Sensex, Nifty end in red after trading in narrow range

It was a complete choppy session, as market was seen grinding in a narrow 25 points trading range especially in the second half. Nifty was unable to surpass the crucial 200-DMA which is now placed at 8221.

In addition, Nifty also breached below the 8150 support zone for the first time this week after managing to hold on throughout the week.

A close below the support zone indicates that further weakness is likely on the cards. Any kind of recovery will once again find stiff resistance at the 200-DMA of 8221 and its immediate previous peak of 8250.

The Benchmark indices in Asia, Europe and India more or less exhibited a subdued outlook. The key factor influencing this was the US Federal Reserve rate hike that was announced earlier this week.

Asian indices ended on a positive note amid subdued trading as traders chose to hold off on further bets ahead of the weekend. Some emerging markets' shares continued to be weak on US Fed's 2017 interest rate outlook. The drop in Hong Kong was due to the fear that investors harboured regarding outflow of capital due to the US Fed rate hike.

Japan's Nikkei 225 closed at 19401 up 0.66%, Singapore's Straits Times closed at 2939 up 0.31%, China's Shanghai Composite ended at 3122.98 up 0.17%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed at 22020 down 0.18%, the only index to close in red among the lot.

Similar sentiment was exhibited by European indices as the markets opened a mixed and subdued note. At the time of filing this report, CAC-40 was trading at 4817 down 0.03%, trading in red, while FTSE 100 was trading at 6999 and DAX was trading at 11381 up 0.13%.

The BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 30 points at 26489. The benchmark indices opened at 26548.67, touched an intra-day high of 26594.55 and low of 26455.21.

The NSE Nifty was down 14 points and closed at 8,139. It opened at 8,178.20 points, hitting a high of 8,178.70 and low of 8,127.45.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 2.57% at 15.25. The BSE Midcap closed at 12236.5 and Smallcap indices closed at 12113.5, both closing marginally down.

Out of 1513 stocks traded on the NSE, 899 declined and 533 advanced today.

A total of 15 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, whereas 17 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

At the close of day, Tata Motors, Zee, Bosch, Infosys, Infratel, TCS, Eicher Motors, Maruti, HDFC Bank, HDFC were the top gainers while Hindalco, Ultratech Cement, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, BHEL, Grasim, Tata Power, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, ACC were among the losers on NSE.

The Indian Rupee was trading at 67.79 per dollar. Gold was trading at Rs 27,110 per 10 gms and silver was trading at Rs 39,597 per kg.

In a pressure filled day, the noteworthy stock is Claris Lifesciences Ltd which hit a record high of Rs 430.10, up 20% after the company sold its injectable business to a US healthcare company.

Sensex, Nifty lower amid volatility; banks, metals, telecom dip

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 28.50 points at 26490.57 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 14.90 points to 8138.70. The market breadth weakened further as about 1290 shares slipped against 1072 advancing shares on the BSE. 

Nifty Bank, Metal, Healthcare and Realty indices were under pressure while IT and Auto gained. 

Oil marketing companies IOC, HPCL and BPCL shares were down 1-1.5 percent after they have deferred a planned Rs 2.26 a litre hike in petrol and Rs 1.78 increase in diesel. These companies revise rates, particularly when a price cut is necessitated, on 1st and 16th of every month based on average international price in the previous fortnight. 

In the broader space, Tree House was locked at 20 percent lower circuit as following playgroup downing the shutters on 113 branches across India, the company has come under a spotlight. It has claimed that it hasn't been able to pay staff salaries leading to the shutting of branches. 

Bajaj Auto launched its latest sports bike Dominar 400 priced up to Rs 1.5 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) as it looks to challenge segment leader Royal Enfield in the Rs 1-2 lakh category.

GE Shipping takes delivery of secondhand Supermax dry bulk carrier.

Cipla subsidiary in the Netherlands will pump in up to euro 16.8 million to form a joint venture with its Iranian distributor Ahran Tejarat Company. The JV proposes to undertake manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceutical products in Iran.

Dilip Buildcon wins new project from Andhra Pradesh worth Rs 260 crore, earlier had bagged order worth Rs 900 crore from Maharashtra.

Claris Lifesciences has agreed to sell its global generics injectables business to Baxter International for a total consideration of US $ 625 million. The Boards of both companies have approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second half of 2017, a note from Baxter said.

Sical Logistics informed that its logistics operations at Chennai, Kamarajar port interrupted due the cyclone.

Welspun India is investing Rs 600 crore for setting up a facility for manufacturing carpets, area rugs and carpet tiles here, marking the leading global home textile firm's foray into flooring solutions segment.

Phoenix Mills acquires additional 3.75% stake in subsidiary, Alliance Spaces.

Persistent's promoter S P Deshpande to donate 4.99% stake to philanthropic foundation.

IL&FS Transport to acquire 4 Indian investments by Elsamex for Rs 141 crore.

Saksoft acquires majority stake in Dreamorbit to strengthen IoT.

Axis Bank dismisses 24 staffers, suspends 50 accounts after IT raids.

Sanofi said to be in advanced talks to buy drugmaker Actelion.

Merck wins $2.54 bn in Hepatitis C drug trial against Gilead.

Goldman Sach's case against Gati fast-tracked in test for courts

Telenor looks to sell its India unit to Idea Cellular.

Nifty, Sensex flat; Pharma, Oil & Gas down

Asian indices opened flat to positive as most currencies adjusted to the renewed bout of strength in the US$. The US$ now looks very heavily overbought as consensus bullishness makes the gains a one way street which could cap the upside in the near term. Oil rallied marginally as US equities flirted with 19500 before profit booking trimmed the gains. Gold continues to test bear market territory & could well be the casualty asset class for 2017.

China's Shanghai Composite opened at 3,111.51, Hong Kong's Hang Seng opened at 21,996.38, Singapore's Straits Times started at 2,934.29 while Japan's Nikkei 225 opened at 19,438.39.

The US benchmark indices ended on a positive note with key indices gaining more than 0.30%. Following the rate hike announced by the US Federal Reserve's Monetary Policy Commttee, the shares of financial companies gained wherein banks' shares rose the most as they see maximum benefit from a rise in interest rates in the US.

S&P 500 ended at 2262 up 0.39%, Nasdaq Composite closed at 5456 up 0.37% and Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day at 19852 up 0.30%.

The December futures of Nifty 50 ended at a premium of 19.45 points to the spot index, and open interest in the contract fell 6.0% to 15.58 mn. Post rate hike by the US Fed, it seems interest rates are rising by 75 basis points in 2017 as compared with 50 basis points earlier, which is set to raise the cost of funds for foreign funds who invest in emerging markets like India.

At 09:56 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26524 up 5 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,149 down 3 points. A total of 13 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 12 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Out of 1875 stocks traded on the NSE, 552 declined, 880 advanced and 443 remained unchanged today.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.06% at 12247, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.26% at 12175.

Some buying activity is observed in Auto, Conusmer Durables, Information Technology, Telecommunications sectors, while Oil & Gas, Metal, Pharma, Bank, FMCG are showing weakness on BSE.

Tata Motors, Infosys, Bank of Baroda, HDFC, Tata Motor DVR, Zee, NTPC, Maruti, TCS, Infratel are among the gainers, whereas Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Ultartech Cement, M&M, HCL Tech, Hindalco, Tata Power, ACC, Idea are losing sheen on NSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 2.18% at 15.3.