WHERE THE SHINE IS GONE

IN MY VIEW NIFTY ABOVE 8420 CLOSING WILL TOUCH 9000 & BELOW THIS LEVEL WE MAY 7800 THIS EXPIRY

Is the euphoria fading?

If the market moves of the last eight days are of any consequence, surely the fire of ‘teji’ is cooling off and the so-called feel good factor losing out on deliverance. The headlines of a pink paper described the fall as the euphoria coming to an end but in reality the hopes of change raised the sentiment to a new peak. The industry barons also sounded optimistic at the change of guard.The first one hundred days score card was excellent but as politics sunk in and as marginal leaders raised their heads and voice loudly or abusively, the programme of development got diluted in amending the errors of erring members of the ruling party and the government. The non-functioning of Parliament is developing into the replay of the last Lok Sabha and if the BJP stalwarts cannot shed their petty thinking, the NaMo programme of radical change may be mortgaged at dismal lows and the golden opportunity of making a difference lost.Global cues had pressurized the world markets early ovember 2014 too but the FII inflows were robust and hopes of robust inflows continued. Come December 2014, and the whole scenario changes! Instead of fund flows remaining robust, the tide turned negative. Corporate India instead of being ecstatic about the changes, was seemingly developing an agonizing pain. Six months after the Modi sarkaar assumed power amidst great expectations, many industry barons are concerned about the PM's lack of boldness and his uccumbing to pressure of factional politics. The reforms package being talked about may have radical ideas but lack the will and courage to move ahead. Procrastination as evident in the yester years of the UPA rule shows signs of returning and the industry fears that the economy is slipping back into a paralytic zone. The country's infrastructure sector is in a virtual jam because of high debt and unless a fresh stance is adopted with foreign capital inflows this will not be unlocked. At a closed door Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) meeting, top industrialists voiced their concern over lack of boldness in the government's efforts to kick-start economic growth and the seeming absence of moving radical ideas forward. The concerns on India Inc’s mind are many. The lack of pace of reforms, absence of substance and force to bring it in. The defreezing of Rs.18 lakh crore investments in infrastructure segment and problems of its refinancing. Bank's recapitalization and ease in land acquisition have yet to come in and as long as it does not get in the capex does not get wings. Uncertainty over GST and the Vodafone type of tax litigation are keeping the FII fund flows at an ebb. In short, the Parliament session may come to an end without transacting any serious business. Coming months may see the budgetary exercises taking place and high hopes are being raised for the same. It is very likely that the market may restart its upmove pre-budget but the will to walk the talk is missing. Thus the market amidst volatility and lack of will to perform, may witness profit booking at high levels. Till then, watch the moves closely.

Market slips as rail comes move

Despite accomplishing new feat in the opening trade on Tuesday, Nifty and its counterpart Sensex saw the biggest fall (in terms of points) in current calendar year. The street pressed the panic button when a sudden rush in profit-booking engulfed the market. In the mayhem that ensued, Sensex lost more than 500 points while broader markets got its share of batteringcrashed. Since the market started falling after a rather unexciting Railway Budget, experts feel the Union Budget, to be presented on July 10 may also lead to a similar crashed.

In the opening trade the Nifty had crossed 7800-mark for the first time.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 517.97 points or 1.98 percent to close at 25582.11 after hitting an intraday low of 25495.04 (down 605 points). The 50-share NSE Nifty plunged 163.95 points or 2.11 percent to 7623.20 after seeing day's low of 7,595.90. Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices, which rallied the most year-to-date, were down 3.6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.

Such correction was needed as the market had seen hefty run up from elections days till pre-Budget, say experts, adding indices had overreacted on hopes of strong Budget. According to them, positive factors from the Budget already priced in and from here on, the market will focus on inflation, April-June quarter earnings and Budget. However, they advise buying on such sharp corrections as long term is very strong for India.

Market participants should brace for another 30-40 point correction from the current level because of the sharp sentiment damage which has happened today, says Kunal Bothra, Head of Advisory, LKP.

Dilip Bhat of Prabhudas Lilladher recommends traders to avoid buying the dips and keep their commitment light until Budget is out of market's way.

According to Bhat, in the short-term, the Nifty can fall to 7,300-7,400 maximum, but it will still remain a buy on dips market.

