Benchmarks negotiate marginal gain; snap four days losing streak

Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth a net Rs 316.23 crore on May 23, 2013

Indian equity indices witnessed consolidation in a volatile session of trade after four straight days of decline as investors opted to remain on the side-lines after yesterday’s crash in global markets amid brewing concerns that the US Federal Reserve may withdraw stimulus earlier than expected. Though, markets after a positive opening suddenly entered into red in early trade owing to the decline in Japanese market with the Nikkei coming off over 2 per cent from the day’s high. But, the key gauges found strong supports around the crucial 5,950 (Nifty) and 19,650 (Sensex) levels on the downside and rebounded from those levels. Market participants were seen piling up positions largely across the board as they hunted for undervalued but fundamentally strong bargains after the recent sell-off. Both the frontline gauges managed to keep their head above water at the end after changing directions several times during the trade.

Global cues remain mixed with European counters opening in red despite better-than-expected German business confidence data, signaling a brighter future for Europe’s largest economy. While, most of the Asian equity indices ended the session in the positive terrain with Japanese Nikkei ending with a gain of about a percent after an extremely volatile session.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 316.23 crore on May 23, 2013. Sentiment also got some boost from Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s statement that there is no need for any kind of nervousness. He said the Indian markets should read the situation correctly rather than be influenced by something elsewhere.

Benchmarks witness consolidation ahead of Budget week

Defensive sector FMCG also witnessed a sharp cut of around one and half a percent

After witnessing biggest sell-off since July 2012 in previous session, key Indian benchmarks ended the session on a flat-to-negative note on last trading day of the week as sentiments remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget and Economic Survey of India to be released in the coming week. Markets traded choppy in first half as sentiments remained jittery after President Pranab Mukherjee, while addressing the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, said that inflation is easing gradually, but is still a problem and expressed his hopes of recovery in economic growth. However, recovery witnessed in mid-noon trade proved short-lived as market participants booked all their gains at the end shrugging off firm cues from European counters.

On the global front, European markets traded on a positive note after better-than-expected German business confidence data. German business confidence rose to its highest level in 10 months in February, amid growing optimism that Europe's top economy has put the worst of the region's debt crisis behind it. Asian markets also recovered from Thursday’s sell-off after weak business conditions in US supported hopes that the Federal Reserve may not discontinue its economic stimulus earlier than expected.

Back home, selling in Aviation sector too dampened the sentiments as Jet Airways and Spicejet edged lower on concerns of increased competition after Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia recently announced the launch of its new airline in India in partnership with the Tata Group. Defensive sector FMCG also witnessed a sharp cut of around one and half a percent, while the metal stocks remained under pressure for the second consecutive day, losing another half a percent.

However, the losses remain capped as investors kept themselves busy in piling up positions in software and technology counters on the back of Gartners’ report that healthcare providers’ spending on IT will increase by seven percent this year. Meanwhile, high beta realty bounced back, gaining over one and half a percent for the day, though the housing ministry looks determined to introduce the pending legislation in Parliament’s budget session to set up a real estate watchdog, the private developers associations have disapproved the proposal saying that realty watchdog is only going to increase the number of clearances and checks, leading to further delay in housing projects.

Rally in telecom stocks too supported the sentiments as scrips like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, MTNL, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Reliance Communications all edged higher after the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology on February 21, 2013, said that the Department of Telecom has decided that a separate auction will be held for the balance of Spectrum in 1,800 MHz band in compliance with the direction of the Supreme Court in its order dated February 15, 2013.

The NSE’s 50-share broadly followed index Nifty declined by only two points, managed to hold the psychological 5,850 support level, while Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensitive Index -- Sensex declined ten points to finish below the psychological 19,3500 mark. Moreover, broader markets too traded near their pre-close mark and managed to keep their head above water in the end.

The overall volumes stood above Rs 1.42 lakh crore, which remained on the lower side as compared to that on Thursday. The market breadth remained in favor of declines as there were 1,043 shares on the gaining side against 1,072 shares on the losing side while 879 shares remain unchanged

Finally, the BSE Sensex lost 8.35 points or 0.04% to settle at 19,317.01, while the CNX Nifty declined by 1.95 points or 0.03% to end at 5,850.30.

