Sensex scales new high on special Diwali trading

Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) The Indian equities markets key indices closed at record high in the special Diwali trading Sunday led by good buying support in auto, FMCG and oil and gas stocks.

The 30 scrip sensitive index S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,278.08 points, ended the session at 21,239.36 points, up 0.20 percent or 42.55 points from its previous close at 21196.81 points.

This is the record closing high for the benchmark Sensex. The previous record high was 21196.81 points hit Friday.

The special session called Mahurat trading was organised to mark the beginning of Samvat year 2070, a new year according to Hindu calendar.

Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also scaled a new closing high. Nifty ended the day 10.15 points higher at 6,317.35 points.

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Sensex hits record high in Muhurat trading

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose to a second consecutive record high in a special trading session on Sunday, led by gains in Indian Bank, Tata Motors and ONGC on expectations of better quarterly earnings, while strong foreign flows continued to boost sentiment.

Stock markets opened for a special 90-minute Muhurat session to mark the festival of Diwali, considered an auspicious time for Indians.

The Sensex has been propelled by foreign inflows of around $3.5 billion since the Federal Reserve unexpectedly delayed tapering of its monetary stimulus.

The index rose to a record high of 21,321.53, surpassing the previous all-time high set just on Friday. It closed up 0.2 percent.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Indian Oil Corp rose 3-4 percent while banking stocks Corporation Bank , Dena Bank and Indian Bank rose 2.6-15 percent.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

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Sensex jumps 69 points on special Diwali trading

Mumbai, Nov 3 (IANS) A benchmark index of the Indian equities markets rose 69 points in the special Diwali trading Sunday, led by good buying support in auto, FMCG and oil and gas stocks.

The 30 scrip sensitive index S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange opened the special session at 21,278.08 points and was ruling at 21,265.84 points, at around 6.30 p.m., up 0.33 percent or 69.03 points from its previous close of 21,196.81 points.

The special session called Mahurat trading was organised to mark the beginning of Samvat year 2070, a new year according to the Hindu calendar.

Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was up 19.25 points higher at 6,326.60 points.

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Sensex closes at record high; bank stocks gain

Mumbai, Nov 1 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian stock markets ended Samvat 2069 Friday hitting its third straight record closing high at 21,196.81 points. The market barometer also crossed its highest level so far intra-day.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 32.29 points or 0.15 percent higher at 21,196.81 points, from the previous day's close at 21,164.52 points. This is the highest closing level of the benchmark index so far.

The Sensex surpassed its highest so far level of 21,206.77 points on Jan 10, 2008 in the intra-day trade when it touched 21,293.88 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also made gains. It ended at 6,307.20 points, up 8.05 points or 0.13 percent.

Healthy buying was observed in bank, automobile and metal sectors. However, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), consumer durables and oil and gas stocks.

The S&P BSE Bank index was up 189.23 points, followed by automobile index which was higher by 155.63 points and metal index, which gained 129.48 points.

However, FMCG index was 62.49 points down, consumer durables index was down 45.77 points and oil and gas sector was down 45.49 points.

Prominent Sensex gainers were: State Bank of India (SBI), up 4.67 percent at Rs.1,879.40; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 4.12 percent at Rs.924.95; Jindal Steel, 3.46 percent at Rs.248.35; Seas Sterlite, up 2.30 percent at Rs.206.55; and BHEL, up 1.77 percent at Rs.143.45.

Only ten of the 30 Sensex scrips closed in the red. ONGC, down 1.88 percent at Rs.287.70; NTPC, down 1.71 percent at Rs.146.15; ITC, down 1.66 percent at Rs.328.70; Infosys, down 0.90 percent at Rs.3,278.75; and Gail India, down 0.71 percent at Rs.350.35 were among the major Sensex losers.

The New Samvat year (New Year according to Hindu calendar) begins this weekend

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.88 percent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was higher by 0.19 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.37 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.08 percent higher, and Germany's DAX Index was down 0.19 percent. The French CAC 40 Index closed the day's trade 0.28 percent down.

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Sensex hits record closing high

Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian stock markets Thursday hit a record closing high of 21,164.52 points, helped by strong buying in bank and consumer durables scrips.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 130.55 points or 0.62 percent higher at 21,164.52 points. This is the highest closing level of the benchmark index.

The Sensex breached its previous highest closing mark on Wednesday at 21,033.97 points. The benchmark index's highest closing till Wednesday stood at 21,004 points registered Nov 5,2010.

