines on the index.
The broader indices were trading on a negative note; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.05% while Small cap shed 0.14%.
On the BSE sectoral space, Realty up 1.33%, Bankex up 1.16%, FMCG up 0.71%, Consumer Durables up 0.67% and Auto up 0.53% were the top gainers while TECk down 1.62%, IT down 1.43% and Metal down 0.39% were the only losers in the space.
DLF up 2.97%, Tata Motors up 2.01%, HUL up 1.94%, ICICI Bank up 1.59% and SBI up 1.42% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Bharti Airtel down 3.12%, Wipro down 2.61%, Infosys down 1.74%, Coal India down 1.44% and Jindal Steel down 1.04% were the major losers in the index.
Meanwhile, India's weekly food inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), sliding for sixth successive week, cooled off to a nearly four-year low of 1.81% for the week ended December 10, its lowest rate since the week ended February 9, 2008, when it stood at 2.26%. The decline was mainly on the back of declining prices of essential items like vegetables, onion and potato.  Food inflation was 4.35% in the previous week. It had stood at 13.22% in the corresponding week of 2010.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the index for 'Food Articles' group declined by 0.5% to 191.0 (Provisional) from 191.9 (Provisional) for the previous week to lower prices of fruits and vegetables and condiments and spices (2% each) and ragi, tea and rice (1% each).  However, the prices of jowar, gram and masur (2% each) and fish-inland, poultry chicken and fish-marine (1% each) moved up.
The index for 'Non-Food Articles' group declined by 0.6% to 177.4 (Provisional) from 178.4 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of flowers (13%), cotton seed (7%), sunflower (4%) and coir fibre,  copra  and gingelly seed (2% each). However, the prices of gaur seed (5 %), soyabean (4%), raw silk (2%) and linseed, raw rubber, castor seed, rape and mustard seed and groundnut seed (1% each) moved up.
As a result the index for 'Primary Articles' which accounts for 20.12% of the WPI declined by 0.2% to 197.7 (Provisional) from 198.1 (Provisional) for the previous week. The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 3.78% (Provisional) for the week ended December 10, 2011 as compared to 5.48% (Provisional) for the previous week ended December 3, 2011.

Meanwhile, the index and annual rate of inflation calculated on point to point basis for 'Fuel and Power' group, which accounts for 14.91% of WPI, remained unchanged at their previous week's level of 172.4 (Provisional) and 15.24% (Provisional) for the week ended December 10, 2011.

The sharp fall in food inflation numbers, which were in double-digit till the first week of November are seen as a big relief to both the government and the Reserve Bank who have been battling high prices for over two years. In a bid to rein inflation, RBI has hiked key policy rates by 13 times since March 2010. However, this time around, the RBI has kept policy rates on hold at its policy review last Friday, sending a strong signal that its next move is likely to be an easing of monetary policy as risks to growth increase.
The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,693.60, lower by 0.45 points or 0.01% after trading as high as 4,697.80 and as low as 4,632.95. There were 25 stocks advancing against 25 declines on the index.
The top gainers on the Nifty were DLF up 3.32%, PNB up 3.26%, Ranbaxy up 2.80%, Tata Motors up 2.06% and ICICI Bank up 1.80%.
Bharti Airtel down 3.12%, Sesa Goa down 2.84%, Wipro down 2.53%, Cairn India down 1.56% and Infosys down 1.52% were the major losers on the index.
Asian markets traded on a negative note, Shanghai Composite declined 0.22%, Hang Seng slipped 0.21%, Nikkei 225 dropped 0.77%, Jakarta Composite dropped 0.09%, Straits Times shed 0.26%, Seoul Composite eased 0.05% and Taiwan Weighted inched down 0.01%.
The European markets were trading in green with, France's CAC 40 added 1.17%, Germany's DAX jumped 1.33% and Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.99%.