The fall in global markets too may have dampened sentiment with the major European markets losing half a percent.

However, foreign institutional investors were net buyers amid today's big correction; they bought Rs 422.72 crore worth of equity shares while domestic institutional investors sold Rs 399.56 crore of shares, as per provisional data available with exchange.

Meanwhile, on the home turf, Railway minister DV Sadananda Gowda today presented his first Rail Budget in the Lok Sabha. The minister's speech once again highlighted the financial mess that the Indian Railways is facing.

Allowing FDI in railway, safety, modernisation, encouraging private investment, launching of high-speed trains, diamond quadrilateral project and targets to complete pending projects were the main themes of the Railway Budget.

“The Railway Minister did touch upon key aspects and has shown the intent to turnaround Indian Railways into a commercially viable and customer friendly organization but the specifics of few announcements are awaited, says Arvind Mahajan, Partner and Head of Infrastructure and Government Services, KPMG.

Railway stocks like Kalindee Rail, Stone India, Kernex Microsystems, BEML and Titagarh Wagons plunged 5 percent each due to lack of clarity on various proposals and projects. Texmaco Rail (down 20 percent) was the biggest loser among these stocks whereas CMC (up 0.5 percent), A2Z Maintenance (up 5 percent) and Moser Baer (up 4 percent) saw buying interest.

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty Index hit very badly, falling over 7 percent followed by Capital Goods, Metal, Oil & Gas, Bank and Auto indices with 2-5 percent. Healthcare and IT fell over a percent.

Shares of L&T, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, ONGC, State Bank of India, BHEL, NTPC, Tata Steel, Coal India, DLF and Tata Power were prominent losers among largecaps, shedding 3-8 percent. The fall in TCS and HDFC Bank was less compared other stocks, declining over a percent.

However, housing finance company HDFC and drug maker Sun Pharma bucked the trend, gaining 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

In the broader space, Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Apollo Tyres, CESC, Crompton Greaves, GMR Infrastructure, IDBI Bank, IFCI, India Cements, JSW Energy, OBC, Power Finance Corporation, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Communications, Siemens, Unitech and Voltas plunged 5-12 percent.

Declining shares beat advancing ones by a ratio of 2230 to 770 on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the rupee recovered, appreciating by 23 paise to close at 59.78 a dollar. Brent crude (August futures) dropped below USD 110 a barrel on easing geopolitical tension, losing 0.6 percent to USD 109.58 a barrel.

Market view on 2/7/14

Views on markets today

- Markets gained for the third straight day, amid strong buying interest from foreign institutional investors, with auto and metal shares leading the gains. However, IT stocks retreated because of a weak growth forecast by Gartner.

The Sensex climbed 102 points to close at 25,516 and the Nifty advanced 23 points to end at 7,635.

- Auto and Metal indices were among the top sectoral gainers up 2-3%. Capital Goods and Realty indices edged up 1% each. Meanwhile, capital goods shares continued their uptrend after a private survey showed that India's manufacturing sector growth in June. L&T and BHEL ended up 1% each.

- IT majors witnessed profit taking after IT research firm Gartner trimmed its worldwide IT spend growth forecast to 2.1% from 3.2% earlier. TCS, Infosys and Wipro ended down 0.8-1.2%.

- Among the BSE Sectoral Indices - indices ended the day in positive while 4 ended the day in negative. Top Gainers: BSE Auto up by 3.24% and BSE Metal by 2.03%. Top Losers: BSE Teck down by 0.55% and BSE Oil & Gas by 0.54%.

Market breadth was positive at ~1.66 as investors bought large cap stocks. On provisional basis, FII's bought Rs 1.92bn worth of Indian equities and DII's sold Rs 7.74bn worth of equities.

Economic and Corporate Developments

- India's external debt rose 7.6% to $440.6 billion in 2013-14, owing to a rise in the deposits of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and foreign borrowings by banks.

A fall in the country's current account deficit and a revival in equity flows and borrowings by banks through currency swaps helped build foreign exchange reserves, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in its review of India's external debt.

- Manufacturing activity rose to a four-month high in June, albeit the pick-up was too gradual, shows a widely-tracked HSBC purchasing managers' index (PMI). The index rose 51.5 points in June from 51.4 points in the previous month.

