Auto sector gains; Ashok Leyland up by 2.2%

Nifty Auto is the leading index across sectoral indices on NSE. The index is trading at 9770.80 level gaining 105.80 points or 1.09%.
 
Ashok Leyland is the top performer in the Auto sector. The stock is trading at Rs 88.20 per share up by Rs 1.90 per share or 2.20%. Bosh limited gained 2.02%. Bajaj auto gained 1.70%.
 
At 02:00 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27307.99 up 190.65 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8450.95 up 59.45 points. A total of 62 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 11 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.
 
The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.48% at 12705.54, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.62% at 12900.14.
 
Some buying activity is seen in Energy, Finance, Healthcare, Utilities and Telecom while Information Technology, FMCG and Teck are showing weakness on BSE.
 
Realty, FMCG and IT sectors are trading in red on NSE while all other sectors are trading in green.
 
There are 1029 stocks advancing, 550 stocks are declining while 328 are unchanged on NSE.
 
IDEA, BHEL Tata Power, NTPC and ULTRATECH CEMENT are among the gainers, whereas Yes Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, HCL TECH are losing sheen on NSE.
 
The INDIA VIX is down 2.14% at 15.56.

Top 14 stocks in focus today: Tata Communications, Infratel, MOIL

Tata Communications: Tata Communications posted an over 12-fold jump in its December quarter net profit at Rs 1,413 crore on account of realisation from sale of its data centre. It had posted a net profit of Rs 110.7 crore in the same period a year ago.

Bharti Infratel: Mobile tower company Bharti Infratel reported 25% increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 620 crore for the December quarter of the current fiscal. It had posted net profit of Rs 495 crore in the same period of last fiscal, 2015-16.

MOIL: Government will sell 10% stake in state-owned manganese miner MOIL on Tuesday at a floor price of Rs 365 a share, which will fetch around Rs 480 crore to the exchequer.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd: HUL reported 7% increase in standalone net profit to Rs 1,038 crore for the third quarter of current fiscal on account of strong exceptional income. HUL had posted net profit of Rs 972 crore in the October-December quarter of last fiscal.

Asian Paints: Asian Paints registered 1.5% increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 489 crore for the third December quarter of the current fiscal. It had posted net profit of Rs 482 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Den Networks: Den Networks reported narrowing of consolidated net loss at Rs 45 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had posted consolidated net loss of Rs 87.4 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries: Sun Pharma is looking to sell its US subsidiary, Ohm Laboratories, as it looks to consolidate its operations in the country, as per media report.

GIC Housing Finance: GIC Housing reported a 12.6% increase in its net profit at Rs 34 crore for the third quarter ended December. The company's net profit stood at Rs 31 crore in the corresponding October-December quarter of 2015-16.

EIH Ltd: EIH posted 8% increase in its standalone net profit to Rs 54.31 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016. It had posted a net profit of Rs 50.15 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Karnataka Bank: The bank reported a fall of 29% in net profit at Rs 68.5 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016 as higher allocation to cover bad loans eroded benefits. Bank's net profit in corresponding October-December quarter of 2015-16 stood at Rs 96.9 crore.

L&T Infotech: L&T Infotech has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 248 crore in the December quarter, up 10.5 per cent from Rs 224.5 crore in the same period last year.

Trent: The company said net profit increased 14% to Rs 37.22 crore in the quarter ended December 31.

Great Eastern Shipping: The company's unit received contract to sell a platform supply vessel.

IFCI: The board has approved disinvestment of entire 45.5% stake in Hardicon.

Nifty opened above crucial 8400 level

At 9:15 AM, the BSE Sensex opened higher by 32 points at 27149, while the Nifty50 opened higher by 11 points at 8402 mark.
 
The rupee opened at 68.08 per dollar gains 12 paise.
 
The European markets got off to a weak start on Monday, as traders had their first opportunity to react to Donald Trump’s inauguration speech. The DAX of Germany dropped 0.73% and the CAX 40 of France fell 0.60%. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. declined 0.66%.
 
The US stocks closed down on Monday as a clutch of corporate quarterly results came out mixed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 27 points at 19,800, the S&P 500 fell 6 points to close at 2,265 and the Nasdaq Composite Index closed down 2.39 points at 5,552.94. 
 
Asian markets are trading hesitant on Tuesday, following the dull lead from the US market, while Japanese shares are trading in the negative territory after the yen hit a two-month high against the dollar.
 
The SGX Nifty index gained 16-point trading at 8,430, indicating a flat to positive opening for the Indian markets. Investors will react to Hindustan Unilever third quarter numbers which came in after market hours on Monday. HDFC Bank and Bharti Airtel are some of the major companies that are set to post their quarterly earnings today
 
HCL TECH is trading down by Rs 16.85 per share.
 
Asian Paints is trading down by 0.58%.
 
Yes Bank is trading up by 1.1%.
 
Bank of Baroda is up by 0.97%.
 
HDFC Bank is trading up by 0.83%.