Banking stocks shine as markets open up in new year

Markets have opened up with a decent upmove from the previous close and BANKING seems to be the most favoured pocket for traders and investors alike – most of the mid cap PSU Banks such as ALBK, UCOBK, FEDERALBNK have seen some sharp accumulation in the previous few sessions and it seems that market participants expect this pocket to be the front-runner to any sort of a +ve news flow from the RBI or the Goverment’s side. The other pocket that seems to be seeing some traction is the POWER sector with the Government clearly focussed onto clearling some of the policy-related backlogs –the CCEA’s stance on the Mega Power Projects being a case in point. Counters like POWERGRID, PTC, TATAPOWER, RPOWER, ADANIPOWER are expected to be abuzz during today’s session. The auto sales nos could have a dampening effect on the domestically oriented players like M&M, while the global play in other counters like TATAMOTORS and MARUTI could keep them insulated from any disappointments that the domestic sales numbers may bring about. Cautious trading along with profit booking is advisable.