Sensex, Nifty choppy; infra & auto stocks surge, IT weak

It has been very volatile trading day with the market showing some wild swings. The Sensex is down 151.31 points at 27876.35 and the Nifty is down 6.55 points at 8388.90. About 1505 shares have advanced, 1277 shares declined, and 595 shares are unchanged.

Maruti, ONGC, Tata Steel, L&T and Hero are major gainers while Bharti, Dr Reddy's, TCS, BHEL and HDFC fall.

The broader Nifty rose to its highest in nearly a month, gaining for a seventh consecutive session as stocks focused on the domestic market rose on hopes of fresh foreign allocations at the start of the year.

Foreign investors bought Indian shares worth USD 45.3 million on Thursday and Friday, adding to the USD 16.11 billion they infused in 2014, as per regulatory data.

Investors expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to continue with the reforms process while fresh buying is expected ahead of the federal budget and December-quarter results.

The quarterly earnings season kick-starts with Infosys' results on January 9. More information please visit this site www.bifgprofitbuzz.com

Sensex hits 28000, Midcap outperforms; Ashok Leyland up 7%

10:35am Euro at 9-year low

The euro hit a nearly nine-year low versus the dollar as investors bet on quantitative easing by the European Central Bank while Asian shares were subdued as soft manufacturing surveys soured the mood.

The euro fell to as low as USD 1.18605, its weakest level since March 2006, having fallen below an important support at USD 1.20. The common currency last traded at USD 1.1955, down 0.4 percent from late US trade on Friday.

In an interview with German financial daily Handelsblatt, ECB President Mario Draghi said the risk of the central bank not fulfilling its mandate of preserving price stability was higher now than half a year ago.

Economists forecast that Wednesday's euro zone inflation data will show prices fell 0.1 percent in December for the first time since 2009.

That should fan expectations the ECB could ease its policy as soon as Jan. 22, when it will hold its first policy meeting this year, reports Reuters.

10:20am Market Expert

2015 will be a good year for Indian equities, believes Hiren Ved, director and CIO, Alchemy Capital Management. According to him, there are lot of macro positives like lower oil prices, slide in interest rates and a hope of earnings pick up from next quarter that might continue driving the market.

In an interview Ved says market may give double-digit returns this year led by a turnaround in the overall economic growth. He believes companies with good-shaped balance sheets will provide better returns in 2015.

10:00am Market Check

Equity benchmarks continued to trade higher with the Sensex rising 136.94 points to 28024.84 and the Nifty climbing 37.25 points to 8432.70. The broader markets outperformed frontline indices with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining 0.8 percent.

The market breadth was positive. About three shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Ashok Leyland was among the most active stocks on exchanges, rising more than 7 percent after strong sales data in December. The commercial vehicle maker sold 9290 units in the month gone by, up 48 percent compared to same period last year.

Infosys, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, LIC Housing Finance, L&T, Marksans Pharma and Den Networks were other most active shares.

Maruti Suzuki topped the buying list on Sensex, up 2.4 percent followed by L&T with 1.8 percent gains. ICICI Bank, M&M, Wipro, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite and Tata Power gained 1-1.7 percent while Dr Reddy's Labs fell over 1 percent. HDFC, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco and Coal India were marginally in red. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty ends at 8395, Sensex up 380 pts; banks up, M&M drags

03:30 pm Market close: After a stellar rally, the market ended on a high note. The Sensex was up 380.36 points or 1.4 percent at 27887.90 and the Nifty closed up 111.45 points or 1.4 percent at 8395.45.

About 1784 shares advanced, 1160 shares declined, and 709 shares were unchanged.

HDFC, BHEL, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were up 2-4 percent. M&M, Reliance, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and HUL were laggards.

 03:15 pm Macro economic outlook: Samiran Chakraborty, head of research, Standard Chartered Bank says at the moment there is some disconnect between PMI and IIP data. He estimates November IIP to be closer to 4 percent and if that happens the divergence will narrow.

