WEAK TRADE

Indian equities continued weak trade in the late morning session, though there were some recovery attempt but the profit booking is keeping the markets under pressure. On the global front, Asian markets were trading in red, as investor sentiment got dampened after Japan downgraded its economic assessment for the first time in 10 months amid slowing growth in China. Back home, traders were seen piling up position in IT, TECk and Power sector, while selling was witnessed in Metal, CD and CG sector. Tata Steel, Coal India, Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel and Hindalco Industries from Metal sector were trading in red exerting pressure on the market, while CD majors Titan Industries, Videocon Industries, Rajesh Exports and Gitanjali Gems too were pressurizing the markets. On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, Wipro, and HCL Tech from IT pack were seen trading firm in green, holding up the markets from dipping further.

In the scrip specific development, IL&FS Engineering jumped on bagging 3 projects worth Rs 330.69 crore from WBSECL .TCS soared on being recognized as one of the Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces, while RIL declined on maintenance plans at Jamnagar refinery in Gujarat. The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5300 and 17600 levels respectively.

The market breadth on BSE was negative, in the ratio of 686:1355.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17654.74 down by 24.07 points or 0.14% after touching a high of 17712.35 and low of 17632.60. There were 16 stocks advancing against 14 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.77%, while Small cap index was down by 0.68%.

On the BSE sectoral space, IT up by 0.81%, TECk up by 0.47%, Power up by 0.31% and FMCG up by 0.30% were the gainers while Metal down by 1.80%, CD down by 1.40%, CG down by 0.87%, Bankex down by 0.71% and Auto down by 0.58% were the losers on the index.

Tata Power up by 2.64%, NTPC up by 1.36%, Infosys up by 1.06%, TCS up by 1.06%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.70% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Sterlite Industries down by 3.31%, Jindal Steel down by 3.16%, Tata Steel down by 1.75%, Coal India down by 1.54% and Hindalco Industries down by 1.32% were the major losers on the index.  

Meanwhile, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has released an Information Memorandum (IM) on the auction of second-generation spectrum, with Delhi being the most expensive at a reserve price of Rs 693.06 crore per block of 1.25 MHz and Rs 900 crore for GSM and CDMA respectively. Delhi includes local areas served by Delhi, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Noida, and Gurgaon telephone exchanges.

Mumbai is not far behind either, as the reserve price for Mumbai is the second highest at Rs 678.45 crore (per 1.25 MHz) and Rs 900 crore for GSM and CDMA respectively. Mumbai means local areas served by Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Kalyan telephone exchanges.

As per IM, block size shall be 1.25MHz (Paired), while a minimum of 8 blocks each of 1.25MHz (10MHz) will be put to auction in all service areas. Although the existing operators will be permitted to take maximum two blocks of 1.25MHz each in every service area, new entrants will be required to bid for minimum of 4 blocks each of 1.25 MHz in each service area. Additionally, new entrants will also be allowed to bid for one additional block of 1.25MHz in each service area.

DoT is expected to issue a notice inviting applications on September 28, while the last date of submission of application, as detailed in IM, would be October 19. Meanwhile, the final list of bidders is expected to be released on November 6. This will be followed by a mock auction on November 7 and 8 and thereafter the e-auction of 1,800 MHz band will take place on November 12.

Further, DoT has also fixed the earnest money, a deposit a buyer makes to the seller to show its faith in a transaction, for pan-India bidding at Rs 442 crore for 2G spectrum in the 1,800 Mhz band across the country, while the base price pegged for acquiring pan-India spectrum was fixed at Rs 14,000 crore for 5 Mhz in the 1,800 Mhz band and 1.3 times higher for the 800 Mhz band.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,338.65, down by 11.60 points or 0.22% after trading in a range of 5,359.25 and 5,331.80. There were 21 stocks advancing against 29 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Tata Power up by 2.38%, NTPC up by 1.21%, Power Grid up by 1.10%, Infosys by 1.09% and TCS up by 1.06%. While, Sterlite Industries down by 3.67%, Jindal Steel by 3.38%, Sesa Goa down by 2.45%, Tata Steel  down by 1.88% and Axis Bank down by 1.88% were the top losers on the index.

