WEAK ZONE

Indian equity markets continue to remain in the weak zone and no respite is visible yet after the weaker than expected GDP numbers. Though, the European markets have made a green start but the Asian markets continue to reel in red, dampening the mood of the domestic markets. Barring realty none of the sectoral gauges is looking in comfortable position, while the Auto index is hardest hit. On the same time oil & gas index is under pressure contributed by the sharp decline in heavyweight Reliance Industries and PSU oil marketing companies who are reportedly bracing up for a petrol price cut. The markets breadth too has turned weak, though the broader indices are despite trading in red are in better than the benchmark indices. The weakness in rupee is also weighing down the market sentiments, which plunged to its near all time low after the dismal Q4 GDP numbers. India's Q4 GDP grew at 5.3 percent in the January-March quarter, well below the general expectation of a 6.1 percent growth.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,115.62, down by 196.53 points or 1.20%. The index has touched a high 16,224.86 and low of 16,086.06 respectively. There were 8 stocks advancing against 22 declines on the index. The overall market breadth on BSE was in the favor of declines in the ratio of 820:1434, while 110 shares remained unchanged.

The broader indices were trading lower; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices were down by 0.53% and 0.75% respectively.

The only gaining sectoral index on the BSE was Realty, up by 0.06%. While, Auto down by 1.91%, Oil & Gas down by 1.76%, Capital Goods (CG) down by 1.49%, Bankex down  by 1.36% and  Consumer Durable (CD) down by 1.13% were major losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco Industries up by 1.53%, NTPC up by 1.38%, Cipla up by 1.09%, Coal India up by 0.69%, and Tata Power up by 0.53%.

On the flip side, ICICI Bank down by 4.01%, Tata Motors down by 3.60%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.54%, RIL down by 2.94% and Sterlite Inds down by 2.20% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, imports of sensitive items have grown substantially by 40.9% in the first eleven months of the last fiscal. In the period of April-February 2011-12, imports grew to Rs 92,574 crore up from Rs 65,695 crore during the same period last year. The category of sensitive items includes commodities such as foodgrains, automobiles, milk and beverages, which are monitored by the government to check their negative impact on domestic production.

Foodgrains imports contracted by 93%, however, imports of all sensitive commodities were up. Imports of fruit and vegetables increased by a whopping 75.3% to Rs 8,374 crore from Rs 4,776 crore during April-February of 2010-11. Edible oil imports were also up by 54.7% to Rs 42,262.72 crore year-on-year. The increase in edible oil has primarily been due to considerable increase in import of crude palm oil and its fractions.

Further, alcoholic beverages were up by 55.5% and spices were up by 53.3%. Imports belonging to the small scale industry like toys, umbrellas, locks and glassware increased by 53% year-on-year and were to the tune of Rs 2,034.7 crore.

Automobile imports jumped by 43.5% April-February 2012 to Rs 3,321 crore. Similarly, milk imports also increased by 33.2% during the period. Except for Brazil, imports from all other countries like Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Argentina, Germany, Korea, the US, Canada, Japan, the UK, and Australia have gone up. Total imports of all commodities during April-February 2012 was Rs 20,69,643 crore as compared to Rs 15,29,295 crore during the same period of last year.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,901.25, lower by 49.50 points or 1.00%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,908.65 and 4,883.55 respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 31 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were PNB up by 2.34%, SAIL up by 2.01%, Hindalco up by 1.88%, NTPC up by 1.51% and Bank of Baroda was up by 1.33%. 

On the flip side, ICICI Bank was down by 4.01%, Maruti Suzuki was down by 3.77%, Tata Motors was down by 3.11%, Reliance Industries was down by 2.87% and Sterlite Inds down by 2.41% were the major losers on the index.

Some of the Asian indices are showing sign of recovery, but still most of them are reeling in red; Shanghai Composite was down by 0.52%, Jakarta Composite plunged by 2.00%, Hang Seng Index lost 0.17%, Nikkei 225 was down 1.05%, Straits Times was lower by 0.33% and KOSPI Composite Index lost 0.08%.

On the other hand KLSE Composite was up by 0.20% and Taiwan Weighted added 0.55%. 

In Europe most of the indices have got a green opening, CAC 40 was up by 0.65%, DAX was up by 0.35% and FTSE 100 was up by 0.61%. 

