A decisive break of the low of any previous day will signal a possible reversal

Hopes of a cut in key interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) following dismal industrial output numbers for April pushed the market higher. The six days of positive move on the Nifty, which happened since 4 June 2012 has retraced nearly 62% of the fall that happened between 20 April 2012 and 4 June 2012. Yesterday we had mentioned that the market may try to rally after a minor dip. Today the Nifty fell to the level of 5,015 and went to hit a 27-day high of 5,129 (after 4 May 2012). If the benchmark manages to close above 5,140 we may still see the upward trend continuing, however, watch out for previous day’s low. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) saw a volume of 62.04 crore shares    

The market opened lower ahead of the release of industrial output numbers for April and on concerns that the release of financial aid to Spanish banks would not be the end of Europe’s debt problems. Markets in Asia were weak in morning trade as investors became increasingly worried about the unending problems in Europe. Back home, the Nifty opened 38 points lower at 5,016 and the Sensex resumed trade at 16,571, a cut of 97 points from its previous close.

The benchmarks fell to their intraday lows in initial trade itself with the Nifty at 5,015 and the Sensex going back to 16,553.

Meanwhile, the rupee lost 11 paise to Rs55.85 against the dollar in early trade following dollar gains against other currencies overseas amid a weak trend in the equity market. The Indian unit had closed at 55.74 against the greenback in the previous session as dollar demand from banks and corporates emerged at fag-end after S&P warned that it could lower India's sovereign rating.

Although the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for April came in at a meagre 0.1%, buying interest on hopes that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) would cut interest rates in its mid-quarter review next week pushed the indices in the positive in late morning trade.

The market extended its gains in subsequent trade on support from banking, auto, oil & gas, metals and capital goods sectors. A positive opening of the key European markets also boosted investor confidence.

Across-the-board buying by institutional investors in late trade helped the benchmarks continue their northward journey. The market hit its intraday high in the last half hour. At this point the Nifty rose to 5,129 and the Sensex scaled 16,897.

The market closed marginally off the highs. The Nifty gained 62 points at 5,116 and the Sensex finished the session at 16,863, up 195 points over its previous close.

The advance-decline ratio on the NSE was positive at 871:779.

While the broader markets also closed higher, they underperformed the Sensex. The BSE Mid-cap index gained 0.62% and the BSE Small-cap index rose 0.28%.

Barring the BSE Healthcare index (down 0.40%), all other sectoral gauged settled in the green. They were led by BSE Realty (up 2.01%); BSE Bankex (up 1.90%); BSE Capital Goods (up 1.84%); BSE Auto (up 1.76%) and BSE Consumer Durables (up 1.52%).

The top Sensex gainers were Maruti Suzuki (up 3.48%); Tata Motors (up 3.14%); Larsen & Toubro (up 2.53%); Sterlite Industries (up 2.51%) and Hindalco Industries (up 2.16%). The losers were Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (down 1.81%); Wipro (down 1.71%); Hindustan Unilever (down 0.57%); Sun Pharma (down 0.20%) and Tata Power (down 0.10%).

Ambuja Cement (up 5.81%); Punjab National Bank (up 4.06%); ACC (up 3.18%); Tata Motors (up 3.14%) and DLF (up 3.03%) were the top performers on the Nifty. The main lowers on the index were Wipro (down 1.84%); Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (down 1.74%); Ranbaxy Laboratories (down 1.13%); HUL (down 0.95%) and Jaiprakash Associates (up 0.51%).

Markets across Asia closed lower as investors expressed doubts that the bailout package to Spanish banks would not ease the problems plaguing the Eurozone nations. Investors will now turn their focus on fresh elections in Greece, slated to take place on 17th June and Italian problems.

The Shanghai Composite dipped 0.70%; the Hang Seng fell 0.43%; the Jakarta Composite slipped by 0.35%; the KLSE Composite lost 0.15%; the Nikkei 225 dropped 1.02%; the KOSPI Composite fell by 0.66% and the Taiwan Weighted settled 0.68% lower. Bucking the trend, the Straits Times gained 0.33%.

At the time of writing, the key European markets were trading with gains of nearly half a percent and US stock futures were trading higher.

Back home, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of shares totalling Rs130.38 crore on Monday while domestic institutional investors were net sellers of equities aggregating Rs214.66 crore.

Pharma major Venus Remedies today said it has received patent from the US Patent Office for new antibiotic product which targets drug resistant infections. The product, CSE 1034, has been found to be effective against a wide range of drug-resistant infections, including the ‘superbugs,’ the company said in a statement. The stock jumped 4.82% to close at Rs175.05 on the NSE.

Pennar Engineered Building Systems (PEBS), a subsidiary of Pennar Industries, has received two orders. The first is from Tata Steel Group Company in Hyderabad and second from Jayabheri Orange County. Pennar Industries closed at Rs28.40 on the NSE, up 4.60% over its previous close.

Nava Bharat Ventures has commenced work on its 2x150 MW (300 MW) power plant in Zambia. It is also taking up production of coal at the Maamba Collieries. The company plans to invest up to $750 million in the thermal power plant and coal mining activity. The stock gained 0.68% to close at Rs177 on the NSE.