- Output in eight important infrastructure industries, termed the core sector, grew at a four-month low of 2.3% in May over a year before, compared to 4.2% in April, with half of these seeing a contraction in production, official data showed on Monday.

This might impact the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as the core sector constitutes 38% of the index. However, some experts believe the low base of last year and favourable automobile numbers might save the month for IIP.

Buzzing Stocks

- Punj Lloyd closed 3.52% up at Rs 52.90 on BSE after the company received a letter of award for expansion and revamping of Ahmadi Depot, Kuwait from Kuwait National Petroleum Company.

Sterlite Technologies hit an upper circuit limit of 5% at Rs 68.60 on BSE after the company said it bagged nearly Rs 2500 crore of contracts from BSNL to implement end-to-end rollout of optical fiber network for defense services.

Hindustan Construction Company closed 3.75% up at Rs 48.45 on BSE after the company's subsidiary Lavasa Corporation filed draft prospectus with the market regulator for an initial public offer.

- Sasken Communication Technologies hit an upper circuit limit of 20% at Rs 265.55 on BSE after the company announced that it received arbitration award in its favor in the matter of Spreadtrum Communications Inc.

- Mahindra & Mahindra closed 4.03% up at Rs 1,194.15 on BSE after the company said its total tractor sales rose 8% to 29,884 units in June 2014 over June 2013.

Ramkrishna Forgings was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 184.55 on BSE after a domestic mutual fund bought 2.52% stake in the company on Monday, 30 June 2014.

Bharat Heavy Electricals closed 0.98% up at Rs 252.55 on BSE after the company said it successfully commissioned a 250 megawatts thermal unit in Rajasthan.

- L&T closed 1.40% up at Rs 1,725.35 on BSE after the company said that its construction division won a contract of Rs 2442 crore from Bharat Sanchar Nigam.

- Maruti Suzuki India closed 6.01% up at Rs 2584.85 on BSE after the company said its total vehicles sales rose 33.5% to 1.12 lakh units in June 2014 over June 2013.

- Hindalco Industries closed 6.76% up at Rs 175.20 on BSE after a foreign brokerage upgraded the stock to buy from sell rating.

- Jyoti Structures closed 1.64% up at Rs 61.80 on BSE after the company's board of directors approved issue of shares to qualified institutional buyers.

- Styrolution ABS (India) closed 1.99% up at Rs 601.25 on BSE following a global level deal involving Switzerland-based firm INEOS agreeing to buy its Germany-based partner BASF's 50% share in Styrolution.

- Nine metal shares rose by 0.47% to 6.76% on BSE as data showed China's manufacturing expanded in June at the fastest pace this year.

Hindalco Industries (up 6.76%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.99%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 3.59%), Sesa Sterlite (up 1.42%), Tata Steel (up 2.47%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.33%), NMDC (up 0.47%), Bhushan Steel (up 2.42%) and JSW Steel (up 2.55%), edged higher.

Market on 25/06/14

Indian markets are expected to open flat tracking marginally negative opening in SGX Nifty and most of the Asian markets.

US stock markets ended lower showing a substantial downturn over the course of the trading session on Tuesday, after moving mostly higher in morning trading. The negative sentiments were largely attributed to concerns about the escalating conflict in Iraq, which inspired some traders to cash in on the recent strength in the markets. Additionally, Syrian warplanes which struck targets in western Iraq indicated the broader regional conflict as reported Wall Street Journal added to the worries. Meanwhile, European stocks inched higher on Tuesday, taking back losses from the previous session despite some mixed economic data.

Back home, Indian shares rebounded sharply on Tuesday from two and a half weeks lows hit on Monday as a decline in crude prices eased concerns that inflation will quicken. Investors were also encouraged by media reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki was under pressure to step down to help form an inclusive government by July 1.

Markets Today

The trend deciding level for the day is 25,300 / 7,563 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rally up to 25,484 - 25,599 / 7,611 - 7,641 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 25,300 / 7,563 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct 25,185 - 25,001 / 7,532 - 7,485 levels.

Road Ministry approves over Rs.40,000cr highway projects

In a boost to the infrastructure sector, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved highway projects worth over Rs.40,000cr to be implemented in the next couple of years. The projects are to be implemented in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Northeastern region which is expected to encourage tourism.

