Markets open higher; Bharti drops on poor numbers

Commentary

oi-Sunil

By Sunil Fernandes

Published: Thursday, May 2, 2013, 9:55 [IST]

Markets opened the day higher in line with most Asian markets which were trading marginally higher. The Sensex was trading higher by 41 points, while the Nifty gained 16 points in trade today.

Shares of Bharti Airtel was trading lower following a disappointing set of numbers posted by the company. The stock was down 3 per cent at Rs 309.

Banking stocks were steady ahead of the RBI's credit policy to be unveiled on Friday. Shares in ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up by 0.50 per cent, while PSU Banks were also trading marginally higher. Among the PSU banks that gained in trade were Allahabad Bank, Andhra Bank, Oriental Bank and Syndicate Bank.

Canara Bank was trading marginally lower ahead of its results to be declared later today. The Mid Cap index saw 0.50 per cent gains in early trade with significant movers being Future Retail, Jubilant Foodworks, Reliance Capital and Reliance Power.

Realty stocks also saw some buying support on hopes that RBI would cut interest rates on May 3, thus providing benefits to this rate sensitive sector.

Among the stocks that gained from the sector were HDIL, Unitech and Sobha. IT stocks saw some buying support with Infosys and TCS gaining 1 per cent each. Hindustan Unilever, which jumped sharply in trade on Friday following an open offer by the parent company, was down almost 1 per cent in early trade.

Meanwhile, markets in Asia were trading marginally lower following losses in the US markets. The Hong Kong's Hang Sang and the Shanghai Composite were both trading lower.

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