The Sensex is just a mere 0.19 percent away from its record high of 21,206.77 points on Jan 10, 2008. It touched an intra-day high of 21,205.44 points in Wednesday's trading.

The wider 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also made healthy gains. The Nifty closed 0.76 percent or 47.45 points higher at 6,299.15 points.

There was healthy buying support in bank, consumer goods, metal, public sector undertakings (PSU) and oil and gas stocks. However, healthcare companies fell.

The S&P BSE Bank index was up 248.13 points, followed by consumer durables index which gained 163.03 points, metal index, up 156.41 points, PSU index, up 139.99 points, and oil and gas index, up 126.87 points.

However, the BSE healthcare index declined 122.60 points.

Prominent Sensex gainers were: State Bank of India (SBI), up 4.33 percent at Rs.1,795.50; Tata Steel, up 2.45 percent at Rs.33.40; Gail India, 2.31 percent at Rs.352.85; Tata Power, up 1.99 percent at Rs.82.05; and ICICI Bank, up 1.96 percent at Rs.1,121.05.

Only nine of the 30 Sensex scrips closed in the red. Dr Reddy's Lab, down 2.64 percent at Rs.2,455.95; Sun Pharma, down 1.72 percent at Rs.607.95; Cipla, down 1.16 percent at Rs.431.95; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), down 0.97 percent at 888.35; and Hindustan Unilever, down 0.67 percent at Rs.609.25 were among the major Sensex losers.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.20 percent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was lower by 0.42 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.87 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.44 percent lower, and Germany's DAX Index was down 0.19 percent. The French CAC 40 Index gained 0.18 percent.

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Sensex ends at record closing high; lenders surge

By Indulal PM

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose on Thursday to a record closing high as state-run lenders such as State Bank of India rallied on hopes of stabilising asset quality and attractive valuations.

The Sensex gained 9.2 percent in October, its biggest monthly gain since January 2012 on strong foreign inflows as a delay in the U.S. Federal Reserve's tapering of monetary stimulus led to a surge of money in risk assets.

Overseas investors were net buyers for a 19th consecutive session on Wednesday, bringing their total buying to nearly 160 billion rupees during that period.

The Sensex rose to an intraday high of 21,205.44, just short of the all-time high of 21,206.77 seen in January 2008.

The index has now gained 21.3 percent since it hit an intraday yearly low of 17,448.71 on August 28.

"We are seeing strong support from institutional investors. Markets can go up to another 100 points (in Nifty). Going forward, there could be profit-taking after Diwali," said Suresh Parmar, head of institutional equities at KJMC Capital Markets.

"Stock and sector specific rally could continue, especially in IT stocks," he added.

The Sensex rose 0.62 percent, or 130.55 points, to close at 21,164.52.

The broader NSE Nifty rose 0.76 percent, or 47.45 points, to end at 6,299.15.

The rally was led by state lenders including State Bank of India which closed 4.4 percent higher, while Bank of Indiarose 21.47 percent, Bank of Baroda was up 10.61 percent and Canara Bank gained 10.79 percent.

Among other stocks, Tata Steel gained 2.54 percent, Reliance Industries rose 1.84 percent and ICICI Bank 2 percent.

However, shares of pharmaceutical companies fell on profit taking. Dr Reddy's Laboratories was down 2.65 percent, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries lost 1.57 percent and Cipla Ltd fell 1.48 percent.

(Editing by Anupama Dwivedi)

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BSE Sensex hits all-time high, doubts abound about rally

By Abhishek Vishnoi and Rafael Nam

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex surged to a record high on Friday as blue chips rallied on the back of strong foreign buying, marking a remarkable turnaround from two months earlier when the rupee fell to record lows and threatened a crisis of confidence.

The index has been propelled by around $3.5 billion worth of foreign inflows since the Federal Reserve unexpectedly delayed tapering of its monetary stimulus at a meeting on September 18.

The foreign buying comes amid tentative signs the economy may be improving after posting its slowest growth in a decade, though analysts still widely expect challenges ahead as the central bank raises interest rates to curb stubbornly high inflation.

That has made some investors cautious about whether the rally can be sustained.

"I am not too pleased with the way fundamentals are shaping up. This new high is driven by only a handful of stocks which are hopelessly expensive despite fundamentals," said Phani Sekhar, a fund manager of portfolio management services at Angel Broking.

"The liquidity rush is making people accumulate stocks. If fundamentals don't improve or liquidity tapers, then this rally won't have many legs."

