Volatility ruled the roost as the key benchmark indices pared gains after a solid surge in
early trade triggered by firm global stocks. World stocks rose after data showed the US
economy was out of recession. Reliance Industries and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation drifted
lower after the two companies announced second quarter results after trading hours on
Thursday, 29 October 2009. The BSE 30-share Sensex was up 202.80 points or 1.26% to
16,255.52.
The market breadth was strong. Metal shares were in demand on the back of firm metal prices
on the London Metal Exchange. ICICI Bank surged ahead of Q2 results.
Asian markets rallied after data on Thursday showed US gross domestic product (GDP) grew at
a 3.5% pace in Q3 September 2009. This was the fastest pace in GDP growth for the US economy
since the third quarter of 2007. The growth followed four quarters of contraction. Key
benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan were up by
between 0.28% and 3.12%
The Bank of Japan's (BoJ) policy board unanimously left its overnight call rate target at
0.1% Friday, as was widely expected. It also extended its special lending program at that
rate through the end of the Japanese fiscal year in March 2010 in order to ensure ample
liquidity until then. However, it said it would end outright purchases of corporate bonds
and commercial paper in December 2009, when those increasingly less-used steps were already
scheduled to expire.
Board member Atsushi Mizuno was the lone the policy board dissenter opposing its decision to
end the outright buys and also end the loan program in March 2010. Although the BoJ makes
its decisions independently, the government has kept pressure on the bank to do all it can
to support the economic recovery.
Japan's joblessness rate declined to 5.3% in September 2009 from 5.5% in August 2009, the
statistics bureau said today in Tokyo.
US stocks soared on Thursday, 29 October 2009 after four days of losses after data showed
the world's largest economy grew for the first time in a year as a spate of stimulus
measures brought an end to the longest period of contraction since the Great Depression. The
Dow Jones industrial average jumped 199.89 points, or 2.1%, to 9,962.58. The broader S&P 500
index rose 23.48 points, or 2.3%, to 1,066.11, while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 37.94
points, or 1.8%, to 2,097.55.
A separate government report showed that the number of Americans filing new claims for
unemployment fell to 530,000 last week from 531,000 the previous week. Economists thought it
would drop to 525,000.
Continuing claims, a measure of Americans receiving benefits for a week or more, fell to
5,797,000 from 5,945,000 the week before. Economists thought claims would fall to 5,905,000.
Trading in US index futures indicated Dow could fall 7 points at the opening bell today, 30
October 2009.
Close home, exports declined by 13.8% to $13.6 billion in September 2009 over September
2008, preliminary data showed on 29 October 2009. The fall in exports in September 2009 was
lowest in the current financial year, showing gradual signs of recovery in t
