World Stock Market : World stocks up on hopes of new Fed stimulus move

World stock markets were modestly higher Monday as sluggish U.S. growth boosted hopes for more measures from the Federal Reserve to help the world's No. 1 economy.

The Fed has already carried out two massive rounds of bond-buying known as quantitative easing to drive down long-term interest rates and stimulate spending and business investment. Low bond yields also encourage investors to shift money to stocks.

European stocks were mostly higher in early trading. Britain's FTSE rose 0.2 percent to 5,759.82 and Germany's DAX added 0.2 percent to 6,815.04. France's CAC-40 fell 0.6 percent to 3,246.79.

U.S. stocks were headed for a neutral opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures nearly unchanged at 13,168. S&P 500 futures were flat at 1,398.

Asian stocks were higher in trading thinned by holidays in Japan and mainland China. All major Asian markets except Tokyo will be closed for holidays on Tuesday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.7 percent to 21,094.21, with banking shares racking up solid gains.

South Korea's Kospi added 0.3 percent to 1,981.99 amid improving business sentiment among manufacturers. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8 percent to 4,396.60 as rising commodities prices helped push up its mining sector.

Benchmarks in New Zealand, Taiwan and the Philippines also gained, while Singapore and Indonesia fell. Markets in mainland China and Japan were closed for public holidays.

Traders are also awaiting U.S. monthly jobs figures for April, to be released Friday, and the second round of France's presidential election on Sunday.

U.S. stock markets rose Friday despite a report that the U.S. economy grew at annual rate of 2.2 percent, below the 2.5 percent that economist had expected. It grew at a faster rate, 3 percent, in the final three months of 2011.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 20 cents to $104.73 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 38 cents to settle at $104.93 in New York on Friday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3239 from $1.3259 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.14 yen from 80.39 yen.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex ends above 17,300; TCS, DLF, Hero, Infosys up

The Sensex closed at 17,318.81, up 131.47 points, or 0.76 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,359.18 and a low of 17,195.51.

The Nifty ended at 5,248.15, up 39.15 points, or 0.75 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,262.15 and a low of 5,201.45.

According to technical analysts, the market is rangebound with a positive bias. Selling activity seems to have been exhausted and in the next few sessions, if global cues remain supportive, the benchmarks might breach the intermediate resistance levels.

"We have a good chance of breaking above 5,275-5,280 if global markets support us. If these markets remain good for two days we might actually challenge them right away on Wednesday morning. Above 5,280, you might see markets gain some momentum and 5,350-5,370 is what I would look for in the upside," said Mitesh Thacker, Technical Analyst, miteshthacker.com.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.69 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.57 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE IT Index was up 2.37 percent, the BSE Oil & Gas Index advanced 1.05 percent, the BSE Realty Index gained 1.04 percent and the BSE Metal Index was up 0.89 percent. The BSE FMCG Index slipped 0.27 percent.

TCS (3.49%), Jindal Steel (3.41%), Infosys Technologies (2.75%), DLF (2.61%) and Hero MotoCorp (2.35%) were among the top Sensex gainers.

Goldman Sachs upgraded DLF to 'buy' from 'neutral'. It raised the target price of the stock to Rs 264 on expectations of a pickup in residential and commercial property sales.

Maruti Suzuki (1.95%), BHEL (1.94%), M&M (0.64%), ITC (0.61%) and HDFC (0.50%) were among the index losers.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki slipped after the company announced its quarterly results on Saturday. Its standalone net profit slipped to Rs 639 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 659 crore in the same period a year ago. Net sales rose to Rs 11,486.36 crore for the March 2012 quarter against Rs 9,796.71 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Shares of BHEL were down on profit booking amid media reports that the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam scrapped tenders worth over Rs 12,000 crore for setting up mega power projects.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1,173 gainers against 1,091 losers.

Indian Stock Market : Nifty ends near 5,250; TCS, Jindal Steel, PGC gain

The Nifty closed the day at 5,247.55, up 38.55 points, or 0.74 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,262.15 and a low of 5,201.45.

The Sensex closed at 17,323.52, up 136.18 points, or 0.79 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,359.18 and a low of 17,195.51.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.76 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.54 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE IT Index was up 2.50 percent, the BSE Oil & Gas Index advanced 1.09 percent, the BSE Realty Index gained 1.04 percent and the BSE Metal Index was up 1.01 percent. The BSE FMCG Index slipped 0.29 percent.

TCS (3.81%), Jindal Steel (3.73%), Power Grid Corporation (3.08%), Hero MotoCorp (2.91%) and Infosys Technologies (2.84%) were among the top Nifty gainers.

BHEL (2.27%), Maruti Suzuki (1.75%), Axis Bank (1.38%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (1.09%) and SAIL (0.68%) were the among the index losers.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex near 17,300; realty, tech, banks, power gain

At 10:00 a.m., the Sensex was at 17,299.53, up 112.19 points, or 0.65 percent. It touched an intraday high of 17,324.13 and a low of 17,195.51.

