Nifty closes at highest level in 2013, autos on fire

The market has been on a high this week with the Nifty closing at its highest level in 2013 but just short of the psychological important 6100-mark. The Sensex too matched the Nifty move, ending the day above 20,000 level.

The Sensex surged 134.54 points to 20073.58 while the Nifty closed 41.85 higher at 6092.00. About 1183 shares have advanced, 1229 shares declined, and 164 shares are unchanged.

Auto stocks were on fire today as the index climbed 2.1 percent while Maruti Suzuki India touched 52-week high of Rs 1,731.9. The stock made massive gains as Japanese yen weakened to above 100 to the dollar on Friday and on optimism after the parent company Suzuki Motor Corp posted on Thursday a record profit in the financial year ended March.

Maruti Suzuki's profit margins are set to show even stronger gains in the current quarter as India's biggest car maker reaps an even greater windfall from cheaper yen-denominated imports of components. The stock closed at Rs 1,726.15, up Rs 66.30, or 3.99 percent on the BSE.

Other auto stocks too joined the euphoria with Tata Motors (up 2.9 percent) and M&M (up 2.3 percent) leading gainers in the Sensex.

Investors lapped up banking, FMCG and consumer durables stocks as well. FMCG star ITC again touched 52-week high today.

Meanwhile, Coal India lost 3.9 percent as Inter-ministerial Group (IMG) approved 10 percent equity sale in Coal India which is expected to fetch over Rs 17,000 crore to the government. At present, the government holds 90 per cent stake in Coal India Ltd (CIL).

Jindal Steel, Sun Pharma, NTPC and RIL were the laggards of the day. NTPC surprised the street by posting 69 percent year-on-year jump in its March quarter profit to Rs 4381 crore boosted by an exceptional gain of Rs 1684 crore. Sales grew marginally to Rs 18462 crore, up a percent YoY.

Indian shares surged in the afternoon trade to fresh 3-month highs led by huge buying in auto, consumer durables, banks and FMCG stocks. The broader markets too see modest gains on Friday.

The Sensex was up 150 points at 20089 and the Nifty was up 45 points at 6095. About 1128 shares advanced, 1103 shares declined, and 157 shares were unchanged.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Maruti Suzuki, Lupin, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Mahindra and Mahindra,  up over 2 percent each.

Coal India, Jindal Steel, PNB, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were top losers. Jubilant Foodworks along with banking heavyweights like HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI were most actively traded on NSE.

The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for March came in at 2.5 percent, compared to market expectations of between 2.0-2.2 percent, and further raised hopes that the worst may be over for the economy. This is the best monthly IIP reading since the October 2012 number of 8.2 percent, which was attributed mainly due to the festive season, later turned out to be a false start.

Shares of automakers were up today despite India's car market is undergoing its worst sales decline in history after sales in April fell for a sixth straight month, according to an industry body.

The dollar extended its relentless rally against the Japanese currency on Friday to break above 101 to its highest since April 2009, after signs that Japanese investors are buying more foreign assets provided yet another reason to sell yen.

Jubilant Foodworks plans to spend Rs 75 crore on four new commissaries in FY14, its CEO Ajay Kaul said on Friday. He says consumers are downtrading and cutting back on spends amid the economic slowdown, but is confident of double-digit growth, once the economy recovers.

It was a stable Friday with the Nifty comfortably holding above 6050 led by autos. The Nifty was by up 9.15 points or at 6059.30 while the Sensex gained 36.29 points at 19975.33.

Better-than-expected March industrial output at 2.5 percent pulled by a 3.2 percent growth in manufacturing, 6.9 percent growth in capital goods and a 6.5 percent growth in consumer non- durables, boosted sentiment. Durables and mining however contracted in March.

Stock-specifically, Maruti rallied 3.5 percent after the dollar hit a 4-year high against the yen. Overall 26 percent of Maruti's import cost is yen denominated thus providing a big tailwind for the company.

Other auto stocks, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki were up around 2 percent each.

ONGC and Dr Reddy's Lab were other key gainers in the Sensex.

Shriram Transport jumped 4.6 percent as Piramal Enterprises has bought 10 percent stake in the company at Rs 723 a share for over Rs 1,650 crore.

Capital goods are in focus today ahead of fourth quarter earnings. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects continued improvement in Punj Lloyd's operating performance. Profits may jump to Rs 20 crore while total income may rise 2 percent led by strong order book. Cummins is likely to report over 11 percent. NTPC may post nearly 5 percent sales growth and over 1 percent profits in the March quarter.

Key equity benchmarks were trading firm in the morning trade tracking positive Asian shares. Japan's Nikkei was up 3 percent after the US dollar broke through 100 yen on Thursday, its highest level against the currency in over four years.

The Sensex was up 58 points at 19997 and the Nifty was up 17 points at 6067. About 939 shares advanced, 646 shares declined, and 111 shares remain unchanged.

Key gainers in the Sensex were Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, Mahindra and Mahindra, Dr Reddys Labs and BHEL, up between 1 to 2 percent each.

Laggards included Sun Pharma, Coal India, Jindal Steel, HDFC and Cipla, down over 1 percent each.

Heavy buying in shares of consumer durables, auto, realty and power pushed the Sensex above 20000 mark on Friday.

Shares of media companies were on buyers' radar today. NDTV, HT media, TV Today, TV18, Zee News and Reliance Media were up between 5 to 20 percent. Reports suggest that almost 99 percent of digitisation has been achieved in 38 cities.

The rupee depreciated to more than three-week low of 54.65 in opening trade versus its Thursday's close of 54.25/26. Asian currencies also mostly trading weaker compared with the dollar.

The factory data for March and the consumer price inflation data for April due around 11 a.m. will be watched for cues on the future course of monetary policy, reported Reuters.

Disclaimer: Moneycontrol.com is a part of TV18 and Network18 group

The market opened on a flat note. The Sensex was up 12.96 points at 19952 while the Nifty gained 2.30 points to be at 6052.45. Investors are likely to be a bit cautious ahead of key economic data Index of Industrial Production (IIP) and wholesale prices of March. A CNBC-TV18 poll sees it growing by about 2.1 percent

Meanwhile, consumer durable stocks (up 1.3 percent) were holding up the indices. Maruti, ONGC, NTPC, M&M and ICICI Bank were early gainers in the Sensex.

HMT surged 6.8 percent as the government's recast plan is going to be implemented in phased manner. Last month, the cabinet had approved Rs 1,083 crore revival package for HMT.

Stocks that were major losers in the Sensex included  Cipla, HDFC, Jindal Steel, RIL and L&T.

Companies that are going to announce March quarter earnings are NTPC, Ashok Leyland, Apollo Tyres, Rcom, Cummins India, Central Bank, Punj Llyod, Claris Life, Sobha Developers, Essar Oil, Geodesic, Balrampur Chini, Varun Shipping, Shriram EPC, Graphite India and Electrosteel casting.

Stock-specific news-  Bajaj Hindusthan, Educomp, MTNL, Aban Offshore, Glenmark Pharma, ITDC, Motilal Oswal Fin will be excluded from S&P BSE Mid Cap Index from May 13.  While, SREI Infra, MphasiS, EIL, GMR Infra, Torrent Power, Indian Bank, Triveni Turbine will be included in S&P BSE Mid Cap Index from May 13.