MARKETS CRUMBLE

Indian equity markets have extended their previous session's losses with Sensex slumped over 150 points breaching its crucial 16,200 mark. The domestic bourses crumbled in early trade tracking weakness in global stocks and the Indian currency. The rupee opened at a new record low of 56.50 against the dollar weighing down the sentiments. Global cues have been negative as investors turned their focus on Spain, where bond yields rose sharply. Moreover, all the Asian counters made a weak start and most of the indices are heading towards their biggest monthly drop since 2008. However, Japan's industrial production rising at 0.2 percent in March but, remaining much lower than estimated 0.5 percent weighed on the investors sentiments. Back home, markets may remain volatile today as traders will roll over positions from the near-month May 2012 series to June 2012 series. The May 2012 derivatives contracts will expire today. Moreover, the investors are also eying fourth quarter GDP data, which will be announced later in the day. Street expecting fourth quarter GDP to grow at 6.1%, the slowest in three years. All the sectoral indices on the BSE traded lower. Consumer durables, auto, banking, capital goods, oil and gas and realty stocks were witnessing the selling pressure in early trade. Moreover, the broader indices too were struggling to get some traction and the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 430 shares on the gaining side against 817 shares on the losing side while 48 shares remained unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex opened at 16,224.86; about 88 points higher compared to its previous closing of 16,312.15, and has touched a low of 16,134.83 while high remain its opening.

The index is currently trading at 16,144.40 down by 167.75 points or 1.03%. There were only 3 stocks advancing against 27 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a negative start with 33.20% stocks advancing against 63.09% declines. The broader indices too were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices declined 0.48% and 0.32% respectively.

The major losing sectoral indices on the BSE were, CD down by 1.80%, Auto down by 1.50%, Bankex down by 1.38%, Oil and Gas down by 1.15% and Realty down by 0.77%, while there were no gainers on the index.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Hindalco up by 4.33%, GAIL up by 0.68% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.03%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors was down by 3.51%, ICICI Bank was down by 3.30%, Maruti Suzuki was down by 3.03%, Tata Steel was down by 1.77% and Reliance Industries was down by 1.61% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, a substantial fall in the non-oil imports of India will lead to a decline in current account deficit, stated a report by financial services firm - Nomura. This is expected due to the depreciation of the rupee which will make imports costlier, slumping commodity prices and subdued investment inflows.

India's current account deficit stood at an uncomfortable 4% of GDP. This was mainly due to the high prices of global crude oil whose imports totaled to $150 billion and diminishing exports. Also the non oil imports like gold, capital goods, coal, fertilisers and other metals contributed to the CAD significantly. In-fact imports of gold stood at $55 billion. The government in an attempt to discourage its imports of gold increased the import duty on it. As a result gold import is set to fall further with rising prices and taxes.

In FY12 the non oil imports grew by 24% and by 31% in FY11. However now as per Nomura, it is expected that this number will come down to a single digit. Infact the report cited that the non-oil commodity price growth will remain flat in FY13. Further the rising rupee will make imports costlier leading to greater focus on domestic production. A subdued investment demand is further expected to reduce the imports of non oil commodities.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 4,896.10; about 54 points lower compared to its previous closing of 4,950.75, and has touched a high and a low of 4,908.45 and 4,894.45 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 4,901.05, lower by 49.70 points or 1.00%. There were only 8 stocks advancing against 42 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Hindalco up by 4.50%, BPCL up by 0.83%, IDFC up by 0.58%, Reliance Infra up by 0.40% and GAIL up by 0.34%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 3.41%, ICICI Bank down by 3.34%, Maruti Suzuki down by 3.21%, Tata Steel down by 1.72% and Sterlite Industries down by 1.68%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite declined 11.01 points or 0.46% to 2,373.66, Hang Seng Index plunged 233.68 points or 1.25% to 18,456.54, Jakarta Composite got clobbered by 91.71 points or 2.34% to 3,826.20, KLSE Composite eased 2.05 points or 0.13% to 1,573.12, Nikkei 225 plummeted 138.90 points or 1.61% to 8,494.29, Straits Times Index dropped 15.59 points or 0.56% to 2,768.36, KOSPI Composite Index sank 23.84 points or 1.29% to 1,821.02 and Taiwan Weighted slumped 83.01 points or 1.14% to 7,178.79.

SELECT BUYING AT LOWER LEVELS

Local barometer gauges, cooling from intra-day's low level, have cut short some of its losses on the back of recovery in the Information Technology (IT), Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Technology counters. Finding some support near the bottoms, 30 scrip sensitive index, Sensex, is oscillating above the 16350 bastion. While the widely followed 50 share index, Nifty, albeit recuperating from low's, is staggering below the 5000 fortress. Additionally, the broader indices, too have clawed back some ground, as Midcap and Smallcap indices, pruned losses.

Gloomy global design, right from the start of the trade, has dissuaded market-men to invest their finances into risky bets. Mounting worries over Spain's borrowing cost spiraling towards unsustainable levels, has kept Asian counterparts in tizzy. Moreover, the US future indices too continued to show sharp downtick in the screen trade.

Closer home, murky results of country's largest car maker- Tata Motors along with weakness in the rupee, which again breached Rs 56 level against the US dollar casted its shadow on the trading sentiments, triggering selling. Tata Motors' turned biggest loser after the company reported drop of 31% in its full year's net profit of Rs 1242.23 crore as compared to Rs 1811.82 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011. However, weak rupee came as comforting factor for IT stocks, which derive lion share of the revenue from exports. On the flip side, rate sensitive, Auto, Realty and Bankex stocks featured in the list of 'worst performers'.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,359.46, down by 79.12 points or 0.48%. The index has touched a high 16,391.90 and low 16,299.53 of respectively. There were 11 stocks advancing against just 19 declines on the index. The overall market breadth on BSE was largely in the favour of advances which piped declines in the ratio of 957:1060, while 89 shares remained unchanged.