RANGE BOUND

Indian benchmarks have managed to cut some part of their hefty losses and are trading range bound with cuts of around half a percentage points in Thursday late morning session. The BSE's Sensex is gradually crawling towards the important psychological 15,600 levels at a time when markets across Asia region have cut their losses and trading moderately lower after investors raised doubts over money borrowed by banks from ECB in the 3-year long term refinancing operation (LTRO). Back home, metal stocks declined after recent data showed Chinese manufacturing activity continued to contract in December 2011, with Tata Steel hitting 52-week low. While, Capital goods stocks dropped on worries that new order flows will be hit adversely in a slowing economy. However, FMCG major Hindustan Lever scaled record high today on defensive buying. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of declines which thrashed advances in the ratio of 1259:996, while 103 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,585.63, down by 99.58 points or 0.63%. The index has touched a high and a low of 15,615.14 and 15,491.80 respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against 19 declining ones on the index.
The broader indices too continued to trade in red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices declined by 0.19% and 0.35% respectively.
The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, FMCG up by 1.21%, CD up by 0.57%, HC up by 0.44%, Power and Realty up by 0.42%. While, IT down by 2.13%, TECk down by 2.05%, Metal down by 0.94%, CG down by 0.56% and Oil & Gas down by 0.52% were the top losers on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 2.67%, DLF up by 1.49%, NTPC up by 1.15%, Tata motors up by 0.76% and Cipla up by 0.68%.
On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 2.81%, Infosys down by 2.56%, Wipro down by 2.55%, Coal India down by 1.92% and Hindalco Industries down by 1.59% were the top losers on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance is considering a proposal of loan restructuring for the textile sector and a decision in this regard is expected soon. The textiles ministry has been following the matter with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry after considering the industry's demand for re-setting of bank loans worth Rs 1 lakh crore.
On the sidelines of Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) function, Textiles Secretary Rita Menon said, 'we had a meeting with finance ministry day before yesterday and they have given us 10 days time, so we hope we can have something before New Year.' Further the finance ministry is likely to examine the cases of sickness in textile units and accordingly prepare a report, which would be followed by inter-ministerial consultations.
Textile sector has been hit hard by a sharp fall in cotton yarn prices, poor domestic demand and curb on cotton yarn exports in last December. Now, SMEs in sectors like silk, power-loom, spinning are facing difficulty to repay term loans and financing working capital on the back of high interest regime.
Menon said, the textiles ministry is not requesting for a 'cash outgo' rather it is a moratorium on loans for two years so that the working capital could be arranged for that time period. By adding further she said the step of suspension of loan repayment for two years would protect units from becoming non-performing assets as we are attempting to see these units are not termed non-performing assets.

The government also admitted in Parliament that banks have reported stress in repayments, as there is a slowdown in the textiles industry. Further, confederation of Indian Textile Industry had reported that out of 287 companies list in the BSE, 122 companies have reported net loss in the first quarter of 2011-12 and 166 companies have shown poor results compared to previous year.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,667.80, lower by 25.35 points or 0.54%. The index has touched a high and a low of 4,677.20 and 4,677.20 respectively. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 declining ones on the index.
The top gainers of the Nifty were Ranbaxy up by 2.68%, HUL up by 2.58%, Punjab National Bank (PNB) up by 2.02%, DLF up by 1.54% and Ambuja Cement up by 1.16%. On the flip side, Bharti Airtel down by 3.02%, Wipro down by 2.59%, Infosys down by 2.52%, RCom down by 2.51% and Coal India down by 2.08% were the major losers on the index.
Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite declined 0.06%, Hang Seng slid 0.32%, Nikkei 225 descended 0.77%, Straits Times was down by 0.38%, Seoul Composite surrendered 0.05% and Taiwan Weighted was trading flat with negative bias.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 0.16% remained the lone gainer among the Asian pack.

