SENTIMENTS STILL BEARISH

After witnessing butchery in previous session, sentiments continued to remain bearish on Wednesday's morning trade as market participants chose to remain on side lines following RBI's weak outlook on rate cuts amid a subdued trend on global bourses. Global cues deteriorated after the prime ministerial candidate in Greece rejected the bailout, which has renewed concerns about the two-year European debt crisis. Markets in Asia traded with deep cuts, with Japan's Nikkei and Chinese Shanghai leading the declines. Back home, trade remained choppy after Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn commented that there is little room for further reduction in interest rates in view of inflationary pressure, triggering selling pressure by participants. On the sectoral front fast moving consumer goods, capital goods and software remained the few gainers while, metal, realty and oil and gas witnessed the most selling pressure, dragging down the Sensex. However, the broader indices were trading in the green while, the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 677 shares on the gaining side against 712 shares on the losing side while 63 shares remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, the new listing today got poor response from the investors and the scrip is trading with a cut of about 6 percent.

The BSE Sensex opened at 16,436.41; about 110 points lower compared to its previous closing of 16,546.18, and has touched a high of 16,542.40 while low remained its opening.

The index is currently trading at 16,532.56 down by 13.62 points or 0.08%. There were 7 stocks advancing against 23 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a negative start with 46.63% stocks advancing against 49.04% declines. The broader indices, however, were trading in the green; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices rose 0.12% and 0.02% respectively.

The few gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, FMCG up by 0.82%, CG up by 0.16%, IT up by 0.16% and TECk was up by 0.04%. While, Metal down by 0.75%, Realty down by 0.70%, Oil and Gas down by 0.68%, PSU down by 0.40% and Auto down by 0.37% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ITC up by 3.23%, TCS up by 1.87%, BHEL up by 1.02%, L&T up by 0.81% and Wipro up by 0.71%.

On the flip side, Hindalco was down by 1.70%, Cipla was down by 1.65%, Bharti Airtel was down by 1.46%, Coal India was down by 1.39% and GAIL was down by 1.39% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, with payment mechanism issues being resolved, sanction hit Iran is keen to enhance trade with India especially with import of agricultural commodities like wheat, rice, tea and sugar, as per the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). Pharmaceutical is the other area which is under consideration. India and Iran are looking at increasing the bilateral trade to $25 billion in the next four years from the current level of $15 billion.

A 56-member Iranian trade delegation is currently in India to discuss ways and means to increase trade with the country. It is also expected that exports to Iran will help reduce the trade deficit of the country which currently stands at an all time high of $185 billion.

The exporters body is also keen that the government helps it to increase trade with countries like China and Africa which it believes are still untapped markets. It is of the opinion that prices of manufacturing as well as wages are increasing in China which is making their commodities expensive. Indian commodities are now in a position to effectively compete with them in the global market.

FIEO is also of the view that the Reserve Bank should also be asked to intervene to provide more affordable credit to exporters. It has further observed that efforts to diversify markets and reduce dependence on US and Europe are yielding results. Asia and ASEAN region which accounted for about 35% of India's exports are now accounting for about 50% of the share.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 4,967.90; about 33 points lower compared to its previous closing of 4,999.95, and has touched a high and a low of 4,998.00 and 4,959.65 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 4,991.20, lower by 8.75 points or 0.18%. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were ITC up by 3.50%, TCS up by 1.77%, BPCL up by 1.40%, BHEL up by 1.28% and L&T up by 0.93%.

On the flip side, Hindalco down by 2.25%, Kotak Bank down by 1.90%, SAIL down by 1.82%, Ambuja Cement down by 1.76% and DLF down by 1.76%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equities were exhibiting the choppy trade; Shanghai Composite was down 32.60 points or 1.33% to 2,416.28, Hang Seng was down 192.72 points or 0.94% to 20,292.03, Jakarta Composite was down 56.00 points or 1.34% to 4,125.08, KLSE Composite was down 2.82 points or 0.18% to 1,587.78, Nikkei 225 was down 149.31 points or 1.63% to 9,032.34, Straits Times was down 20.33 points or 0.69% to 2,911.65, KOSPI Composite was down 21.34 points or 1.08% to 1,945.67 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 78.81 points or 1.04% to 7,466.90. 

