Market Pulse: IT stocks advance

The stock market continued to trade with modest gains in mid-morning trade on positive global cues. 

At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 97.19 points or 0.29% at 33,448.76. The Nifty 50 index advanced 37.10 points or 0.36% at 10,279.75. 

Global stocks gained as fears of trade wars appear to subside after US President Donald Trump implemented steel and aluminum import tariffs that excluded Canada and Mexico.

Key indices started the session on a positive note on firm global cues. Indices extended gains in morning trade. The indices trimmed some intraday gains in mid-morning trade.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.18%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.41%, outperforming the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,351 shares advanced and 905 shares declined. A total of 101 shares were unchanged.

Realty stocks advanced. Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.67%), Sobha (up 0.49%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.38%), HDIL (up 0.35%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.27%) and Godrej Properties (up 0.18%) edged higher. Unitech (down 1.85%) and DLF (down 1.3%) edged lower.

IT stocks advanced. Wipro (up 0.74%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.58%) and HCL Technologies (up 0.55%) gained.

Infosys was up 0.43%. The company issued a clarification with regard to media articles in relation to the alleged fraud concerning the Income Tax department and the First Information report (FIR) by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to these allegations. Infosys said it is not named as an accused party in the said FIR. So far it has not been contacted by the CBI in connection with this matter. Infosys will co-operate with law enforcement agencies as and when it is approached, it added. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 March 2018.

TCS rose 1.05% after announcing that its flagship product TCS BaNCS has gone live in Gansu Bank, China. This go-live expands TCS BaNCS' footprint in China with three other large credit unions that are already fully operational in addition to 20 other financial large banks and financial institutions in the country. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 March 2018.

Rolta India rose 3.52% after the company announced that it won digital transformation projects totalling Rs 365 crore in India. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 9 March 2018.

In political news, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), ally of National Democratic Alliance (NDA), has pulled out its two ministers from the Narendra Modi cabinet yesterday, 8 March 2018, in protest against the injustice to Andhra Pradesh. However, the party decided to continue supporting the NDA. The action by the TDP, which has sixteen members in the Lok Sabha and six in Rajya Sabha, will have no impact on the stability of the Modi government which has sufficient numbers in Parliament but will be seen as a big political setback as TDP is the first pre-poll ally to pull out of the Centre in nearly four years.

Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher after moderate gains on Wall Street overnight following the implementation of US tariffs on steel and aluminum. Japan's central bank kept monetary settings unchanged today, 9 March 2018 and stuck to its upbeat view on the economy. In a widely expected move, the Bank Of Japan (BOJ) maintained its pledge of guiding short-term interest rates at minus 0.1% and the 10-year government bond yields around zero percent.

US stocks closed higher yesterday, 8 March 2018 after President Donald Trump implemented steel and aluminum import tariffs that excluded Canada and Mexico, two key US trade partners.

Trump signed a proclamation yesterday, 8 March 2018 authorizing the tariffs at 25% on steel imports and 10% on aluminium, the same level he promised when he revealed the plan on 1 March. The aluminium and steel import tariffs will take effect in 15 days, as per reports.

In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB), at its monetary policy meeting yesterday, 8 March 2018, kept its broader policy unchanged. The central bank said it could still extend its 2.55 trillion euro ($3.16 trillion) bond purchase scheme beyond September if needed.

Today's Call to the Premium Members:

#Intraday buy IOC Ltd at around Rs.381, SL: Rs.377,  T: Rs.387-392...Book Partial Profit at around Rs.384.

#Intraday buy NIFTY FUTURES on DECLINES around 10235, SL below 10210, T: 10280. Target Achieved. 

#Positional Buy: Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd at around Rs.104, short term target: Rs.111, SL: Rs.99.

#In another development, the Union Bank of India Ltd has put on sale stressed assets worth more than Rs.10,000 crore.The bank has come out with two separate documents inviting bids from eligible asset restructuring companies, non-banking finance companies and financial institutions to offload debt worth Rs.4,205 crore of GTL Infrastructure, a telecom tower company, and 26 other firms worth Rs.5,963.69 crore. The  investors can accumulate the scrip around the CMP of Rs.95.

#Those of you who are LOOKING to BUY a HIGH RISK and HIGH GAIN COUNTER can buy the shares of Videocon Industries Ltd at around the CMP of Rs.12.75 for targets of Rs.17-19, with a SL of around Rs.11.6. Buy at the opening bell today, I mean at around 9.15 am. 

#You can buy the shares of Sri Adhikar Brother's Ltd at around Rs.15. The stock is nearing its bottom. It is good that you area getting the shares of SAB Ltd (formerly SAB TV) company at a price which is near the price of TV Vision Ltd (Rs.14.55). 

#You can average TV Vision Ltd (Rs.14.30) now or can wait for a closing above Rs.15 (this is the best option, provided you can buy the shares at this price -- this stock has  history of not letting buy once it starts hitting the UCs).

#Central Bank of India Ltd made an intraday high of around Rs.79.95. You can book complete profit and wait for the dips to enter. 

~~with inputs from Capital Market - Live News...