Sensex closes higher; financials lead, ACC, Ambuja up 2.6%

Indian shares gained marginal strength amid volatility in late trade following upmove in European markets ahead of US Presidential Elections today.

It was another lacklustre session for the market this week and the volumes too was less ahead of US event.

''Right now the US election is the main point on investors' minds and people are just keeping away from taking large positions because just before an event whatever way the event pans out people don't like to open commitments,'' PN Vijay of askpnvijay.com said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 54.51 points to close at 18,817.38 while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 20.20 points to 5,724.40, helped by banking and financials stocks.

''I am quite happy about the way the Indian market has stood up to all this anxieties and nail biting (disappointing results by PSU banks) in the last one week,'' Vijay added.

The BSE Bankex rose 0.6 percent as country's largest lender State Bank of India was up 1.4 percent ahead of second quarter numbers on Friday while its rival ICICI Bank went up 0.41 percent. Housing finance company HDFC rallied 1.75 percent.

Cement majors ACC and Ambuja Cements were up 2.57 percent each.

Pharmaceutical firm Cipla shot up over 4 percent following strong numbers in September quarter.

Commercial vehicle marker Tata Motors slipped 1 percent ahead of quarterly earnings tomorrow.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki tanked 1.7 percent on media reports that its Manesar workers are planning a peaceful hunger strike to force management to take back 548 sacked employees.

Software services exporter TCS and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro were down 0.6 percent each.

Two-wheeler majors Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto fell over 0.6 percent.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries tumbled nearly 2 percent due to disappointing numbers on every count. Net profit dropped 28.56 percent year-on-year to Rs 359 crore in the second quarter.

In the second line shares, Central Bank of India surged 4 percent amid heavy volumes as its net profit rose 35 percent year-on-year to Rs 330 crore on other income and despite increase in provisions.

Dena Bank went up 1.4 percent while Andhra Bank jumped 2 percent but Canara Bank closed flat after September quarter earnings.

Amara Raja Batteries shot up 15.5 percent as its net profit increased 35 percent YoY to Rs 70.1 crore in Q2. The stock rallied 150 percent in the year 2012. Century Plyboards gained 12 percent after its net profit jumped three times YoY to Rs 42 crore in Q2.

On the global front, European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were up 0.5 percent as US voters head to the polls to decide who will be their President for the next four years.

Indian equity benchmarks were completely directionless as the gains in HDFC, Cipla, SBI, HDFC Bank and Infosys offset by the fall in L&T, Reliance Industries, TCS, ICICI Bank and auto stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 15.20 points to 18,778.07 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 8.10 points at 5,712.30.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries fell 1.5 percent following disappointing second quarter numbers. Net profit dropped 28.56 percent year-on-year to Rs 359 crore in the quarter while analysts had forecast of Rs 382 crore.

State-owned lender Central Bank of India rallied 5 percent as its net profit increased 35 percent year-on-year to Rs 330 crore in the quarter ended September 2012 despite rising provisions against bad loans.

Housing finance company HDFC extended gains to 1.5 percent and even country's largest lender State Bank of India gained further to 1.18 percent.

Drug producer Cipla surged over 4 percent after stroner-than-expected numbers in Q2.

Software services exporter Infosys and cigarette major ITC were up 0.2-0.4 percent whereas TCS declined 0.5 percent.

Auto stocks like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto fell 1-1.5 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro slipped 0.8 percent and index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.34 percent.

The BSE Sensex has been consolidating since yesterday ahead of major global events this week like US Presidential elections today and Greek parliamentary vote tomorrow. Asian markets were mixed in late trade ahead of these events.

The 30-share BSE benchmark fell 3 points to 18,759.83 while the 50-share NSE benchmark rose just 0.95 point to 5,705.15.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries plunged 2.5 percent ahead of July-September quarter earnings today .

Auto stocks remained under pressure; commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and top car maker Maruti were down 1 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.

Two-wheeler majors Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto declined nearly 1 percent.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever slipped 0.8 percent.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank fell 0.3 percent while its rival HDFC Bank gained 0.5 percent. Public sector lender State Bank of India was up 0.8 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC rose 1 percent and drug producer Cipla rallied 3 percent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty continued to move in a tight range of 15 points from 5705-5720 due to lack of global and local cues. Shares of pharmaceutical firm Cipla retained its top position in the buying list, rising 3 percent on strong results while top car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 1.6 percent on media reports that its Manesar workers are planning a peaceful hunger strike to force management to take back 548 sacked employees.

