The Nifty remained in a tight raage the whole day, and there were traces of profit booking with sudden downward spikes, which were promptly arrested with fresh buying signals. High volatility was witnessed during the latter part of the trading session as key benchmarks reversed direction and moved into the positive terrain. As per provisional figures the S&P BSE Sensex was up 35.63 points to 20282.96. The CNX Nifty was down 14.05 points to 6183.95 as per provisional figures. The market breadth was negative. On BSE 1245 shares declined and 1112 shares rose.
Reliance Industries, which has been doing well this week, fell 0.68% to Rs 834.40. ITC fell 0.62% to Rs 334.70. Power equipment makers rallied across the board. ABB jumped massive 21% on large volumens. Crompton Greaves L&T Bhel and Siemens advanced 2.34% to 9.69% Auto stocks were mixed. Tata Motors rose 0.05%. Maruti Suzuki India fell 1% to Rs 1709.40. M&M rose 0.03% to Rs 985.50. Two wheeler markers were mixed. Bajaj Auto rose 1.44%. Hero MotoCorp dropped 0.56%. Motherson Sumi Systems lost 4.11%.
Cement stocks rose and stayed positive the whole day. ACC rose 0.71%. Ambuja Cements gained 2.06%. UltraTech Cement rose 0.76%. The monsoon rains may arrive on the southern coast around June 3 2013 the weather office forecast on Wednesday. The rains which run from June to September are vital for the 55% of farmland without irrigation in India one of the worlds largest producers and consumers of food.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted normal rains this year. The RBI undertakes mid-quarter review of the monetary policy on June 17 2013.
In the US a Federal Reserve official tipped a pullback in the central banks easing programmes could come as soon as this summer. Media reports had last week suggested that Fed officials have mapped out a strategy for winding down quantitative easing although the timing has not been decided. Data from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region contracted while the Commerce Department reported that US housing starts plummeted 16.5% in April. New claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly jumped last week.