Economic and Political News

- India accounted for 5% of global steel production in May

- Give details of 14 projects awaiting clearances: CoalMin to CCL

- Railway fare hike may add up to 50 bps to inflation

- Oil output drops marginally in May, gas production dips

Corporate News

- Essar Oil board approves delisting from BSE and NSE

- Flipkart to launch tablet under private label on Jun 26

- Airtel signs definitive agreement with Loop Mobile

Today's market 18/6/14

Views on markets today

- Markets edged up recovering from mid-day losses as buying activity was observed in Oil & Gas, Banking and Capital Goods shares.

Firm opening of European markets during late noon trading session also boosted the local investors' sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex traded nearly 330 points or 1.31% up at 25,521.19 while the CNX Nifty surged by 9- points or 1.3% at 7,631.70.

- Jaypee Infratech closed 12.82% up at Rs 33.00 on BSE on bargain hunting after the stock slumped 21.69% in the preceding five trading sessions to Rs 29.25 on 16th June 2014, from a recent high of Rs 37.35 on 9th June, 2014.

- Berger Paints India closed 4.82% up at Rs 268.35 on BSE, with the stock recovering on bargain hunting after recent slide.

- Two aviation stocks rose 1.92% and 3.09%, in the intraday trade, on BSE on reports the aviation ministry has drawn up a plan to push infrastructure development, e-governance and air connectivity during the first 100 days of the new government.

Jet Airways (India) (up 3.09% at Rs 252.15) and SpiceJet (up 1.92% at Rs 18.55) edged higher.

- Tata Steel closed 1.38% up at Rs 532.10 on BSE after the company said it plans to raise upto Rs 14,000 crore through privately placed debt securities in the domestic and or international capital markets.

- Among the 12 BSE Sectoral indices, 11 indices closed in positive while 1 index ended the day in negative. Top Gainers: BSE Oil & Gas up by 2.86% and BSE Bankex by 2.28%. Top Loser: BSE FMcG down by 0.17%.

Market breadth was sharply positive at ~2.15 as investors bought large cap stocks. On provisional basis, FII's sold Rs 1.94bn worth of Indian equities and DII's sold Rs 4.48bn worth of equities.

Economic and Corporate Developments

- Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose to a five-month high of 6.01 per cent in May from 5.2 per cent in the previous month, driven by costlier protein-based items, fuel and some manufactured products. In May 2013, WPI inflation was 4.5- per cent.

Core inflation (inflation for manufactured products, excluding food items) rose to 3.- per cent in May from 3.4 per cent in April, showed official data released on Monday. The data present a complex picture before the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as retail inflation, gauged by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), eased to a three-month low of 8.2- per cent in May.

Buzzing Stocks

- Mahindra Lifespace Developers closed 2.17% down at Rs 558.50 on BSE, with the stock sliding on profit booking after the firm said its board has recommended raising an amount not exceeding Rs 750 crore through private placement of NCDs.

- Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals closed 3.49% up at Rs 66.70 on BSE, with the stock recovering on bargain hunting after recent steep slide.

- Hanung Toys & Textiles was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 34.25 on BSE after the firm said its board has given its nod for issue and allotment of equity shares to promoters, promoters group by way of preferential issue.

- Fulford (India) hit a lower circuit limit of 5% at Rs 1,584.30 on BSE after the company said its promoter may consider other strategic alternatives in relation to its ownership of shares in the company if the delisting offer fails.

- Pennar Industries closed 4.25% up at Rs 36.80 on BSE after the company along with its subsidiaries received orders worth Rs 105 crore.

- Idea Cellular closed 3.68% up at Rs 141.05 on BSE, with the stock extending Monday's gains triggered by RBI allowing hike in FII investment ceiling to 49% from earlier 24% of the paid-up capital of the company.

- GAIL (India) closed 2.55% up at Rs 444.30 on BSE, with the stock extending Monday's 3.95% gains triggered by buzz that a foreign brokerage has raised the price target on the stock to Rs 525 from Rs 450 earlier.

- State Bank of Travancore closed 3.01% up at Rs 610.00 on BSE after the bank said its board of directors will meet on 20 June 2014 to consider and review the issue size of the proposed rights issue of the equity shares of the bank.