The broader indices too have gained some additional traction; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices down by 0.44% and 0.19% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Fast Moving Capital Goods (FMCG) up by 0.31%, Information Technology (IT) up by 0.29%, TECk up by 0.19%, and HC up by 0.10%. While, Auto down by 3.07%, Realty down by 1.11%, Bankex down by 1.11%, Capital Goods (CG) down by 0.63% and Power down by 0.37% were losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 1.67%, Sun Pharma up by 1.56%, Wipro up by 1.25%, ONGC up by 0.84%, and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.81%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 8.17%, DLF down by 1.78%, BHEL down by 1.42%, SBI down by 1.15% and HDFC Bank was down by 1.13%, were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, Industrial production is expected to accelerate to 6.9% in FY13 as compared to the projected 3.9% in FY12, as per the economic think tank Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The acceleration is expected to be on account of the easing of supply side constraints especially an increase in the output of mining sector and also an increase in the generation of electricity. The manufacturing sector is too expected to do substantially better.

The mining sector will show good recovery and will pull up the overall industrial production in FY13. Output in mined products is expected to grow by 5.5% in FY13, after falling by 2% in the preceding year. Coal, which accounts for one third of the mined products output is expected to grow by a healthy 8% on the back of fresh capacity additions. ONGC's capacity addition is expected to increase production of crude oil as well as natural gas. Crude oil is expected to grow by 6.5% whereas natural gas might see a production increase of 3% as compared to 1% and -9% respectively in FY12.

Power generation is also expected to grow by 13.2% in FY13 as compared to 8% in FY12. Improvement in the availability of coal and capacity additions will push up the generation of thermal power to 14%. This assumes importance as thermal power accounts for 80% of the country's total power production. Generation of nuclear power may rise by 17.2%.

The manufacturing sector is also expected to show good growth on the back of increase in purchasing power of both urban as well as rural sector and an improvement in the availability of raw materials. Substantial capacity additions are also hinting towards a future growth in the sector. It is expected that the manufacturing will grow by 5.8% in FY13 as compared to 3.9% in FY12. This acceleration is expected to be fuelled by a 10% growth in automobiles and basic metals industries.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,962.20, lower by 27.90 points or 0.56%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,966.40 and 4,945.70 respectively. There were 15 stocks advancing against 35 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Sun Pharma up by 1.47%, Tata Power up by 1.10%, Wipro up by 1.10% HCL Tech up by 0.84%, and ITC up by 0.78%. 

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 8.30%, BPCL down by 2.30%, BHEL down by 2.13%, DLF down by 2.05% and Reliance Infra down by 1.89% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices continued to reel under pressure; Jakarta Composite down 0.21%,  Shanghai Composite down  0.23%, Hang Seng Index  down  1.99%, Straits Times Index  down  0.39%, KOSPI Composite Index  down  0.51%, Taiwan Weighted  down 0.96%, and Nikkei 225 was down  0.81%.

On the other hand, KLSE Composite up by 0.17% was only gainer in the Asian pack. 

MARKETS TRADING IN NARROW BAND

Indian equity markets continued trading firm in the late morning session after a positive start and a subsequent fall from higher levels amid consistent buying at several blue chip counters. BSE benchmark Sensex and Nifty were trading in narrow band. In currency markets, Indian rupee lost against American currency snapping yesterday's gains despite higher openings in the local equity markets. On sectoral front stocks from power, oil and metal sections were also trading firm. Bank stocks are off their early highs. Healthcare and realty stocks too have given up some of their early gains. FMCG and consumer durables stocks were trading in red. On the global front, Asian shares rose for the second day in a row after opinion polls in Greece showed a lead for a party favoring the country's economic bailout in upcoming elections and amid expectations for a policy stimulus in China to support growth. Back home, the market breadth favoring positive trend; there were 1,194 shares on the gaining side against 1,039 shares on the losing side while 122 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,481.87, up by 65.84 points or 0.40%. The index has touched a high 16,505.35 and low 16,410.23 of respectively. There were 22 stocks advancing against just 8 declines on the index.

The broader indices too have gained some additional traction; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged by 0.27% and 0.39% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.87%, Information Technology (IT) up by 0.83%, Oil & Gas up by 0.71%, Power up by 0.60% and PSU up by 0.56%. While, Consumer Durables (CD) down by 0.80% and Fast Moving Capital Goods (FMCG) down by 0.42% were top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 1.77%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.66%, BHEL up by 1.22%, Coal India up by 1.16% and ONGC up by 1.08%.