The BSE Sensex rose to as high as 21,293.88 points, a 0.6 percent gain for the day, and surpassing the previous all-time high of 21,206.77 points on January 10, 2008.

The index has gained 22 percent since hitting a yearly low on August 28.

But despite the record high, the Sensex still remains Asia's fourth-worst performer this year in dollar terms among the exchanges tracked by Thomson Reuters, with a 2.5 percent fall.

The returns have been hurt by a weak rupee, which hit a record low of 68.85 in late August, that had sparked concerns about a currency crisis in the country.

Analysts say the strong foreign buying reflects in part tentative signs of improvement in the economy. Data on Thursday showed India's infrastructure sector output last month rose at its fastest clip in a year.

Meanwhile, measures to stabilise the rupee undertaken by new Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, including providing dollars directly to oil companies, have also helped.

Still, analysts expect the economy to stay weak.

The World Bank last month slashed its growth forecast for Asia's third-largest economy to 4.7 percent in the year ending in March, below the decade low of 5 percent in the previous fiscal year.

India's central bank also raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point for a second consecutive month in October to fight accelerating inflation.

Blue chips have been gaining nonetheless. The Nifty rose 0.2 percent, also within sight of a record high that was set on January 8, 2008.

State-owned banks gained for a second consecutive session on Friday on hopes of stabilising asset quality, sending State Bank of India Ltd up 2.3 percent.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd gained 2.3 percent ahead of its October sales later in the week.

Dr.Reddy's Laboratories Ltd shares gained 0.5 percent after it September-quarter consolidated net profit rose by 69 percent to 6.90 billion rupees.

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

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Sensex hits record closing high of 21,034 points

Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) Sensex, the benchmark index of Indian stock markets, Wednesday hit a record closing high of 21,034 points, helped by strong buying support from foreign funds.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed 104.96 points or 0.50 percent higher at 21,033.97 points. This is the highest closing level of the benchmark index.

The previous highest closing level of the Sensex was 21,004 points registered Nov 5, 2010.

The Sensex is also not far from its record high of 21,206.77 points touched Jan 10, 2008.

The benchmark Sensex touched a high of 21,086.59 points in intra-day trading Wednesday.

The Indian stock markets rallied for the second consecutive day after the Reserve Bank of India hiked the repo rate by 25 basis points along expected lines and cut Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate to ease liquidity. Interest rate-sensitive banking stocks have rallied following the RBI move.

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Sensex trades flat during pre-noon trade

Mumbai, Oct 30 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets was trading flat at about 47.06 points or 0.22 percent up in the pre-noon trade Wednesday.

Good buying was observed in healthcare and banking index (bankex) sectors while selling pressure was seen in auto and metal sectors.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,944.14 points, was trading at 20,976.07 points in the pre-noon session, up 47.06 points or 0.22 percent from previous day's close at 20,929.01 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 21,037.59 points and a low of 20,937.12 points during trade so far.

The S&P BSE healthcare index increased by 72.11 points and bankex moved up by 62.98 points. However, auto index dropped by 30.50 points and metal index went down by 28.16 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading flat at 15.45 points or 0.25 percent up at 6,236.45 points.

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BSE Sensex falls 113 points; rate-sensitives decline

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell on Monday for a fifth consecutive session to mark its lowest close in nearly 1-1/2 weeks, as lenders and other interest rate-sensitive shares declined a day before the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review.

The RBI is expected to raise its lending rate by a quarter percentage point for a second straight month to combat inflation despite the country's sputtering economic growth, a Reuters poll showed.

Traders said that risk aversion was also pronounced ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting on October 29-30 and the expiry of the October derivative contracts on October 31.

However, foreign investors remained net buyers for a 16th consecutive session. Provisional exchange data showed a net purchase of 6.27 billion rupees worth of shares on Friday, bringing the total to nearly 134.2 billion rupees during that period.

"The market felt jitters ahead of the RBI policy meeting. And a 25 bps repo rate hike is widely expected by the Street. What would be interesting is other news that RBI comes out with, in terms of fresh developments in the banking sector," said Milan Bavishi, head of research at Inventure Growth and Securities.

The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 0.55 percent, or 113.24 points, to end at 20,570.28, a fifth straight session of fall after a string of near-three year highs last week.

The broader Nifty fell 0.71 percent, or 43.80 points, to end at 6,101.10.

Banking stocks fell on risk aversion ahead of the RBI's policy review, although the central bank is expected to further ease short-term interest rates.