CONSOLIDATION

After faltering in early deals, benchmark indices have now trimmed some of the losses on the back of bounce back of stocks from power counter. However, the overall milieu remains pessimistic in the background of daunting global set up.
After gaining no specific leads from overnight trade at Wall Street, Asian pacific markets ending two day rally are mostly trading lower. U.S. stocks swung to a slightly higher close Wednesday, boosted by a bounce from some technical levels and late-breaking reports on Yahoo Inc. and Bank of America Corp. However, Nasdaq Composite, weighed by unease over Oracle Corp. (ORCL) earnings that hit the tech sector, ended the day lower. Meanwhile, rattled by the European Central Bank's huge loan to bolster the continent's banks, Asian pacific stocks edged lower. The US future indices were showcasing mixed trend in the screen trade.
Back on the home turf, benchmark equity indices after taking a breather from five day's losing streak  edged lower in early deals, however, covering up of some shorts in defensive Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Health Care (HC) and Power space, have trimmed some losses of the benchmarks. On the flip side, Stocks from Information Technology (IT), TECk, Metal counters endorsed underlying weakness. The 30 share barometer index on BSE-Sensex-sliding over 100 points was gyrating above 15500 mark. Meanwhile, widely followed 50 shares index- Nifty-declining over 25 points was oscillating above 4600 level. The broader indices too were trading out of shape, with loss of over 0.45% each. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favour of declines which thumped advances in the ratio of 1099:830, while 86 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,567.52, down by 117.69 points or 0.75%. The index has touched a high and a low of 15,615.14 and 15,491.80 respectively.   There were 9 stocks advancing against 20 declining ones, while 1 share remained unchanged on the index.
The broader indices too were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices declined by 0.27% and 0.43% respectively.
The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, FMCG up by 0.78%, HC up by 0.28% and Power up by 0.02%. While, IT down by 2.23%, TECk down by 2.01%, Metal down by 1.36%, CG down by 1.05% and Bankex down by 0.49% were the top losers on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 2.01%, NTPC up by 0.94%, Cipla up by 0.74%, HDFC up by 0.39% and DLF up by 0.37%.
On the flip side, Infosys down by 2.61%, Wipro down by 2.36%, Hindalco industries down by 2.15%, L&T down by 1.80% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.77% were the top losers on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has set aside Rs 2,000 crore for building warehouses to help facilitate distribution of food grain under the proposed Food Security Act. Under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the bank has proposed to provide funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore exclusively for construction of scientific godowns across the country in this fiscal.
Further, NABARD is also determined to even finance private entrepreneurs for the first time through banks for the setting up of 'climatic-controlled' godowns under RIDF and is also offering concession of 1.5% in the rate of interest if prompt payment is done by them.
NABARD will provide funds to banks including commercial banks at the rate of 8% instead of 10.5% at present so as to make money available to private entrepreneurs for construction of godowns.
NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,663.05, lower by 30.10 points or 0.64%. The index has touched a high and a low of 4,677.20 and 4,634.00 respectively.  There were 19 stocks advancing against 30 declining one's, while 1 stock remained unchanged on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HUL up by 2.05%, Ranbaxy up by 1.52%, Axis Bank up by 1.22%, Gail India up by 1.02% and Ambuja Cement up by 0.99%. On the flip side, RCom down by 2.95%, Infosys down by 2.58%, Sesa Goa down by 2.50%, Wipro down by 2.39% and IDFC down by 2.18% were the major losers on the index.
Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite declined 0.44%, Hang Seng slid 0.53%, Nikkei 225 descended 0.71%, Straits Times was down by 0.27%, Seoul Composite surrendered 0.32% and Taiwan Weighted slipped by 0.28%.
On the flip side, Jakarta Composite gained 0.10% remained the lone gainer among the Asian pack.

