Sensex ends 61 points up; Infosys, JP Asso, Ambuja top gainers

The NSE Nifty closed above the 5700 level for the second consecutive session on Monday, supported by positive European cues and appreciation in Indian rupee.

Overall it was a day of consolidation for the market after it had rallied 1 percent on Friday and 8 percent in September on strong inflow of foreign money.

The BSE benchmark rose 61.17 points to close at 18,823.91 while the NSE benchmark gained 15.50 points at 5,718.80.

Experts still believe the market will see further upmove if the inflow of foreign money continues.

Independent Analyst Ambareesh Baliga said he would not be surprised if the Nifty hit 5850-5900 (in the next 2 or 3 weeks).

The Indian rupee rose 26 paise to 52.59 against the US dollar (at 15:31 hours IST). Dealers say inflow of foreign money and selling of dollars by exporters helped the rupee.

Cement stocks hogged the limelight today and even some of them hit a fresh 52-week high. Jaiprakash Associates shot up 4.5 percent and Ambuja Cements gained 3 percent. Shree Cements, UltraTech Cement and India Cements were up around 3 percent but ACC declined 0.9 percent.

Infosys, country's second largest software services exporter rallied 3 percent ahead of its earnings that will be announced on October 12. Its rivals TCS and Wipro were up 0.6 percent each.

Public sector lender State Bank of India moved up 1.4 percent whereas private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank lost 0.6-0.9 percent. Housing finance company HDFC was down 0.5 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro went up over 0.5 percent.

Shares of BHEL, Jindal Steel and Hindalco gained nearly 2 percent while NTPC and Sterlite were up 1.2 percent each.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto fell 1.1 percent ahead of September sales numbers tomorrow.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 2.65 percent ahead of sales numbers. Its sales, which came in after market hours, fell 4 percent year-on-year to 75,773 units in September.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki trimmed gains to 0.5 percent despite better-than-expected monthly sales numbers.

Indian markets will be shut on Tuesday on account of Gandhi Jayanti.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks amid low volumes. The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.8 percent and Smallcap gained 1.4 percent.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 944 to 529 on the National Stock Exchange.

On the global front, European markets were up around 0.8-1.3 percent after improvement in manufacturing activity in Eurozone.

Nifty holds 5700; Rupee appreciates 30 paise to 52.55/USD

The 50-share NSE Nifty was trading above the 5,700 level amid volatility, supported majorly by Infosys, Tata Motors and SBI. Even the Indian rupee rose by 30 paise to 52.55 against the US dollar.

The BSE Sensex went up 72 points to 18,834.78 and the NSE Nifty rose 18 points to 5,721.15 following further upmove in European markets. France's CAC and Germany's DAX rallied over 1.5 percent while Britain's FTSE jumped 1 percent despite concerns over Spain's debt problems.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks; the CNX Midcap Index moved up 1 percent as about

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors spiked 3 percent ahead of sales numbers for September. Software services exporter Infosys jumped 2.7 percent while its rivals TCS and Wipro were up 0.5 percent.

Public sector lender State Bank of India was up 1.24 percent while private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 0.4-0.55 percent. Housing finance company HDFC too was down 0.57 percent.

Among metals stocks, Jindal Steel, Hindalco Industries and Sterlite Industries were up 1.3-2.3 percent. Cigarette major ITC rose 0.5 percent.

In the second line shares, Sterlite Tech, CMC, J&K Bank, India Infoline and Anant Raj Industries gained 5-6 percent while Tulip Telecom, Wyeth, Sadbhav Engg, Birla Corp and Max India lost 2-5 percent.

Volatile Sensex extends gains; European markets rise 1%

The BSE Sensex gained more than 50 points amid choppy trade, following one percent upmove in European markets. The Indian rupee too appreciated 20 paise to 52.65 against the US dollar.

Vivek Rajpal, Rates Strategist, Nomura India says there are fair chances that the rupee will appreciate to 52 or slightly lower levels. He further stated that global risk appetite needs to be buoyant for more upmove in the currency.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 65 points to 18,827 and the 50-share NSE Nifty moved up 15 points to 5,718.55.

Software services exporter Infosys and aluminium major Hindalco Industries rallied over 2 percent. Country's largest commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors surged 2.7 percent ahead of monthly sales numbers.

Public sector lender State Bank of India was up 1 percent while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank pared losses to 0.4 percent.

State-run power equipment manufacturer BHEL and power producer NTPC rose 1.4 percent. Private power producers Tata Power fell 1 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC, steel producer Tata Steel and coal mining company Coal India were down 0.4 percent each.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 931 to 518 on the National Stock Exchange.
 
On the global front, France's CAC and Germany's DAX gained 1 percent each while Britain's FTSE went up 0.8 percent after improvement in manufacturing data. But investors remained cautious ahead of Moody's decision on Spain sovereign rating.

Nifty in narrow range; Ambuja, UltraTech hit 52-week high

Indian shares were completely lacklustre in trade on first day of October after strongest monthly rally seen in September since January 2012. The Nifty rose over 8 percent in the month gone by as against a 12 percent upmove in January.

Today the index fell just 0.6 point to 5,702.70 while the BSE Sensex gained 13 points at 18,775.53.

Gautam Shah, JM Financial says this is just a beginning of a long and large bull market. "Once 5,750 is crossed on a closing basis, the Nifty may move towards 6,100 and the Sensex maybe test 20,000, an important psychological level. This could happen by the end of this calendar year," he adds.