State Bank of India Ltd fell 2.7 percent, while Bank of Baroda Ltd slumped 4.3 percent.

Private sector banks also fell, with HDFC Bank Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd down 0.7 percent each.

Among real estate developers, DLF Ltd fell 3.3 percent, while Unitech Ltd ended 3.2 percent lower.

Consumer goods shares fell as July-September sales volume growth was seen muted, analysts said. ITC Ltd slumped 3.6 percent on Monday after its quarterly results on Friday.

The sectoral fall dragged down Hindustan Unilever Ltd , which ended 0.8 percent lower after earlier rising as much as 4.2 percent after sales volumes grew in line with expectations.

Colgate Palmolive India Ltd shares fell 3.8 percent after its July-September net profit fell by 24.5 percent.

Shares of Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fell 1.2 percent after Bloomberg News reported the drug maker had received queries from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration over quality control at a U.S. subsidiary.

Among the gainers, Indian finance companies which provide loans against gold rallied on speculation that the central bank may allow them to lend 75 percent of the value of jewellery compared with 60 percent earlier, traders said.

Shares of Manappuram Finance Ltd and Muthoot Finance Ltd rose 5 percent to hit their daily upper trading limit.

(Editing by Prateek Chatterjee)

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India's benchmark Sensex poised to hit new high

New Delhi, Oct 27 (IANS) The Sensex, a benchmark index of Indian equities markets, is poised to hit new highs in the next few weeks on hopes of revival in economic growth helped by good monsoon and positive global cues, especially delayed tapering of stimulus by US Federal Reserve, analysts say.

The 30-scrip S&P Sensex of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) last week soared past the 21,000-point-mark for the first time in three years.

The benchmark index's record high is 21,206.77 points, hit in January 2008. The 30-scrip barometer hit a high of 21,039.42 points last week, for the first time since Nov 8, 2010.

Analysts said investors' pessimism is receding in the Indian markets on hopes that the economy had bottomed out and growth would revive in the coming quarter on the back of a good monsoon.

Chief economist of HDFC Bank Abheek Barua said a strong buying interest by foreign investors has boosted sentiments in the markets in the past one month.

"If it touches a new high, it will happen after five years. It will, of course, have some positive psychological impact," Barua told IANS.

"I don't see any major downside in the market till December. The Sensex should remain range-bound between 20,000 and 21,000 points," he said.

Foreign funds have invested nearly $3.6 billion in the Indian equity markets since the US Federal Reserve said in mid-September that it would continue with its $85 billion monthly bond-buying programme.

This foreign equity inflow has come in the Indian markets after nearly an equal amount of $3.7 billion outflow in the previous three months on speculation that the Fed would taper its buying programme known as Quantitative Easing (QE).

"Equity markets have been witnessing buoyant FII inflows not merely on the back of continued global liquidity as the Fed appears to have postponed withdrawal of its monetary stimulus for now but also on account of our receding external risks," said Bhupali Gursale, an economist at Angel Broking.

"The latter can be mainly attributed to the anticipated moderation in our current account deficit as well as policy measures taken to attract capital in order to finance the deficit," Gursale said.

Senior economist at Dun & Bradstreet India Arun Singh said the Reserve Bank of India's action on key policy rates and political developments would have a big impact on the markets in the coming months.

"I am expecting volatility in the markets at least till March," Singh told IANS.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is scheduled to announce its monetary policy review Oct 29. RBI governor Raghuram Rajan is widely expected to hike key interest rate to control inflation in his second policy action since taking charge at Mint Street in Mumbai early September.

According to Deutsche Bank, the benchmark Sensex is expected to hit the 22,000-point-mark by December.

The German bank's optimism is based on some positive developments in the Indian economy like good monsoon, currency stabilisation and recovery in rural demands. Expectation of synchronised global growth recovery and the US central bank's action are some important external factors on which Deutsche Bank has based its optimism about the Indian stock markets.

Vaibhav Agrawal, a vice president at Angel Broking said the Sensex is likely to touch 22,600 points in the coming few months.

"The markets in our view are finally poised to make new highs. This is likely to be aided by the frontline IT and Pharma stocks, as export sectors are expected to continue to do well in the coming months," Agrawal said.