The BSE Sensex touched a high and a low of 19,401.75 and 19,289.83, respectively. The BSE Mid cap index up by 0.02% and Small cap index was up by 0.11%.

Financial Coffee

(Please click on the Newspaper link to read the full article)   INDIAN ECONOMY Foreign funds pour more into China than India in Jan India's savings rate to dip to 30%: India Ratings India's economic growth slowdown could be worse than expected, shave a 1% off Chidambaram f'cast FDI inflows can grow ten-fold, onus on govt to get that done: Experts Growth likely to touch decade low of 5% this fiscal: CSO 8% growth for India will take tough decision, time: IMF India Predicts Decade-Low Growth Amid Inflation Risks  INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY Fewer Workers Filed Claims for Jobless Benefits in U.S. Draghi Signals Euro Strength May affect ECB’s Recovery Efforts Carney Backs Flexible Inflation Targeting in BOE Testimony Worker Productivity in U.S. Declines U.K. Manufacturing Rises Most Since July on Machinery Output Spain Borrowing Costs Rise Amid Corruption Allegations U.S. Consumer Confidence Rises for First Time in Five Weeks Stournaras Says Greek Recovery May Begin by End-2013 EQUITY MARKET India Inc’s investment abroad jumps 179% in January Consumer durables, realty stocks pull Sensex down 59 points Sensex falls for 5th day, NTPC, Coal India shares down over 2%, Nifty positive at close Merger, demerger deals need SEBI approval now It’s only a conditional nod for Diageo-United Spirits open offer DEBT MARKET Bonds remain bullish on steady demand ‘Retail home loans likely to grow by at least 20% this fiscal’ Treasuries Gain as ECB Concern Keeps Yields Unde 2% Spain Borrowing Costs Rise Amid Corruption Allegations China Injects  860 Billion Yuan via Reverse Repos in Week German Bonds Rise as Draghi Says Policy Can Remain Accomm COMMODITIES China remains top gold producer for sixth year Forex movements hold key to gold’s direction Zinc Leads Metals Slump as Europe Crisis Fuels Demand Concerns Platinum Rally Stalls on Speculation Miners May Boost Selling Brent Crude Rises to Four-Month High, Extends WTI Premium Oil Falls as Draghi Says Euro Strength May Hamper Growth FOREX Rupee slips to 53.22 on lower GDP estimate Euro Falls Most Since July as Draghi Warns of Slowing Inflation Brazil’s Real Surges as Central Banker Says Inflation Rate High Canadian Dollar Falls From 2-Week High Before Jobs Report Aussie May Test 4-Month Low Versus Greenback: Technical Analysis   MUTUAL FUNDS Rajiv Gandhi scheme: SEBI extends new fund offer period to 30 days Are fixed maturity plans losing sheen? Central Public Sector Enterprise ETF launch may be put off INSURANCE Random investments in insurance products to reduce tax can cost you dear in long-run IRDA proposes to lower solvency margin to 145 pc for insurers REAL ESTATE Correction in housing prices to continue for some time: NHB Panacea, Bestech join to develop township OPINION Rajesh Bhayani: Gold prices in correction mode Glass half full Montek Singh Ahluwalia: CSO ignored rising trend in economy for FY13 estimates Time we raised direct taxes KNOWLEDGE CENTER Tax-savings Bonds are  Best option before Rates Fall Park money in a contingency fund Look beyond Section 80 C for tax-saving instruments Guarding against a weak rupee How the rupee’s movements can wreck your portfolio