SHORTING CONTINUES

Indian equity markets continued to languish deep down in the red on sustained selling almost across the board, following weak global cues. However fragile economic data from the US, concerns about the financial situation in Europe and the Indian currency's sustained weakness against the US dollar all were contributing in equal measure to the market's decline. Nifty hovering around 5,000 mark, while Sensex plunged by 296 points. On sectoral front all sectors were trading in red. On the global front, Asian markets opened on a weak note this morning, and are still mostly down with sharp losses. Back home, the market breadth favoring negative trend; there were 684 shares on the gaining side against 1,674 shares on the losing side while 90 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex, plunging by 296.51 points or 1.76% was trading at 16,534.57. The index has touched a high and low of 16,620.44 and 16,516.77 respectively.  There were only 3 stocks advancing against 27 declines on the index.

The broader indices too continued to reel under pressure; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices declined by 1.73% and 1.34% respectively.

Selling was broad based though, but the major losing sectoral indices on the BSE were, Realty down by 2.99%, Bankex down by 2.63%, Metal down by 2.01%, Information Technology (IT) down by 1.92% and PSU down by 1.67%.

SBI down by 3.64%, Hero MotoCorp down by 3.20%, HDFC Bank down by 2.84%, Sterlite Industries down by 2.67% and Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.56% were the top losers on the Sensex.

However, BHEL up by 0.65%, Cipla up by 0.49% and Sun Pharmaceuticals up by 0.17% were the top gainers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, despite a slowdown in demand from the western countries, India has set a target of $38 billion for textile exports this year. The target is 12% higher than that of last year's $34 billion as India is expecting to tap newer markets of Africa and Latin America.

The US and European markets account for over 50% of India's exports and are currently facing an economic slowdown. Hence India has resorted to exploring the markets of Africa and Latin America which it believes have tremendous potential.

India's textiles export performance has continued to lag its global competitors in the last few years. It has a meagre 4.3% share of the world market, compared to China's 28.3%. The Indian apparel industry is facing several challenges like labour, safety and health compliances in the global market which are affecting its competitiveness.

Moreover according to estimates, the share of textiles and clothing as a percentage of the country's overall export basket decreased from 15.97 percent in 2004-05 to 8.9 percent in 2010-11. The sector, which is the country's second largest employment generator after agriculture, employing 35 million people, was hit hard by the global economic slowdown.

The Economic Survey 2011-12 too had stated that India needs to diversify its export markets as its trading partners may resort to protectionist measures in the wake of global economic uncertainty.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 4,994.55, lower by 92.30 points or 1.81%. The index has touched a high and low of 5021.15 and 4990.35 respectively. There were only 5 stocks advancing against 45 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were BPCL up by 2.14%, BHEL up by 0.86%, Ambuja Cement up by 0.53%, Cipla up by 0.31% and Sun Pharma up by 0.06%.

On the flip side, JP Associates down by 5.13%, Cairn India down by 4.94%, SBI down by 3.72%, SAIL down by 3.36% and Bank of Baroda down by 3.32% were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite declined 0.41%, Hang Seng plunged 2.73%, Jakarta Composite descended 1.95%, KLSE Composite shed 0.44%, Nikkei 225 plummeted by 2.78%, Straits Times descended by 2.27%, KOSPI Composite slid 1.64% and Taiwan Weighted lost 2.11%. 

MARKETS CRUMBLE

Key benchmarks have made a gap-down opening, extending losing streak for the fourth straight session, as global risk assets sold off after elections in Greece and France fuelled questions on their austerity policies. Moreover, the weaker rupee and uncertainty in a day when the Finance Bill containing the controversial provisions is set to be introduced in the parliament also weighed down the sentiments. On the global front, the US markets went for sharp sell-off on Friday on getting lower than expected jobs number while, all the Asian counters were exhibiting subdued trade at this point of time. Back home, concerns about a review of the government's tax treaty with Mauritius too prevailing in the markets along with the GAAR issue. All the sectoral indices on the BSE traded lower. Banks, consumer durables, realty, capital goods and auto 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 375 shares on the gaining side against 1,206 shares on the losing side while 50 shares remained unchanged. 

