Sensex takes a breather amid dull newsflow

It was yet another day of consolidation for the market. The benchmark index BSE Sensex took a breather and closed above 18850 mark. Cement stocks continue to strengthen its upward journey. Heavyweight like Ambuja Cement, ACC and JP Associates closed with hefty gains.

The Sensex closed at 18869.69 up 45.78 points or 0.24% and the Nifty shut shop at 5733.65 up 14.85 points or 0.26%. The breadth of the market was encouraging. About 1735 shares advanced, 1136 shares declined, and 582 shares remain unchanged.

Oil&Gas major Reliance industries rose 1.6%. Metal heavyweights Hindalco, Coal India and Sesa Goa also shined with gains of over 1.5% each.

Two wheeler majors, Hero Moto and Bajaj Auto slipped on weak September 2012 sales numbers. Bajaj volumes declined by 13% YoY, while Hero posted even weaker numbers with 26% decline in sales.

IDFC, Siemens, Ambuja Cements, HUL and Dr Reddys Labs were top gainers. Jindal Steel, Power Grid Corp, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Axis Bank were top losers.

Infrastructure companies extended gains on hopes for additional support measures for the sector, while insurance-related stocks also gained on optimism for government action.

The final take on GAAR will be announced by last week of this month. Also, September quarterly results are eagerly awaited which will start next week and impact near-to-medium term trend of the market.

Activity in market was also being curtailed by caution ahead of the European Central Bank's monthly monetary policy meeting and a Spanish debt auction on Thursday, and by a US jobs report due out on Friday.

Signs of the economic slowdown in Europe and Asia was gathering pace and sent world share markets and oil lower on Wednesday, while the euro held steady against the dollar as traders await Spain's next move to solve its mounting debt problem.

Crude oil prices and commodities like copper were also hit by the weaker data which is expected to curtail demand.

Brent November crude futures fell 90 cents to $110.67 a barrel while US November crude shed 54 cents to $91.35 a barrel.

Gold importers in India stayed on the sidelines weighed by high prices and as inauspicious period for buying started, with demand slackness expected to continue for another fortnight.

The rupee was up in good two-way interest; pair at 52.29/30, a new 5-month low, versus Monday close at 52.40/41.

Dealers cite good corporate inflows as main reason for fall in pair with inflows from state-run power utility, IT firm as well as about $70 million from a financial services company.

The Nifty has flattened out to remain just above 5700 mark. Buying was seen in pharma, oil & gas and capital goods stocks while auto, realty stocks slipped.

The Sensex was up 11.49 points or 0.06% at 18835.40 while the Nifty gained 4.90 points or 0.09% at 5723.70. About 1610 shares advanced, 1146 shares declined, and 697 shares unchanged.

Top gainers on the Sensex were Dr Reddys Labs at Rs 1,688.30 up 2.61%, HUL at Rs 553.20 up 1.94%, Coal India at Rs 363.45 up 1.56%, Reliance at Rs 844.60 up 1.20% and TCS at Rs 1,318.10 up 1.19%.

Top losers on the Sensex were Jindal Steel at Rs 419.15 down 3.81%, Hero Motocorp at Rs 1,856.00 down 1.34%, ITC at Rs 269.80 down 1.33%, Infosys at Rs 2,577 down 1.23% and Bajaj Auto at Rs 1,792 down 1.12%.

Amit Gupta of ICICI Direct expects Nifty to hover in the broad range of 5,530-5,880 in the October series. Given the flow of foreign funds into midcap stocks, he suggests market participants to follow a stock specific approach.

Meanwhile, Kingfisher Airlines slumped 5%. The DGCA says a call on the airline resuming operations will be taken only if they come up with a credible salary plan. The company has declared a partial lockout till Thursday.

Most active shares on BSE were United Spirits, SBI, Rel Capital, Lovable Lingeri and Reliance.

Top percentage gainers on the BSE - Aditya Birla, RDB Realty, TTK Healthcare, Jetking Info and West Coast Paper were up 17-19%.

Top percentage losers on the BSE - BPL, Asian Granito and Ruby Mills were down 6-7%.

It was a dull session of the market so far with the benchmark index Sensex moving in a narrow band of 50 points. Midcap and smallcap stocks were on buyer's radar today. BSE Midcap and Smallcap Indices outperformed largecaps. The european markets opened marginally in red.

The Sensex was up 40.49 points or 0.22% at 18864.40, and the Nifty was up 12.70 points or 0.22% at 5731.50. About 1660 shares advanced, 913 shares declined, and 880 shares remain unchanged.

Top gainers on the Nifty were IDFC, Dr Reddys Labs, Siemens, HUL and Ambuja Cements. Jindal Steel, Hero Motocorp, Infosys, Bajaj Auto and ITC were top losers.

Shares of heavy engineering major Larsen & Toubro hit a fresh one-year high of Rs 1614 Wednesday, even as HSBC became the latest to join the growing bandwagon of brokerages to downgrade the stock citing expensive valuations.

Since the start of this calendar, L&T shares have risen around 60% till date, compared with a 21% rise in the 30-share Sensex.