If the market were to consolidate a little bit, maybe even correct by about 50-100 points, he says, that would be very healthy from a broader angle. "Because the underlying momentum is very strong, you might see the Nifty not do too much. But I think stock and sector specific action will continue to do well," he asserts.

Cements stocks like Ambuja Cements, UltraTech Cement and Shree Cements hit a new 52-week high today. UltraTech Cement was up 1.6 percent while Ambuja Cements rallied 3 percent. In the second line shares, Indian Cements surged 4 percent and Shree Cements gained 4.5 percent.

Software services exporter Infosys and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied nearly 2 percent.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL and country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki were up 1-1.4 percent. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro lost 0.5 percent.

Public sector lender State Bank of India was up 0.9 percent while its rival ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.5-1 percent.

Sensex lacklustre; Maruti, TVS Motor spike on Sep sales nos

Indian equity benchmarks remained flat since early trade as they were consolidating at previous closing values after a 1 percent rally seen on Friday and 8 percent in September on strong inflow of foreign money.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 12.36 points at 18,775.10 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 0.55 point to 5,703.85.

Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki rallied 1.6 percent as the company sold 93,988 units in September, an increase of 73.55 percent compared 54,154 units in previous month. The performance improved after the company resumed operations at its Manesar plant (on August 16), which was shut for a month due to labour unrest.

TVS Motor surged 4 percent as the company's total sales increased 10 percent MoM to 1.7 lakh units in September. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors gained 1.4 percent ahead of numbers today.

Cement stocks too were witnessing buying interest. Ambuja Cements, Jaiprakash Associates and UltraTechCement went up 2-3 percent ahead of monthly sales numbers today.

Software services exporter Infosys, public sector lender State Bank of India and power equipment maker BHEL moved up 0.8-1.5 percent.

Shares of Tata Steel, Tata Power, Hindalco, Coal India, HDFC Bank, IDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Power Grid Corp were down 0.8-1.5 percent.

In the second line shares, Vakrangee, SRF, Shree Cements, S Mobility and India Cements rallied 4.5-5 percent while Dewan Housing, Max India, Wyeth, Kalpataru Power and DB Corp lost 2-3 percent.

About 1519 shares advanced while 917 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Nifty hovers around 5700; midcaps, smallcaps outperform

The 50-share NSE Nifty was completely directionless today, hovering around the 5700 level. The upmove in State Bank of India, technology and auto stocks counterbalanced the fall in Larsen & Toubro, private banks, metals and oil & gas stocks.

The BSE benchmark gained 18.27 points at 18,781.01 while the NSE benchmark was down 0.5 point to 5,702.80.

Experts were cautious after Friday's rally. The market gained 1 percent in previous session and closed above the 5700 level for the first time since July 7, 2011. Even the inflow of foreign money continued as foreign institutional investors have bought more than Rs 20,500 crore - highest inflow since February 2012 - worth of equity shares in September while the market rallied over 8 percent in the month gone by.

Anil Manghnani, Modern Shares & Stock Brokers says he is little cautious on the market right now. "Friday was a great day, but many stocks came off at the end of the day, although the Nifty held out. So, it is suggesting some profit booking at these levels," he adds.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rose 1.5 percent ahead of monthly sales numbers today.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki jumped 2 percent as sales numbers in September improved significantly after resumed operations on August 16 at Manesar plant that was shut over a month due to labour unrest. The company sold 93,988 units in September as against 54,154 units in previous month.

Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor spiked 2.6 percent as the company sold 1.7 lakh units in September versus 1.54 lakh units in August.

Infosys, country's second largest software services exporter went up 1.6 percent while its rivals TCS and Wipro were up 0.8 percent.

Top lender State Bank of India moved up 0.5 percent while private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell 0.6-1 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro lost 0.9 percent. Shares of Tata Steel, Tata Power and Hindalco Industries were down 1-1.5 percent.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks as about two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.8 percent each.

Sensex, Nifty flat; Infosys, TCS, Cipla gain

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started off first day of October month on a flat note but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks by rising 0.7 percent. The market seems to be in a consolidation mode after a rally of 1 percent on Friday.

The BSE benchmark went up 10.67 points to 18773.41. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark was hovering around the 5700 level, which fell 3.35 points to 5,699.95.

Infosys, Reliance Industries, TCS, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India, BHEL, Cipla and Sterlite Industries gained in early trade.

ICICI Bank, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power and Wipro were under pressure.

SAIL shot up 2 percent as Supreme Court will pass order in Category B mines in Karnataka today.

The CNX Midcap Index rose 32 points to 7,872 as about two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange. 

In the second line shares, Tulip Telecom was up 5 percent after falling sharply in previous sessions. Mangalam Cement jumped 3 percent and Zee News gained 3.5 percent

United Spirits moved up 1.6 percent.

Kingfisher Airlines tanked 5 percent. Pilots and engineers are on strike due to non-payment of salaries since March.

Apollo Tyres went up 1.5 percent as its board members will meet today to consider fund raising via preferential allotment to QIB's and/or promoters.

NCC gained 2 percent as Morgan Stanley Infra Partners is in talks to buy 51 percent stake in Western UP Tollway. Gayatri Projects surged 3.6 percent.

Pantaloon Retail was down 1.5 percent on profit booking.

GMR Infrastructure lost nearly 2 percent. Maldives Tourism Ministry said anti-corruption committee was looking into Male airport bid. GMR won the bid to expand and modernize Male airport.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading lower on disappointing US macro data and France's budgetary measures for 2013. Nikkei lost 1.2 percent while Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted declined 0.4-0.6 percent. Chinese, Hong Kong and Korean markets shut today.