Markets end on a strong note; Sensex up 125 points

Markets closed the week on a strong note as gains in index heavyweights lifted markets to record highs in the closing hour of trade.  For the day, the Sensex was up 125 points at 22,340 and the Nifty gained 54 points to end at 6,696.

Adding to the positive sentiment was the gain in Rupee which was quoting at an eight month low at 59.88.

In intra-day trades, both the Sensex and Nifty scaled new highs with the Sensex at 22,363 and the Nifty crossed the 6,700 levels to trade at 6,703.

Buying interest continued in the broader markets as both the mid and smallcap indices added over 1% each, outperforming the BSE benchmark index which gained 0.6%.

Sectors & Stocks

All the sectoral indices closed in the green with Power index up 3% along with Bankex, Realty and Metal indices adding 1-2%.

Bank shares rose after the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday, 27 March 2014, extended the deadline for banks to fully implement the stringent capital requirements under Basel III by a year due to industry wide concerns over potential bad loans and its impact on profitability.

Bank of India, PNB, Canara and BOB up 5-7.5% were the major gainers. From the sensex-30, SBI and Axis Bank were up 3.4% and 2.2% respectively.

Tata Power up 4.5% was the top gainer among Sensex-30.

Metal names like Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite gained 1.5-4%.

NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, RIL, Dr Reddys Lab and Infosys 1-3.3% were the other prominent gainers.

Among the ones in red were Bajaj Auto, ONGC, HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC and Maruti Suzuki down 0.2-0.5%.

The market breadth was positive on BSE. 1,707 stocks advanced while 1,062 stocks declined.

Smart Moves

Shares of cement makers such as Ambuja Cements, ACC, UltraTech Cement, Ramco Cements, Dalmia Bharat, India Cements and JK Lakshmi Cement were up 3-9%.

Ramco Cements rallied after CLSA recommend ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 260 per share while Dalmia Bharat hit the upper circuit of 10% at Rs 261in intra-day trades.

GM Breweries was locked at upper circuit at Rs 132.3 on the NSE after the company said that its board will meet on April 3, to consider a maiden bonus issue proposal.

VIP Industries soared 12% to Rs 99.20, on back of heavy volumes.

Lakshmi Vilas Bank gained 5% at Rs 69.55 after the private sector bank said it plans to raise Rs 505 crore through a rights issue from its existing shareholders.

Claris Lifesciences dipped 7.8% to Rs 158.35 on back of heavy volumes as the stock turns ex-buyback today.

Global Markets

In Asia, markets held firm on hopes of stimulus in China. Speculation about the possibility of Chinese stimulus got a boost when Premier Li Keqiang was quoted by state media as saying the government would roll out targeted measures step by step to aid the economy.

Shanghai Composite edged down 0.2%, while Nikkei, Hang Seng and Straits Times gained between 0.2-1%.

European shares edged higher with all the three major indexes CAC, DAX and FTSE gaining 0.3-0.7%.

Sensex