He adds that right now just a positive IIP even at 2 percent will make everyone happy, but that should not be the case. October IIP slipped to -4.2 percent. India should aspire for higher IIP, he says. However, on the brighter side, he believes low IIPs are a thing of the past. Going ahead, he expects export growth numbers to be better in the second half of FY15.

On third quarter GDP, he says due to the much higher weightage on agriculture in Q3 when compared to the rest of the quarters, it will be closer to 5.5 percent. "Kharif production this time was not good, and to what extent it will be counterbalanced by manufacturing will have to be seen," he explains. Also, Chakraborty feels services will be tepid.

3:00 pm FDI policy on March 31: The Commerce and Industry Ministry plans to release the next edition of its consolidated FDI policy document on March 31, incorporating all the changes made over the past year.

"The next edition of the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular i.e. 'Consolidated Foreign Direct Investment Policy Circular of 2015' is scheduled to be issued on March 31, 2015, and will be effective from 1 April 2015," the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said.

The DIPP has invited public comments on the document till January 16, it said. FDI is considered crucial for economic development and India has taken several steps to attract such funds.

2:35 pm Market outlook: Veteran fund manager Akash Prakash of Amansa Capital sees Indian corporate earnings growing by over 20 percent compounded over the next 2-3 years. He believes the stock market will deliver similar growth. He bases the expectation on low base, acceleration of the economy and the rupee trading at 63-65 per dollar, coupled with low commodity prices.

"I am making an assumption that multiples will hold because interest rates are coming down, they may not expand. Bulls ofcourse will argue that multiples will expand. I would say do not assume that, assume multiples hold, earnings growth over the next 2-3 years will be 15-20 percent, so the markets should compound at that," he told . He is bullish on banks and consumer discretionary stocks. He continues to like IT despite the fact that he sees short-term pain in the sector. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty reclaims 8400, Sensex strong; metals, infra support

The market is holding on to its gains as the Sensex is up 373.30 points or 1.4 percent at 27880.84, and the Nifty is up 113.05 points or 1.4 percent at 8397.05. About 1837 shares have advanced, 857 shares declined, and 790 shares are unchanged.

HDFC, BHEL, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Tata Motors are top gainers in the Sensex. Top losers include M&M, Hero and Bajaj Auto.

Brent crude futures retreated from early highs above USD 58 and fell towards USD 57 a barrel on Friday as an abundance of oil erased earlier support drawn from a larger-than-expected fall in US crude stocks. US crude inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels in the last week as refineries raised production, compared with analysts' expectations of a decrease of 67,000 barrels.

Oil prices have fallen by half from last year's peak to a 5-5.5-year low, under pressure from a global glut of crude, exacerbated by the refusal of the world's top oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, to trim supply. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex gains over 250 pts; HDFC gains 2%, Bajaj Auto weak

The market is back into action with a roar. The Sensex is up 274.44 points or 1 percent at 27781.98, and the Nifty is up 79.65 points or 0.9 percent at 8363.65. About 1393 shares have advanced, 439 shares declined, and 877 shares are unchanged.

HDFC is up 2 percent while Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, ONGC and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and Hero.

The rupee fell by 14 paise to 63.49 a dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market as the US currency strengthened overseas. Dealers said besides dollar's gains against other currencies overseas, increased demand for the American unit from importers also put pressure on the rupee.

Domestic equity markets opening with early gains, however, capped the losses, they said.

The euro started the new year at 29-month lows in Asia after the head of the head of the European  Central Bank fanned expectations it would take bolder steps on stimulus this month, so underlining the US dollar's rate advantage.

The ECB council meets on Jan. 22 and markets are wagering it will finally decide to start buying sovereign debt, following in the footstep of the US, UK and Japan. That kept the single currency down at USD 1.2082, depths last seen in mid-2012, while the dollar held firm against a basket of currencies having ended 2014 with its biggest annual increase since 1997. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com