Sensex slips 250 points; auto, pharma stocks drag

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.69% at 11,051, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.50% at 11,883 

The market are looking to break into the positive zone on the back of sustained buying support in banking shares and select index heavyweights like - ITC and Maruti.

The Sensex is down 230 points at 28,815, and the Nifty is down 88 points at 8,746. The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.69% at 11,051, whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading down 0.50% at 11,883.

The India VIX (Volatility) index is down 0.6 percent at 14.3975.

Sesa Sterlite is the biggest percentage gainer in the Nifty-50. The stock has surged 3.8 percent to Rs. 208.

Tata Power has rallied 2.5 percent to Rs. 82.15. Cairn India and ACC have gained around 2 percent each at Rs. 232 and Rs. 1,625, respectively.

ITC had moved 1.7 percent higher to Rs. 357. ONGC, Maruti and Gail India are the other major gainers.

SBI and Yes Bank remain the torch bearers in the banking rally. Each of the stock has jumped nearly 2.5 percent each to Rs. 293 and Rs. 862, respectively. Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Bank and ICICI Bank are up 1-2 percent each.

On the other hand, BHEL has tumbled nearly 3 percent to Rs. 236. Maruti has shed 2.6 percent at Rs. 1,215.

Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Asian Paints and Cipla have declined over 2 percent each to Rs. 1,125, Rs. 417, Rs. 844 and Rs. 699, respectively.

HCL Technologies, Cipla, Wipro, Idea Cellular, IDFC, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel and Infosys are the other major losers.

As many as 91 stocks have registered a fresh 52-week high so far in the day, while 14 stocks have dropped to new 52-week low on the NSE.

Sensex, Nifty pare gains

Pharma, Infra and metal stocks continue to remain firm; Lupin surges over 4.5%. 

After exhibiting a steady movement for more than three hours, the key benchmark indices have pared some more gains in late noon deals.

The Sensex is now up 72-odd points at 28,694, as against the day's high of 28,979. The NSE Nifty is up 25-odd points at 8,711.

The India VIX (Volatility) index has declined over 6 per cent to 14.5575.

The CNX Pharma index remains firm with a gain of over 2 per cent at 13,008. The Infra and Metal indices are also up over a per cent each at 3,300 and 2,418, respectively.

Lupin has extended gains and is now up 4.5 per cent at Rs. 1,959. Asian Paints and Tata Steel have also surged nearly 4 per cent each to Rs. 845 and Rs. 344, respectively.

Gail India has rallied nearly 3 per cent to Rs. 393. Sun Pharma, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, TCS, Cipla, NMDC and Wipro are the other major gainers.

On the flip side, Punjab National Bank and BPCL have slipped over 1.5 per cent each to Rs. 166 and Rs. 760, respectively.

Tech Mahindra has declined 1.5 per cent to Rs. 690. Bank of Baroda and HCL Technologies are down a per cent each.

A total of 38 stocks have registered a fresh 52-week high so far in trades on the NSE, while 43.

Prominent stocks at 52-week high are Aurobindo Pharma, Bosch, Dabur India, Elecon Engineering, Gillette India, GSK Healthcare, Hitachi Home and Life Solutions, HSIL, Kalyani Investment Company, KRBL, Kaveri Seed Company, Lupin, Mangalam Drugs, Page Industries, PC Jeweller, Pidilite Industries, Rajesh Exports, Ramco Systems Ranbaxy Labs, RPG Life Sciences, Shasun Pharma, Strides Arcolab, Sun Pharma, Triveni Turbine, WABCO India, Wanbury, Wockhardt and Zydus Wellness.

Amtek India, Arvind Remedies, Autoline Industries, Bhushan Steel, Dwarikesh Sugar, Elder Pharma, Globus Spirits, GTL, Indian Metals & Ferro, Jyoti Structures, Man Industries, Mold-Tek Packaging, Phoenix Lamps, Shree Renuka Sugars, Sterling Biotech, Thiru Arooran Sugars, Uttam Value Steels, Varun Shipping and Venus Remedies are the notable stocks to hit a fresh 52-week low. 

Infosys board inducts Roopa Kudva as lndependent Member of the Board; stock up 1%

The stock has hit a high of Rs. 2,149.5 and a low of Rs. 2,128. 

Shares of Infosys was up 1% at Rs. 2,142. Infosys Board Inducts Roopa Kudva as lndependent Member of the Board. 


The stock has hit a high of Rs. 2,149.5 and a low of Rs. 2,128. 

Total traded quantity on the counter stood at over 0.49 lk shares.

HUL surges 3% in a weak market

After yesterday's profit-taking, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has bounced back to its winning ways ahead of the quarterly earnings early next week. 

The company is scheduled to report its December quarter results on January 19, 2015. 

The stock today registered a fresh all-time high at Rs. 914, and is currently trading at the days - up 3.2 per cent. 

The counter has seen trades of around 174,000 shares as against the two-week daily average volume of around 203,000 shares on the BSE. 

The stock so far has gained 19 per cent this month on the back of ratings upgrade by foreign investment firms.

Nifty below 8,250 levels

At 3:09PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,403 up 161 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,244 up 44 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading up at 1%.

Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, Banking, Capital goods, FMCG, Oil and gas, Healthcare, Metal, Realty indices are the gainers.

Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, ONGC, GAIL, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, L&T, HUL, Hero Motocorp are among the gainers, whereas HDFC Bank, Infosys, Axis Bank, HUL are losing sheen on BSE.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that immediate challenges before the Government is to increase the growth rate as it will boost both the economic activities and the revenue collections. A Make in India seminar in Delhi today being attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will also see some noises on what states can do.

The outlook is a positive start. Oil is moving higher. Asian indices are mostly positive. Japan's Nikkei is up 0.40% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index has gained over 2%. China's Shanghai index is also close to 2% higher.

