Sensex recoups losses to close 86 pts up; Sesa Goa down 6%

Equity benchmarks gained strength in late trade on Tuesday, especially on hopes of likely fuel price hike. Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy said the fuel price hike decision would be taken soon, after a meeting with Finance Minister Manmohan Singh over under-recoveries of oil marketing companies and various suggestions on fuel price hike.

The market recovered all its early losses by rising 0.5%. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 86.17 points to close at 17,852.95 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 26.55 points to 5,390.

Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com feels the momentum has been on the upside since last week and that momentum continues. "Yesterday and today morning, we saw a small correction. That is normal after big moves. The broad trend is up that viewers must understand," he explained in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Oil retailers BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1-3% as the Reddy firmly said the eventual increase in fuel prices was unavoidable. "The under-recoveries are expected to be at Rs 1.88 lakh crore and petrol under-recovery is currently at Rs 6 per litre. Therefore, the hike in prices of all fuel products must be considered."

European markets edged lower ahead of Federal Reserve's policy meet that will begin on Wednesday for two days and the German's Constitutional Court ruling tomorrow, which will determine the fate of ESM. France's CAC and Britain's FTSE were down 0.5% each while Germany's DAX declined 0.2%, at 15:45 hours IST. Asian markets closed mixed.

Jan Lambregts of Rabobank International believes the German parliament will not block the affirmation of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). He is also hopeful of seeing another round of quantitative easing from the Fed.

Back home, housing finance company HDFC and infrastructure financing company IDFC gained 2.5-3%.

Country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively while rival State Bank of India was down 0.2%.

State-owned power producer NTPC and gas transportation services provider GAIL rallied 1.66% each while power equipment manufacturer BHEL was up 1.4%.

Software services exporters TCS and Infosys rose 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively. Cigarette major ITC moved up 1%.

Sesa Goa, a part of London Stock Exchange-listed Vedanta Resources, tanked more than 6% after the company stopped mining on Goa government order. The Goa government has decided to stop mining in all 90 mines in Goa till review is done. Sterlite Industries plunged 4.4% and JSPL was down 3.13%.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, steel producer Tata Steel and two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp fell 0.5-1%.

The broader markets too closed marginally higher as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1547 to 1249 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Action Construction Equipment shot up 20% for the second consecutive session today.

Suven Life Sciences surged 15% and Geodesic Info rose 12%. Polaris and Opto Circuits (it received Drug Controller General of India approval for heart devices) were up over 7.5%. Hexaware gained 4%.

Reliance Communications and Unitech rallied 6-7%. Deccan Chronicle lost nearly 8% on accounts irregularities. Karnataka Bank slipped over 5%.

The 50-share NSE Nifty extended gains amid volatile trade, even after the fall in European markets on profit booking. The index rose 17.5 points to 5,380.90, supported by banking & financial, technology and public sector undertaking stocks.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex gained 65 points at 17,831.71. Even the broader markets advanced nearly 0.5% on positive market breadth.

Housing finance company HDFC and infrastructure financing company IDFC jumped more than 2%. Private sector lender ICICI Bank moved up 0.8% while its rivals HDFC Bank and State Bank of India remained flat after recovery.

Country's largest IT services exporter TCS extended gains to 1.5% while its rival Infosys rebounded with 0.5% gains.

PSU stocks caught in bull grip ahead of cabinet committee on political affairs meeting today evening. GAIL surged 2% while BHEL and NTPC gained 1% each. Oil & gas producer ONGC rose 0.4%. Oil retailers BPCL, HPCL and IOC rallied 1.6-2.8% on hopes of likely fuel price hike.

Shares of Siemens spiked 3%. Cigarette major ITC and top car maker Maruti Suzuki were up 1% each. Sesa Goa retained its top position in the selling list, losing 6% after the company stopped mining in Goa on government order. Sterlite Industries crashed 4.5% and Jindal Steel was down 3%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, utility vehicle maker M&M and steel producer Tata Steel were down 0.5% each.

In the second line shares, Sun Pharma Advanced, Fresenius Kabi, Muthoot Finance, CMC and Opto Circuits shot up 8-11% while Karnataka Bank, Tulip Telecom, Jyothy Labs, Religare Enterprises and Info Edge lost 3-6%.

Indian shares recouped morning losses, helped by ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 35.6 points to 17,802, even after the European markets declined in early trade.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 0.3% each ahead of Federal Reserve's policy meet that will start on Wednesday for two days and German's Constitutional Court ruling, which decides the fate of ESM.

Back home, the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 8 points to trade above the 5350 level at 5,371. The market breadth also improved; advancing shares outnumbered declining by 751 to 611 on the National Stock Exchange.

Oil retailers BPCL, HPCL and IOC trimmed gains to 1-1.5%. The Oil Minister Jaipal Reddy says the under-recoveries are expected to be at Rs 1.88 lakh crore for the current financial year 2012-13. He says some decision may be taken, if the cabinet committee on political affairs considers fuel price hike. "Petrol under-recovery is currently at Rs 6/litre. Eventual increase in fuel prices is unavoidable. Therefore, the hike in prices of all fuel products must be considered."

