Climbing steadily

The Indian markets were seen hitting new highs on account of buying by both retail and foreign buyers The Nifty on Friday closed at 8337 around one point down The outlook for Nifty remains positive and it is all set to test 8565 in the near term Nifty has support at 8300 and the next major support is at 8200 levelsProfit jumpOn the back of container cargo volumes and steady pick up in bulk cargo volumes Gujarat Pipavav Port Ltd reported a 103 per cent jump in the net profit in the September quarter Net profit for the period under consideration increased to Rs 8950 crore from Rs 4410 crore a year ago and the revenue increased 35 per cent to Rs 17010 croreThe margin on earnings before interest taxes depreciation and amortisation EBITDA rose to 564 per cent from 486 per cent a year ago Essel Propack reported a 3405 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit for the second quarter that ended September 2014The net profit of the company stood at Rs 3846 crore as compared to Rs 2869 crore in the corresponding period last year Total consolidated income from operations during the same quarter also increased from 1313 per cent to Rs 59515 crore as compared to Rs 52607 crore in the last yearFor the first half of the 201415 fiscal the consolidated net profit increased 2424 per cent to Rs 6483 crore as compared to Rs 5218 crore in the corresponding period last year The total income from operations in the first half increased 1369 per cent to Rs 114384 crore from Rs 100608 crore in the same period last yearMore jobsThe countryrsquos factory activity expanded in October slightly as stronger demand led manufacturers to add jobs The HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Mangersrsquo Index rose to 516 in October The index level above 50 shows expansion while below level shows contractionIn September the output of core industries stood at an eight month low of 19 per cent down from 58 per cent in August The data showed that infrastructure industries had slowed down the most since January when production grew 16 per cent Infrastructure production grew 4 per cent in the first half of 201415 lower than 5 per cent in the same period last yearProduction of crude oil natural gas refineries and fertilisers contracted in September as output of coal cement steel and electricity rose but growth remained lower than the previous month Electricity generation grew 38 per cent in September but stood less than 126 per cent in August and the cement production grew 32 per cent against 103 per cent in the previous monthFor the US markets in the coming week retail sales Reuters Michigan Consumer Sentiment Preliminary Business Inventories Initial and continuing jobless claims are important data Inflation rate PPI Industrial production and retail sales are important ones on the Chinese watch out listFuture expectationsFor the coming week major corporate earnings are Adani ports Adani power Apollo tyres Archies Aarti Drugs BEML Britannia CARE CESC Cox amp Kings Educomp GE Shipping PTC India SBIN Tata Motors TVS Motors Arvind remedies Bajaj Electricals Bombay Dyeing Hathway Hindalco NCC SAIL SSWL Tata power Voltas Amaraja Batteries MOIL Prestige Estates Tata chemicals Timken Sunil Hitech and Omax AutosAlso on the economic data front Balance of Trade Inflation rate manufacturing production and Industrial production are important ones Counters like Dr Reddy Sun Pharma Lupin Lab and Aurobindo Pharma are positive and may test new 52 week highs ICICI Bank Axis Bank Kotak Bank and SBI are also positive HUL and Infosys can also give strong support to the marketInvestors can buy these stocks in the medium term perspective Crude has support at 75 per barrel movements below this could trigger further selloff Crude has resistance at 78 and 82 per barrelAlex K Mathews is the author of Financial Services And Systems as well as Option Trading Bear Market Strategies published by Tata McGraw Hill He is also the technical and derivatives research head of Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd The author may have a vested interest in investments he has recommended Feel free to email him at alexgeojitcom Geojit BNP Paribas has membership in and is listed on the National Stock Exchange NSE and the Bombay Stock Exchange BSE