The BSE Sensex opened at 16,620.44; about 210 points lower compared to its previous closing of 16,831.08, and has touched a low of 16,541.23 while high remain its opening.

The index is currently trading at 16,589.49 down by 241.59 points or 1.44%. There were only 4 stocks advancing against 26 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a negative start with 22.99% stocks advancing against 73.94% declines. The broader indices too were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices declined 1.51% and 1.31% respectively.

The major losing sectoral indices on the BSE were, Bankex down by 2.56%, CD down by 2.13%, Realty down by 2.09%, CG down by 1.82% and Auto down by 1.53%, while there were no gainers on the index.

The few gainers on the Sensex were Cipla up by 1.43%, GAIL up by 0.64%, Sun Pharma up by 0.37% and Bharti Airtel up by 0.27%.

On the flip side, SBI was down by 3.85%, ICICI Bank was down by 3.02%, L&T was down by 2.43%, HIndalco was down by 2.33% and Tata Steel was down by 2.21% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, a revival of exports in the Indian economy is long overdue, according to Nomura. Referring to the HSBC PMI index, Nomura has stated that a sustained increase in export orders suggests that a reversal is around the corner.

For the first time since late 2009, exports shrank in March by 5.7% to $28.68 billion from $30.41 in March 2011.From a peak of 82% in July; export growth had slipped to 44.25% in August, 36.36% in September, 10.8% in October and 3.8% in November 2011. However, exports grew 6.7% in December 2011, over 10% in January 2012 and 4.3% in February.

Nomura is of the opinion that the fall in exports has largely been due to the European debt crisis and slower Chinese growth. Now with the US economy showing some signs of recovery and the lagged effects of rupee depreciation, revival in exports is likely. Industrial growth is also expected to pick up in the coming months.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 5,017.80; about 69 points lower compared to its previous closing of 5,086.85, and has touched a high and a low of 5,021.15 and 4,995.70 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 5,006.95, lower by 79.90 points or 1.57%. There were only 6 stocks advancing against 44 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were BPCL up by 1.69%, Cipla up by 1.23%, GAIL up by 0.33%, Bharti Airtel up by 0.32% and ACC up by 0.21%.

On the flip side, JP Associates down by 5.13%, SBI down by 4.39%, Bank of Baroda down by 3.41%, ICICI Bank down by 3.15% and Axis Bank down by 2.97%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite was down 6.33 points or 0.26% to 2,445.68, Hang Seng was down 512.86 points or 2.43% to 20,573.14, Jakarta Composite was down 75.32 points or 1.79% to 4,141.36, KLSE Composite was down 7.53 points or 0.47% to 1,583.51, Nikkei 225 was down 247.11 points or 2.63% to 9,133.14, Straits Times was down 53.36 points or 1.78% to 2,937.23, KOSPI Composite was down 32.04 points or 1.61% to 1,957.11 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 168.52 points or 2.19% to 7,532.43.

WEAK MARKETS

Indian equity markets continued trading lower in negative territory following a disappointing jobs data from the US, and concerns about the domestic economy appear to be forcing investors to tread a cautious path. Nifty drops below the 5,200 mark, while Sensex holding 17,100 level. On sectoral front banking stocks were hit by RBI's directive to set aside more capital to meet BASEL III requirements. Automobile, bank, realty, metal and PSU stocks were mostly trading weak. Power and oil stocks were also trading lower, while pharmaceuticals, information technology and FMCG stocks were finding modest support. However, Hero MotoCorp witnessed profit booking in trade on its Q4 result. In currency markets, Indian rupee declined by 28 paise in early trade today to hit fresh four-month low of Rs 53.26 against the American currency. On the global front, most of the Asian shares were trading in red. Back home, the market breadth favoring negative trend; there were 834 shares on the gaining side against 1,458 shares on the losing side while 102 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex, plunging by 105.13 points or 0.61%, is currently trading at 17,196.78. The index has touched a high and low of 17,271.77 and 17,148.66 respectively. There were 9 stocks advancing against 21 declines on the index.

The broader indices too enticed additional weakness; the BSE mid cap and small cap indices declined 0.72% and 0.56% respectively.

