Support for the Nifty lies at 5,415, which if broken, may slow down the upmove
 

The volatile market pared all its gains but ended in the green following a report that the Inter-Ministerial Group recommended de-allocation of four mines to private companies and encashing of bank guarantees of three companies for non-development of the mines allotted to them in the stipulated time-frame. The Nifty’s intraday low of 5,422 was the highest since 14 March 2012. With a major portion of the session in the positive, the index ended with a marginal gain. The uptrend is still continuing, however, the support lies at 5,415, which if broken may slow down the upmove. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw a volume of 54.59 crore shares and an advance decline ratio of 587:849.

The market opened with flat tracking similar sentiments in the global markets ahead of an announcement from the US Federal Reserve on fresh stimulus to boost growth in the world’s largest economy. US benchmarks closed with meagre gains overnight while its peers in Asia were marginally higher in morning trade today.

The Nifty opened at 5,435, up four points from its previous close, and the Sensex gained 24 points at the opening bell to start off at 18,024. However, cautiousness soon saw the indices dip into the negative.

Buying in select sectors enabled the indices emerge into the green at around 10.00am. The gains pushed the market to its intraday high in mid-morning trade. At this point the Nifty rose to 5,447 and the Sensex scaled 18,063.

The volatile market pared its gains and was range-bound near the previous closing levels as investors waited for cues from the US. The sluggish benchmarks fell to their intraday lows in post-noon trade wherein the Nifty dipped to 5,422 and the Sensex went back to 17,976.

Reports of the Inter-Ministerial Group, looking into the coal block allocation issue, recommending de-allocation of four coal blocks allotted to private companies and encashing of bank guarantees of three companies capped the gains in late trade.

The development resulted in the market closing flat with a positive bias. The Nifty added four points to settle at 5,435 and the Sensex finished the session at 18,021, up 21 points over its previous close.

The broader indices settled lower, as the BSE Mid-cap index fell 0.18% and the BSE Small-cap index declined 0.25%.

The top sectoral gainers were BSE Fast Moving Consumer Goods (up 0.58%); BSE PSU (up 0.55%); BSE Oil & Gas (up 0.44%); BSE Capita Goods (up 0.43%) and BSE IT (up 0.42%). The key losers were BSE Healthcare (down 1.15%); BSE Realty (down 0.53%); BSE Auto (down 0.37%); BSE Metal (down 0.21%) and BSE Power (down 0.13%).

Nineteen of the 30 stocks on the Sensex closed higher. The top performers were Hero MotoCorp (up 1.87%); BHEL (up 1.57%); Hindustan Unilever (up 1.18%); ONGC (up 1.16%) and Bajaj Auto (up 1.15%). The major losers on the index were Bharti Airtel (down 2.8%); Cipla (down 2.44%); Tata Motors (down 1.41%); Jindal Steel (down 1.27%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.95%).

The top two A Group gainers on the BSE were—United Breweries (up 12.07%) and Muthoot Finance (up 7.83%).

The top two A Group losers on the BSE were—Bharat Forge (down 4.25%) and Lupin (down 3.19%).

The top two B Group gainers on the BSE were—Nikki Global Finance (up 19.99%) and Modi Rubber (up 19.96%).

The top two B Group losers on the BSE were—GKB Ophthalmics (down 13.86%) Kamanwala Housing Construction (down 12.19%).

Out of the 50 stocks listed on the Nifty, 21 stocks settled in the positive. The top gainers were BPCL (up 2%); Hero MotoCorp (up 1.95%); BHEL (up 1.49%); Bajaj Auto (up 1.13%) and HUL (up 1.11%). The key losers on the benchmark were Bharti Airtel (down 3.03%); Cipla (down 2.74%); Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 1.87%); Siemens (down 1.86%) and Tata Motors (down 1.77%).

Markets in Asia settled mostly higher as investors were optimistic about a positive announcement from the US Fed on fresh measures to boost growth. However, Chinese stocks closed lower on concerns about loans going sour as the government directed banks to support lending to infrastructure projects.

The KLSE Composite surged 0.91%; the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.39%; the Straits Times added 0.02%; the Seoul Composite rose 0.03% and the Taiwan Weighted was up 0.11%. On the other hand, the Shanghai Composite dropped 0.76%; the Hang Seng declined 0.14% and the Jakarta Composite fell 0.08%.

At the time of writing, the CAC 40 of France was trailing by 0.69%; the DAX of Germany was down 0.30% while UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.05%. At the same time US stock futures were in the negative.

Back home, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of stocks totalling Rs451.19 crore on Thursday whereas domestic institutional investors were net sellers of shares amounting to Rs55.77 crore.

Healthcare service provider Apollo Hospitals today announced its foray into the African market and said it has plans to set up 30 tele-medicine units in that country. As part of this initiative, Apollo Hospitals has inked a MoU with Africa-based AfroIndia Medical Services, Apollo said in a statement. The stock jumped 4.09% to settle at Rs684 on the NSE.

Pharma major Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today said it has entered the phase II clinical trials for its new drug molecule aimed at treating ulcerative colitis. The company's subsidiary Glenmark Pharmaceuticals SA will conduct trials at multiple clinical sites in North America and Europe to investigate the efficacy and safety of the new molecule GBR 500, Glenmark said in a statement. The stock closed at Rs432 on the NSE, down 0.05%.