- Ricoh India hit a lower circuit limit of 20% at Rs 172.80 on BSE after the company said its delisting offer has failed and the equity shares of the company will continue to remain listed on the BSE.

- Cairn India closed 1.71% up at Rs 372.80 on BSE on reports the company received environmental clearance for raising crude oil production from its Rajasthan block to 300,000 barrels per day.

- Maruti Suzuki India closed 1.72% up at Rs 2,417.90 on BSE after a foreign brokerage maintained buy rating on the stock with a 15% increase in target to Rs 2,700 per share.

- Cipla closed 0.18% down at Rs 412.85 on BSE amid volatility after the firm said its wholly owned subsidiary has signed a definitive pact with the firm's existing Sri Lankan distributor for acquisition of 60% stake in a new company.

- Man Infra construction closed 7.27% up at Rs 138.00 on BSE after the company said its board of directors will meet on 25th June, 2014, to consider stock-split and declaration of interim dividend.

Market as on 11/6/2014

Views on markets today

- Markets ended flat with a positive bias after making a smart recovery in late trades led by IT shares. Indices reeled under selling pressure in early trades as investors turned cautious and booked profits on worries over lower-than-projected monsoon rains.

India Meteorological Department (IMD), the government's official weather forecaster on Monday said it expected monsoon rainfall this year to be 93 per cent of the 50-year average since 1950 (called long-period average or LPA), against the 95 per cent it had projected earlier — both levels are considered sub-normal. There are high chances of the emergence of an El Nino weather formation, obstructing the formation of clouds, it said.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 3 points at 25,584 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 2 points at 7,656. The Sensex and the Nifty touched an intraday low of 25,347 and 7,579 mark, respectively.

- Shares of six FMCG stocks fell by 0.21% to 1.05%, in the intraday trade, on BSE after the India Meteorological Department said rains this year will be below normal as the chances of El Nino occurring during monsoon are very high.

ITC (down 1.05% to Rs 335.10), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.96% at Rs 169.60), Marico (down 0.77% at Rs 249.80), Dabur India (down 0.82% at Rs 188), Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.18% at Rs 843.30), and Nestle India (down 0.21% at Rs 4,883.95) edged lower.

- Among the 12 BSE Sectoral indices, 6 indices closed in positive while 6 indices ended the day in negative. Top Gainers: BSE Consumer Durables up by 3.55% and BSE IT by 2.32%. Top Losers: BSE Realty down by 2.96% and BSE Oil & Gas by 0.96%.

Market breadth was sharply positive at ~1.3- as investors bought large cap stocks. On provisional basis, FII's bought Rs 6.83bn worth of Indian equities and DII's sold Rs 12.15bn worth of equities.

Economic and Corporate Developments

- Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh has reaffirmed government's seriousness in tackling any situation arising out of poor monsoon rains as forecast by the Indian Meteorological Department.

In an official release, the Minister said that States have been suitably advised and sufficient food stocks are in place.

Contingency plans are already in place, States have been suitably advised, sufficient food stocks are in place, and quick action will be taken to tackle any situation arising out of deficient monsoon, he added.

Buzzing Stocks

- Two PSU OMCs lost 1.74% to 2.71%, in the intraday trading, on BSE as US crude oil futures advanced to a three-month high on signs of stronger global economic growth and concern that political tension in Libya will disrupt supplies.

HPCL (down 2.71% at Rs 432.30) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.74% at Rs 360.55), edged lower. Shares of BPCL were up 0.06% at Rs 614.90.

- Idea Cellular closed 0.82% down at Rs 145.25 on BSE after the company said it has decided to close the QIP and approved the issuance of 22.3- crore equity shares at an issue price of Rs 134 per share to qualified institutional buyers.

- Binny closed 2.80% up at Rs 189.15 on BSE after the company said its board of directors will meet on 12th June, 2014, to consider the proposal for rights issue of shares.

- Strides Arcolab lost 1.19%, in the opening trade, to Rs 608.50 on BSE, with the stock sliding on profit booking after recent rally triggered by the company securing USFDA nod for a generic medicine.

- Unitech closed 3.31% down at Rs 36.55 on BSE, with the stock reversing recent up move on profit booking.

