Nifty ends higher for 3rd consecutive session

Indian equity benchmarks maintained its uptrend for the third consecutive session. Amid choppy trade, the Nifty touched the 5500-mark for the first time in the last seven sessions. The market was supported by oil & gas, financial, telecom, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, cement and power companies' shares.

Rahul Mohindar of viratechindia.com said this would extend to about 5620-5650 on the Nifty. "One thing heartening is certainly that the volume is very good. I feel that this will extend to about 5620 to 5650 and that will be a good testing point for the market. On the downside, key support would be now 5320. I think banking could lead from hereon and could really steer the market up ahead," he explained.

It seems that this could be the pre-budget rally as the Nifty swiftly move from 5200 level to 5500-mark with the feeling that negatives are over for the time being.

Amit Dalal, Executive Director of Tata Investment Corporation feels that all fundamentals are supporting it. "We have a reversal taking place perhaps in oil price which had gone up to USD 90, which is now trading in the 80s. Inflation is slightly lower, price of onions are Rs 15-20. Therefore the negative flow threat which was continuous for the last 2 or 3 weeks may not to be at the same extent."

According to him, one big barrier for the market to go up further from hereon will be the fact that confidence has gone away.

The 30-share BSE Sensex went up 71.60 points or 0.39%, to end at 18,273.80 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 25 points or 0.46%, to settle at 5,481.

However, profit booking was seen in capital goods, realty, healthcare and select metal companies' shares, after a sharp run seen in previous two days. TCS, Jaiprakash Associates, ITC, and Hero Honda were on sellers' radar.

Financials and oil & gas led the upmove today. Heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC gained 3% & 1%, respectively.

SBI and ICICI Bank were up 1.4-2%. PNB and Kotak Mahindra Bank rallied 3% each. HDFC and Axis Bank were marginally in green.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies' shares were top gainers on Nifty as they had slaughtered in previous sell-off. Reliance Capital gained 9% as Morgan Stanley maintained equal weight on stock with a target price of Rs 790. Reliance Power, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure rallied 1-4%.

Tata Motors consistently maintained its upmove - gained 2.3% as its global sales went up by 16% to 98,998 units and JLR sales up by 25% to 20,377 units in the month of January. Bajaj Auto and Maruti were up 1-2% while M&M fell 0.7%.

L&T and BHEL, which rallied the most in previous two sessions, crashed 2-2.7%. DLF from realty pack lost nearly 3%. TCS declined over 1%.

In midcap space, STC India rallied 16% and Jai Corp jumped 14%. Stride Arcolab, Prakash Inds and HMT gained 5-6% while Den Networks, Triveni Engg, Cox & Kings, Kirloskar Brothers and Jubilant Life lost 5-7%.

In smallcap space, Reliance Industrial Infra, Rohit Ferro, Phillips Carbon, Reliance Media and MIC Electronics shot up 10-17% whereas Splash Media, Nitesh Estates, Bartronics, Hinduja Foundries and Asian Star fell 6-10%.

About 1587 shares advanced as against 1298 shares declined on Bombay Stock Exchange.

_PAGEBREAK_

Nifty hits 5500; oil & gas, banks, ADAG lead

After a consolidation since early trade today, the benchmark Nifty has shown nice upmove and touched the 5500-mark for the first time in last seven sessions at 14:35 hours, supported by heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ONGC, SBI, ICICI Bank and NTPC, which gained 2-3%. It seems that this could be the pre-budget rally as the Nifty swiftly move from 5200 level to 5500-mark.

Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies' shares were top gainers on Nifty as they had slaughtered in previous sell-off. Reliance Capital gained 9% as Morgan Stanley maintained equal weight on stock with a target price of Rs 790. Reliance Power, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure rallied 3-6%.

Tata Motors consistently maintained its upmove - gained 2.5% as its global sales went up by 16% to 98,998 units and JLR sales up by 25% to 20,377 units in the month of January. Bajaj Auto and Maruti were up 1-2% while M&M fell 1.5%.

Among other largecaps, HDFC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Wipro and HUL moved up 0.5-1%. Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDFC, Tata Power and PNB rallied 2-3%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,324, up 122 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty was at 5,496, up 40 points. Breadth also improved - about 765 shares advanced as against 513 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

However, stocks, which were seeing sell-off since early trade, also trimmed losses. TCS, L&T, BHEL, Hindalco, SAIL, DLF, M&M, ITC, Sun Pharma, Jaiprakash Associates, Cipla and Tata Steel were under selling pressure.

In midcap space, STC India, Jai Corp, Stride Arcolab, HMT and Prakash Inds rallied 6-15% while Triveni Engg, Gitanjali Gems, Den Networks, Kirloskar Brothers and Jubilant Life lost 4-5%.

In smallcap space, Rohit Ferro, Dredging Corp, Reliance Media, Reliance Industrial Infra and Phillips Carbon jumped 10-13% whereas Nitesh Estates, SML Isuzu, Zodiac Clothing, Bartronics and R M Mohite fell 5-7%.

_PAGEBREAK_

Nifty holds 5450 amid volatility; banks lead

Indian equity benchmarks were trading in a narrow range around its previous closing values at 13:22 hours. The benchmark Nifty was holding the 5450 level on the back of support from financial, power and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies' shares. Heavyweight Reliance Industries was helping the markets since early trade. Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and HUL were other gainers.

Market strategist Rajesh Jain says that he sees meaningful buying to continue for some days, if there are no upsets in the near future. He believes that investors are taking a relook at value picks in the markets.