On the flip side, ITC down by 0.98%, Hindalco down by 0.96%, DLF down by 0.90%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.68% and Bajaj Auto down by 0.51%, were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, the record production of wheat this year has led to a wheat procurement of 32.6 million tonnes (mt) in the marketing season of April-June. This is more than the government's estimate of 31.8 mt and is expected to grow further as wheat from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh is still coming in.

UP and MP are seeing a daily crop arrival of up to 150,000 tonnes. This is in contrast to the almost dried up arrival of 16,500 tonnes daily seen by Punjab and Haryana who have already contributed record 12.8 mt and 8.6 mt of the grain respectively this year.

Punjab and Haryana had procured nearly 10.9 mt and 6.92 mt of wheat respectively in the previous season. Wheat purchase in Madhya Pradesh stood 6.9 mt this year while that in Uttar Pradesh was at 2.5 mt this year. Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other state agencies had procured about 24.8 mt in the year-ago period. In the entire 2011-12, the procurement stood at 28.33 mt.

India is the second largest producer of wheat in the world. It is estimated that India will produce a record 90.23 mt in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June). Its storage however, is likely to be a task for the government. This is because the government has a capacity to store 62.8 mt of foodgrains but the stocks are expected to go upto 75 mt by end of this month.

The Ranagarajan committee had suggested last week that the government should consider offloading of 10 mt of wheat to BPL and APL families and three million tonnes through open market sale. The panel had also suggested exports of 2 million tonnes of wheat from the government godowns.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,000.65, higher by 15.00 points or 0.30%. The index has touched a high and low of 5,009.95 and 4,982.30 respectively. There were 29 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Ranbaxy up by 2.90%, HCL Tech up by 2.13%, Cairn up by 1.84%  Tata Motors up by 1.79%, and Maruti Suzuki up by 1.69%. 

On the flip side, IDFC down by 1.93%, BPCL down by 1.77%, Reliance Infra down by 1.19%, ITC down by 1.13% and Grasim down by 1.13% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite climbed 1.23%, Hang Seng Index advanced 0.72%, Straits Times Index added 0.45%, KOSPI Composite Index surged 1.41%, Taiwan Weighted spurted by 2.89%, KLSE Composite rose 0.07% and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.74%.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite down by 0.34% was the lone loser among the Asian pack.

TRADING FIRM

After scaling intra-day's high level in the early deals, benchmarks continue to trade firm on prevailing upbeat sentiment across globe, which has honed up investor's appetite for risky asset class such as equities. Although, off day's high, barometer gauges appear increasingly close of striking the crucial psychological level of 16500 (Sensex) and 5000 (Nifty) respectively. Hefty gains of rate sensitive-Auto, Information Technology and high beta- Capital Goods counters, have added to the vigor of 30 scrip sensitive index, Sensex. On the flip side, stocks belonging from defensive Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Consumer Durable counters are keeping the gains under check.

After being hit hard on steep petrol hike, some solace came to Auto stocks, post Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy statement averring that the government is not looking to hike prices of diesel, LPG or kerosene. Cheerful on the development, stocks of Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India and Ashok Leyland all rallied in the range of 1-2% each. On the flip side, defensive counter-FMCG -is just reacting in reverse to the trend of the market.

Halt of three day's appreciation streak by Indian rupee is also eating into the gains of Indian equity markets to some extent. Month-end demand for the American currency from importer amid new worries about the health of Spanish banks has bogged down on the sentiment of Asian currency.

However, on the global front, brushing aside the concerns over health of Spanish banks, regional counterparts firmed up. Concerns about Spain's banks have been mounting ever since Bankia, the country's fourth-largest lender, on Friday stated that it required $23.8 billion in state aid to guard itself up against bad loans largely from real estate sector. Meanwhile, the US future indices too are showing an uptick in the screen trade.

Closer home, the BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,477.28, up by 60.44 points or 0.37%. The index has touched a high 16,505.35 and low 16,410.23 of respectively. There were 23 stocks advancing against just 7 declines on the index. The overall market breadth on BSE was largely in the favour of advances which piped declines in the ratio of 1069:846, while 110 shares remained unchanged.

The broader indices too have gained some additional traction; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged by 0.22% and 0.34% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Auto up by 0.87%, Information Technology (IT) up by 0.84%, Capital Goods (CG) up by 0.58%, TECk up by 0.56% and Metal up by 0.51%. While, Fast Moving Capital Goods (FMCG) down by 0.48%, Consumer Durables (CD) down by 0.48%, were losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki up by 1.94%, Tata Motors up by 1.64%, Coal India up by 1.30% , BHEL up by 1.29% and Gail India up by 1.18%, on the Sensex.

On the flip side, Hindalco down by 0.70%, ITC down by 0.70%, DLF down by 0.66%, Bajaj Auto down by 0.63% and Hindustan Unilever was down by 0.63%, were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, after the recent uproar over petrol price hike, government in India buckling under the pressure has decided against raising the prices of diesel. Though it cannot be called as an imprudent decision at a time when inflationary pressure is showing signs of regaining momentum. However, amid the broadening price difference between petrol and diesel, the government is now mulling over another unpopular move that is to hike excise duty on diesel cars which will in turn dissuade demand for cars that run on heavily subsidized fuel.