- Bharat Heavy Electricals closed 2.87% down at Rs 255.60 on BSE, with the stock sliding on profit booking after recent rally.

- Geometric closed 3.43% up at Rs 146.45 on BSE after the company announced that it has signed an application maintenance contract with Volvo Cars, Sweden.

- Fourteen stocks gained by 1.05% to 4.98%, in the intraday trade, on the BSE on reshuffling as these stocks would be shifted back to rolling segment from trade to trade segment.

Ajmera Realty & Infra India (up 1.98%), Aksh Optifibre (up 4.95%), Avanti Feeds (up 5%), Binani Industries (up 4.98%), Dynamatic Technologies (up 2.53%), Educomp Solutions (up 4.9%), Hindustan Dorr-Oliver (up 4.9%), Phoenix Lamps (up 2.4%), Kothari Products (up 1.05%), MIRC Electronics (up 4.86%), Rohit Ferro-Tech (up 4.47%), Seamec (up 2.89%), S. Kumars Nationwide (up 4.98%) and Titagarh Wagons (up 2.77%) gained.

- Hero MotoCorp closed 2.32% down at Rs 2,662.60 on BSE on worries below normal monsoon rains this year will impact rural demand for two-wheelers.

Shares of TVS Motor Company closed down 0.72% at Rs 130.40, and shares of Bajaj Auto closed 0.26% down at Rs 2,150.80, also due to forecast of poor rain.

- Mcleod Russel India closed 1.04% down at Rs 299.25 on BSE after a bulk deal of 2 lakh shares was executed on the counter on BSE, yesterday.

- KPR Mill closed 4.46% up at Rs 194.35 on BSE after the company said that in order to meet increased demand in garment exports; it has initiated expansion plans in its garment business.

- Sun Pharmaceutical Industries closed 1.25% up at Rs 608.75 on BSE after a foreign brokerage house reiterated its overweight rating on the stock and raised its target.

Today's market 10/6/14

Views on markets today

- Markets closed at a record high as President Pranab Mukherjee told the parliament on Monday that the new government will pursue a broad economic reform agenda focused on job creation through public and private investment that also makes containing inflation its top priority.

Also, the encouraging FII data helped aided the investor sentiment. Overseas investors bought shares worth Rs 1,283 crore on Friday, provisional exchange data shows.

At close, the Sensex was up 184 points at 25,580 and the Nifty added 71 points to end the day at 7,654. Earlier in the day, the Sensex had hit a high of 25,645.

- Shares of five defence equipment manufacturers rose by 2.51% to 5%, in the intraday trade, on BSE after President Pranab Mukherjee said that the government would liberalise foreign direct investments in defence.

Astra Microwave (up 2.51%), Walchandnagar Industries (up 5%), BEML (up 3.25%), Dynamatic Technologies (up 5%) and Bharat Electronics (up 3.29%) edged higher. Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company lost 5%.

- Shares of eight firms whose fortunes are linked to orders from Indian Railways gained by 1.02% to 10%, in the intraday trade, on BSE after Pranab Mukherjee said that modernization and revamping of Railways is on top of the government's infrastructure agenda.

Texmaco Rail & Engineering (up 10% at Rs 113.20), Titagarh Wagons (up 5% at Rs 297.70), Kernex Microsystems (India) (up 5% at Rs 76.05), Stone India (up 5% at Rs 33.80), BEML (up 4.98% at Rs 772.75), Kalindee Rail Nirman (Engineers) (up 5% to Rs 108.85), Hind Rectifiers (up 1.91% to Rs 58.60) and Container Corporation of India (up 1.02% to Rs 1192) edged higher.

- JSW Steel rose 1.57%, in the early trade, to Rs 1,306.00 on BSE after the company's crude steel production rose 6% to 10.6- lakh tonnes in May, 2014 over May, 2013.

- Among the 12 BSE Sectoral indices, 11 indices closed in positive while 1 index ended the day in negative. Top Gainers: BSE Realty up by 6.01%, BSE Capital Goods by 2.48% and BSE Power by 2.26%. Top Losers: BSE Oil & Gas down by 0.47%.

Market breadth was sharply positive at ~3.13 as investors bought large cap stocks. On provisional basis, FII's bought Rs 5.36bn worth of Indian equities and DII's sold Rs 4.90bn worth of equities.

