Markets ended flat with a negative bias; Bharti Airtel and Reliance were the top Sensex gainers

The day started with Nifty opening down by 5.70 points and Sensex opening down by 15.66 points respectively. BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices opened with minor gains of 3.99 points and 6.68 points respectively.
 
Nifty touched intraday high of 8662.60 levels at the lunch hours, but could not sustain there for long time, closing flat at 8635.55 level, down by 5.6 points or 0.06%. Sensex closed at 27849.56 levels down by 32.90 points or 0.12%.
 
Out of 50 stocks in Nifty 50 index, 18 stocks advanced and 33 stocks declined.
 
Telecom stocks gained the most based on confirmation by Vodafone about merger talks with Idea Cellular. Telecom stocks gained as the merger between two of the largest telecom players augurs well for the industry profitability and structure. Reliance Communications closed up by 11.33%; Idea closed up by 26.54%; and Bharti Airtel closed up by 7.36%.
 
IT stocks continued to be under pressure. Nifty IT closed in red at 10170.65 levels, down by 11.20 points or 0.11%. Heavyweight player from the IT bunch, TCS closed at Rs 2338.85 per share, down by Rs 18.95 per share or 0.80%.
 
Reliance Industries closed up by 2.01%; Asian Paints closed up by 0.71%; Sun Pharma closed up by 0.66%; and Infosys closed up by 0.52%
 
Tata Motors along with Tata Steel were the biggest losers, contributing most to the Sensex downfall.
 
ONGC, SBI and Hero MotoCorp lost more than 1% each in Monday’s trading session.

Telecom Index gains; Idea up by 26%

Idea and Bharti Airtel are contributing more than 90% to the Telecom index gains. Idea touched a high of Rs 100.40 per share up by Rs 22.6 per share or 29%. The stock is the star performer of the day.
 
There are 1241 advances, 1338 declines and 199 stocks unchanged on BSE. Volatility in the market has increased ahead of Budget 2017.
 
BSE Auto index is the top loser trading at 22046.45 level down by 154.90 points or 0.70%. In spite of index trading in red, Exide Industries, Cummins India Limited Bharat Forge and Mother Son Sumi are gaining in the auto sector.
 
At 02:00 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27894.9 up 12.44 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8650.55 up 9.30 points. A total of 46 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 0.31% at 13004.98, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.03% at 13103.91.
 
Some buying activity is seen in Teck, Realty, Healthcare, Telecom and Capital Goods while Oil & Gas, Information Technology, Finance and Auto are showing weakness on BSE.
 
Idea, Bharti Airtel,Sun pharma, Grasim and Dr Reddy are among the gainers, whereas Auro Bindo, Tata Motor, Infratel, Hcl tech and Wipro are losing sheen on NSE.
 
The INDIA VIX is up 3.68% at 16.59.

Markets trade cautious; Telecom stocks soar; IT, Metal and Auto stocks drag

Pharma, Realty and Auto sectors opened flat on NSE. IT sector is showing weakness. Heavyweight stocks from IT sector, TCS, Infosys and Wipro are pulling the IT index down.
 
The Metal index is trading at Rs 11734.51, and is down by 71.71 or 0.61%, in Monday's opening session. Hindalco is the major stock dragging the index down, and is contributing 25% to index losses.
 
Hindalco is down by 1.10%, Vedanta Steel is down by 0.83%, Hindustan Zinc is down by 0.73%, Tata Steel is down by 0.72% and National Aluminium is down by 0.57%.
 
Telecom stocks are soaring on bourses due to possibilities of some major mergers among the industry players.
 
Idea Cellular is up by 7.5%, Bharti Airtel by 3.51%, Tata Communication is up by 2.52%, TTML is up by 2.38% and Reliance Communication is up by 2.27%.
 
At 10:00 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27864.59 down 16.71 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8632.45 down 8.80 points. A total of 36 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trade today, while 10 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.
 
The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.05% at 12958.21, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.10% at 13099.21.
 
Some buying activity is seen in FMCG, Healthcare, Telecom and Capital Goods while Oil & Gas, Energy, Finance are showing weakness on BSE.
 
Idea, Bharti Airtel, SUNPHARMA, GRASIM and LT are among the gainers, whereas Wipro, NTPC, Hindalco, Tata Steel and BPCL are losing sheen on NSE in the first trading hour.
 
The INDIA VIX is up 2.99% at 16.48.