Sensex ends flat after early scare; Tata Motors zooms 5.5%

It was a slow day for the Indian equity benchmarks on Thursday, but not as bad as Asian markets that fell quite sharply in late trade due to fiscal crisis in the US and amid ongoing European economic troubles.

The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 21.35 points to close at 5,738.75 after hitting an intraday low of 5,693.95 in initial trade, weighed down by L&T, ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC, Reliance and HDFC.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex, which dropped as much as 166 points in early trade, lost 56.15 points to 18,846.26.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India was up 1.32 percent ahead of its second quarter numbers on Friday. Investors will closely watch SBI's second quarter numbers on the back rising bad loans across the banking industry. However, its rival ICICI Bank plunged 1.5 percent.

Commercial vehicle major Tata Motors shot up 5.5 percent after its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover reported strong performance in the quarter ended September 2012, though the company's domestic business (mainly medium and heavy commercial vehicle) remained under pressure.

Second largest commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland dropped 3 percent ahead of numbers that will come in after market hours today. Analysts expect the company's profit after tax to fall by 45 percent YoY to Rs 84 crore in September quarter.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and software services exporter Wipro gained 2 percent each.

Drug producer Sun Pharma, which rose nearly 2 percent intraday, fell 0.76 percent after company's net profit dropped 46.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 320 crore in the second quarter of current financial year, impacted by the provision for Protonix generic.

Ranbaxy Labs turned profitable in the September quarter with net profit at Rs 754 crore on foreign exchange gain but the stock ended flat.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, private power producer Tata Power (for the second consecutive day) and gas transmission company GAIL were down 2 percent each.

Housing finance company HDFC, private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and software services exporter Infosys slipped 0.5-1 percent.

In the second line shares, Apollo Hospital and Sun TV Network were down 2.5-3 percent while Pantaloon Retail rallied 3.6 percent ahead of September quarter earnings on Friday.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by a ratio of 829 to 629 on the National Stock Exchange.

Among Asian markets, Shanghai and Nikkei tanked over 1.5 percent while Hang Seng plunged 2.4 percent.

The euro traded near a two-month low around USD 1.2736 on Thursday despite approval of a key austerity package by Greece, though activity was light before a key European Central Bank policy decision. European markets were trading marginally higher.

The ECB is widely expected to leave interest rates on hold at its meeting later on Thursday but comments by President Mario Draghi on the weak outlook and gloomy forecasts from the European Commission have raised speculation it may signal more willingness to ease in future.

The dollar was firm due to concerns about the fiscal problems facing the United States after President Barack Obama's re-election. Investors are increasingly worried that the effective return of the status quo in Washington after the election means it may be hard to reach a deal over some USD 600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases due to kick in early next year, which could derail the US economic recovery.

Sensex trades lower; SBI rebounds, GAIL falls 2.5%

Indian equity benchmarks cut down losses following upmove in European markets. Country's largest lender State Bank of India recouped entire losses by showing a rise of 2 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 55 points to 18,847.54 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was down 23 points to 5,737.05.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors extended gains to 5.65 percent as its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover reported strong numbers in Q2FY13, though domestic business remained under pressure.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel rose 1.66 percent and software services exporter Wipro rallied 1.5 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC, private sector lender HDFC Bank and private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries were down 0.5-0.9 percent.

Shares of Infosys, ICICI Bank and Infosys plummeted 1-1.8 percent.

Drug producer Sun Pharma, which rallied nearly 2 percent since early trade, lost ground after lower than expected net profit in the second quarter due to one-time loss. Net profit fell 46.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 320 crore in the quarter, impacted by the provision of Rs 584 crore for patent infringement over Protonix.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 0.4-0.7 percent after the Greek parliament passed further austerity measures by a thin margin. (With inputs from CNBC)

Nifty stays below 5750; ICICI, L&T, Reliance, Infosys down

ndian shares continued to trade lower since early trade due to weakness in banking & financials, oil & gas exploration and FMCG stocks. Infosys and Larsen & Toubro too added pressure on the market while Tata Motors, Bharti and Sun Pharma retained their outperformance.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 95.40 points to 18,807.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 36 points to 5,724.35.

According to Amit Gupta, head- derivatives at ICICI Direct, one important parameter which is not allowing the market to move up fast is the very high premium in Nifty Futures. "Nifty Futures Is consistently trading around 40 points of premium in this series and this is one important reason why the market is not moving up," he explained.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank dropped 1.5 percent while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were down 0.3-0.5 percent.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro plunged 2 percent and private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries slipped 1 percent.

State-run gas transmission company GAIL extended losses to 2.7 percent. FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were down 0.3-0.5 percent.

Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter fell 1.26 percent while its rivals TCS and Wipro turned positive.

Healthcare firm Sun Pharma gained 1.2 percent ahead of second quarter numbers. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rallied 1.5 percent after cabinet meeting on 2G auction.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors surged 4.5 percent after showing strong performance by its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover in July-September quarter.

