SENSEX SOARS 338PTS, CLOCKS HIGHEST TURNOVER; GAIL, HDFC UP

Webdesk, Mumbai, 24^th June, 2014: After a sedated start, bulls came to a party in the second half of the session. At Rs 6.86 lakh crore, equity market also recorded the highest turnover ever. F&O volumes on the BSE today were higher than the NSE. The Sensex rallied 337.58 points or 1.35 percent at to end at 25368.90 while the Nifty closed up 86.85 points or 1.16 percent at 7580.20. About 2044 shares have advanced, 987 shares declined, and 121 shares were unchanged. The midcaps continued to perform better than the blue chip stocks. The midcap index surged over 170 points. Maverick investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala says India is entering a phase of unprecedented growth and has all the ingredients for a long-term growth. “We may not overtake China, but it will be the first time that in a free world and with due adherence to laws, you will have this kind of growth,” he said. Speaking at CII conference, he said India has all the ingredients for long-term growth and 25 percent of the workforce across the world will be Indians in next 20 years. “I am extremely bullish on India and there is no reason why we shouldn’t grow,” he said. Talking stock specific, he is bullish on Colgate, Rallis India, and Praj Industries. Stocks in action Oil stocks were in focus today as the ministry gets cracking on a new gas price note and clarity is expected shortly. The new government has taken stock of the controversial Rangarajan committee formula on gas prices. It is believed the PM and FM have decided to personally review the Rangarajan gas price formula that had been approved by the previous UPA-II government. More high-level inter-ministerial meetings will be held this week. Sources in the petroleum ministry say they are confident a decision will be taken before July 1. GAIL was the biggest gainer (up 4 percent) on the BSE as news report suggests that CNG, PNG, and LNG are likely to become costlier. Reliance and ONGC also gained 1-2 percent each. ITC made a smart recovery after sharp selloff seen yesterday that was triggered by media reports suggesting an increase in a tax hike on cigarettes. The FMCG major rallied over 2 percent after a slew of brokerages maintained a buy rating on the stock stating that excise duty hike is most unlikely. Calling the news flow ‘noise’ rather than representing a step change in the tobacco taxation, Citi said ITC is cheapest in staples universe. However, it also added volumes could decline by 25-33 percent if duty hike is 60-70 percent in a single year BHEL, SBI and Axis Bank were other gainers in the Sensex. Investors also continued to buy shares of Bajaj Hindusthan with renewed interest, rallying 7 percent. Besides sugar sops and import duty hike, buyers were enthused as it repaid foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) amounting to USD 17.72 million. Among the losers were Sun Pharma, Infosys, and Wipro.

News Source: Moneycontrol