Realty stocks lead markets higher

Thu, 2 Sep 09:30 am

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The Indian markets have started today's session on a positive note. The benchmark indices opened above the breakeven mark and have stayed in the positive territory. Other key Asian markets are in the green with Hong Kong (up 1.3%) leading the pack of gainers. The US markets closed higher by 2.5% yesterday.

Currently in India, heavyweights from the BSE-Sensex are trading strong with realty and banking majors attracting investors' interest. The BSE-Sensex is trading higher by around 90 points, while the NSE-Nifty is up by about 25 points. Buying interest is also being witnessed among mid and small cap stocks as the BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices are trading higher by 0.8% and 0.9% respectively. The rupee is trading at 46.79 to the US dollar.

Auto stocks have opened the day on a strong note. Gainers here include TVS Motor and Maruti Suzuki. As per a leading business daily, Tata Motors will launch a slew of entry-level Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) cars including a station wagon and a roadster to boost volumes across markets. The company is also looking at integrating platforms with JLR to bring in economies of scale. Further, it is ramping up its commercial vehicle capacity at its Dharwad plant, especially for the small truck Ace as well as buses. This will help the company meet the growing demand for commercial vehicles in the recent months. It plans to launch more variants of the Nano in the Indian markets which will include electric, diesel, larger engine capacity models. Some models will also be aimed at the UK and US markets. Overall it plans to invest close to Rs 29 bn over the next three years for developing new products. It is stepping up its focus on international markets such as Africa, Russia, China and the Middle East for growth.

Energy stocks have opened the day on a positive note. Gainers here include MRPL and Indian Oil. As per a leading business daily, ONGC's foreign arm ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) is planning to acquire shale gas assets in the US. OVL will enter into partnership with experienced local players instead of going for complete buyouts. It may be noted that Reliance Industries was the first from India to show interest in shale gas assets in the US. Since then, Indian Oil, BPCL and Oil India have also expressed their desire to acquire shale gas assets in the US and Australia. The current technology of producing natural gas was first used in the US in 1990s. Shale gas now contributes to about 14% of the US natural gas basket.