Volatile Nifty closes lower ahead of Oct expiry; BPCL up 2%

Indian shares declined amid a choppy trade on Tuesday ahead of expiry of futures & options contracts for October series on Thursday. The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 25.75 points to close at 5,691.40, weighed down by somewhat profit booking and weakness in global markets.

So far the October series has seen a consolidation with the market gaining just 0.8 percent after a rally of 6 percent in September owning to strong inflow of foreign money, stimulus packages by Federal Reserve & European Central Bank and reforms by the Indian government.

Overall the Nifty has been in a range of 5630-5730 since last two weeks due to lack of major global and local cues. Investors also awaited the move from Reserve Bank of India on October 30.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 83.42 points to 18,710.02. The Indian rupee depreciated 24 paise to 53.71 against the US dollar today.

Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp fell 1.9 percent ahead of results announcement that came in after market hours. The company said its net profit dropped 27 percent year-on-year to Rs 440.5 crore in the second quarter of FY13 as against analysts' forecast of Rs 440 crore.

Shares of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro gained another 2 percent owning to higher-than-expected numbers announced yesterday.

Top private sector lender ICICI Bank continued its upmove, rising 0.5 percent ahead of second quarter earnings on Friday. Its rival HDFC Bank fell 0.91 percent.

Cigarette major ITC slipped 1.3 percent for the second consecutive session on profit booking after better-than-expected numbers in July-September quarter.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.6-0.9 percent while oil retailer BPCL gained 2 percent.

India's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys declined 0.5 percent and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Among metals stocks, Jindal Steel tumbled 2.4 percent and Hindalco Industries was down 1.6 percent. Tata Steel went down 0.8 percent.

Shares of Sterlite Industries were down 0.76 percent ahead of results that came in after market hours. Net profit grew higher-than-expected by 75 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,743 crore in Q2FY13, helped by forex gain of Rs 219 crore and increase in power sales.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was down 2 percent ahead of earnings on Thursday.

Lupin fell 1.25 percent after results. Yes Bank and Bank of Maharashtra gained 3 percent after strong earnings in Q2.

Peninsula Land was locked at 20 percent upper circuit following strong numbers in July-September quarter, which had gained 18 percent yesterday.

Rain Commodities plunged 4.5% owning to big acquisition. Initially the stock had rallied 7 percent. The company bought Belgian based Rutgers for 702 million euro (Rs 4900 crore) that is over three times of its current market capitalisation.

Indian markets will be shut on Dusserha holiday on Wednesday.

On the global front, European markets were down 0.6-1 percent while Dow Jones futures declined 0.9 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks remained under pressure with the BSE Sensex falling 74 points to to 18,719.24 amid choppy trade. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE 0.7-1 percent after mixed set of earnings. Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures too were under pressure.

Sensex falls 70 pts; European markets down too
The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 25.15 points to 5,692, weighed down by auto, metals, oil & gas exploration and technology stocks.

Two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp plunged over 2 percent ahead of likely weak earnings. Analysts on an average expect Hero's net profit to decline 27% at Rs 440 crore, while revenue is seen down 12.5% at Rs 5,100 crore due to fall in sales volumes, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

Cigarette major ITC dropped 1.5 percent. Shares of HDFC Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ONGC and Tata Motors were down 0.7-0.9 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro maintained its top position in the buying list, rising 1.7 percent after strong numbers in Q2.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, coal mining company Coal India, telecom operator Bharti Airtel and drug producer Cipla gained 0.3-0.5 percent.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by a ratio of 820 to 603 on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian shares fell marginally amid choppy trade, weighed down by metals, technology, auto and oil & gas stocks. Cigarette major ITC remained under pressure, falling over 1 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex went down 61.5 points to 18,731.99 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 21.70 points to 5,695.45.

Regan F Homavazir of Darashaw cautioned that Nifty might slip to 5,450 levels if it doesn't hold 5,600. However, the long term trend for Nifty is bullish, so any decline can be considered as a buying opportunity.

Among auto stocks, two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp dropped nearly 2 percent as analysts expect weak numbers from the company in July-September quarter. Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto were down nearly 1 percent.

Software services exporters Infosys and TCS went down 0.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively. Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC plummeted over 0.7 percent.

Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank slipped 0.8 percent while its rival ICICI Bank gained 0.6 percent.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro rallied 1.8 percent following higher than expected numbers in the quarter ended September 2012.