Algeria's oil minister has called on OPEC to cut production and raise the price of oil, says a report. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's 2015 state budget assumes an oil price close to current levels of around $60 a barrel for Brent crude, a shift from past budgets which were based on prices well below market levels, a report stated

Members of Greece’s parliament will cast their ballots at noon in Athens with Samaras needing 180 votes in the 300-seat chamber to appoint his nominee, Stavros Dimas, as head of state.

The Dabhol power project’s management, its promoters NTPC and the Maharashtra state government are opposing the plan of lenders and the central government to sell the plant’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to pare its 8,500 crore debt. NTPC and GAILIndia own 32.74% each of Ratnagiri Gas and Power (RGPPL), while the Maharashtra State Electricity Board has a16.94% stake. ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Canara Bank collectively hold 18.12%, a report stated.

Petronet LNG could be in action as it is among five global energy firms that have been shortlisted for setting up an LNG import terminal in Bangladesh.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is reportedly set to out-license its molecule for pain management. Lupin is reportedly looking at acquisitions in various global markets.

Reliance Capital will consider giving up to 10 % stake to its newly-signed strategic partner Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank of Japan in its proposed bank, a report stated.

Companies headed for an initial public offering (IPO) will have more legroom to sell shares to foreign investors, according to a report.

The disappearance of the AirAsia flight between Indonesia and Singapore on Sunday will have a major impact on perception and demand for the carrier globally, including in India, said executives at travel companies and airlines.

Shares of RPP Infra Projects was up 1% at Rs125 after company bagged new order worth Rs. 483.79 million from Tamilnadu Water Supply & Drainage Board for Providing Water Supply Improvement Scheme to Tindivanam Municipality in Villupuram District, Tamilnadu.

Shares of Cairn India was up 1% at Rs244 after report said that the company along with its joint venture partner,ONGC has put forward a $700-million plan to develop and produce gas reserves at the Raageshwari fields in the prolific Barmer block in Rajasthan.

SpiceJet clarified some misleading media reports regarding a decision to allegedly “Sack 50 Captains”. SpiceJet places on record that the 43 (not 50) pilots in question are those that have previously resigned from the company, and have already served at least three months of notice period.

The Narendra Modi government is planning to unleash several big-ticket announcements over the next few weeks, according to reports.Report stated that the government may begin with changes in the land acquisition law through an ordinance, setting the stage for the budget that will be unveiled at the end of February by finance minister Arun Jaitley.

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a fully owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, has bagged an offshore contract valued at Rs. 894 crores from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for additional development of the Vasai East project.At 9.35 AM, the stock was up 0.90% at Rs. 1,503.40.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is planning to out-license its molecule for pain management, according to reports.The stock was up 1% at Rs788.

Shares of Tata Steel was up 3% at Rs408 after company announced the recent developments in mining operations.

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) has scheduled a planned turnaround at its Nagothane manufacturing site. The cracker and some of the downstream units will be shut for approximately four weeks, starting around mid-January 2015.

According to reports, India Ratings said that Inflation in FY15 better than FY14. The 5.5% growth in H1 2014 has been positive.The growth has improved and inflation has come down, according to India Ratings.

Aban Offshore soared to a high of Rs. 457 in early morning trade on reports that the company's credit rating has been upgraded.

As per media reports, Bharti Airtel, country's largest telecom service provider, Bharti Airtel would not implement the proposed launch of VoIP packs.

The report added that the move against the hike in prices of VoIP was taken in view of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) issuing a consultation paper on over-the-top (OTT) players, including VoIP. However, Trai is yet to officially start the consultation process.

Govt is looking at divestment in CONCOR, Dredging Corp, National Fert, NMDC, RCF, NALCO, STC, MMTC, MOIL in FY16, according to reports.Report stated that the company has identified 9 companies for divestment in FY16.

Lupin Ltd clarified that the Company actively explores opportunities for organic and inorganic growth including acquisition. Earlier report said that Lupin was eyeing acquisitions in global market in US, Latin America and Europe.

Nifty above 8,200 levels

At 3:19 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,249 up 40 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,204 up 30 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading up at 1%.

Power, Bankex, Capital Goods, Healthcare, Realty, Teck indices are the gainers, while Auto, Consumer Durables, FMCG, Metal, Oil and gas indices are the losers,

SBI, Axis Bank, L&T, Coal India, Sun Pharma are among the gainers, whereas GAIL, Tata Motors, ITC, Wipro are losing sheen on BSE.

Japanese annual core consumer inflation slowed in November. Factory output fell and household spending remained weak. Asian markets are lackluster. Nikkei is down while Hang Seng and Shanghai are flat. On Wednesday, Wall Street ended mixed.

The initial public offering of Delhi-based NCML Industries will open on December 29. The price band has been fixed at Rs100-120 a share.

SKS Capital and Research, which had entered into an agreement to buy warrants of MCX Stock Exchange from Financial Technologies India, has withdrawn from the deal.

Corporation Bank has decided to sub-divide each equity share with a face value of Rs. 10 into five equity shares of Rs. 2 each and has fixed January 23, as the record date

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the country cannot wait even if one of the Houses of Parliament "waits indefinitely". Jaitley suggested that the government may go to the extent of calling a joint session if the insurance bill is again blocked in the Upper House in the next session, says report.

Reliance Industries has signed shipping agreements with one of the world’s largest and reputed shipping companies MITSUI O.S.K. LINES, LTD (MOL) for transporting Liquefied Ethane from North America to India.