The Oil ministry has been demanding the excise duty hike for quite some time now. Oil minister Jaipal Reddy had called for additional excise duty of Rs 80,000 on diesel vehicles before the Union Budget for 2012-13 was presented. However, after facing opposition from the automobile industry and the department of heavy industries, the proposal was swept under the carpet and no decision was taken.

But now given the huge gap between the retail prices of diesel and petrol, the finance ministry appears to be giving the proposal a serious thought. After the meeting of inter ministerial group  on inflation, the oil minister made it clear that the government is not considering hikes in diesel, LPG and kerosene prices as it could adversely impact inflation and put unnecessary pressure on the economy. The meeting of Empowered Group of Minister (EGoM) on LPG and fuel prices has also been deferred and no date has been fixed yet for the meet.

Though, the price of diesel is likely to remain unaltered, the finance ministry's decision to hike excise duty on diesel-powered cars would become another point of debate as it would directly impact the sales of automobile companies.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,999.30, higher by 13.65 points or 0.27%. The index has touched a high and low of 5,009.95 and 4,982.30 respectively. There were 30 stocks advancing against 19 declines while on 1 stock remain unchanged on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Ranbaxy up by 2.79%, HCL Tech up by 2.14%, Maruti up by 2.13%  Tata Motors up by 1.70%, and Coal India up by 1.30%. 

On the flip side, BPCL down by 2.68%, IDFC down by 1.49%, %, Ambuja Cement down by 1.31%, Reliance Infra down by 1.09% and Bajaj Auto down by 1.07% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite climbed 0.86%, Hang Seng Index advanced 0.70%, Straits Times Index added 0.55%7, KOSPI Composite Index surged 1.33%, Taiwan Weighted spurted by 2.94%, KLSE Composite rose 0.07% and Nikkei 225 was up by 0.45%.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite down by 0.34% was the lone loser among the Asian pack.

GAINING STRENGTH

Stock markets in India continued to move from strength to strength in Monday afternoon trades with the benchmark equity indices touching fresh intraday highs. The key indices surged by around a percent and have set their eyes on important psychological 16,400 (Sensex) and 4,700 (Nifty) levels. After a day's consolidation, optimistic market participants chose to hunt for fundamentally strong but undervalued bargains. Sentiments from across the globe remained sanguine as most Asian markets recovered after a cautious opening and traded with notable gains. The European markets too have got off to a strong start with most indices surging around a percent as investors drew some solace from opinion polls showing parties favoring Greece's bailout programs could be able to form a coalition government. On the domestic front, the rupee has extended its appreciation streak for third straight session as it strengthened to 55.02 against a dollar. However, the beleaguered currency failed to hold on to those levels and slipped to 55.17 to a dollar. Meanwhile, reports that the government has no immediate plans to raise the retail prices of diesel, kerosene and cooking gas, does not seem to have gone well with investors and they were seen squaring off positions from the PSU oil marketing companies like HPCL and BPCL which plunged between 1-2%. Post announcement from oil minister, not only the PSU OMCs but overall market sentiment has got dampened. On the BSE sectoral front, investors were seen piling positions in the Banking counter which jumped around one and half a percent, being the top gainer in the space. The high beta Capital Goods and Power pockets too traded with similar amount of gains, helping the frontline indices. However, some correction in Oil & Gas names like ONGC and GAIL, auto heavyweight Maruti Suzuki and FMCG major HUL capped the upside chances for the markets.

The broader markets too. continued to trade on a positive note with strong gains of around a percent in tandem with their larger peers. The bourses rose on good volumes of over Rs 0.7 lakh crore while the market breadth on BSE was in favor of advances in the ratio of 1521:888 while 89 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,372.02 up by 154.20 points or 0.95% after trading as high as 16,373.99 and as low as 16,273.49. There were 22 stocks advancing against 8 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid cap index surged 0.92% and Small cap index climbed 0.92%.

On the BSE sectoral space, Bankex up 1.65%, Capital Goods up 1.50%, Power up 1.46%, Auto up 1.32% and Consumer Durables up 1.08% were the major gainers, while there were no laggards in the space.

BHEL up 3.38%, SBI up 3.09%, Tata Power up 2.52%, M&M up 2.35% and ICICI Bank up 2.03% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Gail India down 2.47%, HUL down 1.19%, ONGC down 0.91%, Maruti down 0.85% and DLF down 0.40% were the major losers in the index.

Meanwhile, the government is expected to take a decision regarding 32 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals on June 1, 2012. 19 are new proposals out of the 32, which include Sesa Goa, Pfizer and Mahindra and Mahindra. Three, are those which had been deferred in the earlier meeting and five are amended proposals. FDI request of G4S Secure Solutions, decision on which had been deferred in the previous meetings of the FIPB, will also be considered.