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank gained 0.8% while its rival State Bank of India rose 0.26%.

Top software services exporter TCS, drug producer Cipla and cigarette major ITC were up 0.8% each. State-run power equipment maker BHEL and power producer NTPC moved up 1% each.

Housing finance company HDFC retained its leading position among largecaps with 1.4% gains. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki climbed 1% and commercial vehicle major Tata Motors was up 0.3%.

Sesa Goa crashed 5.5% as the Goa government has decided to stop work in all 90 mines in Goa till review is done. Sterlite Industries plunged 4% and Jindal Steel was down 3%.

Two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp fell 1.6%. Shares of Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Steel, M&M and Bajaj Auto were down 0.4-0.6%.

The 50-share NSE Nifty climbed above the 5350 level amid marginal selling pressure, supported by oil & gas and healthcare stocks. Metals and two-wheeler stocks remained under pressure since early trade.

The market recovered despite further fall in Asian markets. The BSE benchmark was down 13 points to 17,753.37 and the NSE benchmark fell 7 points to 5,356.40 while Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei dropped 0.7-1.1%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries bounced back with marginal gains. State-run oil & gas producer ONGC trimmed gains to 0.4% from more than 1%. Oil retailers BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1-2% on possible fuel price hike.

TCS, country's largest software services exporter moved up 0.5% while its rivals Infosys and Wipro fell 0.2% and 0.7%, respectively.

Housing finance company HDFC rose nearly 1%. Private sector lender HDFC Bank lost 1%, but its rivals ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were flat.

Healthcare, which always called as defensives, stocks remained on buyers' radar. Sun Pharma climbed 1% while Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla gained 0.7% each.

State-owned power producer NTPC and power equipment maker BHEL were up 1% each.

Among metals stocks, Sterlite Industries plunged 4% and Jindal Steel slipped 3%. Tata Steel was down 1%. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro declined 0.65% and telecom operator Bharti Airtel fell 0.9%.

Indian shares trimmed losses on hopes of fuel price hike today evening. Cabinet committee on political affairs will meet at prime minister's house at around 17:45 hours IST. CNBC-TV18 reported that the fuel price hike is likely to be discussed in the meet. State-run oil retailers BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1.5-2.3% while oil & gas producer ONGC rose 1% as the subsidy sharing burden may be lower if the government hikes fuel price.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 38 points to 17,728.75 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 17.3 points to 5,346.15, weighed down by weakness in global peers. Major Asian markets like Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei were down 0.6-0.9% ahead of Federal Reserve's policy meet that will start today for two days and outcome of German's Constitutional Court ruling.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.7% and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro went down 0.6%.

Sesa Goa plunged more than 5% and Sterlite Industries tumbled 4% after the news that all 90 mines in Goa will stop work till review is done.

National Aluminium Company slipped 1% as Indian Express reported that the CBI will probe the company's lime purchase scam.

Shares of Jindal Steel fell 2% for second consecutive session today. Tata Steel, world's sixth largest steel producer was down 1.4%.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp lost 1% and 2%, respectively. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and private sector lender HDFC Bank declined 0.8%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rebounded after early losses while its rival ICICI Bank cut losses significantly. Housing finance company rose 0.5%.

Power equipment manufacturer BHEL bounced back with 1% gains after taking huge beating in previous sessions due to concerns over order book.

Indian equity benchmarks fell 0.5% in early trade, weighed down by weak global markets ahead of Federal Reserve's policy meet that will begin on Wednesday for two days and German's constitutional court ruling that could determine the fate of ESM. But the early trade losses immediately capped on news that cabinet will meet today for fuel price hike.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 45.33 points to 17,721.45 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 21 points to 5,342.70.

BPCL rallied 1.5% ahead of cabinet meeting on fuel price hike today after market hours. HPCL surged 1.6% and IOC rose 1%. ONGC too gained 1% as it shares subsidy burden with oil retailers.

Sesa Goa and Sterlite tanked 4.5% on mining ban in Goa.

JP Associates, Larsen & Toubro, BHEL, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, JSPL, Bank of Baroda and PNB too were down.

Cipla, ITC, Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs were on buyers' radar.

The CNX Midcap Index fell 10 points to 7,244. Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 389 to 277 on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Opto Circuits surged 2% as the company has received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for heart devices.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings rose 3% as Mint reported that Venture Capitalist Srini Raju is willing to invest in the company at "right price".

Arvind was up 0.3% as Business Standard reported that Sweden's H&M is in talks with Arvind and RIL for retail foray into India.

IRB Infrastructure fell 1.5% after the company has received service tax demand notice of Rs 60.46 crore from I-T Department.

Max India gained 1.3% as the company will sell Max Speciality Films unit to German company Treofan for Rs 540 crore.