(Gyanendra Kumar Keshri can be reached at gyanendra.k@ians.in)

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Sensex falls for 4th straight day; capital goods decline

Mumbai, Oct 25 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets fell for the fourth consecutive day Friday by 42 points or 0.20 percent as capital goods stocks faced selling pressure.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,725.52 points, closed at 20,683.52 points, down 41.91 points or 0.20 percent from the previous day's close at 20,725.52 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,782.16 points and a low of 20,622.55 intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the negative territory. It ended at 6,144.90 points, down 19.45 points or 0.32 percent.

"Markets traded in a narrow range for the entire week after witnessing significant gains in the October series," said Sahaj Agrawal, deputy vice president - derivatives research, Kotak Securities.

Healthy buying spree was observed in information technology (IT), technology, entertainment and media (TECk) and consumer durables stocks. However, heavy selling pressure was observed in automobile, metal and capital goods.

The S&P BSE IT index gained 128 points, while TECk index was up 46.27 points and the consumer durables index was higher by 14.5 points.

However, capital goods index was lower by 145.53 points; automobile index was down 141.45 points; and metal index moved lower by 110.85 points.

The major Sensex gainers were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), up 2.92 percent at Rs.2,067.30; Wipro, up 2.07 percent at Rs.481.05; Sesa Sterlite, up 1.84 percent at Rs.202.20; NTPC, up 1.36 percent at Rs.145.20; and Infosys, up 0.64 percent at Rs.3,331.

The losers in the day's trade were Hindalco Inds, down 4.71 percent at Rs.109.15; Tata Steel, down 3.09 percent at Rs.321.85; Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), down 2.48 percent at Rs.867.70; Hindustan Unilever, down 2.33 percent at Rs.594.20; and Gail India, down 2.23 percent at Rs.343.55.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 2.75 percent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.60 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index moved lower by 1.45 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.16 percent higher, and Germany's DAX Index was up 0.07 percent. The French CAC 40 Index was, however, lower by 0.12 percent.

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Sensex snaps three straight weekly gains, RBI in focus

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex fell on Friday, failing to extend their third weekly gains, as some blue chip shares such as Sun Pharmaceutical were hit by profit-taking after marking their highest level since November 2010 earlier in the week.

Shares gained nearly 5 percent in the last three weeks, benefiting from a return of global risk appetite as poor U.S. data has pushed back expectations of any tapering of the Federal Reserve's monetary stimulus until 2014.

Foreign investors have continued to buy local shares, remaining net buyers for a 15th consecutive session. Provisional exchange data showed a net purchase of 9.91 billion rupees on Thursday, bringing the total to nearly 125 billion rupees during that period.

Traders expect volatility in coming days as concerns over another interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of India in its policy review on October 29 and U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting outcome on October 30 take centre stage amid expiry of the October derivative contracts.

Although earnings of drug exporters including Lupin Ltd are expected to provide a relief.

"It is going to get volatile as expiry of derivatives contracts and RBI policy are coming at a time when we are almost virtually at lifetime highs," said Vivek Mahajan, head of research at Aditya Birla Money.

The Sensex fell 0.2 percent, or 41.91 points, to end at 20,683.52, also marking a weekly fall of 0.95 percent, snapping a three-week winning streak.

The Nifty fell 0.32 percent, or 19.45 points, to end at 6,144.90, marking its fourth consecutive day of falls, also ending 0.7 percent lower for the week.

However, Deutsche Bank raised its December 2013 target for the Sensex to a record high at 22,000 points from 21,000, saying investor pessimism earlier this year was receding amid positive developments such as a good monsoon.

Among blue chip shares, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd fell 1.7 percent, while Tata Motors Ltd ended 0.8 percent down.

ITC Ltd shares fell 0.8 percent on concerns over the company's volume growth, dealers said.

The company said its September-quarter net profit rose 21.7 percent to 22.31 billion rupees.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd also lost 2.6 percent a day ahead of its July-September results.

Bharti Airtel Ltd's shares fell 1.8 percent after rival Idea Cellular Ltd on Thursday reported lower voice volumes in the July-September quarter from the previous quarter. Idea shares also ended down 3 percent.

Idea shares also ended 1.9 percent lower.

Wockhardt Ltd shares fell 1.1 percent after the company posted its smallest profit in six quarters, hurt by curbs on shipping medicines to the United States and Britain from one of its factories after their health regulators identified deficiencies at the plant.

GAIL (India) Ltd fell 2.4 percent after its July-September profit fell by 7 percent to 9.16 billion rupees.

However among stocks that gained, ICICI Bank Ltd ended 0.13 percent higher after India's largest private-sector lender by assets, beat analyst estimates by posting quarterly profit gain of around 20.1 percent, as an appetite for cars and homes led to higher credit growth.

