Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

Markets bask in China glow; Nifty reclaims 7,400

Last updated on: January 19, 2016 16:44 IST

Markets snapped three-day losing streak and finished 1% higher mirroring a firm trend in global stocks.

Markets snapped three-day losing streak and finished 1% higher mirroring a rally in global stocks after sluggish GDP growth from China raised hopes of further stimulus by the Chinese government. 

A broad-based rally was witnessed across the bourses as participants bought battered bluchips at attractive valuations.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 291 points to end at 24,480 and the Nifty50 climbed 84 points to close at 7,435. Meanwhile, the broader markets ended higher with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 1.8% each.

GLOBAL STOCKS

China’s economy grew 6.8% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, matching expectations and the slowest since the global financial crisis, putting pressure on Beijing to roll out more support measures as fears of sharper slowdown panic investors.

China’s benchmark index Shanghai Composite, Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained between 0.5%-3%. A slight uptick in the crude prices further uplifted the sentiments. 

Further, the European equities snapped a three-day decline tracking gains across the Asian peers. FTSE, CAC 40 and DAX were trading higher by 1% each.

KEY STOCKS

After getting battered in yesterday’s trade, Reliance Industries rebounded 2% ahead of its third quarter earnings later today.

Brokerages expect higher gross refining margins to boost earnings.

Meanwhile, financials also saw relief today with ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, SBI, HDFC twins up between 0.5%-4% each.

Another prominent gainer in today’s trade was Tata Motors up nearly 4% after it appointed Guenter Butschek as chief executive and managing director of all its operations in the country and international markets.

Butschek was formerly working as chief operating officer for Airbus. Among its peers, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto gained between 0.5%-2%.

Pharma major Lupin targets $1 bn revenue from inorganic growth to reach its target turnover of $5 billion by 2018 by FY18. The stock gained 0.5%. 

On the flip side, Wipro lost nearly 1% post its results. The Street bearishness is due to the fact that Wipro missed sector growth rates for many quarters now.

Additionally, its margins remain lower compared to peers Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services.

Another key stock is today’s trade was HCL Tech ended down nearly 1%.

The second quarter profits climbed marginally to Rs 1,920 crore and there was a 11.4% increase in revenue YoY to Rs 10,341 crore on improved orders for its IT infrastructure business, its main offering to clients globally.

Meanwhile, the revenue in dollar terms grew 1.4% to $ 1.57 billion over the previous quarter despite impact on Chennai floods.

Tata Steel UK, subsidiary of Tata Steel, announced on Monday it would cut 1,050 jobs to save on costs and improve its competitiveness. The stock ended with marginal gains.

RESULT IMPACT

A key stock is today’s trade was HCL Tech ended down nearly 1%.

The second quarter profits climbed marginally to Rs 1920 crore and there was a 11.4% increase in revenue YoY to Rs 10,341 crore on improved orders for its IT infrastructure business, its main offering to clients globally.

Meanwhile, the revenue in dollar terms grew 1.4% to $ 1.57 billion over the previous quarter despite impact on Chennai floods.

Further, Rallis India slipped over 5% after the company reported 20% year on year (Y-o-Y) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 20 crore for the third quarter ended December 2015 (Q3FY16), due to lower revenues.

Private lender Kotak Mahindra Bank's net profit rose 32% over a year before on a consolidated basis for the December quarter, at Rs 945 crore as compared to Rs 716.6 crore earlier. The stock gained marginally.

Indrani Mazumdar in Mumbai
Source: source image