Auto down by 1.89%, Bankex down by 1.41%, Realty down by 1.03%, PSU down by 1.02% and Power down by 0.90% were the top losers on the index. On the flip side, Information Technology up by 0.73%, TECk up by 0.45%, Health Care (HC) up by 0.03% and FMCG up by 0.01% were top gainers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 1.81%, Wipro up by 1.61%, Cipla up by 1.50%, Infosys up by 0.90% and HDFC Bank up by 0.85%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 5.99%, ICICI Bank down by 2.83%, SBI down by 2.32%, Coal India down by 2.18% and DLF down by 1.95% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, uncertainty in fuel prices and hike in excise duty dampened the growth of automobiles in April 2012. With petrol prices expected to rise further, diesel models continued to drive growth for most players.  Market leader Maruti Suzuki registered modest growth of 3.4% last month on the back of success of its new Ertiga MPV and the Swift range. However, Maruti's passenger car sales in the domestic market declined by 1.3% to 72,939 units and sales of mini-segment cars, including the M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR, fell by 26.4% to 30,720 units during the month.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted 49% increase in sales at 14,378 units primarily on the back of Etios. On the other hand, Honda Siel trebled volumes to 7,075 units on increased off-take of Brio, the small car, on resumption of normal production at its manufacturing facility in India. The company had witnessed slow sales last year due to disruptions in supply of components because of the tsunami in Japan and the flood in Thailand.

Tata Motors saw sales dip by 3% to 22,658 units last month. Sales of Nano small car dipped by a fifth to 8,028 units. Mahindra's strong diesel portfolio led to a 33% rise, whereas General Motors and Ford both posted a decline of 20% (8,005 units) and 2%, respectively. Experts say with interest rates remaining high, entry-level buyers are being cautious and deferring purchases, which have led to a slowing in sales, particularly in the small car segment.

Two-wheeler makers like Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), TVS Motor Company and Yamaha Motor reported robust sales in April. Hero MotoCorp continued with brisk business as the company achieved its highest monthly sales in April, registering a growth of 6.6%. HMSI posted growth of a whopping 45.53% jump in its total sales for April.  On the hand, TVS Motor reported a 4% increase in sales as compared to same month last year. Yamaha sales grew 6% increase and VE Commercial Vehicles clocked 14.8% sales growth in April 2012. 

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,198.10, lower by 41.05 points or 0.78%. The index has touched a high and low of 5,217.30 and 5,189.45 respectively. There were 13 stocks advancing against 37 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were Wipro up by 1.87%, HUL up by 1.82%, Cipla up by 0.96%, HDFC Bank up by 0.84% and Infosys up by 0.82%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 6.16%, Axis Bank down by 3.36%, ICICI Bank down by 2.93%, IDFC down by 2.73% and DLF down by 2.38% were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading mixed; Hang Seng slipped 0.46%, KOSPI Composite shed 0.28% and Taiwan Weighted lost 0.23%. On the flip side, Shanghai Composite up by 0.02%, Jakarta Composite added 0.05%, KLSE Composite gained 0.04%, and Straits Times rose 0.06%.

Stock markets in Japan remained closed on Thursday on account of Constitution Memorial Day and would re-open directly on Monday. 

BEARISH

Sentiments continue to remain bearish on Thursday's morning trade on the back of fresh selling by funds and retail investors tracking a weak trend across the globe. All the Asian counters slipped on Thursday and the euro wallowed near a two-week low after disappointing data from both sides of the Atlantic rekindled concerns about the strength of the global economic recovery. US stocks eased overnight as data showed a slowdown in private sector hiring, tempering the optimism from a better-than-expected manufacturing survey at the start of the week that had driven the Dow to its highest in more than 4 year. Back home, the sentiments also remained dampened as Indian rupee opens at 53.09 per dollar versus 52.95 yesterday. On Monday, the RBI intervened in the rupee forwards market to offset the liquidity impact of its spot selling. On the sectoral front consumer durables, software and technology remained the only gainers while, auto, public sector undertaking and banking witnessed the most selling pressure, dragging down the Sensex. Moreover, the broader indices too were struggling to get some traction and the market breadth on the BSE was negative; there were 679 shares on the gaining side against 822 shares on the losing side while 76 shares remained unchanged. 