Reliance Capital Ltd said Japan's Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Trust will acquire an initial 2.77% stake in the company for $58.4 million. The Board of Directors of the Company has approved a proposal to issue and allot 70,00,000 Equity Shares of face value of Rs.10 each at a premium of Rs.530 per share, aggregating to Rs.371 crore to Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited (SMTB) (Preferential Allotment), subject to necessary permissions, sanctions, approvals and applicable SEBI Regulations and other provisions of law and which is subject to approval of the Members of the Company.

Government has raised import tax on crude edible oils and refined oils by 5 percentage points each to protect local farmers from rising imports from Malaysia and Indonesia, according to reports.

Infosys under new CEO Vishal Sikka is building capabilities in the social, mobility, analytics and cloud space, as it has significantly upped its recruitment in this space, says report.

Sensex slips 500 points

Sensex slipped above 500 points and was trading below level of 27000.Nifty has posted worst loss since July 8

At 3:09PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 26,819 down 500 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,087 down 131 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index and BSE Small-cap Index was trading down at 1%.

IT, Teck indices are the gainers, while Auto, Consumer Durables, Power, banking, Capital goods, FMCG, Oil and gas indices, Healthcare Metal, Realty indices are losers.

Infosys TCS are among the gainers, whereas ITC,  Reliance, Tata Steel,Hindalco, ONGC, ICICI Bank and Bharti Airtel are losing sheen on BSE.

The government will try and move the constitutional amendment Bill to facilitate the levy in the ongoing winter session of Parliament to pave the way for rolling out the single tax from April 1, 2016, says a report. The Centre and the states reached a broad consensus late Monday night on the contours of the goods & services tax (GST), the report added.

The Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to be flexible in lending to existing projects, in line with cash flows available for debt refinancing. This facility will also be available for non-performing loans.

India's trade deficit widened to US$ 16.86 bn in November. Total imports in November, including oil, rises by 26.79 percent to US$ 42.82 billion.

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the world economy is passing through critical phase while Indian Economy has potential to grow at a higher rate. In this regard he specifically mentioned about unexploited potential of the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors in particular.

Nifty gains for 3rd day, ends above 7900; Wipro surges 3%

The market rallied for the third consecutive session on Tuesday with the benchmark Nifty closing above the 7900 level supported by banks, metals, auto and capital goods stocks.   The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 145.80 points to close at 26575.65 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 48.35 points to 7927.75. Even the BSE Midcap and Smallcap close higher, up 0.9 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. After looking at the kind of reforms announced by the government in last two days, experts expect the market to continue its upward trajectory in the days to come. The Sunday election results, then the couple of announcements that have come about for the coal as well as the diesel deregulation and the gas price hike, I think that changes the pace completely as far as the reforms are concerned, believe Nipun Mehta, founder and chief executive officer, Blue Ocean Capital Advisors. He feels there are going to be more expectations now coming in from the government between now and the finance budget about four months away. Meanwhile, in a move to decide the fate of coal blocks that were de-allocated by the Supreme Court recently, the government on Monday proposed an ordinance to allow e-auction of mines to private players while adding that state-run companies would be allocated mines directly. Auctioning of coal blocks in the next 3-4 months will be a positive for the industry, said Ravi Uppal, CEO and MD of Jindal Steel & Power (JSPL). JSPL rallied more than 7 percent followed by Sesa Sterlite with 4.4 percent gains. Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries climbed over a percent. Capital goods majors BHEL, and Larsen and Toubro rallied 4.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Gail India was also one of the top five gainers, up 4.4 percent. Top private sector lender ICICI Bank surged 2.6 percent while rival Axis Bank rose 1.3 percent and State Bank of India was up 0.7 percent. Tata Motors rose 1.5 percent as its subsidiary (British luxury carmaker) Jaguar Land Rover expects its China sales to grow 20 percent this year. Software services exporter Wipro climbed 3 percent ahead of earnings. CNBC-TV18 poll expects dollar revenue to jump 2.45 percent sequentially to USD 1783 million in September quarter. Shares of Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, NTPC and Hero Motocorp jumped 2-3 percent. However, ONGC and M&M dropped 2.5 percent. Reliance Industries, Infosys and Sun Pharma fell 0.5-1 percent. Coal India slipped 1.6 percent after the Cabinet recommended promulgation of an ordinance that will deal with the process of coal mine allocation of deallocated blocks. Investors of the state-run company are concerned that about the enabling clause within the ordinance that will allow commercial players in the coal mining business, once okayed. It is said this provision will serve as a threat to Coal India to ramp up its production. Earnings HDFC Bank closed flat post second quarter earnings met street expectations. The bank’s Q2 profit rose 20 percent on higher NII and other income year-on-year and asset quality was stable. But public sector lender Punjab National Bank fell 2.6 percent on lower than expected second quarter earnings. Profit grew 14 percent compared to estimates of 142 percent jump and asset quality deteriorated further with the gross non-performing assets rising sequentially (up 51 basis points Y-o-Y) to 5.65 percent from 5.48 percent. South Indian Bank dropped nearly 4 percent as the private sector lender’s second quarter net profit fell 40 percent year-on-year to Rs 76.3 crore dented by sharp jump in provisions. JSW Steel gained nearly 3 percent on beating street expectations on all parameters in second quarter earnings. The steel maker turned profitable, reporting consolidated net at Rs 748.7 crore as against loss of Rs 115.5 crore in the year-ago period. In the midcap space, PTC India Financial, Kalyani Steel, TVS Motor, PFC, Hexaware, SAIL, Apollo Tyres, BGR Energy, REC and Arvind surged 3-7 percent. However, Finacial Technologies tanked 20 percent after the government issued draft order for merger of NSEL with company, saying the entire business of NSEL will be transferred to Financial Technologies. Finance Technologies was not in favour of NSEL's merger with company. Helios and Matheson, Suzlon, Exide Industries, Jindal Saw, Zee Media and HCL Info were down 3-20 percent. About 1504 shares advanced while 1327 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. 