Asian indices were trading  in red ; Kospi Composite Index down by 1.33%, Nikkei 225 down by 0.84%, KLSE Composite down by 0.03%, Taiwan Weighted down by 1.33%, Straits Times down by 0.01%, Jakarta Composite  down by 0.13% and Hang Seng index down by 0.18% while  Shanghai Composite up  by 0.03% was only the gainer.

NEGATIVE BIAS

Indian equity indices have made a flat-to-negative start tracking weakness in global markets. Moreover, traders also remained on the safer side ahead of the F&O expiry for the month of August which is due later this week. The US markets made a mixed closing overnight, as the traders remained cautious, hoping for hints about further monetary stimulus from the Jackson Hole, Wyo economic summit this weekend. While, most of the Asian equity indices were trading in the red at this point of time, dampening the sentiments. Back home, the mood also remain subdued after the Indian rupee extended losses on the back of dollar demand from oil companies and concerns that logjam in parliament might delay policy reforms measures further. The partially convertible rupee was at 55.85 per dollar, down 16 paise against previous close. On the sectoral front software, fast moving consumer goods and technology remained the top gainers while, metal, consumer durables and realty witnessed the most selling pressure, dragging down the Sensex. Meanwhile, banking stocks saw selling pressure for a second day ahead of the June quarter GDP data announcement on Friday. There is also pessimism that the central bank will hold on to key rates despite headline inflation falling below the 7 percent mark. The broader indices were trading in the red and the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 564 shares on the gaining side against 1,003 shares on the losing side while 78 shares remained unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex opened at 17,676.13; about 2 points lower compared to its previous closing of 17,678.81, and has touched a high and a low of 17,712.35 and 17,637.54 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 17,650.52 down by 28.29 points or 0.16%. There were 13 stocks advancing against 17 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a negative start with 33.67% stocks advancing against 61.67% declines. The broader indices too were struggling to get some traction; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices rose 0.02% and 0.25% respectively.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, IT up by 0.66%, FMCG up by 0.38%, TECk up by 0.38% and Oil and Gas up by 0.01%. While, Metal down by 1.47%, CD down by 1.37%, Realty down by 1.01%, CG down by 0.96% and Bankex down by 0.87% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Power up by 2.28%, Infosys up by 0.99%, GAIL up by 0.95%, TCS up by 0.90% and Cipla was up by 0.75%.

On the flip side, Jindal Steel was down by 3.09%, Sterlite Industries was down by 2.72%, Tata Motors was down by 2.12%, Tata Steel was down by 1.78% and Hindalco was down by 1.18% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, amid poor power generation in India, the Power Ministry has confirmed that major initiatives were taken to improve the situation after the worst blackout last month. The major initiatives of the government include de-licensing of thermal generation, introduction of Ultra-Mega Power Projects (UMPP), investor friendly New Hydro Policy 2008.

With de-licensing of thermal generation, it is expected that market forces would weed out excess and inefficient capacity. The UMPP, each with a capacity of 4,000 MW or more, are being developed with the aim of bridging the gap in generation. The New Hydro Policy 2008 was designed to involve the private sector in developing the hydro-electric power sector and reduce dependence on thermal energy, which accounts for 84% of the country's power generation.

Other initiatives include, augmentation of domestic manufacturing capacity of power plant equipment, adoption of supercritical technologies, liberalization of mega power policy, enhancing availability of skilled and trained manpower etc. The centre also affirmed to supplement the efforts of the State Governments by establishing power plants in the Central Sector through Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs).

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 5,348.05; about 2 points lower compared to its previous closing of 5,350.25, and has touched a high and a low of 5,359.25 and 5,334.05 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 5,335.50, lower by 14.75 points or 0.28%. There were 16 stocks advancing against 34 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Tata Power up by 1.91%, Infosys up by 0.92%, GAIL up by 0.82%, Cipla up by 0.60% and TCS up by 0.57%.

On the flip side, Jindal Steel down by 3.40%, Sterlite Industries down by 2.77%, Bank of Baroda down by 2.27%, JP Associate down by 2.19% and Sesa Goa down by 2.13%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equities were exhibiting a choppy trade; Shanghai Composite was down by 0.58 points or 0.03% to 2,055.13, Hang Seng was down by 24.16 points or 0.12% to 19,774.51, Jakarta Composite declined by 10.15 points or 0.26% to 4,135.47, KLSE Composite was marginally down by 0.26 points or 0.02% to 1,647.87, Nikkei 225 lost 25.32 points or 0.28% to 9,060.07, Kospi Composite was down by 6.32 points or 0.33% to 1,912.11 and Taiwan Weighted plunged by 76.30 points or 1.04% to 7,391.09.