On the global front, European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell 0.5 percent each. Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures declined 0.5 percent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty continued to trade in a narrow range of 5700-5720 since opening tick ahead of expiry on Thursday. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro extended gains to 2 percent post strong earnings while two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp fell 2 percent ahead of likely weak earnings.

The BSE benchmark was down 28.24 points to 18,765.20 and the NSE benchmark fell 11.5 points to 5,705.70.

Shares of private sector lender Yes Bank gained 1.5 percent following higher-than-expected earnings in the quarter ended September 2012.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank lost 0.7 percent while its rivals State Bank of India and ICICI Bank gained 0.6-0.9 percent.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel rose 1 percent whereas cigarette major ITC plummeted 1 percent on profit booking.

Infosys, India's second largest software services exporter was down 0.8 percent. Drug producer Cipla was up 0.8 percent.

Sterlite Industries moved up just 0.3 percent ahead of its second quarter earnings today.

In the second line shares, Birla Corp, Fresenius Kabi, Tata Coffee, Puravankara Projects and Eros International gained 4-6 percent while Tulip Telecom, Blue Star, IRB Infra, DB Realty and Coromandel International were down 2-4 percent.

Indian shares remained directionless ahead of settlement of F&O contracts for October on Thursday. The gains in L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI and Bharti Airtel counterbalanced by the fall in Reliance Industries, Infosys, ITC, TCS and HDFC pack.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 9 points to 18,784.77 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 6 points to 5,711.05. But the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining 0.3-0.4 percent.

Country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp extended losses to 1.5 percent ahead of September quarter earnings today. Analysts on an average expect lower earnings from the company due to fall in sales volumes and deteriorating of market share in two-wheeler space.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys were down 0.75 percent each. Top software services exporter TCS was down 0.33 percent.

Cigarette major ITC lost 0.5 percent on profit booking, which had rallied last week following better-than-expected numbers in Q2.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro rose 1.7 percent after strong numbers in September quarter. The stock had gained 2 percent yesterday.

India's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank moved up 0.7-0.8 percent while their rival HDFC Bank declined 0.3 percent.

Shares of Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, BHEL and Sterlite Industries fell 0.5-1 percent.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by a ratio of 712 to 509 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST: Nifty opens volatile; upmove continues in L&T, ICICI Bank

Indian equity benchmarks were flat in early trade following lacklustre trade in global markets and ahead of expiry on Thursday. Engineering conglomerate L&T gained another 1 percent following a gain of 2 percent yesterday after better-than-expected numbers in September quarter.

The BSE Sensex fell 23 points to 18,770.40 and the NSE Nifty declined 9.15 points to 5,708.

Bank of Baroda, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, HCL Tech and Bharti Airtel were under pressure.

Hero Motocorp shed another 1 percent ahead of quarterly earnings today. Analysts on an average expect the company's profit to fall by 27 percent year-on-year to Rs 440 crore.

BHEL gained 0.9 percent. ICICI Bank was up 1% ahead of September quarter numbers on Friday and Ambuja Cements moved up 1.5 percent.

Lupin rose 0.3 percent ahead of second quarter results today.

In the second line shares, Rain Commodities rallied 6 percent as the company bought Belgian based Rutgers for 702 million euro (or Rs 4900 crore while the company's market capitalisation stands at Rs 1,537 crore.

DB Realty was up 1 percent as The Economic Times reported that the company looks to sell 49% stake in Delhi Airport Hospitality SPV having a valuation of Rs 700 crore.

Dewan Housing and Merck gained 2.5-3 percent after strong results.

Tata Coffee was up 5 percent as its margins improved to 18.5 percent in Q2FY13 as against 9.2 percent in a year ago period.

Idea Cellular was up 1 percent after the profit increased to Rs 240 crore in Q2FY13 from Rs 234.2 crore YoY. Even its EBITDA margin rose by 70 basis points YoY to 26.8 percent.

Exide Industries bounced back with 1 percent gains.

Kingfisher Airlines plunged 5 percent despite the management offered to pay 1 month salary in 24 hours. Employees said, "We won't join work unless dues cleared. We want 4-months salary right now."

United Spirits, UB Holdings were down 1.5 percent.

Apollo Tyres was up over 1 percent following a decline in rubber prices in international markets.

JK Paper rallied 7 percent.