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BSE Oil & Gas sector rises

The BSE Oil & Gas Index ended 1.79 percent up in a broader market that closed 0.68 percent higher at 16519.

Lead gainers in the index were energy explorer ONGC, which ended 8.7 percent higher at 1118 rupees, and BPCL which rose 2.8 percent, after the government more than doubled natural gas prices on Wednesday.

Other stocks which contributed to the rise were HPCL and IOC, while Reliance Natural and Cairn India dropped.

A senior government official on Thursday said the government was likely to launch the next round of auctions for oil and gas block exploration in the current financial year.

Do you think the increase in gas prices will take the index to new highs and that it is the right time to invest in this sector?

Bad day for oil and gas counters

The BSE Oil & Gas index ended as the worst sectoral performer on Thursday, posting losses of 1.8 percent, as the Sensex slumped 255 points on increased expectations of a rate hike.

Reliance Industries and Cairn India dropped over 2 percent each and were the top losers in the index. ONGC slipped 1.97 percent.

Shares of Essar Oil, however, rose 3.2 percent to end as top sectoral gainer. Essar Group on Thursday said it plans to raise about $2.5 billion by listing its energy and power businesses on the London bourse.

Oil marketing firms HPCL and BPCL ended in the positive.

The oil & gas index has gained 4.8 percent since mid-March. Do you think it is worth taking advantage of this dip?

Weak day for oil & gas stocks

Shares in ONGC dropped over 2 percent and ended as the top Sensex loser as the broader market closed just 18 points higher.

The Oil & Gas Index slipped around 0.7 percent in trade, with ONGC, BPCL and Reliance among the losers.

Energy major Reliance Industries shed 0.7 percent to 2,133.75 rupees, as the energy major did not make any major announcement at its annual general meeting today. Chairman Mukesh Ambani said the company would work towards attaining global scale for its conventional energy platform and invest in new businesses such as retailing and alternative energy.

The BSE Oil & Gas Index has gained over 8 percent this month – a little higher than the benchmark’s gain of 7.2 percent in the same period.

Do you think it is a good time to allocate funds to this sector?

Market ends flat, no cues from economic survey

The Sensex ended just 13 points higher at 14,658 after a volatile session as investors awaited budget announcements next week.

The government released the economic survey report on Thursday which said India could see growth of around 7 percent this year if it makes sweeping reforms and speeds infrastructure development. (Click here for complete coverage)

Shares in Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel fell over 2 percent each.

ONGC shares jumped 7 percent after the government raised fuel prices on Wednesday, a move that could ease the subsidy burden on oil firms. ONGC was also the top index gainer.

Metal stocks did well in trade leading to an over 3 percent jump in the BSE Metal Index. Tata Steel, JSL Ltd, SAIL and Sterlite Industries posted gains.

BSE capital goods, auto and banking indices were on the losing side.

The markets did not react much to the economic survey and the focus remains on the July 6 Budget.

Sensex ends lower after volatile session

The Sensex remained volatile in trade and ended 77 points lower at 14,346 on fears that below normal monsoon rains can hurt the economy.

Reliance Industries, which has an over 14 percent weight in the benchmark, led the fall, slipping over 2 percent to 1,959 rupees. ITC, ONGC and BHEL were the other contributors.

The sectoral picture too looked bleak, with only realty, banking and capital goods indices managing to end in the green. The auto and oil & gas indices were the worst performers registering a decline of 2.1 percent each.

Shares in Unitech, one of India’s top listed realty firms, ended 5.2 percent higher at 82.05 rupees. It was also the top traded stock on the BSE. The firm announced its full-year numbers today.

Prominent among mid-caps were Mindtree and BGR energy, gaining 10 percent. Balaji Telefilms slipped 7.5 percent, NDTV declined 5 percent.

Given the fact that the annual budget is to be announced soon and monsoon fears are looming large, where do you think the market will head from here?

Sensex gains in choppy trade

The BSE Sensex ended 0.69 percent higher on short-covering ahead of the monthly derivatives expiry. Gains were capped by worries about the health of the global economy.

Trade was volatile and the 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day low of 14,207 to an intra-day high of 14,479 and closed 98 points higher at 14,422. The fifty-share Nifty ended 1.08 percent up at 4,293.

The BSE Mid-cap Index gained 2.38 pct, while the BSE Small-cap Index ended 2.26 pct higher.