Sensex, Nifty erase gains; banks, IT, FMCG under pressure

 Reliance Communications in focus While talking in Reliance Communications AGM, Anil Ambani says the company targets to reduce debt by Rs 15,000 crore in 24 months. Debt currently stands at Rs 35,000 crore, he adds. The company is looking to monetise both real estate and DTH. "We are looking to demerge real estate assets. We are working on contours of real estate demerger," says Ambani. He further said the company will be participating in next round of auctions that will enable company to launch 4G in 2015-16. The stock fell over 2 percent.

Post Session: Quick Review

Reversal of trend which took place during the second half of trading session eroded all the early gains at Dalal Street, leading to dismal performance of benchmarks for third successive session on Wednesday. Concerns over foreign institutional investors (FII’s)’s sell-off after data showed that overseas investors sold Indian shares worth of Rs 216.3 million ($3.59 million) on Tuesday -- the second straight session of outflows, led to some jitters across Indian equity markets. Nothing practically could salvage the sentiments at Dalal Street, not even positive IndusInd Bank Q4 results and positive global counterparts. By close of trade, both Sensex and Nifty lost about one percent and ended below the crucial 22,300 and 6,700 levels respectively. Meanwhile, broader indices too following suite, succumbed to profit-booking and ended with colossal losses of over a percent. On the global front, Asian share markets were mostly in the black on Wednesday after China reported economic growth a touch above forecast, a relief for investors who had feared a much weaker outcome. China's economy grew 7.4 percent in the first quarter, from a year earlier, beating forecasts of 7.3 percent. That was welcome news to many investors given foreboding whispers that growth would be nearer 7.0 percent following a string of soft numbers recently. Additionally, European shares rose early on Wednesday, reversing the previous session's losses as data showed economic growth in China a touch above forecasts, while gains in Tesco also lifted markets. Closer home, while selling was broad-based, losses at Dalal Street were led by stocks from Information Technology (IT), Technology and Power counters, which were battered down cruelly in trade. On the flip side, stocks from Metal and Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) counters were the only saving grace for the session. While, good macro-economic data from China, world’ largest metal consumer, bolstered metal stocks, defensive play lifted FMCG stocks. However, cautiousness ahead of TCS and HCL Technologies result weighed on IT stocks. Meanwhile, sentiment remained downbeat for banking counter, which ended lower despite good Q4 earnings of IndusInd Bank. The bank beat street’s forecast by reporting net profit at Rs 396 crore in the quarter ended March 2014, up 29 percent compared to a year-ago period supported by other income. Besides, telecom stocks rang loud in the session after Reliance Communication announced a hike tariffs by up to 20 per cent for all its pre-paid customers, too lost steam by close of trade. Moreover, Adani group stocks, vis-a-vis, Adani Enterprises and Adani Port and Special Economic Zone, once again turned out to be investors’ darling for the session.  The market breadth on the BSE ended negative; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1088: 1651, while 133 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional) The BSE Sensex lost 207.70 points or 0.92% to settle at 22277.23. The index touched a high and a low of 22533.61 and 22247.39 respectively. Among the 30-share Sensex, 9 stocks gained, while 21 stocks declined. (Provisional) The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices ended lower by 1.08% and 1.11% respectively. (Provisional) On the BSE Sectoral front, FMCG up by 0.63% and Metal up by 0.19%, were the only gainers, while Realty down by 3.87%, IT down by 2.49%, Capital Goods down by 2.47%, Teck down by 2.14% and Power down by 1.86% were the top losers in the space. (Provisional) The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.55%, ITC up by 1.32%, Hindalco up by 1.19%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.61% and Tata Motors up by 0.25%, while, Tata Power down by 3.55%, BHEL down by 3.28%, Infosys down by 3.08%, L&T down by 2.91% and Wipro down by 2.89% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional) Meanwhile, questioning the assumptions that worst is over for Asia's third-largest economy, the provisional annual inflation rate based on all India general Consumer Price Index (CPI) (Combined) disappointed the street by accelerating to 8.31% from 25 months low level of 8.10% in February. However, in a bit of surprise, February Inflation was revised downwards to 8.03% v/s 8.10% earlier. According to the data, CPI numbers of February 2014 for Rural, Urban and Combined stood at 139.7, 136.0 and 138.1 respectively. The corresponding provisional inflation rates for rural and urban areas for March 2014 stood at 8.89% and 7.51%, while inflation rates (final) for rural and urban areas for February 2014 stood at 8.43% and 7.55%respectively. Food prices for consumers rose at 9.10% in last month from a year earlier, higher than February’s 8.57% rise. The Provisional annual inflation rates of February 2014 for Rural and Urban in respect of ‘food and beverages’ stood at 9.95% and 7.47% for month under review compared to 9.27% and 7.10% respectively in February, 2014. Additionally, Provisional annual inflation rates (Combined) for Fuel and light; Clothing, bedding and footwear stood at 6.29% and 9.03% respectively for the month of March.  Offering a bit of relief, core consumer price index (CPI)  rose by 7.8% in March from a year earlier, easing from a 7.9% in February. This is a positive since core inflation for the past few months has been stuck at around 8 per cent, a level Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) chief Raghuram Rajan deems uncomfortably high. However, latest reading adds to woes of policy makers, which are struggling with sluggish economic growth on one hand and higher inflation on the other. India has been battling a prolonged spell of high inflation and low growth. While economic growth has almost halved to below 5 percent for the past two years, the worst slowdown for the South Asian nation since the 1980s. India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility lost 2.24% at 31.16 from its previous close of 31.87 on Tuesday. (Provisional) The CNX Nifty lost 59.10 points or 0.88% to settle at 6,674.00. The index touched high and low of 6,748.65 and 6,665.15 respectively. Out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 15 ended in the green, while 34 ended in the red and one stock remain unchanged. The major gainers of the Nifty were ITC up 1.57%, Hindalco up by 1.38%, Lupin up by 1.26%, Bank of Baroda up by 1.12% and Jindal Steel up by 0.97%. The key losers were DLF down by 4.87%, BHEL down by 3.60%, Tata Power down by 3.54%, Infosys down by 3.00% and L&T down by 2.92%. (Provisional) European markets were trading in green; France’s CAC 40 was up 0.86%, UK’s FTSE 100 was up 0.29% and Germany’s DAX was up by 0.75%. The Asian markets concluded Wednesday’s trade mostly in green with Japan’s Nikkei jumping as bargain buying and a weaker yen lifted the market, following a rise on Wall Street bolstered by strong US corporate earnings. Bank Indonesia deputy governor Halim Alamsyah stated that Indonesia will have a chance to ease monetary policy next year as inflation slows, after maintaining a tight stance in 2014. Inflationary pressures are easing after interest rates were raised last year. He added that consumer-price gains will probably slow to about 5% by the end of this year and less than 4.5% in 2015. Japan’s industrial production fell to a seasonally adjusted -2.3%. China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in six quarters in the first quarter of 2014 with signs of waning momentum already prompting limited government action to steady the world’s second-largest economy. China’s annual economic growth slowed between January and March 2014 to 7.4% from 7.7% in the previous three months while Chinese Industrial Production rose to 8.8%, from 8.6% in the preceding month. Chinese Retail Sales rose to an annual rate of 12.2%, from 11.8% in the preceding month while Chinese Fixed Asset Investment fell to a seasonally adjusted 17.6%, from 17.9% in the preceding month. Asian Indices Last Trade Change in Points Change in % Shanghai Composite 2105.12 3.52 0.17 Hang Seng 22696.01 24.75 0.11 Jakarta Composite 4873.01 2.80 0.06 KLSE Composite 1845.37 -8.51 -0.46 Nikkei 225 14417.68 420.87 3.01 Straits Times  3253.20 6.88 0.21 KOSPI Composite 1992.21 -0.06 - Taiwan Weighted 8923.82 7.11 0.08