(Editing by Anand Basu)

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Sensex at 21000: Is the economy picking up?

 The Sensex is flirting with the 21000 mark after three years.

While most traders are rejoicing the early onset of Diwali, the macro-economic fundamentals are much weaker now then in 2010-11. Stock market returns are all about future growth in profits. Although the valuation is cheap, the external environment is a cause of concern.

Here are some tell-tale signs:

1) FII flows slowing:  Foreign institutional investments drive prices for the Indian equity market. FII buying and selling trends are often used to determine the direction as they control a sizeable chunk of the free-float or non-promoter holding in listed Indian companies. According to the SEBI data, these inflows have slowed. FIIs invested Rs 1,10,000 crore in Indian equities in 2010-11 versus Rs 70,000 crore up till September 30, 2013.

2) Valuation cheap: Price to earnings ratio is the market price divided by the company’s net profit per share represented by EPS or earnings per share. Forward price earnings multiple indicates expectations are low on corporate profitability going forward. In November 2010 when it hit 21000, the Sensex had a forward price to earnings ratio of about 20. In October 2013 as it hovers at 21000 yet again, it is at a PE of less than 15, according to estimates by Credit Lyonnais Securities, a global securities firm.

3) No premium to India: In November 2010, the Price to Earnings (PE) ratio of the Sensex was at a 20% premium to most Asian emerging markets. Currently, Sensex PE is at par with and in some cases below its Asian peers. This shows that foreign institutional investors are not willing to give India a higher valuation in comparison to Asian peers.

4) Sector leaders: In 2010, when the Sensex crossed 21000 - financial and banking sector stocks led from the front. In 2013, financial sector stocks like banks are the worst performers. The rally, this time is led by FMCG, IT and pharmaceuticals.

5) Slow growth: GDP or gross domestic product grew by 9.3% in 2010–11. It has nearly halved in the last three years. The Indian economy grew at 4.4% in the first quarter of this fiscal. The government is looking at a GDP target of at 5-5.5% in FY 2013-14.

6) Weak rupee: The Rupee slipped to all times lows versus the US dollar in 2013 and is the worst performing currency amongst all emerging countries. The INR threatened to hit the 70 to a dollar mark earlier this year and currently hovers around the 61 to a dollar level. In 2010, the Rupee traded at 45 to the dollar.

Rupee’s worth against key currencies

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1 USD = 68.23 rupees

Photo – ThinkStock

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7) Deficit: Current account deficit (CAD) spiraled as the rupee declined to its lowest ever. India’s current account deficit is at 4.9% in quarter ended June 2013. It is the highest in the world amongst emerging markets according to a Morgan Stanley report. Current account deficit occurs when a country owes more foreign exchange to the world than it receives. The RBI aims to contain the current account deficit at 3.7% of the GDP in FY2013-14. In the financial year 2010-11, CAD was at 2.7% of GDP.

8) Inflation high: Headline inflation in the country based on wholesale prices, has remained above 4% since 2009. In 2010, wholesale price inflation hovered around the 9% mark. In September 2013, Wholesale Price Index or WPI was at 6.46%, its highest level since February 2013. Food inflation, which accounts for over 14% of the WPI, has been elevated since December 2010.

9) Interest rates firm: Inflation is a major cause of worry for the RBI as continues to hold rates high. The repo rate set by RBI hovered around 6% three years ago. Today, it is 7.5%. This increased the interest rate burden on borrowing by companies and cut their profitability. There are no clear signs of interest rates going down soon.

10) Industry output slow: The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) a measure of industrial activity and output grew at a measly 0.6% in August 2013 versus 2.8% growth in July. IIP grew at 6.4% in November 2010 when the Sensex last hit 21000.

 11) Business confidence low: Business Confidence is at an all time low as a result of policy uncertainty, regulatory hurdles, land acquisition delays and bottlenecks to project clearances. High interest rates and uncertain demand environment are added woes for the industrial sector. Industry lobby CII’s Business Confidence Index indicates that corporate sector confidence continues to remain on a weak footing and from a high of 66.7 in FY2010-11; it has fallen to a low of 51.2 in the first quarter of 2013. This work is produced by Simplus Information Services Pvt Ltd. Customer engagement through content.

