Nifty closes above 5900 1st time since Apr 2011; GMR flies

Moneycontrol Bureau

Key benchmarks closed marginally in the green however, the Nifty managed to close above the 5,900 mark for the first time since April 13, 2011.

At 15.59 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 43.74 points or 0.23% at 19391.86, and the Nifty up 15.20 points or 0.26% at 5904.45.

The heated debate between the UPA and the opposition over FDI in retail continued for the second day in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha will vote on the matter later this evening. NCP leader Praful Patel said the Maharashtra government will take into consideration the pros and cons before allowing FDI in retail. Key opposition leaders of the JD(U) , AIADMK and the left lashed out at the ruling party saying the government is bending backwards to appease foreign companies and that FDI in  retail will result in high unemployment.

In terms of stock market action, metal stocks did well today as the BSE Metal index rose 1.7 percent after copper prices hit a six-week high. Sterlite Industries topped traders’ buy list, surging 5.37 percent. Others names like Hindalco Industries and Tata Steel gained 2-3 percent.

GMR continued to gain on the back of strong support from the Indian government for its cause against the Maldivian government. The stock closed up over 4 percent today at Rs 20.05 a piece. It is up over 7 percent in the last three trading session. (Also read: Ending airport contract will hit Maldivians hard, says GMR)

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries continued to gain for the second consecutive session, up 0.87 percent, as the company sold 25 percent stake its Yemen-9 Block to Medco, Indonesia for a sum of USD 90 million. (Full report)

State-run BEML closed the session up over 5 percent after the company announced it has recently bagged an order worth Rs 73 crore from Saudi Arabia for the supply of dumpers and excavators for its mining segment. 

Others movers were banking heavyweights State Bank of India and its rival HDFC Bank, up 1 percent each. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and FMCG major ITC rose 1 percent too.

The big laggard for the day was IT major Infosys, which closed down 1.93% after Cowen & Co slashed its rating 'Outperform' rating on the stock to 'Netural'. Most IT names were down today after Cognizant lowered its revenue guidance in a SEC filing.  (Also read: Why there could be more trouble ahead for Infosys)

Private power producer Tata Power fell 3.67 percent after an inconclusive hearing at CERC yesterday. Housing finance company HDFC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by a ratio of 1659 to 1195 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court gave Sahara more time to repay its bond investors.  The apex court told Sahara to make 3 installments an initial deposit of Rs 5120 crore with SEBI, the remaining 2 installments in January and February. (More details)