The BSE benchmark rose 29 points to 18,791.40 and the NSE benchmark was up 8.35 points to 5,712.55 while the broader markets gained 0.3-0.5 percent.

Shares of Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Auto, Tata Steel and Hero Motocorp were down 0.7 percent each.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries extended losses to 1.7 percent ahead of earnings today. Analysts on an average expect the company's profit after tax to go down by 24 percent year-on-year and 10 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 382 crore in the July-September quarter of current financial year.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank was down 0.16 percent while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank gained 0.45-0.77 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and telecom operator Bharti Airtel moved up 0.5 percent. Housing finance company HDFC rose 1 percent.

Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro climbed just 0.7 percent.

In the second line shares, Jammu & Kashmir Bank and Amara Raja Batteries (post strong earnings) rallied 6 percent each. Chennai Petroleum, Shree Global and Eicher Motors were up 4-5 percent.

Tuni Textile, Voltas, Jubilant Lifesciences, Ybrant Digital and Responsive Industries were down 2-5 percent.

Indian shares gained somewhat strength amid choppy trade and weak Asian cues. Shanghai dropped 1.5 percent while Nikkei and Hang Seng were down 0.5 percent as investors looked cautious ahead of US Presidential election today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 47 points to 18,809.63 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 13 points to 5,717.40.

Country's second largest software services exporter Infosys and housing finance company HDFC were up 1 percent each.

Commercial vehicle major Tata Motors moved up 1 percent too ahead of second quarter earnings tomorrow. Healthcare firm Cipla remained top gainer with 3 percent gains as net profit jumped 90 percent year-on-year to Rs 500 crore for the quarter ended September 2012.

Top lender State Bank of India was up 0.84 percent while its rival HDFC Bank gained 0.5 percent and ICICI Bank was flat.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel, state-run oil & gas producer ONGC moved up 0.6 percent while steel producer Jindal Steel rallied 1.7 percent ahead of their second quarter results this week.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro were down 0.6 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki went down 1.6 percent on media reports that its Manesar workers are planning a peaceful hunger strike to force management to take back 548 sacked employees.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries declined 0.8 percent ahead of quarterly earnings today. Two-wheeler makers Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto fell 0.8-1.3 percent.

The broader markets gained 0.3-0.5 percent, outperforming benchmarks as advancing shares outnumbered declining by a ratio of 1228 to 912 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The BSE Sensex was completely listless in early trade on Tuesday ahead of US Presidential election. The weakness in auto stocks, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and SBI counterbalanced by the gains in technology, FMCG, HDFC pack and Cipla.

The 30-share BSE Sensex went up 6.6 points to 18,769.46 while the 50-share NSE Nifty was flat at 5,704.25.

ITC, Infosys, Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies, Hindustan Unilever and Bharti Airtel (second quarter numbers tomorrow) gained 0.3-0.8 percent.

Drug producer Cipla  rose 3 percent following a 90 percent spike year-on-year in its net profit to Rs 500 crore for the quarter ended September 2012 , which was above expectations.

Software services exporter Tech Mahindra  gained 2 percent as its second quarter consolidated net profit rose 23 percent year-on-year to Rs 296 crore, helped by new deal wins and acquisitions.

Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, PNB and Axis Bank were under pressure.

Maruti dropped nearly 2 percent as The Economic Times reported that Manesar workers are planning a peaceful hunger strike to force management to take back 548 sacked employees.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries declined over 1 percent ahead of September quarter earnings today.

In the second line shares, air-conditioner-maker Voltas fell nearly 3 percent as its consolidated net profit rose 2.53 percent YoY to Rs 42.53 crore for the July-September quarter, which was below street estimates due to lower than expected other income that fell 56 percent YoY to Rs 18 crore.

Jubilant Life Sciences  rallied 1.5 percent as its consolidated net profit rose by 91 percent to Rs 152 crore in the quarter ended September 2012 from Rs 79.4 crore in a year ago period.

Amara Raja Batteries surged 6.4 percent as its net profit increased 35 percent YoY to Rs 70.1 crore during the quarter.

Gujarat Gas moved up 0.5 percent as consolidated net profit rose 24 percent YoY to Rs 100 crore for the quarter ended September 2012.

Mastek shot up 5 percent to Rs 142 after the board of directors have approved a share buyback up to Rs 175 a share. The company will buy back up to 3.2 million shares for Rs 36 crore.

United Spirits rose 3 percent as Mint reported that Diageo is set to pick upto a 51 percent stake in the company this week.

Shares of Vijaya Bank and Allahabad Bank lost another 0.5-1 percent due to asset quality concerns.