Markets end higher led by auto, oil & gas stocks

Markets ended higher in trades on Wednesday led by gains witnessed by auto and oil & gas stocks.

The Sensex ended higher by 138 points at 19,367 and the 50-share Nifty advanced 43 points to close at 5,742.

Meanwhile, the broader markets ended marginally higher in trades today. The BSE mid-cap index gained 0.65% or 37 points to end at 5,590 and the small-cap index is up 0.2% or 16 points at 5,385.

On the macro economic front, country's wholesale price index inflation spiked for the month of July raising uncertainty over policy action by the central bank to support growth. India's July WPI inflation was at 5.79%. May WPI inflation revised to 4.58% from 4.70%.

The Asian markets closed on a positive note in trades today. Japan's Nikkei advanced 1.3% or 183 points to end at 14,050, Hang Seng advanced 1.2% or 270 points to 22,541, Straits Times ended flat at 3,247 and the Tiwan Weighted slipped 35 points to close at 7,951.

The European markets were trading on a flat note FTSE is down 14 points at 6,598, CAC is up 10 points at 4,102 and the DAX is up 11 points at 8,425.

The data due later on Wednesday is expected to show that the euro zone economy moved out of its longest recession, eking out growth of 0.2% in the June quarter. The German economy grew by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2013, data on Wednesday showed, the largest expansion for Europe's biggest economy in more than a year.      

Back home, the government will consider a request from oil marketing companies to be allowed to raise diesel prices by more than the approved 50 paise a month, the country's oil minister, M Veerappa Moily, told television channel CNBC TV18.

The move announced by the government helped stocks from the oil & gas to register gains in intra-day deals.

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Tata Motors was the top gainer among the Sensex stocks. The stock has advanced 9.6% to Rs 319 also the highest level in past two months after after Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) reported  a strong 21% year-on-year (yoy) jump in global sales of 31,611 units in July.

JLR sold 2,41,801 vehicles in the first seven months of 2013, a 15% increase over the same period last year, JLR said in a statement.

The stock opened at Rs 296 and has seen a combined 8.47 million shares change hands on the counter till 1135 hours.

Hindalco also ended higher by 7% at Rs 98. ONGC, Gail India, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Sterlite Industries, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Tata power also ended higher by 1-4.5% each.

On the other hand, BHEL was the top loser on the Sensex.

The stock has fallen 2.3% at Rs 117. The stock has been consistently underperforming after the company reported decline in its profit for the first quarter of the current financial year.

Wipro, HDFC, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, L&T Jindal Steel were also among the laggards from the heavyweight pockets.

Led by gains in heavyweights such as Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra, the BSE auto index is the top gainer on the sectoral front.

The index has gained 3.1% or 327 points at 10,856. Metal index is also up 3% or 221 points at 7,383. Oil & gas, consumer durables, Realty, PSU and bankex are also in the green. At the same time, IT, capital goods, tech and FMCG indices are trading lower, down 0.3 to nearly 1% each.

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Smart Moves

Dredging Corporation of India was locked in upper circuit of 10% at Rs 308, with no sellers seen on the counter in noon deals. A combined 437,646 shares have already changed hands and there are pending buy orders for 20,397 shares on BSE and NSE at 1340 hours

Bajaj Auto ended higher by 2.2% at Rs 1,901, extending its previous day’s 3% gain, after the company said workers union at the company’s Chakan plant has called off the strike and is slated to resume work from today.

Escorts has soared 20% to Rs 88.80 after reporting over three-fold jump in net profit at Rs 58.30 crore for the third quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q3) on back of strong volumes.

The commercial vehicles maker had posted a net profit of Rs 18.46 crore during the same period of previous year.

AstraZeneca Pharma India surged 18% to Rs 871 after reporting net profit of Rs 1.77 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1) on back of higher revenues.The pharmaceutical company had loss of Rs 8.15 crore in year ago quarter and Rs 18.57 crore in preceding quarter.

Strides Arcolab slipped 8% to Rs 759 after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that foreign institutional investor (FII) cannot buy shares of the pharmaceutical company.