On the other hand, Straits Times was marginally up by 1.10 points or 0.01% to 3,045.16.

MARKETS REMAIN WEAK

Indian equity markets continued trading weak amid lack of major triggers on global and domestic front. Investors continue to stay on the sidelines as feeble movements in Asian markets and worries about rising crude oil prices are contributing to dampen their sentiments. Markets still hopeful for some reforms or cut in diesel price by government, after the current monsoon session in the parliament. In currency markets, Indian rupee continued trading lower against American currency on the back of dollar's strength against other overseas currencies. On sectoral front oil stocks were finding some support. A few stocks from consumer durables, healthcare and FMCG sectors edged higher. Bank and realty stocks were mostly trading weak. Metal, capital goods and information technology stocks were also mostly subdued. In global markets, most of the Asian shares were trading in red. Back home, the market breadth favoring positive trend; there were 1,233 shares on the gaining side against 1,137 shares on the losing side while 121 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,749.72 down by 33.49 points or 0.19% after touching a high of 17820.07 and low of 17746.06. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.01%, while Small cap index was up by 0.12%.

The top gainers on the BSE sectoral space were, Oil & Gas up by 0.64%, CD up by 0.33%, FMCG up by 0.16% and HC up by 0.08%, while Bankex down by 1.06%, Realty down by 0.79%, CG down by 0.63%, Metal down by 0.54% and Power down by 0.51% were top losers on the index.

Bharti Airtel up by 1.92%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.30%, Cipla up by 1.02%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.99%, Reliance up by 0.95% were major gainers on the Sensex, while Jindal Steel down by 2.73%, Tata Motors down by 1.75%, ICICI Bank down by 1.32%, Sterlite Industries down by 1.20% and SBI down by 1.16% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, India's growth story in recent past which has been substantially driven by large infrastructure investments has been hit badly. Reserve Bank of India, in its 'Annual Report 2011-12', has blamed nearly 50% drop in new investments in large projects, to be the primary reason behind continued growth deceleration of the Indian economy in the current fiscal. Hit hard by global woes and domestic problems, India's economic growth rate slowed to a nine-year low, both in the March quarter and fiscal 2011-12 at 5.3% and 6.5% respectively.

The Reserve Bank's collation from banks and financial institutions underscored that envisaged total fixed investments in new projects that were sanctioned financial assistance during 2011-12 have slipped by 46% to about Rs 2.1 trillion from Rs 3.9 trillion a year ago. This drop was mainly led by infrastructure and metals sectors. The envisaged investment in infrastructure dropped by a whopping 52% to Rs 1 trillion in FY12 from Rs 2.2 trillion in FY11, with power and telecom accounting for most of this fall, the report pointed.

While, the investment in the telecom sector has dried up, that in roads, ports and airports has also decelerated sharply, the report added. Road projects have also slowed down due to problems relating to land acquisition, legal and environmental clearances as also tightening of financial conditions. Road tendering activity has suffered significantly in Q1 of 2012-13 after a record tendering by NHAI in 2011-12.

Gross bank credit to infrastructure outstanding as of April 2012 was Rs 6.2 trillion. Data on sector-wise gross deployment of bank credit shows that its year-on-year growth slipped by 14% in FY12 compared to 38% growth in FY11. Meanwhile, the exposure of banks to the power sector is about Rs 3.3 trillion as per the sector-wise deployment of credit obtained from 47 scheduled commercial banks that account for 95 per cent of total non-food credit.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,377.10, down by 9.60 points or 0.18% after trading in a range of 5,399.15 and 5,374.70. There were 20 stocks advancing against 30 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 1.94%, Ranbaxy up by 1.51%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.40%, Cairn up by 1.21% and Cipla up by 1.16%. While, Jindal Steel down by 2.56%, PNB down by 2.54%, Axis Bank down by 2.26%, Tata Motors down by 1.85% and Bank of Baroda down by 1.80% were top losers on the index.