Meanwhile, sugar stocks like Shree Renuka Sugar, Balrampur Chini, Bajaj Hindustan, Dhampur Sugar Mills rallied 3-6 percent as government on Wednesday removed the cap on sugar exports and placed the commodity under the open general licence category like wheat and rice. The government has also announced to appoint a committee under the chairmanship of Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) chairman C Rangarajan to look into the distribution of additional food grains through ration shops and open market sales scheme (OMSS).

The BSE Sensex opened at 17,271.77; about 30 points lower compared to its previous closing of 17,301.91, and has touched a low of 17,194.26 while high remain its opening.

The index is currently trading at 17,213.56 down by 88.35 points or 0.51%. There were 6 stocks advancing against 24 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a negative start with 43.06% stocks advancing against 52.12% declines. The broader indices too were trading in the red; the BSE Mid cap and small cap indices declined 0.18% and 0.20% respectively.

The only gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, CD up by 0.32%, IT up by 0.32% and TECk was up by 0.11%. While, Auto down by 1.56%, PSU down by 0.68%, Bankex down by 0.64%, Power down by 0.58% and Oil and Gas down by 0.53% were the top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 1.41%, Cipla up by 1.12%, BHEL up by 0.78%, Sterlite Industries up by 0.67% and Wipro up by 0.49%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp was down by 5.61%, Bajaj Auto was down by 2.31%, Maruti Suzuki was down by 1.69%, Tata Power was down by 1.21% and Tata Steel was down by 1.20% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, uncertainty in fuel prices and hike in excise duty dampened the growth of automobiles in April 2012. With petrol prices expected to rise further, diesel models continued to drive growth for most players.  Market leader Maruti Suzuki registered modest growth of 3.4% last month on the back of success of its new Ertiga MPV and the Swift range. However, Maruti's passenger car sales in the domestic market declined by 1.3% to 72,939 units and sales of mini-segment cars, including the M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR, fell by 26.4% to 30,720 units during the month.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted 49% increase in sales at 14,378 units primarily on the back of Etios. On the other hand, Honda Siel trebled volumes to 7,075 units on increased off-take of Brio, the small car, on resumption of normal production at its manufacturing facility in India. The company had witnessed slow sales last year due to disruptions in supply of components because of the tsunami in Japan and the flood in Thailand.

Tata Motors saw sales dip by 3% to 22,658 units last month. Sales of Nano small car dipped by a fifth to 8,028 units. Mahindra's strong diesel portfolio led to a 33% rise, whereas General Motors and Ford both posted a decline of 20% (8,005 units) and 2%, respectively. Experts say with interest rates remaining high, entry-level buyers are being cautious and deferring purchases, which have led to a slowing in sales, particularly in the small car segment.

Two-wheeler makers like Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), TVS Motor Company and Yamaha Motor reported robust sales in April. Hero MotoCorp continued with brisk business as the company achieved its highest monthly sales in April, registering a growth of 6.6%. HMSI posted growth of a whopping 45.53% jump in its total sales for April.  On the hand, TVS Motor reported a 4% increase in sales as compared to same month last year. Yamaha sales grew 6% increase and VE Commercial Vehicles clocked 14.8% sales growth in April 2012.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 5,211.20; about 28 points lower compared to its previous closing of 5,239.15, and has touched a high and a low of 5,217.30 and 5,203.55 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 5,211.05, lower by 28.10 points or 0.54%. There were 10 stocks advancing against 40 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HUL up by 1.53%, Cipla up by 1.05%, Sesa Goa up by 0.96%, BHEL up by 0.83% and Wipro up by 0.64%.

On the flip side, Hero MotoCorp down by 5.49%, Bajaj Auto down by 2.38%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.87%, Jaiprakash Associates down by 1.62% and Axis Bank down by 1.58%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the red; Shanghai Composite was down 8.95 points or 0.37% to 2,429.49, Hang Seng was down 105.59 points or 0.50% to 21,203.49, Jakarta Composite was down 0.45 points or 0.01% to 4,218.85, KLSE Composite was down 0.25 points or 0.02% to 1,582.14, Straits Times was down 2.70 points or 0.09% to 3,003.44, KOSPI Composite was down 6.28 points or 0.31% to 1,992.79 and Taiwan Weighted was down by 17.61 points or 0.23% to 7,659.20. 