Post Session: Quick Review

Infosys’ good set of Q4 numbers failed to infuse any strength at Dalal Street, wherein market-participants made a bee-line to cash out their profits ahead of Retail Inflation i.e. CPI data, slated to be announced later in the day. Squandering a positive start, benchmarks soon succumbed to selling pressure on the back of weakness of rate sensitive counters, while absence of positive global cues also intensified sentiment further. There appeared no sign of recovery as benchmarks kept losing ground steadily, though some buying was witnessed in fag end of trade, but too little to be termed recovery.

Earlier in the day, markets made a positive start after IT bellwether Infosys reported better-than-expected margins and profits for the March quarter, though sales were flat. Country’s second largest outsourcer said its dollar revenues are likely to grow at 7-9% in the current fiscal, sending its shares higher by as much as 4.2% in early deals. This optimism in Infosys stocks was sensed across entire IT space, which provided a floor to bourses’ losses.

However, trade took a turn for worse after annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, accelerated to three months high at 5.70%, from multi month low at 4.68% (provisional) in month of February, 2014, as compared to 5.65% during the corresponding month of the previous year, thereby limiting the ability of RBI to support growth and ease key monetary policy rates. By close of trade, both Sensex and Nifty settled below the crucial 22,500 and 6,750 levels respectively, with loss of around 3/4 of a percent. Meanwhile, broader indices too succumbing to selling pressure ended with loss of over quarter of a percent.

On the global front, nerves got better of Asian share markets on Tuesday as they turned lower after an upbeat US retail sales report was eclipsed by soft data from China, providing a stark reminder to investors of the headwinds facing the world's second-largest economy. Additionally, European shares  extended losses on Monday, with a major index slipping to its lowest level in three weeks, as fresh tension in Ukraine prompted investors to shun cyclical sectors such as travel, autos and technology.

Closer home, losses at Dalal Street were most by the stocks belonging to Realty, Metal and banking counters, ending with loss of over 2%. All the rate sensitive counters, Realty, Auto and Banking counters got beaten blue in trade on diminished chances of rate cut post dismal headline inflation data. Meanwhile, high beta metal stocks too took a beating on account of weak Chinese data, which is word’s single largest consumer of base metal. On the flip side, Information Technology (IT) and Technology counters, were the only gainers of the session on the back of good showing of IT bellwether Infosys. The market breadth on the BSE ended negative; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1318: 1466, while 127 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex lost 144.03 points or 0.64% to settle at 22484.93. The index touched a high and a low of 22737.31 and 22416.24 respectively. Among the 30-share Sensex, 8 stocks gained, while 22 stocks declined. (Provisional)

The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices ended lower by 0.36% and 0.29% respectively. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, IT up by 2.16%, Teck up by 1.62% and FMCG up by 0.27%, were the only gainers, while Realty down by 2.99%, Metal down by 2.81%, Bankex down by 2.07%, Consumer Durables down by 1.31% and PSU down by 0.98% were the top losers in the space. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 4.13%, Wipro up by 3.92%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.69%, Infosys up by 1.21% and Hindustan Unilever up by 0.84%, while, Hindalco down by 5.16%, SSLT down by 3.68%, HDFC down by 3.45%, Axis Bank down by 3.44% and  Tata Steel down by 3.11% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, limiting central bank’s scope for easing policy rates, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, accelerated to three months high of 5.70% in March, 2014 from its multi month low level of 4.68% (provisional) seen in February, 2014 and as compared to 5.65% during the corresponding month of the previous year. The figures were higher than street expectation of 5.20%. However, January inflation figures were revised upwards to 5.17% against 5.05% earlier. Meanwhile, build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 5.70% compared to a build up rate of 5.65% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The acceleration in headline inflation figure was on account of rise in prices of food articles group, which rose by 1.0 percent to 235.3 (provisional) from 232.9 for the previous month that lifted Primary article index, which occupies 20.12% weight in the overall headline index, higher by 0.7% to 240.2 (provisional) from 238.6 (provisional) for the previous month. The index for Non-Food Articles group declined by 0.1% to 217.2 (provisional) from 217.4 (provisional) for the previous month.