Most Asian indices were trading in red; Kospi Composite Index down by 0.10%, Straits Times down by 0.20%, Hang Seng index down by 0.39%, Shanghai Composite down by 1.16% and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.12%, while Nikkei 225 up by 0.16%, and KLSE Composite up by 0.03% were the only gainers. 

MARKETS BELOW NEUTRAL LINE

Indian equities continue to trade below neutral line in the late morning session, there is not much happening in the markets and the indices are trading near the lows of the day. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mixed unable to give any cue to domestic markets, after a Chinese government report showed that Chinese industrial companies' profits fell for a fourth month in July. Back home, traders were seen piling up position in Oil & Gas, CD and Auto sector, while selling was witnessed in Banking, Realty and IT sector. ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank from banking sector were trading in red exerting pressure on the market, while realty majors DLF, HDIL and India Bulls Real Estate too were pressurizing the markets. On the other hand, Reliance Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Gail (India), Cairn India from Oil &Gas pack were seen trading firm in green, holding up the markets from dipping further.

In the scrip specific development, Pipavav Defence soared on inking technology partnership pact with SAAB Technology. ONGC gained on inking pact with Mitsui & Company. Mahindra Holidays & Resorts rose on acquiring 100% equity share capital of GPPL.

The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5350 and 17700 levels respectively. The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1209:919 while 98 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17774.12 down by 9.09 points or 0.05% after touching a high of 17820.07 and low of 17746.06. There were 14 stocks advancing against 16 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.21%, while Small cap index was up by 0.32%.

On the BSE sectoral space, Oil & Gas up by 0.81%, CD up by 0.32%, Auto up by 0.21%, HC up by 0.18% and FMCG up by 0.12% were the gainers while Bankex down by 0.62%, Realty down by 0.56%, IT down by 0.49%, Metal down by 0.42% and CG down by 0.41% were the losers on the index.

Bharti Airtel up by 1.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.43%, RIL up by 1.04%, Bajaj Auto up by 0.83%, Cipla up by 0.71% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Jindal Steel down by 1.95%, Sterlite Industries down by 1.91%, ICICI Bank down by 0.83%, L&T down by 0.77% and Infosys down by 0.66% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has widened its scope of probe for alleged breach of controls against money laundering and terror financing, from the affairs of British banking giants HSBC to a host of other foreign banks. In double trouble for these foreign players, capital market regulator SEBI too may join the investigations, as there are qualms of funds from these banks being routed to the stock market through foreign investors and other entities.

The investigations, which are made to ensure that the foreign banks' compliance to various fair banking norms in the wake of certain global event follow developments in the US, where a host of European banks, besides HSBC and Standard Chartered, are being probed for their alleged role in exposing the American financial system to money laundering and terror-financing risk.

The RBI, in the previous week, initiated inspection of the Anti- Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) systems of StanChart and HSBC, following the news reports of involvement of HSBC, USA, in money laundering activities and of Standard Chartered Bank, USA, for violating sanctions imposed on Iran by US Government.

Earlier this month, the New York State Department of Financial Services blamed Standard Chartered of hiding about 60,000 secret transactions with the Iranian government, involving a whopping $250 billion, besides exposing the US financial system to terrorists, weapon dealers and drug kingpins.  The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,385.95, down by 0.75 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 5,399.15 and 5,375.85. There were 19 stocks advancing against 29 declines while 2 stocks remains unchanged on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Bharti Airtel up by 1.96%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.66%, Cairn up by 1.36%, Ranbaxy by 1.32% and Bajaj-Auto up by 1.03%. While, Jindal Steel down by 1.89%, PNB by 1.37%, DLF down by 1.25%, Axis Bank down by 1.21% and Bank Baroda down by 1.12% were the top losers on the index.

Asian indices were trading on mix note; Kospi Composite Index up by 0.01%, Nikkei 225 up by 0.32%, KLSE Composite up by 0.03%, and Taiwan Weighted up by 0.05% while  Straits Times down by 0.16%, Hang Seng index down by 0.16%,and Shanghai Composite down by 1.44% were the losers. 

