For the Nifty to reverse, it has to go below 6,025

The market settled in the positive for the second day in a row as investor sentiment received a boost following the government’s decision in allowing oil companies to hike diesel prices. From here, if the Nifty goes below 6,025, we may see a reversal of the trend. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw an advance decline ratio of 666:1033 and the volume of 71.20 crore shares.

Earlier, the Indian market opened in the positive on firm global cues. The Asian indices opened in the green on the back of report which showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment aid hit a five-year low last week and reports of a 7.9% GDP growth in China in the December quarter.

The Sensex opened at 20,039 and soon hit its intraday high of 20,127 which was the highest opening after 7 January 2011 while Nifty opened at 6,060 and hit a high of 6,083, the highest after 6 January 2011.

While the mix of corporate result kept the indices in the positive, the trend was falling one. Hero MotoCorp, which came out with its result on Thursday after the market hours, missed estimates for the fourth straight quarter. Wipro’s performance for the third quarter was not as strong as expected while HDFC Bank came out with good results meeting the analysts’ expectations.

In the post noon session the indices hit their respective lows and closed slightly above that level. The Sensex made a higher low of 19,991 and closed at 20,039, a gain of 75 points or 0.38% while the Nifty hit a higher low of 6,048 and closed at 6,064, 25 points up, or 0.42%.

While the Sensex settled in the positive, the broader indices ended lower. The BSE Mid-cap index fell 0.23% and the BSE Small-cap index declined 0.52%).

The top sectoral gainers were BSE Oil & Gas (up 3.09%); BSE PSU (up 2.77%); BSE Power (up 1.44%); BSE Realty (up 0.86%) and BSE Capital Goods (up 0.21%). The main losers were BSE IT, BSE TECk (down 1.13% each); BSE Auto (down 0.73%); BSE Metal (down 0.61%) and BSE Consumer Durables (down 0.59%).

Sixteen of the 30 stocks on the Sensex closed in the positive. The chief gainers were ONGC (up 7.31%); NTPC (up 4.59%); Maruti Suzuki (up 3.26%); GAIL India (up 2.10%) and HDFC (up 1.56%). The key losers were Wipro (down 7.88%); Hero MotoCorp (down 2.86%); Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (down 2.60%); Hindustan Unilever (down 2.10%) and Sterlite Industries (down 2.03%).

The top two A Group gainers on the BSE were—Indian Oil Corporation (up 10.46%) and BPCL (up 9.64%).

The top two A Group losers on the BSE were—Exide Industries (down 9.36%) and Wipro (down 7.88%).

The top two B Group gainers on the BSE were—TPL Plastech (up 20% and Ranklin Solution (down 19.97%).

The top two B Group losers on the BSE were—Marg (down 11.51%) and Nutraplus Products (down 9.98%).

Out of the 50 stocks listed on the Nifty, 25 stocks settled in the positive. The major gainers were BPCL (up 10.44%); ONGC (up 7.31%); NTPC (up 4.90%); Maruti Suzuki (up 3.73%) and GAIL India (up 2.56%). Wipro (down 8.06%); Dr Reddy’s Labs (down 2.68%); Hero MotoCorp (down 2.62%); Jindal Steel & Power (down 2.34%) and HUL (down 2.11%) were the top losers on the benchmark.

Asian indices closed mostly higher on positive economic data from China. China's economy grew by 7.9% in the December 2012 quarter compared to a year earlier. The GDP growth represented an increase from 7.4% growth in the third quarter and 7.6% growth in the second quarter.

Except for KLSE Composite, all Asian indices closed in the positive. Nikkei 225 was the highest gainer, up 2.86% while the KLSE Composite declined 0.27%.

At the time of writing, the European markets were mixed with a mixed bias while the US stock futures were marginally lower.

Back home, inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) on Thursday were offset by withdrawals by domestic institutional investors (DIIs). While FIIs invested Rs564.20 crore in stocks, DIIs pulled out Rs519.78 crore from the equities segment.

Venus Remedies today said it is aiming to garner around $100 million (over Rs500 crore) in the next five years from its new drug that is used for combating spread of bacterial resistance. The company, which plans to launch the drug in various countries, is introducing 'Elores' first in India. The stock rose 1.24% to close at Rs278 on the NSE.

FMCG major Colgate-Palmolive India today said company management is still in discussions to resolve issues with one of the unions at Goa facility, where work has been temporarily stopped since 6^th January, following protests against suspension of a colleague. The stock gained 3.58% to close at Rs1,497.05 on the NSE.

Hindalco Industries, the metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, today said it has finalised arrangement for acquiring alumina refinery and bauxite mines in Brazil from its wholly-owned subsidiary Novelis as part of corporate reorganisation plan. The alumina refinery, with a capacity of 145 KTPA, situated in the city of Ouro Preto, State of Minas Gerias, Brazil, has mining rights of over 50 million tonnes of bauxite reserves. The stock gained 0.33% to close at Rs122.45 on the NSE.