 "Sensex ends at all-time closing high, L&T star performer")
Indian equity markets closed the day in green today with the Sensex ending at an all-time closing high and the Nifty ending at a fresh 2014 high.
While the BSE Sensex closed 35 points higher at 21373.66, the NSE Nifty shut shop at 6345, up 6 points.
The biggest gainers on the BSE included L&T, Axis Bank, Gail, Jindal Steel and Sun Pharma while the top losers were M&M, HCL Tech, ONGC, PNB and NTPC.
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Reuters[/caption]
Today’s session gains came mainly on the back of up-move of select blue-chip stocks which lifted the benchmarks higher. Unlike frontline peers, broader indices ended on a negative note. Bit of caution ahead of RBI’s policy review on January 28, 2014, capped the further upside of the markets after earlier expectations for the RBI to hold rates were thrown into doubt after the central bank recommended making taming high consumer inflation a priority. In a related development, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram, underscored that it was premature to use the consumer price index as anchor since the data has imperfections.
Larsen & Toubro rose 2.7 percent after the company’s third-quarter margins beat estimates, although Mahindra & Mahindra fell 2.9 percent on lingering concerns about higher interest rates after the central bank on Tuesday recommended making taming high consumer inflation a priority.
According to Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley, initial earnings data reveals that Sensex profit growth have beaten Morgan Stanley estimates by 3 percentage point at 19 percent (Y-o-Y). “We have seen margin expansion for the Morgan Stanley coverage universe (ex-energy) at 159 basis points. So far technology is leading the pack with 36 percent (Y-o-Y) growth. Broad market companies (ex-energy) have reported revenues and earnings of 17 percent and 21 percent (Y-o-Y) respectively,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.
On the global front, Asian stocks ended in red on Thursday, with Hong Kong leading the region lower, following signs of weakness in China’s manufacturing sector. The flash Markit/HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.6 in January, from December’s 50.5, suggesting a mild slowdown at the end of 2013 has continued into the New Year. On the flip side, European shares mostly traded positive on Thursday as a recovery in economic activity in much of the region offset another mixed batch of corporate earnings news and weaker economic data out of China.
Meanwhile,Moody’s , in its report titled ‘India Outlook: Steady Growth, Lower Risk’ has noted that the worst is over for the India’s economy with GDP expansion likely to touch 5 to 5.5 percent this year and more than 6 percent in 2015.