NIFTY CLOSES ABOVE 6600 F O EXPIRY TOMORROW

Equity benchmarks posted another fresh record closing high on Wednesday, though it was a volatile session with a narrow range ahead of expiry of March series derivative contracts on Thursday.. Positive global cues and rupee appreciation helped the market stay higher amid choppy trade., Holland also expects the market move post election to be more stock-specific than index-driven. On the global front, Asian markets closed higher following upbeat US economic data and easing concerns over Ukraine crisis. Back home, the Congress party announced its election manifesto today , Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will also release its manifesto next week. Media reports quoting unnamed sources that the party’s priorities in manifesto are jobs, investment, manufacturing and infrastructure...

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries spiked nearly 4 percent while Tata Steel gained 2 percent after the company selected Oberoi Realty as successful bidder in auction for selling Borivali land parcel. Shares of L&T, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Maruti, Coal India, SBI, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries and Bharti gained 1-3 percent. However, healthcare and technology stocks saw selling pressure on account of strong rupee. FMCG stocks declined too. Shares of TCS, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Sun Pharma plunged 2-3 percent followed by ITC and Cipla with 1 percent. HDFC and HDFC Bank were down 0.4 percent each. The rupee moved to eight-month high today, up 34 paise to 60.14 against the US dollar, tracking strong inflow of foreign money.