Financial Coffee

(Please click on the Newspaper link to read the full article)   INDIAN ECONOMY Govt to come out with modified DTC Bill: Shome 8 core industries’ output dips to 2.6% in December Govt revises downwards FY12 GDP to 6.2% from 6.5% Statistical twist to help India's 2012/13 growth look better Worsening global situation to have severe impact on India: ADB Retail inflation for industrial workers rises to 11.17% in Dec Union Budget: Desperate on deficit, govt to set to slash defence and welfare spending   INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY German Unemployment Unexpectedly Declined in January R-Word For U.S. Economy in 2013 is Rebound Not Recession Asia Leads Global Recovery After Unexpected U.S. Slip U.K. Consumer Confidence Increases on Economic Outlook Russian GDP Growth Slowest Since 2009 Consumer Spending in U.S. Rose in December EQUITY MARKET India's domestic air traffic shrank by 2.1 per cent: IATA Sensex falls to 2-week low on profit-booking Govt fixes floor price of Oil India stake sale at Rs 510, auction tomorrow DEBT MARKET More banks cut lending rates Treasury Yields Almost at 9-Month High Before Payrolls Bond Sales Globally Reach Busiest January  German Bunds Rise After Retail Sales Decline My Wealth Club's Alternative to Bank Fixed Deposit COMMODITIES Gold up Rs 65 on fresh buying; silver gains Rs 480 Oil Falls for First Time in Four Days on Jobless Claims Gold Falls Most in Week as Improving Economies Curb Haven Demand Copper Swings Between Gains and Drops  FOREX Rupee ends a tad stronger Euro Has Longest Stretch of Monthly Gains in Decade Canada Dollar Breaks Parity as Growth Beats Expectations Brazil Real Trades Stronger Than 2 Per Dollar as Inflow Tax Cut Pound Climbs 3rd Day Versus Dollar as Confidence Rises Australian Dollar Drops as Stocks Fall  MUTUAL FUNDS Equity mutual funds' exposure in banks up 200 bps in Q3 AMFI revises code of conduct for mutual fund intermediaries Debt mutual funds stand to gain from declining rates: Experts INSURANCE Drop in average premium size of life insurance policies: Deloitte Government puts on hold plans to list state-run insurers REAL ESTATE India ranks 9th globally for office space demand, says RICS Maytas Properties agrees to pay Rs 850 crore as settlement Hyderabad second most affordable office market in world: DTZ OPINION FinMin: Cut FD rates for senior citizens Interest rate only a smokescreen A forex fight? Bipartisan cooperation alone can ensure the roll out of GST & create a borderless national market Powerless against policy winds KNOWLEDGE CENTER How to gain most out of RBI's rate cuts Higher EPF deduction can help build better retirement kitty A rush to reduce taxes can cost you dear Tax planning for new year

FINANCIAL COFFEE

(Please click on the Newspaper link to read the full article)   INDIAN ECONOMY World Bank pegs India's FY13 growth at 5.4% Import duty on gold may be raised to 6% Govt may impose 5% import duty on crude edible oil Possible reintroduction of estate duty triggers restructuring of assets RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao tempers expectations of rate cut Government wants to sell off TCIL in current fiscal INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY Retail Sales Rise in U.S. to Close 2012 on good Note: Economy German Economy Probably Contracted 0.5% in Fourth Quarter China Defends Export Data After Economists’ Skepticism Russia Holds Rates as Slumping Economy Sets Stage to Ease U.K. Inflation Stays Above BOE expectation Spanish Underlying Inflation Rate Declines Amid Recession EQUITY MARKET Steel prices to go up further in Feb SEBI seeks fresh details on Diageo’s open offer for United Spirits Sensex up 80 points at close YES Bank in race to acquire RBS' retail assets in India Pharma Sector’s Growth Weakens in Dec Quarter DEBT MARKET Bankers want RBI to cut rates, CRR IRFC to raise over Rs 8,886 cr via tax-exempt bonds Treasury Yields at Almost at Low peak of Year on Debt Debate Japan’s Bonds Rise After Shirakawa Says Economy Is Weak Fitch Says Top AAA Sovereign Ratings Under Pressure in 2013 Draghi Boosts 30-Year German Index-Linked Debt Hope Japan to Sell Debt Worth 7.8 Trillion Yen to Pay for Stimulus COMMODITIES/FOREX Platinum Advances to Three-Month High on Production Cuts Gold Forecasters Splitting on Peak for Bull Market: Commodities Oil Falls From Four-Month High Amid Debt-Ceiling Talks Rupee loses 12 paise against dollar Yen Gains Most Since May on Weakness Warning; Rand Drops Canadian Dollar Falls Against Yen on Japan Stimulus View Brazil Swap Rates Rise as Retail Sales defeats Forecast; Real Drops Aussie Dollar Drops Versus Peers Before Employment Data  MUTUAL FUNDS Local MFs outpace foreign players in asset growth LIC Nomura relaunches insurance-linked scheme Equity funds set to announce dividend payments on robust 2012 gains SEBI cancels registration of Fidelity Mutual Fund INSURANCE Health insurance: IRDA proposes uniform definition of key terms Health claim approvals should be instant like credit cards: Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health REAL ESTATE Personal property owners to be can expand in Lutyens' Bungalow Zone Builders oppose real estate regulatory bill OPINION Should industrial houses be given bank licences? GAAR:  Subir Roy: The next step for Indian banking Watering down GAAR Sick economy, clueless doctors India Inc opposes higher taxes on rich KNOWLEDGE CENTER More is Not Always Better  One-person companies may soon become a reality A rush to save taxes can cost you dear Tax planning for new year