FDI in India is allowed through the automatic route in almost all sectors except those which are considered sensitive for the nation like defence and telecom. In these sectors permission has to be taken from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

The government has been taking steps to increase the foreign investment in the country by streamlining its procedure. It has recently allowed FIIs to invest up to 23% in commodity exchanges through automatic route.

India received the highest ever monthly FDI in the month of March 2012. This was to the tune of $8.1 billion. Cumulatively, FDI inflows for the fiscal 2011-12 amounted to $36.50 billion. Apart from the fact that foreign investment in the country has been increasing, Indian companies too have been making their presence felt in the international markets. According to the latest RBI data, Indian companies invested $2.67 billion in different countries in April.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,966.60, up by 46.20 points or 0.94% after trading as high as 4,971.10 and as low as 4,931.30. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were BHEL up 3.39%, SBI up 2.95%, R Infra up 2.66%, Tata Power up 2.41% and Axis Bank up 2.24%.

GAIL down 2.73%, BPCL down 1.28%, Maruti down 1.08%, ONGC down 1.01% and HUL down 0.95% were the major losers on the index.

In the Asian space, Shanghai Composite surged 0.92%, Hang Seng rose 0.45%, KLSE Composite inched up 0.03%, Nikkei 225 added 0.15%, Straits Times Index climbed 0.82% and Taiwan Weighted soared 0.91%.

On the other hand, Jakarta Composite got pounded by 3.91%.

Stock markets in South Korea remained closed on Monday for a public holiday on account of Gautama Buddha's birthday.

The European markets got off to a positive start as France's CAC 40 surged 1.27%, Germany's DAX gained 1% and United Kingdom's FTSE rose 1.11%. 

DECENT START

The Indian equity markets have made a decent start tracking firm opening of the Indian rupee against the US Dollar. The rupee was trading 12 paise higher at Rs 55.25 against the US dollar in early trade. On the global front, the US markets declined on Friday, though the consumer confidence rose to its four year high while, the Asian markets were trading mixed at this point of time; though the concern eased that Greece may exit the euro as some opinion polls showed that voters are behind parties supporting the European Union's bailout. Back home, sustained buying in mostly all the key heavyweights along with broader indices supported BSE's -- Sensex -- and NSE's -- Nifty -- to trade comfortably over their crucial 16,300 and 4,950 mark respectively. On the sectoral front, metal, auto and banking remained the top gainers while there was no loser on the index. Meanwhile, telecom stocks like Idea Cellular, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communication all edged higher after Telecom Commission has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to analyse the impact of pricing on subscribers, operators and government revenues. The broader indices were going neck to neck with benchmarks while, the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1,040 shares on the gaining side against 437 shares on the losing side while 49 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex opened at 16,289.82; about 72 points higher compared to its previous closing of 16,217.82, and has touched a high and a low of 16,338.60 and 16,273.49 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 16,319.56, up by 101.74 points or 0.63%. There were 45 stocks advancing against just 5 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a strong start with 68.15% stocks advancing against 28.64% declines. The broader indices were trading in line with benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 0.72% and 0.69% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 1.05%, Auto up by 0.94%, Bankex up by 0.92%, Power up by 0.81% and CD up by 0.86%. While, there were no losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were SBI up by 2.07%, BHEL up by 1.75%, Hindalco up by 1.74%, Tata Power up by 1.68% and Bharti Airtel up by 1.59%. While, there was no loser on the Sensex.

On the flip side, HUL down by 0.52%, ONGC down by 0.53%, GAIL down by 0.34%, TCS down by 0.16% and Sun Pharma down by 0.06%, were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, the industry body ASSOCHAM has advised the government that it should try and control its public debt especially from external sources. It is of the opinion that though there is a need for funds the government should be careful while borrowing especially when it comes to raising external debt.

In its report titled 'Rising Interest Burden' it has stated that India should learn from the example of some European and developed nations and realize that it is extremely important to keep the debt under control. India can derive some consolation from the fact that its public debt largely comes from internal sources and dependence on foreign funds has not gone up.

However it must be noted that in India the growth of per capita debt is higher than the growth of per capita income, which should be a cause for concern. At a time when the currency is volatile and unpredictable, India must be very cautious in opening up its market and allowing foreign investors to invest in government securities.

The report has noted that the government's non-plan expenditure has been increasing and payments made towards debt servicing have been on the rise. The interest payment's share to the total non-plan expenditure has gone up from 31.6% in 2008-09 to 35.9% in 2011-12. It is expected to be 33% in 2012-13.

One third of the total government's revenue is being used to make interest payments and if not checked can lead to a debt trap. Further raising funds from overseas market is prone to several risks, including extra burden on redemption as the rupee's value has depreciated, says ASSOCHAM.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 4,931.70; about 11 points higher compared to its previous closing of 4,920.40, and has touched a high and a low of 4,957.55 and 4,931.30 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 4,952.35, higher by 31.95 points or 0.65%. There were 41 stocks advancing against 9 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were SBI up by 1.95%, BHEL up by 1.82%, SAIL up by 1.78%, Hindalco up by 1.65% and Reliance Infra up by 1.63%.

