Mumbai: In volatile trading, the benchmark Sensex and the Nifty index today failed to sustain initial gains and ended almost flat on caution ahead of expiry of monthly derivative contracts and much-awaited Union Budget. The BSE Sensex resumed higher at 29,115.32 and shot up further to a high of 29,269.83 on initial strong buying on the back of overnight gains in US market coupled with good foreign capital inflows.
However, the Sensex failed to maintain initial gains due to intense selling pressure in last 90 minutes and slumped to 28,967.61 before ending at 29,007.99 — a marginal rise of 3.33 points or 0.01 per cent. The CNX 50-share Nifty also moved up by 5.15 points or 0.06 per cent to finish at 8,767.25 after hitting the day’s high of 8,840.65. “…the focus is solely and largely on the Union Budget. We expect the markets to remain volatile and be range-bound in the near term provided the Budget meets market expectations or else, we may see steep correction in successive sessions,” said Bonanza Portfolio Ltd, Associate Fund Manager, Hiren Dhakan.
Losses in Sensex constituents including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, L&T, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddys drag ed the BSE barometer towards the red. The Sensex managed to end in the green because of gains in heavyweights like Infosys and ITC along with support from HDFC, Wipro and Bharti Airtel. Reform measures undertaken by the government to accelerate growth and address fiscal and supply side constraints will determine India’s sovereign credit profile, rating agency Moody’s said today.
Thursday will see markets reacting to the Railway Budget as well as portfolio churning by investors as monthly derivative contracts expire. After the Economic Survey on Friday, the Union Budget would be presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 697.28 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 146.98 crore.
European stocks were trading lower today after eurozone finance ministers yesterday approved a four-month extension to Greece’s international bailout. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and the UK moved down to 0.08 per cent to 0.19 per cent. Asian stocks ended higher taking their cues from Wall Street’s gains overnight triggered by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to the Congress which was perceived as dovish by investors, said analysts.
Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea were up 0.11 per cent to 0.73 per cent while indices in China and Japan were off 0.10 per cent to 0.56 per cent. As many as 18 scrips out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended lower while 12 others finished higher. Major gainers include HDFC (2.43 per cent), Infosys (1.75 per cent), Wipro (1.71 per cent) and Bharti Airtel (1.36 per cent) while Dr Reddy’s Lab fell by 2.48 per cent followed by Tata Steel 2.30 per cent and Sun Pharma 2.00 per cent.
Tata Power fell by 1.83 per cent, HUL by 1.43 per cent, HDFC Bank by 1.35 per cent, TCS by 1.32 per cent, BHEL by 1.31 per cent, L&T by 1.31 per cent and ICICI Bank by 1.12 per cent. Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Healthcare fell by 1.03 per cent, Bankex 0.76 per cent and Capital goods 0.71 per cent. The total market breadth remained lower as 1,661 stocks ended in red, 1,224 finished in green while 114 ruled steady. The total turnover rose to Rs 4,412.77 crore from Rs 3,623.82 crore yesterday.
