Indian Markets Open Strong

Mon, 30 Mar 09:30 am

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Majority of the Asian markets bolstered gains as the Federal Reserve provided indications that the Fed hike is possible later and not sooner this year. Following these developments all the major global markets gained more than 1%. On the last trading day of the previous week, the US economy provided its quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers that came in below expectations, hence, failed to cheer investors. Towards the end of the trading session, US markets closed mixed while the German equities closed with moderate gains of about 0.2%. Today, the Japanese, Chinese, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korean markets are trading higher by 1%, 1.4%, 1.6%, 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.

Indian markets took cues from international markets and have opened firm. BSE-Sensex is trading higher by 200 points and NSE-Nifty is up by 60 points. All the sector indices are trading in the green with Capital goods and banking stocks witnessing maximum buying interest. S&P BSE midcap and S&P BSE smallcap gained over 0.8% each.

Commodities took a breather from gains after concerns over the timing of raising the interest rates were attended by the Fed Chief Janet Yellen. This prompted investors to take the attention off commodities and turn towards equities.

Gold prices, per 10 grams, fell about 0.9% or Rs 232 and are trading at Rs 26,570 levels. Silver prices per kilogram lost 0.6% or Rs 218 and are available at Rs 38,395. Crude oil prices cracked over 3% as concerns over the Yemen war eased. Per barrel, the crude oil is available at Rs 3,152. US Dollar eased against the Indian Rupee as the US Economy reported below than expected GDP of 2.2% compared to expectations of 2.4%. The US Dollar gained 0.3% or 0.17 and is trading at Rs 62.58 levels.

Realty stocks are trading in between moderate gains and losses. The debt- laden infrastructure company GMR infrastructure plans to garner Rs 40 bn within 1 year via divestment and stake sale to lower their debt and increase their cash balance. To make sure the debt burden does not increase, the company has also moderated its capex plans for at least a couple of years. In last two years, the company has sold over a decade projects that are valued to be Rs 110 bn to handle debt. Of the Rs 40 bn, the company expects to leverage about Rs 20 bn through energy business and the remaining through stake sale. According to a leading financial source, the company has a massive debt of Rs 450 bn. Shares of GMR Infra are gaining with gains of about 2%.

Pharmaceutical sector held up strong against the recent sell-off but lost ground towards the end of the week. Sun Pharma and Lupin are trading with moderate gains in the opening session. Multi-purpose hospital chain operator, Fortis Healthcare revealed that it has sold its Singapore facility to an international company named Concord Medical Services for a consideration of 55 mn SGD (Singapore Dollars). The company spokesperson said that selling the Singapore facility is a part of a strategy that would allow them to focus on the domestic market, which predominantly includes hospitals and diagnostics business. Share prices of Fortis gained over 4% in morning trade.