On the flip side, BPCL down by 0.77%, GAIL down by 0.73%, HCL Tech down by 0.64%, HUL down by 0.57% and ONGC down by 0.54%, were the major losers on the index.

Asian markets were trading mixed; Shanghai Composite eased 2.70 points or 0.12% to 2,330.86, Jakarta Composite got brutally lacerated by 204.34 points or 5.02% to 3,865.68, KLSE Composite inched down 0.64 points or 0.04% to 1,550.48 and Nikkei 225 fell 1.36 points or 0.02% to 8,579.03.

On the other hand, Hang Seng Index gained 69.79 points or 0.37% to 18,783.20, Straits Times Index added 0.16 points or 0.01% to 2,772.91 and Taiwan Weighted rose 25.97 points or 0.37% to 7,097.60.

South Korean markets remained closed on Monday for a public holiday on account of birthday of Gautama Buddha.

SIGNS OF RECOVERY

Dalal Street to some extent has stabilized near lower levels after the previous session's euphoria on petrol price steep hike fizzled out in early deals. Tracing the retracement of beleaguered Indian currency sub '56/$' mark on speculated RBI's intervention, barometer gauges, finding some support near the bottom's, halted incurring losses. 30 scrip sensitive index, Sensex, after breaching the psychological 16200 level in early deals, was currently oscillating near the 16100 mark, with loss close to half a percentage points. The index, however, was off its day's low on the back of gains in Capital Goods and Realty counters. On the BSE sectoral front, stocks from Auto, Information Technology (IT) and Oil & Gas counters, were facing maximum heat, closely followed by Technology and Consumer Durable Counters. However, the widely followed 50 share index, Nifty, however, after appearing dangerously close to breaching the 4900 bastion, was trading sub that level. The broader indices, however, continued to trade in fine fettle.

The Reserve Bank of India is speculated for having sold dollars in spot markets via state-run banks near the psychologically key 56-level. However, even the reports of partial rollback of petrol price hike, which has casted doubt about whether the government would take the bolder step of raising other fuel prices to rein in the country's fiscal and economic vulnerabilities, spooked the sentiment earlier at Dalal Street. Further, slew of downgrade on country's GDP from global brokerage firms, viz, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, also triggered hefty position squaring ahead of the F&O expiry week. Goldman Sachs slashed its gross domestic product forecast to 6.6% from 7.2% for the fiscal year ending in March 2013, citing a weaker investment outlook on the back of domestic policy uncertainties. While, Merrill Lynch downgraded GDP forecast, to 6.5% from 6.8% previously for fiscal 2012-13, citing the fallout from the euro zone crisis as its main rationale.

Gloomy global set-up also kept investor's off the bay, Asian stocks fell to their lowest levels of the year on Friday as early bargain hunting gave way to worries about Europe's raging debt crisis and weak global growth. The pan-Asia stock index was appeared to be on the path for a third consecutive week of losses, its longest losing streak in six months. The US future indices, meanwhile, continued to show downtick in the screen trade.

 The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 16,144.59, down by 77.71 points or 0.48%. The index has touched a high and low of 16,213.24 and 16,126.69 respectively. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 declines on the index.

The broader indices continued to trade in fine fettle; the BSE Mid cap and small cap index rose 0.26% and 0.50% respectively.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Capital Goods (CG) up by 0.05% and Realty up by 0.03%. On the flip side, Auto down by 0.70%, Information Technology down by 0.69%, Oil & Gas down by 0.62%, Technology and Consumer Durable were down by 0.44%.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.25%, Sterlite Industries up by 1.15%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.00%, Sun Pharma up by 0.97% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.42%.

On the flip side, M&M down by 1.49%, ICICI Bank down by 1.36%, Tata Motors down by 1.25%, Jindal Steel down by 1.22% and Maruti Suzuki down by 1.10%, were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) are likely to meet soon to decide the increase in prices of diesel, kerosene and LPG. The meeting, if held, will come soon after the recent hike in prices of petrol. The Petroleum Minister, S Jaipal Reddy is also said to have cut short his trip to Turkmenistan to return on May 24 evening to be available for the meeting.

The government is currently subsidizing the use of all three fuels. However with the recent increase in the global prices of crude oil, the subsidy bill has been on the rise. The government has set a target of containing subsidies to 2% of GDP in this fiscal. The fiscal deficit is also expected to be curbed to 5.1% of the GDP as against the 5.9% in 2011-12.

To achieve any of these targeted numbers, the government will have to curb its subsidy outflow. The hike in petrol prices will only serve the purpose of bringing in a positive sentiment, given the fact that petrol is already a deregulated commodity. Fuel subsidies contributed around 0.8% of the GDP in FY12.