The Nifty was at 5,244, up 35 points, or 0.67 percent. It touched an intraday high of 5,251.25 and a low of 5,201.45.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.45 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.68 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Realty Index was up 1.42 percent, the BSE IT Index advanced 1.36 percent, the BSE Bankex gained 1.10 percent and the BSE Power Index was up 0.77 percent. The BSE Auto Index slipped 0.48 percent.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki slipped after the company announced its quarterly results on Saturday. Its standalone net profit slipped to Rs 639 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 659 crore in the same period a year ago. Net sales rose to Rs 11,486.36 crore for the March 2012 quarter against Rs 9796.71 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

DLF (2.11%), TCS (1.93%), Infosys Technologies (1.76%), ICICI Bank (1.39%) and GAIL (1.12%) are among the top Sensex gainers.

Maruti Suzuki (2.23%), BHEL (2.11%), M&M (1.50%), Bajaj Auto (0.83%) and Jindal Steel (0.64%) are the among the index losers.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1,021 gainers against 512 losers.

Asian markets are witnessing a mixed session. The Hang Seng gained 1.12 percent and the Seoul Composite moved 0.08 percent higher. The Taiwan Weighted slipped 0.14 percent and the Strait Times declined 0.21 percent.

Indian Stock Market : Nifty seen opening higher, Maruti Suzuki eyed

The 50-share Nifty is expected to open higher on Monday, tracking positive Asian markets, while investors will keep a close eye on Maruti Suzuki after the country's largest car maker reported a decline in quarterly profits.

Maruti Suzuki India said its net profit declined by 3.04 percent to Rs 639.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012, over the same period of the previous fiscal. The company's board recommended a dividend of 150 percent (Rs 7.50 per share of face value Rs 5 each) for 2011-12.

On Friday, US stocks advanced and posted their best weekly gains in a month on the back of stronger-than-expected earnings. The S&P 500 posted its best weekly percentage gain since March and the Nasdaq its best gain since February.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23.69 points, or 0.18 percent, at 13,228.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 3.38 points, or 0.24 percent, at 1,403.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 18.59 points, or 0.61 percent, at 3,069.20.

Asian shares inched higher on Monday as weaker-than-expected US growth data left open the possibility for more monetary stimulus from the Federal Reserve.

However, trading is likely to be subdued with the Japanese and Chinese markets closed for a holiday.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng was trading higher at 20,986.12, up 1.1%. South Korea's Kospi was trading 0.4% higher at 1,984.45.

At 08:00 a.m., Nifty India stock futures in Singapore were up 18 points at 5,209.00, indicating a positive opening in the domestic market.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex off highs; BHEL, Maruti, Sterlite, Sun Pharma down

At 2:20 p.m., the Sensex was at 17,254.56, up 67.22 points, or 0.39 percent. It has touched a high of 17,359.18 and a low of 17,195.51 in trade so far.

The Nifty was at 5,224.45, up 15.45 points, or 0.30 percent. It has touched a high of 5,262.15 and a low of 5,201.45 in trade so far.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.15 percent and the BSE Smallcap Index gained 0.29 percent.

Among sectoral indices, the BSE IT Index was up 1.71 percent, the BSE Oil & Gas Index advanced 0.53 percent, the BSE Realty Index gained 0.43 percent and the BSE Power Index was up 0.40 percent. The BSE Healthcare Index slipped 0.61 percent and the BSE FMCG Index declined 0.15 percent.

TCS (3.02%), DLF (2.42%), Infosys Technologies (2.01%), Hero MotoCorp (1.77%) and Tata Power (1.01%) are among the top Senssex gainers.

Goldman Sachs upgraded DLF to 'buy' from 'neutral'. It raised the target price of the stock to Rs 264 on expectations of a pickup in residential and commercial property sales.

BHEL (2.14%), Maruti Suzuki (1.91%), M&M (1.12%), Sterlite Industries (0.85%) and Sun Pharmaceuticals (0.72%) were the among the index losers.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki slipped after the company announced its quarterly results on Saturday. Its standalone net profit slipped to Rs 639 crore for the quarter ended March 2012 against Rs 659 crore in the same period a year ago. Net sales rose to Rs 11,486.36 crore for the March 2012 quarter against Rs 9796.71 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Shares of BHEL were down on profit booking amid media reports that the Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam scrapped tenders worth over Rs 12,000 crore for setting up mega power projects.

The market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1,351 gainers against 1,279 losers.

European markets opened on a positive note. The FTSE 100 was up 0.23 percent and the DAX advanced 0.27 percent. The CAC 40 slipped 0.75 percent.

Indian Stock Market : Sensex gains 0.8 pct in early trade; Maruti Suzuki down 2%

The BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.8 percent early on Monday with TCS, Infosys and HDFC Bank leading the gains. The broader 50-share NSE index was up 0.7 percent to 5,244.20.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki slipped 2% in early trade after the car maker reported a 3.04 percent decline in quarterly net profits to Rs 639.8 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012, over the same period of the previous fiscal.

At 9:20 a.m., the 30-share BSE index was trading 0.6% higher at 17,051.16 points led by gains in TCS (1.5%), Infosys (1.2%) and HDFC Bank (0.7%).

The BSE PSU index gained 1.3%, the BSE realty index surged 0.7% and the BSE metal index was up 0.72%.

Top Sensex losers include BHEL, which was trading 2% lower at Rs 224.60, and Bajaj Auto Ltd, which was trading at Rs 1,582.55, down 0.3%.