Financial Coffee

(Please click on the Newspaper link to read the full article)   INDIAN ECONOMY Rangarajan proposal to bring relief to ONGC 100% FDI gets green light for rly line projects Predictable investment environment key for India: Russian fund FDI in services sector up 5 pc in April-Oct RBI's 2012 policy rates: What makes Subbarao click? INTERNATIONAL ECONOMY Greece not doing its bit against tax dodgers: EU & IMF SBI, Russian fund to invest $2 bn in projects Israel Bond Yield Drops, After Central Bank Rate Cut Fed Flummoxed by Mortgage Yield Gap Refusing to Shrink: Economy China Foreign Exchange Manager Calls U.S. Global ‘Bright Spot’ Grand arrangemnet Shrinks as Congress Nearing U.S. Budget Deadline Draghi’s Cash Triggers Unprecedented Drop in Bank Lending Stress EQUITY MARKET Sebi hints at IPO pricing norms Nifty will Scale New Heights, Mid-caps to Sizzle Equities take shine off gold and debt products in 2012 Markets to Remain Volatile Ahead of US Fiscal ‘Cliff-mas’ DEBT MARKET Bonds firm up on sustained demand, call rate ends higher Call rates edges higher on tight cash condition Bond yields edge lower on OMO hopes Federal Bank ups deposit rates by up to 0.50% COMMODITIES/FOREX Gold rises for third day on sustained buying, global cues Gold comes under stress from govt & RBI, but continues to shine Rs 80,000 crore Sugar industry saw bumper production this year; sees decontrol in 2013 Top Five Picks for the Upcoming Year Rupee gains against dollar on inflows Rupee sees volatile movements, touches life’s low at June-end Yen Rises From 20-Month Low on Speculation Drop Overdone MUTUAL FUNDS Mid-cap funds outshine benchmarks, may help industry to lure investors Should you opt for the direct plan in mutual funds? Media and entertainment funds do well in past three months Equity mutual funds' banking sector exposure soars to 20.1% Mutual fund schemes for 2013 INSURANCE LIC's  paying claims better than other insurers: IRDA Overall charges capped at 3% of net yield for Ulips of 10 yrs or below Persistent efforts REAL ESTATE Hopes build up, but no one’s speculating on a rebound Real estate trusts may get govt nod to invest in rental property Return on equity for realty development to improve in FY14: Crisil Realty set for growth in 2013 OPINION Suparna Karmakar: FDI in retail is much ado about nothing A ‘Principled’ LIC can Never Go the UTI Way Good chance of gold appreciating, say experts KNOWLEDGE CENTER Enhance your health cover to reduce healthcare cost inflation Investment mantra: Are you entitled to returns? Political turmoil vs economic turmoil Understanding Trade Settlement

Intra-day reversal spurs gains at D-street; prompts third consecutive green close

The choppy session of trade surprisingly turned out to be positive one after BSP decided to caste its vote in the favour of UPA government which braces for vote on FDI in Retail at Rajya Sabha, thereby sparking hopes for further reforms, which could lower India's twin deficit. After trading lackluster for major part of the session, benchmarks equity indices which bounced back to life in the wee hours of trade, registered third consecutive session of gains for Indian equity markets. Even after tasting victory at Lok Sabha post BSP and SP walkout, Indian equity markets were trading downbeat after reports suggested that Samajwadi Party (SP) would not support UPA during voting on the issue in the Upper House. However, even profit-booking post two session of gain’s played its part behind the downtrend of Indian equity markets.  Nevertheless, the buying which took place in the wee hours of trade, pairing losses of benchmarks, mainly triggered a positive session of trade, taking 30 share index, Sensex and 50 share index, Nifty, higher above their respective psychological levels of 19400 and 5900. The show clearly belonged to broader indices, which went home with gains of over and close to half a percent.