Further, index of Fuel & Power, too contributed to the rise of overall headline inflation number. The group’s index, which has weight of 14.91% in the overall index, rose by 0.2% to  213.1 (provisional) from 212.6 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of high speed diesel and petrol (1% each).  However, the price of kerosene (2%), bitumen and LPG (1% each) declined.

Additionally, the index of Manufactured Products, which occupies 64.97% of weight in the overall index, rose by 0.5% to 153.5 (provisional) from 152.7 for February.

The latest figure would reduce scope of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) supporting the industries with any rate cuts amid fresh signs of slowdown. India has been battling a prolonged spell of high inflation and low growth, which is expected to remain stubborn as food inflation may yet again see a rise in the coming month with El Nino hitting the monsoon.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of volatility gained 9.21% at 31.87 from its previous close of 29.18 on Friday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty lost 45.90 points or 0.68% to settle at 6,730.40. The index touched high and low of 6,813.40 and 6,711.75 respectively. Out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 12 ended in the green, while 38 ended in the red.

The major gainers of the Nifty were United Spirits up 11.62%, TCS up by 4.18%, Wipro up by 3.94%, Hero MotoCorp up by 2.39% and HCL Tech up by 1.74%.

The key losers were DLF down by 6.41%, Hindalco down by 5.26%, Jindal Steel down by 4.48%, Bank of Baroda down by 3.68% and IDFC down by 3.44%. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC 40 was down 0.30%, UK’s FTSE 100 was down 0.29% and Germany’s DAX was down by 0.80%.

The Asian markets concluded Tuesday’s trade mostly in green with major indexes following the US gains while Hong Kong and Shanghai are the standouts, taking a slam from the latest liquidity draining of China’s central bank. China’s foreign exchange reserves rose by $129 billion in the first quarter to $3.95 trillion at the end of March. Shanghai’s Consumer Price Index rose 2.5 percent from a year earlier in March, down from the 2.7 percent gain in February. Food costs remained the biggest contributor as they rose 4.3 percent in March while prices of transport, healthcare and clothing all dropped. The confidence of Chinese households continued to be strong despite China’s economy softening. The China Wealth Index to gauge sentiment among Chinese households remained flat at 130 in April, a similar reading to that in January but it was up from 127 in November of last year. Shanghai’s new home sales fell for the second consecutive week as buyers and developers adopted a wait-and-see stance. The purchases of new homes, excluding government-subsidized affordable housing, shrank 28.7 percent week on week to 146,900 square meters. In Hong Kong, the Exchange Fund’s foreign assets increased by $6.4 billion in March to $2.6308 trillion. The Monetary Base amounted to $1.2557 trillion.

Post Session: Quick Review

Local equity markets succumbed to selling pressure, a day after witnessing consolidation as market-participants preferred winding up their position heading towards long weekend. (Markets remains shut for trade on Monday on account of ‘Baba Saheb Ambedkar Jayanti’.) Additionally, prevailing caution ahead of release of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data later in the day and Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) data and most importantly earning season which kicks starts with the results of IT bellwether Infosys next week, added to the pessimistic milieu. On the macro-front, while consumer inflation rate is forecasted to have edged up slightly in March due to higher food prices, factory output in February is expected to have risen at its fastest annual pace in five months.

In an extremely dismal session of trade, benchmarks for once did not break out in green and kept languishing below the neutral line, though some recovery emerged in the last hour of trade that too was sold out by the traders at Dalal Street. By close, both Sensex and Nifty ended above the crucial 22,600 and 6,750  levels respectively, with loss of close to one tenth of a percent. However, for the week both Sensex and Nifty added gains over a percent. Meanwhile, broader indices for the session showed dissimilar trend, with Midcap index ending a little above the neutral line and Smallcap index ending with gains of over half a percent. For the week, CNX midcap puffed up gains over 2%, BSE Smallcap index rallied over 3%.

On the global front, Asia pacific shares and European market slumped on Friday as a sharp selloff in biotechnology and Internet companies on Wall Street overnight triggered a retreat from global stock markets.

Closer home, losses at Dalal Street were led by stocks from Oil & Gas, Auto and Capital Goods counters, which were top losers of the session that were beaten blue in trade. The drop in Oil & Gas counter came on the back of plunge of Reliance Industries which succumbed to selling pressure after Oil ministry shunned the plan to form an inter-ministerial committee to determine gas prices every quarter based on the C Rangarajan committee formula and decided to utilize its own expertise to compute new rates. Additionally, banking stocks witnessed beating after a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) panel recommended a slew of measures, including potentially changing how lending rates are set for the sector, raising worries about overall profitability.

