The Indian markets though ended the last session flat but made a remarkable recovery from the lows of the day. Today, the start is likely to be in green and the spillover impact of global markets recovery can be seen on the domestic bourses too. Traders will be getting some support with the statement of Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan that the country is better prepared for "any eventuality" in the economy now than it was six months ago. There will be some cheer in export oriented companies as the RBI has liberalised the third party payment norms for import of goods by removing the ceiling of $100,000. It has also simplified certain documentation norms related with third party payments for export and import transactions. The telecom stocks will keep buzzing with companies putting in bids worth a total of about Rs 45,000 crore on the second day of the auction, with premium 900 Mhz band in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata witnessing continuing demand. However, the sugar stocks may come under pressure, as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) deferred a decision on fixing subsidy for exports of raw sugar, amid differences between food and agriculture ministries. IT stocks may cheer the news that Satya Nadella has been named the third CEO of Microsoft Corp.
There will be lots of important result announcements too, to keep the markets buzzing. Astral Poly, Bannari Amman Spg, BHEL, Power Grid Corp, Ranbaxy Lab and Redington India are among the many to announce their numbers today.
The US markets made a modest recovery in last session, mainly on the back of bargain buying but were unable to offset all the sell-off seen in the previous session due to report of drop in new orders for manufactured goods in the month of December. The Asian markets have made mostly a positive start and the Japanese market was showing good momentum on getting some good earnings announcements.
Back home, Indian equity benchmarks staged a smart recovery in last leg of trade on Tuesday and ended the session flat, pairing all their early losses, supported by short-covering in beaten down but fundamentally strong stocks. The benchmark got off to a negative start on the back of feeble global cues and extended their downfall to touch intraday lows. Investors also remained concerned, as the global credit rating agency and consulting firm Fitch on Monday called on the top brass of the Finance Ministry and raised concerns about country’s fiscal deficit. The indices even went on to test important psychological 20,200 (Sensex) and 5,930 (Nifty) levels, but the key gauges got solid support around those intraday low levels and convalesced from thereon. Sentiments remained down-beat since morning after global markets witnessed a sell-off on lower-than-expected manufacturing data in the US. Asian markets also ended lower, while the European markets too made a choppy start. Back home, buying which emerged in late trade acted as saving grace for domestic equity markets and helped Nifty to re-conquer its crucial 6,000 mark, while Sensex regained 20,000 mark. Decent pull-back in Indian rupee, after a weak start, too supported the sentiments. The rupee was trading at 62.54 per dollar mark at the time of equity markets closing as compared with previous close of 62.58 per dollar. Recovery in banking space too aided the sentiments. The revival in banking shares was led by index heavyweight, State Bank of India (SBI), which rallied over 1.5% for the session. Telecom stocks remained on buyers’ radar with Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Reliance Communication edging higher, as the third round of the telecom spectrum auction opened on a positive note on February 3, 2014. On the flip side, software and technology stocks like, Wipro, TCS and Infosys edged lower after data showed factory activity in the US expanded in January at the weakest pace in eight months. Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 2.67 points or 0.01%, to settle at 20211.93, while the CNX Nifty lost 0.90 points or 0.01% to settle at 6,000.90.
