Moneycontrol Bureau
Live Market Commentary
9:50 am Take on Bernanke: In an interview on CNBC-TV18, James Glassman, Senior Economist, JPMorgan Chase Bank, says Ben Bernanke's
statement is more of a reassuring message. Bernanke said on Wednesday that he still expects to start scaling back its bond purchase programme later this year, but left open the option of changing that plan if the economic outlook shifted.
Glassman says, this message was for those who thought that this is going to happen regardless. He says the markets are getting used to the idea and realize that the Fed is not planning to do something that would hamper recovery. He believes the Fed is talking about tapering only because it feels further asset purchases won’t be necessary if the economy is on the process of recovering. "So, it is not a very different message, but it is a little more cautious," he adds.
9:45 am Alert: A panel of ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram clears disinvestment of 3.56 percent stake in Neyveli Lignite through institutional placement programme (IPP) and the issue is likely in the first week of August.
The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) had originally planned to divest 5 percent of its stake in the Tamil Nadu-based mining company. The Cabinet had last month approved the same.
9:35 am Movers: M&M, NTPC, Sterlite Industries, ICICI Bank and Tata Motors are top losers in the Sensex. On the gaining side are ONGC, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, Cipla, Tata Power.
9:30 am FII view: Though markets are euphoric about Ben Bernanke's testimony onFed tapering Arvind Sanger, Managing Partner, Geosphere Capital Management feels
it was relatively benign. Talking about India, he says that the market has passed the stage of major liquidity outflow. Sanger is also optimistic that rupee may head back to 58 per dollar.
9:27 am Market check: Just a while later after opening, the Nifty manages to scale back 6000, gaining 30 points at 6003.55 while the Sensex too adds 107 points at 20056.
Read what Udayan Mukherjee says about the marketThe market has opened on a flat note ahead of key earnings expected today. The Nifty opens below the 6000-mark at 5984.70, up 11.40 points while the Sensex adds 23.34 points at 19972.07. About 227 shares have advanced, 74 shares declined, and 30 shares are unchanged.
On Thursday the Indian rupee opened lower by 26 paise at 59.60 per dollar against 59.34 Wednesday.
Agam Gupta, Standard Chartered Bank said, "Ben Bernanke's speech was slightly more dovish than the market expected. It will keep the rupee stable and also check the dollar from strengthening further. The market will continue to focus on the impact of recent RBI moves and watch out for any further measures. The range for the day is seen between 59.15-59.55/USD."
In big earnings today, TCS reports its April-June quarter results. In a CNBC-TV18 poll, dollar revenue growth is seen up 3 percent at USD 3142 million. Profits may grow 5 percent quarter-on-quarter but margins could come slightly lower.
A steady set of numbers is expected from Kotak Mahindra Bank. On a standalone basis, net interest income may see 28 percent growth and margins could be around 4.5 percent. Meanwhile Axis Bank may see 26 percent net interest income growth and margins could come in flat.
Other company which are expected to announce first quarter earnings today are IDBI Bank, Axis Bank, Mind Tree, DB Corp, Rallis India, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Sasken, Supreme Inds, VGuard, Essar Ports, GCCL Infra, Honeywell Auto, Info Edge, Infotech ENT, Ingersoll Rand, Magma Fin, Blue Star Info and VTM.
On the global front, US markets ended modestly higher on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the timeline for winding down the central bank's stimulus program was not set in stone and the timeline depended on the economic outlook. He made the comments on Wednesday before the House Financial Services Committee as part of his twice-yearly report to Congress on monetary policy. On Thursday, he will appear before the Senate Banking Committee.
Asian markets are trading mixed. Shanghai, though, is down nearly 1 percent. Average new home prices for June have jumped 6.8 percent year-on-year, higher than a forecast for a 6 percent gain. Property shares are cracking on fears of more property curbs to tame prices. Elsewhere, Nikkei has hit an 8-week high while Kospi is weighed down by renewed weakness in yen.