Stock markets in Japan remained closed on Thursday on account of Constitution Memorial Day and would re-open directly on Monday. 

STEADY

Indian equity markets hold early gains despite seeing some selling and remained fairly well placed in positive territory. A positive trend in global markets and some good results from India companies were supporting local shares. Nifty managing to stay above the 5,200 level since opening, while Sensex up 72 points from its previous close. Meanwhile April PMI manufacturing data will be watched for the further clues. On sectoral front, consumer durables, information technology, bank, FMCG and healthcare stocks were finding support. Metal, realty and capital goods stocks were trading mixed, while power, oil and automobile stocks are mostly subdued. On the global front, Asian shares rose and the dollar recovered against the yen on Wednesday after strong US factory activity data raised hopes that the world's biggest economy remained on a recovery track while growth in Asian manufacturing improved broader sentiment. Back home, the market breadth favoring positive trend; there were 1,378 shares on the gaining side against 1, 041 shares on the losing side while 113 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 17,392.02, up by 73.21 points or 0.42%. The index has touched a high and low of 17,432.33 and 17,367.00 respectively. There were 19 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index.

Unlike benchmarks, broader indices have pruned their losses; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 0.44% and 0.70% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, CD up by 1.98%, TECk up by 1.10%, IT up by 0.95%, Bankex up by 0.90% and FMCG up by 0.81%. While Auto down by 0.71%, Oil & Gas down by 0.30% and Power down by 0.23% were top losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 2.77%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.89%, TCS up by 1.72%, DLF up by 1.58% and HDFC Bank up by 1.33%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.07%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.74%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.15%, ONGC down by 1.02% and Coal India down by 0.92% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, growth in the eight core industries' slowed down to 2% in March as against 6.5% in the same month last year reflecting a slowdown in the economy. For the entire fiscal April- March 2012, the core industries grew by 4.3% compared to 6.6% in 2010-11. The numbers have confirmed everyone's worst fears and show that growth has not revived in the economy.

The eight industries - crude oil, petroleum refinery products, natural gas, fertilisers, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel - have a weightage of 37.9% in the overall Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Crude oil and natural gas have been the worst performing sectors with production contracting by 2.9% and 10.1% in March, respectively. Crude oil production had grown by 12.1% while natural gas output had declined by 10.6% in March 2012.

Electricity, steel and fertiliser output slowed down by 2.1%, 2.3% and 1.5% respectively, in the month under review compared to 7.6%, 12% and 3.9% respectively in March 2011.

Petroleum refinery output too slowed down by 1.6% compared to 8.5% in March 2011. However, coal and cement output grew by 6.8% and 7.1%, respectively. In February, the eight infrastructure industries grew by 6.8% in February after a dismal performance of 0.5% a month ago.

The S&P CNX Nifty is currently trading at 5,267.05, higher by 18.90 points or 0.36%. The index has touched a high and low of 5279.60 and 5254.30 respectively. There were 31 stocks advancing against 19 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HUL up by 2.45%, SAIL up by 2.16%, HCL Tech up by 1.94%, Bharti Airtel up by 1.88% and DLF up by 1.71%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 1.96%, Maruti Suzuki down by 1.94%, BPCL down by 1.44%, Bajaj Auto down by 1.14% and ONGC down by 1.09%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite surged 1.79%, Hang Seng spurted 1.23%, Jakarta Composite added 0.39%, KLSE Composite rose 0.52%, Nikkei 225 gained 0.31%, Straits Times edged higher by 0.54%, KOSPI Composite climbed 0.86% and Taiwan Weighted accumulated 2.33%. 

