Indian stock market indices have been trading in the green on back of sustained buying in index heavyweights. Barring Consumer durables, all sector indices are trading firm.
The BSE-Sensex is trading up by 176 points and NSE-Nifty is trading firm by 50 points. However, BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices are trading lower by 0.2% each. The rupee is trading at 52.58 to the US dollar.
Retailing stocks are trading weak led by Shoppers Stop and Titan Industries. According to a leading financial daily, footwear industry has doubled to Rs 200 bn in 5 years. As per industry experts, the frequency of footwear shopping has increased substantially in India. This is also evident from the store expansion of footwear retailers like Bata, Woodland, Liberty and Reliance Footprint. On an average, these are adding around 2 stores per week. Despite the slowdown, the industry is not witnessing any problems. This can be attributed to the rising aspiration levels of consumers, increasing desire to look good and more number of women joining the workforce. The top companies in the business are said to be growing at a rate of 25-30% annually.
Finance stocks are trading firm. Prime Securities and Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) are the top gainers. As per a financial daily, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) is planning to increase the proportion of foreign currency debt in its loan portfolio. The finance company is expected to raise forex loans ratio from 8% to 12-13%. This step is being taken because of the huge demand in infrastructure financing space. The plan is to raise Rs 50 bn by issuing 10 year tax saving bonds by March 2012. These bonds would have a lock in period of 5 years and will be rated "AAA" by ICRA and Fitch. They offer 9% annualized return. There are two series of bonds- one that will pay cumulative interest and the other that will pay interest on non-cumulative basis.
For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!
Read the latest Market Commentary
Equitymaster requests your view! Post a comment on "Stock markets continue to trade strong". Click here!
Comments are moderated by Equitymaster, in accordance with the Terms of Use, and may not appear
on this article until they have been reviewed and deemed appropriate for posting.
In the meantime, you may want to share this article with your friends!