Nifty kicks off Oct series above 5900; ABG Shipyard up 11%

Moneycontrol Bureau
Live Market Commentary

10:00 am Brokerage view: HSBC has started coverage on Asian Paints with an "overweight" rating and a price target of Rs 600, implying a 25 percent upside from current levels.

India's paints market is set to double every 6-7 years by volume and market leader Asian Paints is well placed to leverage growth, HSBC said in a note on Friday.

9:45 am Update: Australia's new government has ordered 47 major coal and coal seam gas projects to seek national environmental approval, including the controversial Kevin's Corner project proposed by the country's richest person Gina Rinehart, reports Reuters.

The projects include Adani Enterprises. Developments referred for assessment include the A$4.5 billion Carmichael Coal and Rail Project, proposed by billionaire Gautam Adani and Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting Ltd's Kevin's Corner Project.

Environment Minister Greg Hunt said they needed to be assessed for their impact on water supplies, adding the move showed the new conservative government was providing certainty for the mining industry and protecting environmental standards.

9:30 am  FII View: Chris Wood of CLSA feels that after months of worrying about the threat of normalisation of US monetary policy, investors have become a little less neurotic about the threat posed by tapering. "However, uncertainty on the direction of US monetary policy lingers with Obama still mum on his nominee for Fed chairmanship. The most important issue now facing world financial markets remains the decision on who will replace Ben Bernanke," he warns.

9:20 am Movers and losers: Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, HUL, Sun Pharma and Wipro are lead gainers in the Sensex. ABG Shipyard surges another 11 percent on the BSE.

On the losing side are Jindal Steel, BHEL, Coal India, Dr Reddy's Lab and Tata Power.

Don't miss: Easy central bank policy risks new crises, says Rajan

The market kick-started October F&O series in the green territory. The Nifty is up 23.30 points at 5905.55 while the Sensex is up 52.62 points at 19946.47, and the About 211 shares have advanced, 51 shares declined, and 18 shares are unchanged.

The rupee started a day below the 62-mark on Friday at 61.89 per dollar, up 18 paise from previous close.

Himanshu Arora of Religare feels the rupee may trade slightly strong against the dollar on steps taken by RBI to assure liquidity in the market.

"Moreover sentiment for the rupee remains positive as foreign banks are currently selling dollars, instead of rolling-on their long outstanding positions. Strong Asian currencies are also providing positive cues," he adds.

According to him, the range for the day is seen between 61.70-62.20/USD.

In the global markets front, US closed modestly higher in a choppy trading session on Thursday with major averages avoiding a six-day losing streak. European markets close mixed weighed down by political uncertainty in Italy.

Asian markets opened on a cautious note today morning. In Japan, the nationwide core inflation rose an annual 0.8 percent, its biggest gain since November 2008. Data is likely to support Prime Minister Abe's decision to raise the consumption sales tax, but investors remain skeptical that the government can reach its two percent inflation target within two years.

Oil prices firmed a bit, as bargain-hunting by traders and relief over geopolitics helped provide a modest boost to crude after days of selling.

From precious metals space, gold prices inched lower as the dollar held firm after weekly jobless claims data showed an improving US labor market, which could support a wind-down of the federal reserve's bond buying later this year.