The rise in the benchmark was led by L&T, ONGC, BHEL and JP Associates.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Power Index gained 2.82 percent, followed by the Capital Goods Index which ended 2.52 percent higher. However, the BSE Banking Index closed 0.12 percent lower.

On the global front, Asian stocks recovered ahead of the US Federal Reserve meet later today.

FIIs sold net $134.6 million in shares and bought $47.4 million in debt.

Sensex ends flat after recovering early losses

The BSE Sensex erased early losses to end flat, tracking global markets as concerns about the prospects for an economic recovery pushed key indices into negative territory. The market remained volatile ahead of the expiry of the current months derivative contract on Thursday. The rise in the benchmark was led by Reliance Industries, HDFC, BHEL and ONGC.

The 30-share sensitive index swung from an intra-day high of 14,394 to an intra-day low of 14,016 and closed 2.1 points lower at 14,324. The fifty-share Nifty ended 0.28 percent up at 4,247.

On the sectoral front, the BSE Banking Index dropped 2.1 percent, followed by the Metal Index which ended 1.5 percent lower. However, the BSE Oil & Gas Index closed 2.6 percent higher.

Great Offshore Ltd rose 7.9 percent to 413.60 rupees after shipbuilder ABG Shipyard offered to buy a stake in the firm at 375 rupees per share, countering a bid of 344 rupees by rival Bharati Shipyard.

FIIs sold net $40.7 million in shares and bought $51.7 million in debt.

Do you think the current sell-off will continue as renewed fears of economic recovery have made investors risk-averse?

Sensex slips 55 points in choppy trade

Investors today booked profits in a market that had touched a 10-month high on Wednesday, bringing the benchmark down by 55 points.

The Sensex closed at 15,411 after recovering over 150 points from the day’s low. The index was led lower by losses in Infosys, ONGC and SBI.

Info-tech stocks stood out for their bad run, with the sectoral index shedding 2.5 percent. Infosys Technologies and Wipro lost 2.8 and 2.1 percent respectively.

Outsourcer Satyam however bucked the trend, closing at 80.8 after hitting the 10 percent upper circuit for the third day in a row (Satyam – Full Coverage).

Gains were seen in the metal index. JSW Steel was up nearly 9 percent, while Hindalco ended 8 percent higher.

ACC, Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra and Colgate touched their 1-year highs today.

With several investors still sitting on huge profits made over the past few months, do you think profit-booking will derail the recent rally?

Sensex gains over 500 points

The Sensex jumped over 500 points today to close above the 14,100 mark, recovering all of Tuesday’s losses, on investor optimism about a recovery in the global economy.

The rally was led by heavyweight counters like ICICI, ONGC and Reliance Industries.

Reliance Infrastructure, which ended 14.7 percent higher, was the top gainer among the Sensex components. It was followed by Sterlite Industries and ONGC, both gaining over 9 percent.

Bharti Airtel ended marginally lower and extended its losses for a third consecutive session.

The realty and banking sectors were the front-runners in the sectoral space, ending 6 percent and 5.4 percent higher respectively. All sectors managed to register decent gains.

Some mid-cap stocks that surged included IPCA Labs (up 15.13 percent), Television Eighteen (up 14.4 percent) and India Infoline (up 12.2 percent).

With derivatives expiry tomorrow, do you think the market can sustain this rally?

Sensex slips over 1 pct after volatile trade

The Sensex managed to close a tad above the 12,000 mark after a choppy session as wary investors booked profits after yesterday’s rally and awaited exit polls for cues.

An over 1 percent loss in Reliance Industries and a 3.4 percent loss in ONGC led the benchmark lower to close at 12,020 points.

Metal stocks had a tough day and the metal index ended with losses of 2 percent. The IT, oil & gas and banking indices ended down over 1 percent each.

DLF was in focus after its founders raised $783 million through sale of shares. The scrip closed 1.6 percent lower and traded with heavy volumes of over 179 million shares on the BSE.

Shares in Yes Bank jumped over 10 percent while some stocks like LIC Housing Finance, Mphasis and Bank of Baroda touched their 52-week highs.

The country voted in the final stage of a closely fought general election today, and the results, to be announced on Saturday, will be closely watched by market participants. Do you think the outcome will bring cheer to the market?