BOUNCE

After five straight sessions of horrendous performances, Indian benchmark equity indices finally showed some enthusiasm as market bulls eagerly waited for some significant upside triggers to cover the huge pile of short positions that got build up in the recent past. The frontline indices registered colossal gains of around three and half a percent amid tentative improvement in risk appetite of investors who resorted to hefty bottom fishing after the recent brutal risk aversion. The important psychological 4,600 (Nifty) and 15,400 (Sensex) levels proved as strong supports for the key gauges as the indices spurted in the dying hours of trade from those levels and even re-conquered the 4,700 (Nifty) and 15,700 (Sensex) bastions for a brief period. The unexpectedly encouraging US housing market report coupled with easing Euro-zone debt woes boosted sentiments across the globe as most Asian equity indices exhibited optimistic trends while the European markets surged for a third day, as the ECB provided more support to euro-area lenders in long-term loans than economists had predicted. Investors globally rejoiced on getting encouraging economic reports from both sides of Atlantic, as on one hand US housing starts unexpectedly jumped in November while on the other the German business confidence improved in December, alleviating worries of a global economic slowdown. Back home, reports that Moody's reaffirmed India's local and foreign currency bond ratings at Baa3 with a stable outlook, underpinned sentiments. The agency also said that India's rating being considered for an upgrade provided Indian government finances improve, investment climate enhances and infrastructure bottlenecks reduce. However, market-men remained skeptical that the markets may not be able to sustain the optimism as nothing much has changed fundamentally on the domestic front and this might impact local bourses once the global euphoria subsides.
Earlier on Dalal Street, the benchmark got off to a gap-up opening following supportive leads from Asian markets as sentiments in the region got buttressed on the back of jubilant global leads. The frontline indices carried forward the optimistic momentum and kept oscillating in a narrow range through most part of the session. The frontline gauges hit intraday lows in early afternoon trades after which the key gauges witnessed sudden spurt in sentiments which helped the indices to capitalize on the impetus and settle around the highest point of the day, halting the five session declining streak. Eventually, the NSE's 50-share broadly followed index - Nifty garnered a massive around three and half a percentage points to settle at sub 4,700 levels while Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensitive Index - Sensex amassed whopping over five hundred points and closed below the psychological 15,700 mark. Moreover, the broader markets failed to match the fervor with which their larger peers rallied and only managed gains of about a percent. On the BSE sectoral space, there appeared absolutely no laggards while the beaten down rate sensitive Banking counter remained the top gainer in the space with close to five percent gains while the Oil & Gas pocket too made its presence felt by surging about four percent. The markets jumped on stronger volumes of over Rs 1.57 lakh crore while the turnover for NSE F&O segment too remained on the higher side as compared to Tuesday at over 1.44 lakh crore. The market breadth was optimistic as there were 1,625 shares on the gaining side against 1,119 shares on the losing side while 123 shares remained unchanged.
Finally, the BSE Sensex garnered 510.13 points or 3.36% to settle at 15,685.21, while the S&P CNX Nifty amassed by 148.95 points or 3.28% to close 4,693.15.
The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 15,727.31 and 15,377.04 respectively. The BSE Mid cap and Small cap index were up by 1.29% and 0.94% respectively.
The major gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up 7.67%, Bharti Airtel up 6.33%, Tata Power up 6.13%, HDFC Bank up 6.01% and M&M up 6%. While, Sun Pharma down 0.23% was the only loser on the index.
On the BSE sectoral space, Bankex up 4.92%, Consumer Durables up 4.10%, Oil & Gas up 3.72%, TECk up 2.84% and Metal up 2.65% were the major gainers while there were no losers on the BSE sectoral space.
Meanwhile, global credit ratings agency Moody's Investor Service has lifted India's local currency debt rating by one notch to the lowest investment grade, in-line with the foreign currency bond ratings at Baa3 with a stable outlook. The global rating agency highlighted that India's stable outlook indicates Moody's medium-term assessment of Asia's third largest economy's growth, fiscal, and balance of payments outlook, relative to other countries.
The rating agency had earlier rated rupee denominated sovereign debt at the highest junk grade of Ba1 while the foreign currency bond rating remained at Baa3 previously as well.  Though the agency acknowledged the fact that India's economic growth will continue to slow over the next two quarters, however it was convinced that the GDP growth rate for Asia's third largest economy will remain above the average for similarly rated countries.
The US-based Moody's also has not ruled out the chances of upgrading India's credit rating as it said that the rating can be considered for an upgrade provided Indian government finances improve, investment climate enhances and infrastructure bottlenecks reduce. The rating agency has forecasted that India's GDP growth will ease to below 7% in the fiscal year ending March 2012 while it expects the nation's budget deficit to widen to about 7.6% of GDP in the period.
Moody's highlighted that credit strengths that led to stable outlook for India's rating are large, diversified economy, robust medium-term growth prospects and a strong domestic savings pool that aids the financing and refinancing of the government's relatively high debt burden. However, the credit challenges that face the nation are wide and persistent fiscal deficits, a policy process often hamstrung by domestic politics, susceptibility to inflationary pressures, and the limitations that poor social and physical infrastructure place on growth.
The S&P CNX Nifty touched a high and low of 4,707.35 and 4,601.95, respectively.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Sesa Goa up 9.43%, R Com up 9.42%, ICICI Bank up 7.61%, Tata Power up 6.79% and Bharti Airtel up 6.39%. On the flip side, IDFC down 2.23%, HCL Tech down 0.59%, Sun Pharma down 0.19% and Dr Reddy's down 0.06% were the top losers on the index.