The sentiment were also bolstered on reports, which suggested Goldman Sachs bearing a bullish outlook on Indian economy, and expecting the economy to grow from 5.4% in 2012 to 7.2% in 2014, and remain high through 2015-2016.

Additionally, positive global set-up encouraged investor’s in piling up position ahead of the crucial day, which would see a final FDI vote in Rajya Sabha, where in the government is confident of numbers after Mayawati announcing 15 seats of BSP on UPA’s side. Asian pacific shares concluded off 16-months high level on Thursday after U.S. President Barack Obama said a deal to avert the so-called fiscal cliff of year-end tax hikes and spending cuts was possible in 'about a week' if Republicans compromise on taxes. Additionally, European shares, extended a week-long rally even as investors awaited a European Central Bank policy meeting for signs of any future interest rate cuts. The ECB is expected to keep its benchmark rate at 0.75%. However, markets are looking for clues on whether the deepening recession across the euro zone will prompt President Mario Draghi to signal a further easing in policy.

Closer home, only Information Technology and TECk counters, failed to stage a turnaround, with remaining 11 sectoral indices concluding positive. The prominent gainers on BSE sectoral front were Realty, Power and Bankex counters. Sparkling gains were also witnessed in fertilizers stocks, such as RCF, National Fertilisers and Chambal Fertilisers, ahead of CCEA meet on urea policy, where it is expected that new urea investment policy, to incentivise fertiliser firms setting up new plants and expanding existing capacity, would be approved. With no surprises, even retail stocks, viz, Provogue, Shopper’s Stop, Pantaloon Retail, gained momentum. However, IT stocks ended in red, after a routine regulatory filing by Cognizant indicated that company’s growth expectations are lowered and also Rupee recovered some losses. The market breadth on the BSE ended positive; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1581:1315 while 105 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex gained 113.16 points or 0.58% and settled at 19,505.02. The index touched a high and a low of 19,523.25 and 19,186.24 respectively. 23 stocks were seen advancing and 7 stocks were declining on the index (Provisional)

The BSE Mid-cap index was up by 0.72% while Small-cap index was up by 0.46%. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, Realty up 1.63%, Bankex up by 1.60%, Power up by 1.53%, PSU up 1.12% and Capital Goods up 1.02% were the top gainers, while IT down by 1.41%, TECk down by 1.10% and Health Care down by 0.17% were the only losers in the space.

The top gainers on the Sensex were BHEL up 2.36%, SBI up by 2.24%, Sterlite Industries up 2.22%, Tata Motors up 2.16% and ICICI Bank up 2.16%, while, Bharti Airtel down by 1.98%, Infosys down by 1.85%, TCS down by 1.34%, Cipla down by 0.62% and Sun Pharma down by 0.54% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)

Despite a cool response to the recently concluded 2G spectrum auction, the telecom minister Kapil Sibal has said that the government does not intend to change the policy to auction spectrum for mobile phone operators.

Closing Bell...Market Review

Late hour sell-off drag benchmarks below psychological levels

Indian benchmarks extended their southbound journey for sixth day in a row, hitting its lowest level in more than 9 weeks, with both the gauges snapping the Friday’s session with a brutal cut of over a percent as investors booked profits on the back of weak cues from European markets.

 Market participants also remained caution ahead of next week’s resumption of parliament weighed heavily with investors also factoring in the worsening global risk environment. The frontline equity indices traded on a sanguine note for most part of the day after Finance Minister urged RBI to start working on issuing final guidelines for granting licenses to new banks and receiving applications from the interested entities in anticipation of Banking Regulation Act (BRA) being amended. The frontline gauges even looked set to breach the psychological 18,600 (Sensex) and 5,650 (Nifty) levels in the session as investors continued to show across the board buying interest.