MARKETS IN FINE FETTLE

Indian equities continued to trade in fine fettle on back of strong buying in frontline counters in the late morning session. On the global front, the majority of Asian markets were trading in green on hopes that central banks in the US and China may ease monetary policy to support the economies. Back home, traders were seen piling up position in IT, Metal and TECk sector, while selling was witnessed in Auto, and Oil & Gas sector.  Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech from IT space were trading in green edging the markets higher. Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries from Metal pack were seen trading firm in green driving the markets higher. On the other hand, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Bajaj Auto from Auto pack were trading in red capping markets' upward trajectory. In the scrip specific development, Videocon Industries' jumped as its arm discovered reservoirs of oil and gas in Sergipe-Alagoas Basin. Kamdhenu Ispat soared on plan to expand its paints division.  GVK Power gained on getting environmental clearance for Alpha coal, rail project in Australia .The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5400 and 17900 levels respectively.

The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1270:772 while 107 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17933.27 up by 86.41 points or 0.48% after touching a high of 17950.93 and low of 17856.29. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a positive note; the BSE Mid cap index was up by 0.51%, while Small cap index was up by 0.53%.

On the BSE sectoral space, IT up by 1.32%, Metal up by 1.28%, TECk up by 0.97%, CD up by 0.85% and HC up by 0.79% were the gainers while Auto down by 0.10% and Oil & Gas down by 0.05% were the  only the losers on the index.

Jindal Steel up by 2.33%, Hindalco Industries up by 1.95%, Tata Steel up by 1.68%, Wipro up by 1.68%, Cipla up by 1.57% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Bajaj Auto down by 0.87%, Bharti Airtel down by 0.52%, Tata Motors down by 0.42%, ONGC down by 0.35% and NTPC down by 0.23% were the major losers on the index.

Meanwhile, in a move to allow easier cheap dollar funding, Finance Ministry has decided to further ease the norms for raising external commercial borrowing (ECBs) by domestic firms, particularly those in the realty sector. The high-level committee on ECBs, which met on Wednesday, although kept the overall window for ECBs unchanged at the current $40 billion, it allowed for the first time cash-starved micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to access such funds. The committee has allowed MSMEs to indirectly access such funds through Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), besides easing the refinancing norms for infrastructure and manufacturing firms. As per the new norms, the companies could now borrow up to 75% of the forex earnings of the last three years, against the earlier cap of 50%. In addition, special purpose vehicles (SPVs) of these companies incorporated over a year ago will also be eligible to tap this route to raise resources at a lower cost.

Further, the committee also has permitted eligible non-resident entities (NREs) to provide credit enhancement to the issue of rupee bonds by all Indian companies. FII's have now been permitted to invest up to $5 billion in these bonds, which stays well within the overall corporate bond limit of $45 billion. The minimum maturity period of such bonds has been reduced to three years from the present seven years maturity period.

The rule relaxation is in backdrop of finance ministry's drive to prop up manufacturing activity and boost infrastructure construction, which are termed as engine of growth for the Indian economy. However, the finance ministry will finalize upon these liberalized norms for these borrowings in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,437.30, up by 24.45 points or 0.45 % after trading in a range of 5,442.60 and 5,424.60. There were 35 stocks advancing against 15 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Ranbaxy up by 2.85%, Jindal Steel up by 2.03%, Wipro up by 2.00%, Tata Steel by 1.86% and Hindalco up by 1.77%. While, Power Grid down by 0.88%, Ambuja Cement by 0.88%, Bajaj-Auto down by 0.83%, ONGC down by 0.58% and Bharti Airtel down by 0.54% were the top losers on the index.

Most of the Asian indices were trading in green; Straits Times up by 0.55%, Kospi Composite Index up by 0.25%, Nikkei 225 up 0.40%, Hang Seng index up by 0.91% and Jakarta Composite up by 0.38% while KLSE Composite down by 0.05%, Shanghai Composite down by 0.18% and Taiwan Weighted down by 0.08% were the losers. 

COMMODITIES TODAY

silver 53900 - 54730

long above 53980 target 54470

short below 54200 target 54000

gold 30100 - 30265

long above 30176 target 30230

short below 30170 target 30130

crude 5240 - 5400

long above 5335 target 5380

short below 5318 target 5290

nickle 857 - 876

long above 867.4 target 871

short below 864.6 target 860

copper 409 - 420 

long above 416.35 target 418

short below 415.6 target 413.30

natural gas 145 - 163

long above 156.20 target 159

short below 151 target 148

 