Buzzing Stocks

- NTPC rose 0.76%, in the late morning trade, to Rs 166.65 on BSE on reports the company has invited bids for construction of the 1,320 megawatts Khargone thermal project in Madhya Pradesh, estimated to cost Rs 7,000 crore.

- IDBI Bank rose 2.63%, in the opening trade, to Rs 115.10 on BSE after the bank said its board has granted in principle nod for the proposal to raise equity capital to the extent of Rs 4,000 crore through qualified institutional placement/follow-on public offer.

- Suzlon Energy was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 32.85 on BSE, with the stock extending recent rally triggered by the company securing an order from ReNew Wind Power, India's leading IPP in the wind energy sector.

- Divi's Laboratories closed 1.94% up at Rs 1,295.00 on BSE after the company said that it has had an inspection by the USFDA, with no major observations, for its Unit-II at Bheemunipatnam Mandal, near Visakhapatnam.

- Reliance Communications closed 1.12% up at Rs 152.85 on BSE after the company announced the launch of One India, One Rate Plans, and a first-of-its’s-kind free National Roaming offer for post-paid and pre-paid GSM customers.

- Strides Arcolab closed 2.68% up at Rs 615.80 on BSE, with the stock extending Friday's 9.54% rally triggered by the company securing USFDA nod for a generic medicine.

- Dhanlaxmi Bank closed 5.64% down at Rs 56.20 on BSE, with the stock sliding on profit booking after recent steep rally after the bank said its board has approved preferential allotment of 4.39 crore shares at Rs 45.55 per share.

- Coal India closed 5.60% up at Rs 411.25 on BSE after President Pranab Mukherjee in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament said the government will formulate clear rules for allocation of coal, minerals and telecoms spectrum.

- Prism Cement closed 8.30% up at Rs 76.30 on BSE after 2.46% equity changed hands in two bulk deals on BSE yesterday.

- Cadila Healthcare closed 3.97% up at Rs 965.10 on BSE after the company said that the Zydus Group will be presenting data on its molecule ZYDPLA1, a novel compound in the Gliptin class of anti-diabetic agents.

- TCS closed 1.50% up at Rs 2,115.25 on BSE after the company said that TCS BaNCS for Insurance will enable Carriers to leapfrog the digital divide through Analytics and by leveraging ISO Electronic Rating ContentTM information.

- IRB Infrastructure Developers closed 2.45% up at Rs 219.35 on BSE after the company said its wholly owned subsidiary has executed concession agreement with National Highway Authority of India for a four-lane highway project.

- Idea Cellular closed 4.01% up at Rs 146.45 on BSE, with the stock extending Friday's gains triggered by the company's announcement that it intends to raise up to Rs 3,000 crore from QIP.

Economic and Corporate Developments

President Pranab Mukherjee in his joint address to the Parliament here said that containing food inflation will be the top priority for the new government, adding that putting the economy back on track is paramount for the new government.

The Narendra Modi government will also clamp down on hoarding and black marketeering and is preparing contingency plans for sub-normal monsoon rains, Mukherjee added.

Here are the top things the President said in his address:

1) Govt to rationalise, simplify tax regime which will be non-adversarial, will make all efforts to introduce GST.

2) Modernisation, revamp of railways top priority: Govt to launch a diamond quadrilateral project of high-speed trains; investment in railways to be increased.

3) Govt to encourage investments including FDI. Will fast-track investor-friendly PPP plan.

4) Govt to formulate national education policy. Also it plans to set up an IIT, IIM in every state. Schools will be e-enabled in a phased manner.

5) Govt to formulate new health policy. AIIMS like institutes to be set up in every state.

6) Govt to liberalise FDI in defence production, encourage private investment in defence production and initiate reforms in defence procurement. International civil nuclear agreements to be operationalized and nuclear power projects developed.

7) Will pursue coal sector reforms, Govt infra development plan to be implemented in 10 years. Time bound national highway plan.

8) Govt proposes proper housing to all citizens by 2022.

9) Zero tolerance for violence against women; Govt committed to 33% quota for women in Parliament.

10) Government to formulate a new health policy and roll out a national health insurance mission.