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Sensex down third straight day; IT stocks fall

Mumbai, Oct 24 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets fell for the third day Thursday by 42 points or 0.20 percent as information technology (IT) stocks faced selling pressure.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,766.05 points, closed at 20,725.43 points, down 42.45 points or 0.20 percent from the previous day's close at 20,767.88 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 21,039.42 points and a low of 20,656.70 intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in negative territory. It ended at 6,164.35 points, down 14 points or 0.23 percent.

Heavy selling pressure was observed in information technology (IT), technology, entertainment and media (TECk) and metal stocks. However, healthy buying was observed in capital goods, automobile and bank sectors.

The S&P BSE IT index lost 149.78 points, while TECk index was down 73.45 points and the metal index was lower by 57.16 points.

However, capital goods index was up 102.53 points, followed by automobile index, which gained 72.93 points, and bank index which ended the day's trade 41.12 points up.

The major Sensex gainers were Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), up 2.59 percent at Rs.889.80; Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 1.83 percent at Rs.964.60; Gail India, up 1.49 percent at Rs.351.40; HDFC Bank, up 1.34 percent at Rs.668.90 and Tata Motors, up 1.28 percent at Rs.379.40.

The losers in the day's trade were Wipro, down 4.25 percent at Rs.471.30; Coal India, down 3.25 percent at Rs.279.65; Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), down 2.52 percent at Rs.2,008.60; Jindal Steel, down 1.85 percent at Rs.240.90 and BHEL, down 1.68 percent at Rs.140.15.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.42 percent up, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.71 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index moved lower by 0.86 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.50 percent higher, while Germany's DAX Index was up 0.60 percent. The French CAC 40 Index gained by 0.16 percent.

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Sensex rises above 21,000 for first time since Nov 2010

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex rose above the 21,000 level for the first time in nearly 3 years, led by gains in banking and reality stocks ahead of the central bank's policy review next week while robust foreign investment flows aided.

Foreign funds have bought $1.7 billion in Indian equities so far this month, taking their total purchases for the year to $15.35 billion.

The BSE Sensex rose over 1 percent to 21,002.50, marking it highest intraday level since November 2010, while the broader Nifty gained more than 1 percent to 6,243.90.

(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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Sensex closes 100 points down; automobile stocks fell

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets fell for the second day Wednesday by nearly 100 points or half a percent as automobile, healthcare and oil and gas stocks faced selling pressure.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,875.31 points, closed at 20,767.88 points, down 97.09 points or 0.47 percent from the previous day's close at 20,864.97 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,922.32 points and a low of 20,589.72 intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in negative territory. It ended at 6,178.35 points, down 24.45 points or 0.39 percent.

Heavy selling pressure was observed in automobile, healthcare and oil and gas stocks. However, healthy buying was observed in bank, capital goods and consumer durables sectors.

The S&P BSE automobile index lost 87.22 points, while healthcare index was down 77.75 points, and the oil and gas index was lower by 77.35 points.

However, bank index was up 69.39 points, followed by capital goods index, which gained 51.28 points, and consumer durables index which ended the day's trade 23.83 points up.

The major Sensex gainers were Gail India, up 3.89 percent at Rs.346.25; Cipla, up 2.74 percent at Rs.423.35; State Bank of India (SBI), up 2.35 percent at Rs.1,716.35; Larsen and Toubro (L&T), up 1.35 percent at Rs.947.30; and ICICI Bank, up 1.30 percent at Rs.1,024.50.

The losers in the day's trade were Wipro, down 4.41 percent at Rs.492.20; Sun Pharma, down 2.39 percent at Rs.622.80; NTPC, down 2.02 percent at Rs.145.40; BHEL, down 1.93 percent at Rs.142.55; and Bajaj Auto, down 1.72 percent at Rs.2,100.60.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 1.95 percent down, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.36 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index moved lower by 1.25 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.47 percent lower, while Germany's DAX Index was down 0.46 percent. The French CAC 40 Index was fell by 1.01 percent.

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Sensex sheds 137 points during early trade

Mumbai, Oct 23 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets tanked 136.96 points or 0.66 percent down in the morning trade Wednesday.

Selling pressure was observed in IT, technology, media and entertainment (TECK) and auto sectors, while marginal good buying was seen in metal sector.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,875.31 points, was trading at 20,728.01 points in the early session, down 136.96 points or 0.66 percent from previous day's close at 20,864.97 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,922.32 points and a low of 20,716.50 points during the trade so far.

The S&P BSE IT index tanked by 156.62 points, TECK dropped by 70.47 points and auto index slipped by 89.24 points; while metal index moved up by 29.88 points.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was also trading down at 44.20 points or 0.71 percent down at 6,158.60 points.