State-owned oil companies currently lose Rs 512 crore per day from the sale of diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene. Diesel is currently sold at a loss of Rs 15.35 a litre, kerosene at Rs 32.98 per litre loss and oil firms lose Rs 479 on sale of every 14.2 kg domestic LPG cylinder. The three firms had together lost Rs 138,541 crore in revenue in 2011-12. This year they are projected to lose a record Rs 193,880 crore.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,895.45, lower by 25.95 points or 0.53%. The index has touched a high and low of 4,915.25 and 4,891.65 respectively. There were 14 stocks advancing against 36 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were JP Associates up by 1.85%, Sesa Goa up by 1.42%, Ambuja Cement up by 1.34%, Sun Pharma up by 1.21% and Tata Steel up by 1.19%.

On the flip side, M&M down by 1.83%, ICICI Bank down by 1.59%, Dr Reddy down by 1.52%, ONCG down by 1.44% and ACC down by 1.37% were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red, Shanghai Composite declined 0.40%, Hang Seng Index fell 0.18%, Jakarta Composite plummeted 2.31%, Straits Times Index shed 0.41% and Taiwan Weighted sank 0.65%.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite gained 0.09%, Nikkei 225 added 0.13% and KOSPI Composite was up by 0.37%. 

LISTLESS

A day after smart relief rally, the sentiments once again turned bearish and benchmarks have made a soft start tracking downtrend in the rupee and weak global cues. Overnight, US stocks and the euro edged lower on Thursday as data suggested Europe's debt woes were spreading and worsening a global economic slowdown while, most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red at this point of time. Back home, Sensex breached its crucial 16,200 level after the rupee breaches 56 mark against the dollar in early trade again. On the sectoral front metal and power remained the few gainers while, oil and gas, technology and consumer durables witnessed the most selling pressure, dragging down the Sensex. Meanwhile, PSU oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC edged lower by 1-2 percent on talk of some roll back in the price hike, it is reported that the government may reconsider up to 50 percent cut, which would be a setback for OMCs. However, the broader indices were outperforming and the market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 809 shares on the gaining side against 639 shares on the losing side while 73 shares remained unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex opened at 16,213.24; about 9 points lower compared to its previous closing of 16,222.30, and has touched a low of 16,149.95 while high remain its opening.

The index is currently trading at 16,158.32 down by 63.98 points or 0.39%. There were 12 stocks advancing against 18 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a positive start with 53.19% stocks advancing against 42.01% declines. The broader indices were out performing benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and small cap indices rose 0.22% and 0.39% respectively.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, Metal up by 0.15% and Power up by 0.15%. While, Oil and Gas down by 0.74%, IT down by 0.51%, CD down by 0.47%, PSU down by 0.31% and Auto down by 0.29% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.43%, Sun Pharma up by 1.11%, BHEL up by 1.01%, Hero MotoCorp up by 0.84% and Tata Power up by 0.73%.

On the flip side, ONGC was down by 1.44%, HDFC was down by 1.10%, Tata Motors was down by 1.07%, ICICI Bank was down by 0.98% and M&M was down by 0.88% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, after hiking the prices of petrol by a record Rs 7.54 a litre, the UPA government has appealed to the Congress led states to cut taxes on petrol. Reacting to the appeal, Kerala government has decided to cut sales tax on petrol by Rs 1.63/litre. The Uttarakhand government has also announced a 25% VAT cut on petrol.

The hike in petrol, which is the third in the past one year, has come after the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister have spoken about need to take 'tough decisions'. However the hike has evoked sharp reactions from the people at large and also from political parties.

The Industry body Assocham has also stated that the hike will come as a blow to the common man and will not help in reducing the fiscal deficit. The automobile industry too pointed out that the price hike would hurt the sector, which is already reeling under a slowing demand.

However the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee has maintained that since petrol is a deregulated fuel, the decision to increase its price has been taken by the oil companies that are reeling under heavy losses.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 4,905.95; about 16 points lower compared to its previous closing of 4,921.40, and has touched a high and a low of 4,911.10 and 4,897.05 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 4,905.40, lower by 16.00 points or 0.33%. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were JP Associates up by 2.77%, Tata Steel up by 1.44%, BHEL up by 1.08%, Sun Pharma up by 1.06% and Axis Bank up by 0.96%.

On the flip side, Dr Reddy down by 1.87%, ONCG down by 1.55%, HDFC down by 1.36%, ICICI Bank down by 1.22% and M&M down by 1.18%, were the major losers on the index.

Most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red, Shanghai Composite declined 9.43 points or 0.40% to 2,341.54, Hang Seng Index fell 51.74 points or 0.28% to 18,614.66, Jakarta Composite plummeted 54.92 points or 1.38% to 3,929.95, Straits Times Index shed 11.66 points or 0.42% to 2,767.87 and Taiwan Weighted sank 42.85 points or 0.60% to 7,082.04.

On the flip side, KLSE Composite was up 1.46 points or 0.09% to 1,549.71, Nikkei 225 was up 19.53 points or 0.23% to 8,582.91 and KOSPI Composite was up by 9.22 points or 0.51% to 1,823.69.