CLOSING BELL

Post session - Quick review | Markets get a breather post two sessions of drubbing|

After getting a gap-up opening, Indian equity markets trimmed substantial portion of gains in the choppy session of trade, nevertheless the close still turned out to be positive one as trader’s continued to scoop fundamentally strong blue chip stocks available at attractive prices, after previous session’s drubbing. However, not much of the gains could be mustered in by the frontline equity indices after IMF lowered its forecast for India's economic growth rate to 4.9% this year, despite series of reforms undertaken by the government to attract foreign investment and boost business sentiment in the country. Yet some lower level buying in the closing deals of the trade, which failed to lift barometer share index, Sensex, above its 18,800 psychological level, took broadly followed 50 share index, Nifty, above the 5700 crucial mark by the close of the trade. Additionally, broader indices too luring some traction went home with gains of over 3/10 percent.

Furthermore, subdued global set-up also restricted the upside chance of local equity markets. Asian counterparts witnessed a mixed close on Tuesday, with shares in the mainland sharply outperforming as the People's Bank of China extended its efforts to ease monetary conditions, while a rise in iron ore prices aided resource companies and pushed the Sydney markets to a new 14-months high level. The PBOC introduced CNY265 billion into the money market, in an attempt to bolster a slowing economy. Additionally, European markets too were showcasing varied trend as concerns over slowing global growth and its impact on corporate earnings weighed on the sentiment. Closer home, weakness crept in at Dalal Street via stocks belonging to Oil & Gas, Power and Auto counters - the top three losers among 13 sectoral pivotals on BSE sectoral front. However, stocks from Consumer Durable, Healthcare and Information Technology space toppling the buying list, mainly provided breather to local equity markets after two session of downfalls.

Meanwhile, Auto stocks ran out of steam after Finance Ministry slashed rebates paid on certain types of exports. Auto makers get refunded a portion of local taxes paid for components used in vehicles, motorcycles or auto parts that are sold overseas. Due to the cut, rates on motorcycles, 3-wheelers and medium and heavy commercial vehicles have now been slashed to 2% from 5.5%. Reeling under pressure after this development were Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, which lost over 1% by close of trade.

Additionally, public sector oil marketing companies, viz, BPCL, HPCL and IOC, too surrendered ground after an announcement of cut in petrol price from Monday, 8 October 2012, midnight. With a view to pass on to consumers the benefit of the rupee's growing strength against the dollar in recent times, state run, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) slashed petrol price by 56 paise. The prices of fuel in Mumbai will come down by 71 paise to Rs 74.43 a litre and by 70 paise in Kolkata to Rs 75.44 a litre. Furthermore, telecom stocks, namely, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications rang off as  Empowered Group of Ministers recommended a one-time fee on existing operators for spectrum they hold beyond 4.4 MHz.

On the flip side, iron companies like, JSW Steel, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel lured some traction on report that mines minister Dinsha Patel has asked finance minister to immediately roll back the export duty on iron ore from 30% to 15%. Further even, pharmaceutical stocks, such as Cipla, Dr Reddy’s Lab, sweetened on expectations of favorable stance in drug pricing case that comes up for hearing in India's Supreme court later in the day. Additionally, private sector lenders, such as Yes Bank and ICICI bank, too mustered some gains on expectations that their July-September earnings will prove more resilient than their public sector counterparts. Meanwhile, trade of over Rs 1.30 lac core was done in terms of volume turnover. The market breadth on the BSE ended positive; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1544:1324 while 141 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex gained 68.54 points or 0.37% and settled at 18,777.52. The index touched a high and a low of 18,885.84 and 18,722.05 respectively. 18 stocks were seen advancing while 12 stocks were declining on the index (Provisional)

The BSE Mid-cap index was up by 0.49% while Small-cap index was up 0.36%. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, Consumer Durables was up 1.76%, Health Care was up 1.16%, FMCG up 0.98%, Capital Goods was up 0.97% and IT up 0.96% were the top gainers, while Oil & Gas down by 0.50%, Power down by 0.21% and Auto down by 0.13% were the top losers in the space.

The top gainers on the Sensex were L&T was up 2.15%, Sun Pharma up 1.57%, Infosys up by 1.49%, Sterlite Industries up 1.44% and Cipla up 1.42%, while, GAIL India down by 2.86%, BHEL down by 1.85%, Bharti Airtel down by 1.63%, Hindalco Industries down by 1.33% and NTPC down by 1.31% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)