Sensex ends flat; weak global cues offset reform hopes

Indian shares ended flat on Tuesday as weaker regional shares offset the optimism over additional reforms a day after the government passed an executive order to ease land acquisition rules.

Monday's announcement could kick-start hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stalled projects, and comes after separate orders were passed to implement coal and insurance reforms.

However, weak sentiment across the region on a sharp sell-off in commodities overnight and political uncertainty in Greece left investors hesitant to take big bets.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended at 27,403.54, up 7.81 points or 0.03 per cent and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended at 8,248.25, up 1.95 points or 0.02 per cent.

Infrastructure stocks gained with Larsen and Toubro adding 0.5 per cent, while Lanco Infratech rose 4.3 per cent.

However, energy firms fell as Brent crude fell to a 5-1/2 year low below $57 a barrel. Reliance Industries closed down 1.9 per cent and Oil and Natural Gas Corp ended down 1.5 per cent.

Whirlpool of India and Blue Star up over 3% eyeing extension of excise duty concession

— Rajalakshmi Nirmal (@crajalakshmic) December 30, 2014

Sectoral indices

Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables index gained the most by 1.38 per cent, followed by power 1.14 per cent, capital goods 1.03 per cent and India infrastructure 0.69 per cent. On the other hand, oil & gas index was down 1.22 per cent, followed by metal 1.09 per cent, auto 0.27 per cent and realty 0.24 per cent.

Gainers, losers

Major Sensex gainers were BHEL 1.51%, Dr Reddy's 1.24%, NTPC 1.11%, Axis Bank 0.99% and SBIN 0.78%, while the top five losers were Hero MotoCorp 2.09%, Tata Steel 1.94%, Reliance 1.83%, ONGC 1.46% and Bajaj Auto 1.36%.

Early trade

The Sensex rose over 82 points in early trade today on increased buying by funds and retail investors amid acceleration in economic reforms after the government recommended promulgation of an ordinance making significant changes in the Land Acquisition Act.

Rising for the third straight session, the BSE 30-share barometer rose 82.57 points or 0.30 per cent to 27,478.30.

The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also edged higher by 21.95 points or 0.26 per cent to 8,268.25.

Excise duty concession for consumer durable goods and automobiles to expire tomorrow, sources say the government is likely to extend it..

— Rajalakshmi Nirmal (@crajalakshmic) December 30, 2014

Brokers' comment

Brokers said selling by participants in blue-chip stocks that recently logged gains and a weak trend in global markets, led to the downtrend in the domestic markets.

They said foreign funds winding down for the end of the year, also dampened the trading sentiment.

European markets

European shares fell on Tuesday, led by energy companies as Brent oil fell to a fresh 5-1/2-year low on persistent worries about a global supply glut.

Oil explorer Seadrill was among the top fallers in the sector after saying it had exercised an option to buy drillship West Polaris from Ship Finance International Ltd.

The STOXX Europe 600 oil & gas index fell 1.4 per cent at 0812 GMT, the worst performing sector index in Europe.

Asian markets

Asian shares got off to a lacklustre start on Tuesday, as a sharp sell-off in commodities and political uncertainty in Greece made investors less willing to take risks in the final trading days of 2014.

Activity was thin ahead of the New Year holiday, with many traders having closed out positions. Japanese markets will be shut from Wednesday to Friday, reopening next Monday.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged down about 0.2 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.7 per cent.

On Wall Street overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average ended slightly down, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite managed to eke out modest gains.

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