10:35 a.m.: Sensex gains some momentum in early noon trade, up around 90 points. Nifty holds firm above 8,800. Strong gains seen in energy, metal and healthcare stocks.
10.05 a.m.: Broader indices traded higher, the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices were up 0.55 per cent and 0.53 per cent respectively.
9.50 a.m.: Buying in energy and metal stocks pushed frontline indices higher. The Sensex was up 37 points at 28,636 and the Nifty traded 21 points higher at 8,801. The energy and metal sub-index of NSE- Nifty Energy and Nifty Metal were up 0.62 and 0.85 per cent respectively.
ONGC was the top gainer in Nifty, up 1.7 per cent. NTPC, Gail India also gained nearly 1 per cent each.
9.35 a.m.: Markets slipped in to red as Infosys, Maruti Suzuki fell over 1 per cent each to be the top two losers in the Nifty50 index. The Sensex was down 14 points, while the Nifty traded below the 8,800 mark.
9.20 a.m.: Markets opened marginally higher. The Sensex rose over 60 points to 28,609 while the Nifty50 index gained nearly 30 points to 8,809. Buying was visible in banking, auto and energy stocks.
ICICI Bank was the top gainer in the Nifty, up 1.7 per cent as the IPO of its insurance arm opened today. UltraTech Cement, Auro Pharma, Bank of Baroda and Gail India were the other prominent gainers in the index, up over 1 per cent each.
Meanwhile, Infosys was the top loser in the Nifty, down 1.2 per cent at Rs. 1,048. Axis Bank, Power Grid, Bosch and Maruti Suzuki were the other big losers in the index.
9.00 a.m.: Rupee opens higher at 66.95 per dollar against previous close of 66.98.
8.00 a.m.: Indian equity markets are likely to open flat on Monday, according to Nifty futures trading on Singapore Exchange (SGX). As of 7.45 a.m., the SGX Nifty was up 1 point at 8,809, indicating a lacklustre opening for equities.
The Sensex and Nifty are hovering around 18-month highs, supported by ample liquidity. Investor sentiment has been positive amid sustained buying by foreign institutional investors, who have pumped in over $6 billion in cash markets year-to-date.
On Friday, FIIs bought cash shares worth Rs. 661 crore, though domestic investors were net sellers to the tune of Rs. 213 crore.
Among individual stocks, ICICI Bank will be in focus as its life insurance subsidiary’s Rs. 6,000-crore initial public offer (IPO) opens for subscription today. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance will be India’s biggest IPO in six years.
ICICI Banks owns 67.6 per cent stake in the company and through this IPO it will sell nearly 12 per cent stake to public. According to Nomura, there could be 4-5 per cent upside in ICICI Bank shares if ICICI Pru Life IPO gets subscribed at the upper end of the price band of Rs. 300-334.
Cadila shares are likely to witness buying today as it won a lawsuit against Shire (SHPGY) regarding Lialda patent. Lialda has annual sales of $700 million according IMS. Lialda is used for ulcerative colitis.
Meanwhile, Asian shares traded higher today. South Korea’s Kospi index was up 0.55 per cent, after being closed on Friday for a public holiday. Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite were also up 0.62 per cent and 0.56 per cent respectively after an extended weekend. Japanese markets are closed today for public holiday.
Investors will be looking for cues from the US Federal Reserve, which begins its two-day meet tomorrow. A decision on interest rate will be announced on Wednesday.
Indian markets are also likely to be impacted by the Bank of Japan’s decision, which is expected on Wednesday morning. The Japanese central bank could aim to increase short-term yields so it could sell short term debt and buy long term debts, say analysts.
On Friday US markets closed lower. The Dow Jones fell 89 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P indices closed 0.1 per cent and 0.38 per cent respectively.
[“source-ndtv”]