POSITIVE SENTIMENTS

Sentiments remained bullish in the morning trade with markets hitting more than one-week highs, extending gains for the fourth straight session on continued buying by funds and retailers amid encouraging fourth quarter corporate earnings and firming trend in Asian markets. On the global front, the US markets surged overnight on getting good economic data, US manufacturing grew in April at the strongest pace in 10 months while, all the Asian counters were trading in the positive terrain at this point of time. Back home, BSE's -- Sensex -- and NSE's -- Nifty - inching towards their crucial 17,400 and 5,300 mark respectively, supported by most of the index heavyweights along-with broader indices. On sectoral front, consumer durables witnessed the maximum gain in trade followed by fast moving consumer goods and metal while, auto and oil and gas remained the only losers on the BSE sectoral space. Meanwhile, FMCG stocks got some boost after FMCG heavyweight HUL beats street expectations. The company posted a 21% jump in profits on the back of 10% volume growth. Also, an expansion in EBITDA margins by 26% attributed to decline in A&P spends. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks. The market breadth on the BSE was positive; there were 1,291 shares on the gaining side against 459 shares on the losing side while 63 shares remained unchanged.

The BSE Sensex opened at 17,370.93; about 52 points higher compared to its previous closing of 17,318.81, and has touched a high and a low of 17,432.33 and 17,367.00 respectively.

The index is currently trading at 17,390.69, up by 71.88 points or 0.42%. There were 24 stocks advancing against 6 declines on the index.

The overall market breadth has made a strong start with 71.21% stocks advancing against 25.32% declines. The broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices surged 0.77% and 1.07% respectively.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were, CD up by 1.51%, FMCG up by 1.00%, Metal up by 0.80%, Realty up by 0.78% and Bankex up by 0.78%. While Auto down by 0.52% and Oil and Gas was down by 0.21% remained the only losers on the index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were HUL up by 3.13%, DLF up by 1.95%, Hero MotoCorp up by 1.56%, Jindal Steel up by 1.45% and ICICI Bank up by 1.12%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors was down by 3.08%, ONGC was down by 1.04%, Tata Power was down by 0.52%, Maruti Suzuki was down by 0.42% and GAIL was down by 0.36% were the top losers on the Sensex.

Meanwhile, the ministerial panel under finance minister Pranab Mukherjee has upheld the decision that allowed the Anil Ambani's Reliance Power to use excess coal from Sasan power project's mines to fuel its Chitrangi generation plant. In August, 2008, an EGoM had given approval for Reliance Power to divert surplus coal from the Sasan blocks for another project in Chitrangi. Both projects are in Madhya Pradesh.

The issue became controversial when Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) last October said in a draft audit report that government's decision resulted in windfall gain of Rs. 1.20 lakh crore to the private developer. The CAG has since reduced its windfall gain estimate to Rs 15,000 crore.

Tata Power, which participated in the bidding for the Sasan UMPP, has also challenged the government's decision in the court.

The EGoM had sought the Attorney General's (AG) legal opinion in a bid to defuse the controversy. The AG has now interpreted the decision taken in 2008 as a correct decision and has also clarified the ambiguity about the interpretation of the term 'surplus coal'. It stated that surplus coal is such coal... That is available after satisfying the needs of a UMPP.

Hence the EGoM has decided not to review its decision but has recommended that policies be made comprehensive so that there is no ambiguity in the future.

The S&P CNX Nifty opened at 5,254.30; about 6 points higher compared to its previous closing of 5,248.15, and has touched a high of 5,279.60 while low remained its opening.

The index is currently trading at 5,269.55, higher by 21.40 points or 0.41%. There were 39 stocks advancing against 11 declines on the index.

The top gainers of the Nifty were HUL up by 2.71%, DLF up by 1.95%, Axis Bank up by 1.79%, SAIL up by 1.48% and IDFC up by 1.41%.

On the flip side, Tata Motors down by 2.08%, ONGC down by 1.30%, Tata Power down by 0.71%, GAIL down by 0.51% and Asian Paints down by 0.45%, were the major losers on the index.

All the Asian equity indices were trading in the green; Shanghai Composite was up 37.78 points or 1.58% to 2,434.09, Hang Seng was up 241.48 points or 1.14% to 21,335.69, Jakarta Composite was up 9.38 points or 0.22% to 4,205.37, KLSE Composite was up 7.79 points or 0.50% to 1,578.40, Nikkei 225 was up 35.27 points or 0.38% to 9,386.22, Straits Times was up 15.80 points or 0.53% to 2,994.37, KOSPI Composite was up 14.80 points or 0.75% to 1,996.79 and Taiwan Weighted  was up by 168.25 points or 2.24%  to 7,670.07.