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BSE Sensex edges lower; Hero MotoCorp falls

By Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex edged lower on Tuesday, backing away slightly from near three-year highs hit in the previous session, as Hero MotoCorp fell a day ahead of its quarterly earnings, while caution prevailed ahead of a key U.S. monthly jobs report.

The U.S. non-farm payrolls report later in the day may help calibrate bets on when the Federal Reserve would start the expected tapering of its monetary stimulus.

At home, traders are also growing cautious ahead of earnings from major companies such as ICICI Bank and ITC Ltd , while the Reserve Bank of India is due to hold its policy review on October 29.

Still, sentiment remains buoyed as foreign investors continue to purchase Indian shares, remaining net buyers for a twelfth consecutive session on Monday for a combined total of 103.1 billion rupees, according to regulatory and exchange data show.

"Earnings from better business except pharmaceuticals are out, so expect some short-term correction given recent gains" said Paras Adenwala, managing director and principal portfolio manager at Capital Portfolio Advisors.

The benchmark BSE Sensex edged down 0.14 percent, or 28.92 points, to end at 20,864.97 after hitting its highest level since November 2010 on Monday.

The broader Nifty drifted down 0.03 percent, or 2.15 points, to end at 6,202.80.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd fell 1.6 percent ahead of its July-September earnings due on Wednesday.

Hero may miss the consensus operating profit forecast for the July-September quarter, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data.

Reliance Industries Ltd fell 1 percent on profit-taking after rising more than 5 percent in the last three consecutive sessions until Monday.

Wockhardt Ltd fell 4 percent after Britain's drug regulator revoked the quality compliance certificate for one of its factory in India, the drugmaker said on Tuesday, the third of its plants to be hit by export restrictions this year.

Karnataka Bank Ltd fell 5 percent after its September quarter profit plunged 75 percent to 289.5 million rupees.

However among stocks that gained, Yes Bank Ltd rose 3.7 percent after its net profit rose 21.2 percent to 3.71 billion rupees, beating analysts' estimates.

Indian sugar companies rallied after global raw sugar futures spiked to a one-year high after a fire engulfed four warehouses in Brazil's Santos port, jeopardizing a fifth of monthly exports from the top producer's main terminal.

Shree Renuka Sugars Ltd surged 10.3 percent, Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd gained 4.2 percent, while Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd rose 1.5 percent.

Wipro Ltd rose 1.7 percent.

(Editing by Anand Basu)

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Sensex ends flat, auto stocks down

Mumbai, Oct 22 (IANS) A benchmark index of Indian equities markets ended Tuesday's trade flat as automobile, consumer durables and oil and gas stocks fell.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 20,863.15 points, closed at 20,864.97 points, down 28.92 points or 0.14 percent from the previous day's close at 20,893.89 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 20,948.91 points and a low of 20,810.25 intra-day.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed flat. It ended at 6,202.80 points, down 2.15 points or 0.03 percent.

Heavy buying pressure was observed in automobile, consumer durables and oil and gas stocks. However, healthy buying was observed in capital goods, information technology (IT) and public sector undertakings (PSUs) sectors.

The S&P BSE automobile index lost 67.82 points, while consumer durables index was down 51.47 points, and the oil and gas index was lower by 25.28 points.

However, capital goods index was up 96.82 points, followed by IT index, which gained 42.64 points, and PSU index which ended the day 41.45 points up.

The major Sensex gainers were Tata Power, up 2.63 percent or 2.10 points at Rs.82; Sun Pharma, up 2.10 percent or 13.25 points at Rs.643.90; Coal India, up 1.82 percent or 5.25 points at Rs.292.95; Gail India, up 1.77 percent or 5.80 points at Rs.333.30; and Wipro, up 1.67 percent or 8.45 points at Rs.514.90.

The losers in the day's trade were Hindalco Inds, down 1.56 percent or 1.85 points at Rs.116.40; Hero MotoCorp down 1.37 percent or 28.70 points at Rs.2,069.95; HDFC, down 1.29 percent or 10.55 points at Rs.809.90; Mahindra and Mahindra, down 1.23 percent or 10.90 points at Rs.876.70; and Reliance Industries, down 1.07 percent or 9.75 points at Rs.903.60.

Among the Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.13 percent up, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.52 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite Index moved lower by 0.83 percent.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 was trading 0.23 percent higher, while Germany's DAX Index was marginally down 0.01 percent. The French CAC 40 Index was higher by 0.06 percent.

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