Sensex Breaches 44,000 Mark Tracking Firm Global Cues; Tata Steel Jumps 5%

Tue, 17 Nov 09:30 am | Yash Vora, TM Team

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Asian stock markets took cues from their Wall Street counterparts and rose today. The Hang Seng is trading up by 0.1% while the Nikkei is trading up by 0.3%.

On Wall Street, all three main indices advanced on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average rising 1.6% and nearing the 30,000 mark for the first time in nine months. The S&P 500, on the other hand, gained 1.2% while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.8%.

Back home, Indian share markets have opened the day on a positive note.

Benchmark indices logged a gap-up opening today tracking a global rally, after US-based Moderna Inc said its experimental Covid-19 vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing the virus.

The BSE Sensex is trading up by 365 points. The NSE Nifty is trading up by 91 points.

SBI and Tata Steel are among the top gainers today. Bajaj Auto, on the other hand, is among the top losers today.

The BSE Mid Cap index has opened up by 0.6%. The BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.4%.

Barring IT stocks, all sectoral indices are trading in green with stocks in the energy sector and metal sector witnessing most of the buying interest.

The rupee is trading at 74.40 against the US$.

Gold prices are trading up by 0.1% at Rs 50,884 per 10 grams.

Speaking of the current stock market scenario, note that Indian share markets have climbed back to their highest levels since the pandemic began.

The Sensex is trading above the 44,000-mark. Meanwhile, the Nifty is less than 150 points away to hit the 13,000-mark.

The smallcap index is up more than 70% since 23 March.

As per Richa Agarwal, lead smallcap analyst at Equitymaster, there could still be a lot of steam left to this smallcap rebound rally.

Have a look at the history of previous smallcap crashes and rebounds over the last two decades...

As you can see, every big fall in the smallcap index was followed by a sharp up move, a minimum gain 200%. Twice the rebounds were just shy of touching 300%.

Richa believes if you focus on the quality of business, margin of safety in valuations, and an optimum asset allocation, you are likely to create huge wealth for yourself.

Don't Miss: This Potential 10x Opportunity in the Long Term

In news from the economic space, the wholesale price-based inflation rose to an eight-month high of 1.48% in October, as manufactured products turned costlier.

This is the highest level of Wholesale price index-based (WPI) inflation since February when it was 2.26%.

While food article prices softened in October, manufactured items witnessed hardening of prices, according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday.

Food inflation in October stood at 6.37%, as against 8.17% in the previous month.

The rate of price rise in vegetables and potato remained high at 25.23% and 107.70%, respectively, during the month.

Note that last week, the RBI in a report on the state of economy had flagged unrelenting pressure of inflation as a downside risk confronting the prospects of economic recovery.

How the above developments pan out remains to be seen. Meanwhile, we will keep you updated on the latest developments from this space.

Moving on to news from the energy sector, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is among the top buzzing stocks today.

The initial bidding for privatisation of state-run BPCL ended yesterday. The government has been trying to offload its entire 53% stake in the country's second largest oil refining and marketing company.

But it has already extended the deadline for interested parties to register their expressions of interest on four occasions.

Reportedly, there are indications that oil majors BP Plc of the UK, Total of France, Aramco of Saudi Arabia and Rosneft of Russia are not very keen on bidding due to the asking price of close to US$ 10 billion required to buy the firm.

The acquirer will also be required to make an open offer for buying another 26% stake from the public, which would cost Rs 232.8 billion.

BPCL will give buyers ready access to 15.3% of the country's oil refining capacity and 22% of its fuel market share in the world's fastest-growing energy market.

At Saturday's closing price of Rs 412.70 on the BSE, the government's stake in BPCL is worth Rs 474.3 billion.

BPCL's privatisation is essential for the government to meet its record Rs 2.1 lakh-crore goal for disinvestment in 2020-21.

Note that BPCL's privatization comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic related restrictions have hurt world economy and businesses.

Brent futures - the global benchmark for crude oil rates, are down about 36% so far this year, though having recovered nearly two times from a two-decade low of US$ 15.98 per barrel in April on account of Covid-19.

BPCL share price has opened the day down by 3.8%.

To know what's moving the Indian stock markets today, check out the most recent share market updates here.

For information on how to pick stocks that have the potential to deliver big returns, download our special report now!

Indian Share Market Update: Top Gainers and Losers

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