Indian share markets open in the green

Wed, 8 Jan 09:30 am

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   11:30 am   

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The major Asian stock markets have opened the day on a positive note with stock markets in Hong Kong (up 0.7%) and Japan (up 1.3%) leading the gains. The Indian share markets have also opened the day on a firm note. All sectoral indices have opened in the green with the stocks in the consumer durables and realty space leading the gains.

The Sensex today is up by around 60 points (0.3%), while the NSE-Nifty is up by around 21 points (0.4%). Mid and small cap stocks have also opened in the green with the BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap indices up by around 0.5% and 0.6% respectively. The rupee is currently trading at Rs 62.21 to the US dollar.

Mining stocks have opened the day mainly in the green with NMDC Ltd and Coal India Ltd leading the gains. However, Ashapura Minechem Ltd and Sesa Sterlite Ltd were leading the losses. As per a leading financial daily, the iron ore production in India is likely to see a moderate growth of 10%-12% to 150 million tonnes (MT) in FY15. However, it will be preceded by a small decline in production in FY14. Mr Basant Poddar, the senior Vice President of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries has stated that a big jump in production in FY15 is unlikely unless Goa starts mining. Several mines are in final stages of securing regulatory approvals and are set to restart in Karnataka and the total production is unlikely to exceed 20 MT. As such, the growth is expected mainly from Karnataka and Goa. However, the production cap in Odisha based on Shah Commission recommendations may restrict the production.

Auto stocks have opened the day mainly in the green with Ashok Leyland and Escorts Ltd leading the gains. However, Force Motors and TVS Motors were facing selling pressure. As per a leading financial daily, the country's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki will soon introduce a revolutionary technology that will allow manual gears to be used like automatic transmission without engaging the clutch. The technology is derived from the famed F1 motorsports arena and could be a turning point in the small-car segment. Maruti will be the first in India to debut this automatic manual transmission (AMT). As per the daily, the new technology will not affect fuel efficiency or the price of the car. The new offering by Maruti is likely to be named Celerio in India. The new car is expected to be slightly more expensive than the regular manually-operated gear cars. However, it will still be significantly cheaper than the automatics that are priced almost 25% higher.