On the flip side, bourses’ losses were restricted on account of gains in Information Technology, Technology and Healthcare counters, which were the top gainers of the sessions.  Information Technology stocks which were dumped by traders in past couple of session, witnessed significant recovery by close of trade on bargain buying. The market breadth on the BSE ended positive; advances and declining stocks were in a ratio of 1516: 1291, while 124 scrips remained unchanged. (Provisional)

The BSE Sensex lost 86.37 points or 0.38% to settle at 22628.96. The index touched a high and a low of 22679.18 and 22526.89 respectively. Among the 30-share Sensex, 11 stocks gained, while 19 stocks declined. (Provisional)

The BSE Mid cap and Small cap indices ended higher by 0.10% and 0.66% respectively. (Provisional)

On the BSE Sectoral front, IT up by 1.54%, Teck up by 1.21%, Healthcare up by 0.91%, Consumer Durables up by 0.40% and Realty up by 0.29%, were the only gainers, while Oil & Gas down by 1.28%, Auto down by 1.20%, Capital Goods down by 0.98%, Bankex down by 0.78% and PSU down by 0.35% were the top losers in the space. (Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Sun Pharma up by 1.87%, TCS up by 1.62%, Wipro up by 1.34%, Cipla up by 1.14% and Infosys up by 0.91%, while, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 2.08%, Gail India down by 2.06%, Hindalco down by 1.93%, SBI down by 1.83% and Hero MotoCorp down by 1.82% were the top losers in the index. (Provisional)

Meanwhile, India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia to source data on diamond trade between two countries. Russia is the world’s largest rough diamond producer, while, India is the largest diamond processor. Presently, most of the rough diamonds produced in Russia are cut and polished in India.

The agreement was signed between the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) and Russian Government-owned diamond mining firm Alrosa which accounts for around 25 per cent of the world total diamond output. The GJEPC Chairman Vipul Shah has asserted that India has sought long-term contracts between Russian firm Alrosa and Indian cutting and polishing industry. By adding further, he said that with this agreement, both trade bodies can look forward to exchange information and cooperation for the implementation of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) which prevents diamond industry finance to human rights abuses or war.

Diamonds have occupied a special place among the precious gemstones. India has emerged as the leading diamond cutting and polishing hub of the world with 11 out of 12 diamonds being cut and polished in India. Indian represents around 60 percent of global polished diamond output in value terms. During 2013, India exported 36.46 million carats of polished diamonds worth $20.23 billion and imported 163.11 million carats of rough diamonds worth $16.34 billion. While, a predominant portion of rough, uncut diamonds processed in India is exported either in the form of polished diamonds or in the form of finished diamond jewellery. Indian gems and jewellery industry is a significant contributor to India’s foreign exchange earnings and represents around 14 percent of the total country’s export. Cut and polished diamonds along with rough diamonds constitutes the 50 percent share of the total industry’s export. India exported gems and jewellery worth $36.04 billion in 2013.

India VIX, a gauge for markets short term expectation of marginally gained 1.62% at 29.18 from its previous close of 28.71 on Thursday. (Provisional)

The CNX Nifty lost 26.90 points or 0.40% to settle at 6,769.50. The index touched high and low of 6,789.35 and 6,743.15 respectively. Out of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 19 ended in the green, while 31 ended in the red.

The major gainers of the Nifty were HCL Tech up 3.35%, Ambuja Cements up by 2.33%, Sun Pharma up by 1.92%, Tech Mahindra up by 1.68% and TCS up by 1.66%.

The key losers were IndusInd Bank down by 4.32%, SBI down by 2.06%, M&M down by 1.97%, Gail down by 1.90% and Reliance Industries down by 1.84%. (Provisional)

European markets were trading in red; France’s CAC 40 was down 1.16%, UK’s FTSE 100 was down 1.27% and Germany’s DAX was down by 1.51%.

The Asian markets concluded Friday’s trade mostly in red with stock indices dropping from an almost three-month high amid a renewed selloff of technology shares and as a gain in the yen dragged Japan’s Topix index to its worst week since June. Indonesian shares however rose amid bargain hunting in battered large caps as investors weighed political uncertainties after an unconvincing election win by the main opposition party. Chinese CPI rose to an annual rate of 2.4%, from 2.0% in the preceding month while Chinese PPI fell to an annual rate of -2.3%, from -2.0% in the preceding month.

Sensex, Nifty plunge as IIP shrinks for 3rd straight month

Stock market in India plunged sharply on Thursday. The NSE Nifty managed to close above the psychological 6000 mark. During the day, the Nifty breached the critical level for the first time since February 6, led by heavy selling in scrips across the sectors.

Barring the BSE Realty index all the other major sectoral indices on the BSE ended in the red. Today’s decline was led by the banking, capital goods, oil and gas, power and the healthcare index. 

Sentiment was dampened after the industrial production growth rate remained in the negative zone for the third month in a row, contracting 0.6% in December 2013. The manufacturing segment, which contracted 1.6% during the month, has a weight of over 75% in the index of industrial production (IIP), and has contracted for most part of the current fiscal. On the other hand, Inflation, as per the consumer price index, dropped to 8.79 percent in January from 9.87 percent in December.

Meanwhile, the ruckus in Parliament prolonged, as The Lok Sabha erupted in mayhem on Thursday when a lawmaker fired pepper spray in parliament in protest against a bill on a new Telangana state. 

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,193 down 255 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,001 down 83 points over the previous close.

Sensex, Nifty post modest gains ahead of CPI, IIP

The Indian equity market ended with smart gains on Wednesday tracking positive vibes from the US and the Asian markets. New Fed chairperson Janet Yellen brought cheer not only in US but also to stock markets across the globe. Yellen said the central bank plans to continue easing its stimulus program, adding it would take a notable change in economic data for the Fed to change its plans.

After struggling for past seven trading sessions, the NSE Nifty finally pierced the 6100 mark however it was unable to sustain above the crucial level as investors preferred to take some profit off the table ahead of the Industrial Production for December and CPI for Combined, Rural, and Urban for January to be released later in the day.

The Banking and the capital goods stocks were in momentum along with the oil and gas and select telecom stocks. However, on the other hand, the FMCG and the pharma stocks were under pressure.