GAINS TRIMMED

Indian equities have trimmed gains and were trading in green in the late morning session. On the global front, the majority of Asian markets were trading in green, on expectations that China will ease monetary policy and amid signs the US economy is strengthening. Back home, annual rate of inflation, based on the consumer prices index (CPI) in India, eased marginally in the month of July to 9.86 percent. Traders were seen piling up position in IT, TECk and Auto sector, while selling was witnessed in Metal, CD and Bankex sector. Infosys, TCS and Wipro from IT pack were seen trading firm in green driving the markets higher. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki from Auto space were trading in green edging the markets higher. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Coal India, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries from Metal pack were trading in red drifting markets lower. In the scrip specific development, Bilcare gained on inking definitive agreement with United Drug plc. Wockhardt jumped on receiving USFDA approval for generic version of Parkinson's drug. The NSE Nifty and BSE Sensex were managing to hold their psychological 5350 and 17700 levels respectively.

The market breadth on BSE was positive in the ratio of 1297:841 while 99 scrips remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17773.44 up 82.36 points or 0.47% after touching a high of 17815.76 and low of 17705.14. There were 18 stocks advancing against 12 declines on the index.

The broader indices were trading on a mixed; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.06%, while Small cap index was up by 0.46%.

On the BSE sectoral space, IT up by1.88%, TECk up by 1.40%, Auto up by 0.94%, Oil & Gas up by 0.37% and Realty up by 0.26% were the gainers while Metal down by 0.51%, CD down by 0.06%, Bankex down by 0.40%, CG down by 0.11% and FMCG down by 0.09% were the only losers on the index.

Infosys up by 2.92%, Cipla up by 2.07%, Tata Motors up by 1.73%, TCS up by 1.68%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.38% were the major gainers on the Sensex, while Hindalco Industries down by 2.81%, Tata Steel down by 1.55%, HDFC Bank down by 0.93%, Hero MotoCorp down by 0.84% and Coal India down by 0.74% were the major losers on the index. 

Meanwhile, amid slowing economic activity and domestic taxation issues, the foreign direct investments (FDI) to Indian services sector have dipped by 18% to $745 million (about Rs 4,134 crore) during April-May FY'13. While in April-May 2011-12, financial and non-financial services sector had attracted FDI worth $910 million.

Head of tax and expert on FDI with corporate law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas Krishan Malhotra opined that taxation issues related with GAAR and retrospective amendment in the Income Tax Act along with declining investors' confidence in the country are the major causes of the current decline in FDI inflows.

The overall FDI in India has also declined sharply for the second straight month in May to $1.32 billion from previous fiscal's $4.66 billion. During the period, the highest FDI of $1.12 billion came from Mauritius, followed by the Netherlands with $409 million and the UK with $378 million.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,384.95, up by 18.65 points or 0.35% after trading in a range of 5,397.30 and 5,368.70. There were 28 stocks advancing against 22 declines on the index.

The top gainers on the Nifty were Infosys up by 2.72%, Cipla up by 2.14%, Tata Motors up by 2.08%, IDFC by 1.60% and TCS up by 1.52%. While, Hindalco down by 2.55%, Tata Steel by 1.43%, Hero Moto Co down by 1.16%, AXIS Bank  down by 0.92% and Siemens down by 0.77% were the top losers on the index.

Most of the Asian indices were trading in green;  Straits Times up by 0.11% while Shanghai Composite up by 0.61%, Kospi Composite Index  up 0.19%, KLSE Composite was flat, and Taiwan Weighted up by 0.88%, while Nikkei 225 down 0.01% and  Hang Seng index down by 0.28% were the only losers. 

Jakarta Composite is closed till Wednesday, due to public and Idul Fitri holidays.

COMMODITIES WEEKLY

silver 52600 - 54636

long above 53822 target 54130

short below 53390 target 53090

gold 29735 - 30590

long above 30198 target 30350

short below 30018 target 29910

copper 413 - 427

long above 417 target 421

short below 416 target 414

nickle 851 - 892 

long above 867.2 target 876.5

short below 865 target 860

crude 5166 - 5588

long above 5300 target 5408

short below 5290 target 5240

natural gas 141 - 164 

long above 155.7 target 159

short below 152 target 148

COMMODITIES TODAY

silver 53550 - 53950

gold 29960 - 30250

crude 5220 - 5375

nickel 858 - 876

copper 411 - 419

natural gas 144 - 163