The European markets were trading on a positive note. France's CAC 40 rose 0.08%, Britain's FTSE 100 climbed by 0.64% and Germany's DAX surged by 0.97%.
Asian stock markets rose, joining a US and European rally on positive economic data from the United States and Germany and shaking off jitters over the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. The US Commerce Department reported unexpectedly strong November home starts at their highest level since April 2010 and up 9.3 percent from October.  Investors' confidence also surged after Spain's government borrowing costs fell in a weekly debt auction.
Taiwan Weighted recorded the region's biggest gains, zoomed over four and half a percent to 6,966.48 a day after the government said it will make use of a fund to restrict stock market losses resulting from sliding global markets. However, mainland Chinese stocks surrendered early gains to finish lower on concerns about the nation's slowing economic engine, and as Ping An Insurance Group tumbled on equity-dilution worries after announcing a fund-raising plan.

SENTIMENTS REMAIN BULLISH

Sentiments continue to remain bullish tracking supportive global cues and domestic benchmarks were trading with a lot of traction at this point of time with Sensex trading near its crucial 15,400 mark. Firm Asian equities underpinned sentiment in the region as renewed optimism about the health of the global economy boosted investors' risk appetite. Back home, the market breadth was strong, with the most-weighted firm on the indices, Reliance Industries (RIL), gaining about 2 percent in the trade. Banking major ICICI Bank and vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors also edged higher. Moreover, Software pivotals rose on strong US economic data. The overall market breadth on BSE was widely in the favour of advances which thrashed declines in the ratio of 1437:943, while 117 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 15,393.74, up by 218.66 points or 1.44%. The index has touched a high and a low of 15,495.18 and 15,378.19 respectively. 24 stocks were advancing against 5 declining ones on the index, while 1 stock remained unchanged.
The broader indices too trimmed some of its gains; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were trading up by 0.89% and 0.66% respectively.
The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, CD up by 2.77%, Bankex up by 2.55%, Metal up by 1.55%, Power up by 1.42% and Realty up by 1.35%. While, there was no loser on the index.
The top gainers on the Sensex were ICICI Bank up by 5.16%, BHEL up by 3.65%, Tata motors up by 3.14%, Hindalco Industries up by 3.02% and Bharti Airtel up by 2.99%.
On the flip side, Bajaj Auto down by 0.86%, Coal India down by 0.65%, TCS down by 0.58%, Cipla down by 0.12% and Jaiprakash Associate down by 0.09% and were the only losers on the Sensex.
Meanwhile, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has set aside Rs 2,000 crore for building warehouses to help facilitate distribution of food grain under the proposed Food Security Act. Under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF), the bank has proposed to provide funds to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore exclusively for construction of scientific godowns across the country in this fiscal.

Further, NABARD is also determined to even finance private entrepreneurs for the first time through banks for the setting up of 'climatic-controlled' godowns under RIDF and is also offering concession of 1.5% in the rate of interest if prompt payment is done by them.

NABARD will provide funds to banks including commercial banks at the rate of 8% instead of 10.5% at present so as to make money available to private entrepreneurs for construction of godowns.
NABARD is set up as an apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas.
The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,613.85, higher by 69.65 points or 1.53%. The index has touched a high and a low of 4,641.30 and 4,601.95 respectively.  42 stocks were advancing against 8 declining on the index.
The top gainers of the Nifty were ICICI Bank up by 5.37%, Sesa Goa up by 4.88%, BHEL up by 4.25%, Reliance Communication up by 3.54% and Tata Power up by 3.40%.
On the flip side, IDFC down by 2.08%, HCL Technologies down by 1.11%, Ranbaxy down by 0.81%, Kotak Bank down by 0.53% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.44% were the major losers on the index.
Most of the Asian equity indices were holding up in green; Hang Seng up by 1.37%, Jakarta Composite was up by 0.86%, Nikkei 225 up by 1.48%, Straits Times up by 1.95%, Seoul Composite up by 3.09% and Taiwan Weighted up by 4.56%.
On the flip side, Shanghai Composite was up by 0.21% was the lone loser amongst Asian pack.