Finally, the BSE Sensex closed at 20449 up 85 points while the NSE Nifty ended higher by 21 points to close at 6084 as compared with the previous closing. 

Sensex, Nifty end flat

Stock markets in India were stuck in a narrow trading range for the third consecutive trading session as the struggle for specific direction prolonged. Market participants remained cautious ahead to new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's first testimony before lawmakers.

Meanwhile, exports posted a sluggish 3.79% growth in January 2014 to US$26.75bn compared to the same month last year. Gold & silver imports fell by 77% during the month to US$1.72bn responding to higher import duties and other restrictions imposed by the Government pulling down total imports by 18.07% to US$36.67bn. As a result, trade deficit almost halved to US$9.92bn in January 2014 compared to US$18.87bn in January 2013. 

Car sales in India fell for the fourth straight month in January this year with a decline of 7.59%. domestic car sales stood at 1,60,289 units in January this year compared to 1,73,449 vehicles in the same month of 2013. Compounding the problem for the auto industry was the prolonged slump in the commercial vehicles segment, under which heavy and medium CVs saw 23rd month of consecutive drop in sales. 

Coming back to today’s action, the markets ended with modest gains on Tuesday led by the IT, Telecom, Auto and the Consumer Durables stocks. Even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks were trading higher. 

On the other hand, Power, Oil and Gas, Realty ann the Pharma stocks were under selling pressure.

Finally, the BSE Sensex closed at 20363 up 29 points while the NSE Nifty ended higher by 9 points to close at 6063 compared with the previous closing.

Sensex, Nifty snap 4-day winning streak

The stock market in India ended in the negative terrain for the first time in the four trading session . However, notably today’s fall has come on low volumes. In fact, the current F&O series today witnessed the lowest total turnover . 

The IT, telecom, metals and the banking stocks were among the major laggards. On the other hand, realty, consumer durables, pharma and capital goods stocks were among the top gainers. While the Mid-Cap and the small-Cap index ended on a flat note. 

The telecom sector was under pressure as rising prices in the spectrum auctions would further reduce profit margins for the telecom companies. Idea Cellular has slumped over 8% to close at Rs. 126 and Bharti Airtel declined by 2.5% while MTNL ended flat.

Shares of RCom ended lower by 4% to close at Rs120 per share amid disappointing results. Commenting on the same, Amar Ambani, Head of Research at IIFL said, “Rcom results were below our expectation on both revenue and profitability counts and although company would benefit from pricing tailwind in the next few quarters, we still prefer Bharti at current valuation.”

Finally, the BSE Sensex closed at 20334 down 42 points while the NSE Nifty ended lower by 6053 down 10 points compared with the previous closing. 

Nifty ends above 6050; Metals, Pharma lead

The Indian equity market registered their third consecutive day of gains on Friday as the Nifty closed comfortably above the 6050 levels amid positive cues from the overseas equity markets. Japan's Nikkei jumped 2.12%, its biggest daily percentage rise since January 29 while Singapore's Straits Times was up 0.8% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1%.

Coming back to domestic action, barring the FMCG, IT and the consumer durables indices, all the other BSE sectoral indices ended in the green. The broader indices were in demand too, in-fact, the BSE Mid-Cap index yet again outperformed the benchmark indices. However, the BSE Small-Cap index gained by 0.35%. 

However, market players remained jittery ahead of the crucial US jobs report and revised GDP data for 2013/14 fiscal year, to be released post market hours on Friday. 

Finally, the BSE Sensex gained 65 points to close at 20376 while the NSE Nifty close at 6063 up 27 points as compared to previous close.

Nifty ends above 6000 mark

Wild gyrations seem to be the order of the day. The NSE Nifty swung over 80 points intra-day and managed a positive close. The indices saw a sharp whip-saw in early trade when the Nifty plunged below its 200-DMA. Basket selling may have happened resulting in pressure in banking, auto and realty stocks. 

Around 10:25 am, over 8 lakh Nifty futures were traded in a span of three minutes when the market saw some turmoil.  Fortunately, the decline was short-lived as indices staged a sharp bounce back led by gains in FMCG, auto, metals, power and consumer durables stocks. Sentiment also got a fillip as the European markets opened with handsome gains.  

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,310 up 50 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,036 up 14 points over the previous close.

Recovery: Interest rate sensitives push Nifty above 6000

The Indian equity market ended with smart gains reversing all their early losses on Wednesday as the global rout seems to have taken a pause. Stock markets all around the globe saw some bounce back with the US and select Asian stocks ending in the green. The European markets are on the verge of breaking a three-day losing streak. 

The NSE Nifty closed convincingly above the 200 DMA and also the 6000 mark. Today’s recovery was led by the interest rate sensitives like the Auto and Realty. Among the other gainers were Metals, Power and select telecom stocks . Even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks participated in the pull back.

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,261 up 49 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,023 up 22 points over the previous close.

Sensex, Nifty tumble to Nov '13 lows

It was devastating start to the week, as stock market in India cracked further ending near day’s low on Monday. The Nifty and the Sensex collapsed to their November 2013 lows led by selling pressure in the metals, realty, auto and IT stocks. The pressure was so intense that barring the BSE Pharma index all the other indices on the BSE ended in the red. 

Even the mid-cap and the small-cap stocks were under pressure.Even positive economic data in the form of Manufacturing PMI was unable to bring any cheer on Dalal Street. The HSBC’s Manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index rose to 51.4 in January its highest since March 2013 against 50.7 in December.

The metals stocks led the decline after China's factory growth eased to an expected six-month low in January. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged down to 50.5 in January from December's 51.

Finally, BSE Sensex closed at 20,209 down 305 points, while NSE Nifty closed at 6,002 down 88 points over the previous close.