West Coast Paper clarifies on reports of US-based International Paper in talks to buy out the company. The company denies and says there are no intentions to sell it.

Ajit Singh, Aviation Minister said today, "DGCA report on Kingfisher Airlines likely to be submitted on Thursday."

The Rupee depreciated on the strength of FII flows. The euro cools off marginally but still holding on to 1.29. The dollar index is trading below 80.

Anant Raj Industries, Kalpataru Power, Tata Global, BEML and Max India were top gainers amongst midcaps. Tulip Telecom, Manappuram Finance, Responsive Industries, Andhra Bank and Gujarat Gas were top losers.

In the smallcap space, West Coast Paper, TTK Healthcare, Lovable Lingerie, ESS DEE and NBCC surged with hefty gains. Top losers were Tuni Textile, PVR, Man Industries, Shristi Infra and Jagatjit Industries.

The benchmark index BSE Sensex was consolidating around 18850 mark in the morning trade. The action was mainly seen in the broader markets. Vijay Mallya's group stocks were in focus today.

Kingfisher Airlines fell 4.9%, down almost by its daily limit move of 5%, after cancelling all flights through Thursday because of labour unrest and being ordered to submit a revival plan before it can fly again.

On the other hand, United Spirits was up more than 3% as reports suggest Diageo deal is likely to be announced today. United Breweries Holdings was up 4% while United Breweries surged 1%.

The Sensex was up 36.70 points or 0.19% at 18860.61, and the Nifty was up 13.25 points or 0.23% at 5732.05. About 1533 shares advanced, 777 shares declined, and 1143 shares remain unchanged.

Cement companies extend a recent rally on continued hopes for more infrastructure-related initiatives from the government and hopes for increased construction activity after the end of the monsoon period.

Ambuja Cement gains 1.8% after earlier hitting a record high at 214.40 rupees. Hero MotoCorp shares falls 1.5% after September vehicle sales fell 26%. Bajaj Auto shares down 1% after September sales declined 14%.

The rupee rose by 12 paise to fresh over five-month high of 52.28 against the American currency in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on continued dollar selling by exporters and some banks. Besides, a higher opening in the equity market also supported the rupee, forex dealers said.

They, however, added that dollar's gains against other currencies overseas capped the local unit's gains. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark index Sensex rose by 51.16 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 18,875.07.

The rupee had edged up by 45 paise to close at an over five-month high of 52.40 against the dollar in the previous session on Monday on sustained capital inflows. The forex market remained closed yesterday on account 'Gandhi Jayanti'.

Brent crude futures slipped towards USD 111 per barrel on Wednesday, hurt by persistent concerns over global growth and oil demand, while Europe's festering debt crisis added to uncertainty.

The Indian market opens on an optimistic note in today's trade. BSE Sensex was marching towards 19000 mark. Marginal buying was seen in pharma, oil&gas and power stocks. Positive manufacturing data and better-than-expected auto sales data for September may act as trigger for the market to extend this rally.

The Sensex was up 50.48 points or 0.27% at 18874.39, and the Nifty was up 18.10 points or 0.32% at 5736.90. About 717 shares advanced, 201 shares declined, and 2535 shares remain unchanged.

Top gainers in the Nifty were Ambuja Cements, HCL Tech, Cipla, Wipro and HDFC. Jindal Steel, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, ITC and Bank of Baroda were top losers.

Rupee @ fresh 5-month high

The Indian rupee rose for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday to hit a new five-month high on hopes of an improving economy and fiscal and economic reforms from the government. This may continue to spur inflows from foreign funds while exporters sold dollars.

ICICIdirect expects the US dollar to attract selling pressure on rallies against the INR and recommends to utilise the highs in the USDINR October contract to sell.

Stocks in News

The maximum buyback price for Rain Commodities is Rs 46 per share, reports CNBC-TV18.

Ashok Leyland's September total sales were up 21% at 10,623 units, YoY.

United Spirits - Diageo deal is likely to be announced today, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting reports.

Global Cues

Asian markets were trading mixed. The US markets finished mixed in volatile trading, however uncertainty over the timing of Spain's bailout request and ongoing fears over the slowing global economy put a lid on gains. The CBOE volatility index slipped below 16.

Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.24% or 32.75 points at 13482.36. Nasdaq Composite was up 0.21% or 6.51 points at 3120.04. Standard & Poor's 500 was up 0.09% or 1.26 points at 1445.75.

F&O Cues

FIIs were net buyers in the cash and index futures segment to the tune of Rs 207 crore and Rs 93 crore, respectively. India VIX went up from 16.16 to 16.34 (up 1.11%)

In the options space, on the Call  side, 5800, 5900 and 6000 Call added 0.7 million shares each. On the Put side, the Nifty 5600 and 5700 Put added 0.65 million shares and 0.3 million shares, respectively.

Nifty Strategy: ICICIdirect

The Nifty is likely to open positive on the back of positive global markets on Tuesday. It is likely to trade in the range of 5720-5810. The trading strategy would be to create long positions if  the Nifty takes support at around 5733 levels for targets of 5770 and 5795. On the other hand, one can also create short positions if it resists at around 5810 levels. The Bank Nifty is likely to trade in the range of 10450-11750.