Sensex remains down; Sun Pharma jumps ahead of Q2 nos

The BSE Sensex was flat to negative after paring its losses, helped by Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel. Healthcare, metals and auto stocks too were quite supportive but the fall in ICICI Bank, Infosys, Reliance, HDFC and L&T has limited the recovery.

The 30-share BSE benchmark, which tanked 166 points in initial trade, was down just 40.70 points to 18,861.71 while the 50-share NSE Nifty, which fell below the 5700 level initially, declined just 18.40 points to 5,741.70.

Healthcare firm Sun Pharma gained 1.6 percent before the announcement of quarterly earnings today. The profit after tax is expected to grow by 40 percent year-on-year to Rs 835 crore in the second quarter of currrent financial year , 40 percent of which contributed by Israel Taro Pharmaceutical Industries.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rallied 1.6 percent while its rival Idea Cellular rose 2.8 percent after the cabinet meeting on 2G auction related issues. Reliance Communications moved up 0.9 percent ahead of earnings today.

Commercial vehicle major Tata Motors extended gains to 5 percent, boosted by the strong performance from its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover in the second quarter of current financial year .

Shares of gas transmission company GAIL and private power producer Tata Power plunged 2 percent each.

Housing finance company HDFC fell 0.75 percent while private sector lender ICICI Bank was down over 1 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro extended losses to 1.7 percent while index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys were down 1 percent each.

On the global front, Shanghai, Hang Seng and Nikkei were down 1-1.5 percent on account of fiscal crisis in the US.

Nifty off day's low; Tata Motors surges 4% on JLR numbers

Indian equity benchmarks pared losses significantly and remained in a consolidation mode after initial knee-jerk reaction to the weak Asian cues. Commercial vehicle major Tata Motors outperformed quite nicely, rising over 4 percent following strong performance by its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover in the second quarter of current financial year and despite weak domestic business.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 62.5 points to 18,839.90 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 23.10 points to 5,737.

Independent analyst Ambareesh Baliga feels the downside for the Nifty is capped at around 5,640-5,650 level. He, however, sees the likelihood of the Nifty touching 6,000 level in late November or early December .

Drug producer Sun Pharma was up 1.4 percent ahead of second quarter numbers today. Analysts on an average expect the numbers to be strong due to consolidation of TARO . Ranbaxy Labs too gained 1.4 percent before its numbers get announced today.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank fell over 1 percent while its rival State Bank of India was down 0.5 percent.

Software services exporter Infosys slipped 1.2 percent while its rival TCS declined 0.5 percent.

Shares of major bluechips Reliance Industries, ITC, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC dropped 0.5-0.9 percent.

Private power producer Tata Power shed another 2 percent following a decline of 2.5 percent yesterday after poor numbers in Q2.

In the second line shares, Emami, Biocon, DB Realty, Radico Khaitan and Anant Raj Industries gained 3-5 percent.

Asian markets remained under pressure, losing 1-1.6 percent as investors worried about the fiscal crisis in the United States and the European economy's further deterioration, underpinning the safe-haven dollar and yen as well as US Treasuries on safety bids. (with inputs from Reuters)

Sensex trims initial losses by half; weak global cues drag

The BSE Sensex fell as much as 166 points in early trade following weakness in global markets after investors shifted their focus on US fiscal cliff from Obama's victory and amid European economic troubles. But the short covering and buying on declines helped the market pared losses by half immediately.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 87.5 points to 18,815 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was down 31.55 points to 5,728.55.

The Indian rupee too dropped 36 paise to 54.56 against the US dollar

Shares of ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, HDFC, State Bank of India, Tata Power, ONGC, Wipro and TCS were under pressure.

But Tata Motors  rallied 2.5 percent after initial flat opening. The stock reacted to the strong performance reported by the company's UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover, instead of its disappointing numbers on standalone basis that included its commercial vehicles business. Consolidated net profit rose lower-than-expected 11 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,075 crore, as pressures continued in the domestic business.

But its UK subsidiary JLR continued to report strong growth, with net profit rising to GBP 305 million from GBP 172 million a year ago. Revenue was up 13 percent to GBP 3.3 billion.

Drug producer Sun Pharma rallied over 1 percent ahead of its second quarter earnings as analysts feel the company would report 40 percent growth YoY in net profit due to its Israel's subsidiary Taro.

The CNX Midcap Index tanked 71 points to 7,875 as declining shares outnumbered advancing by a ratio of 754 to 211 on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines , grounded for over a month after a violent staff protest and concerns about safety, widened its quarterly loss to Rs 753.5 crore from a year ago of Rs 468.6 crore because of a steep decline in revenues. The stock fell 1.5 percent.

OnMobile Global  dropped 5 percent as its consolidated net profit fell 87 percent year-on-year to Rs 6.22 crore in the second quarter of FY13.

State-owned iron ore producer NMDC slipped nearly 1 percent as its net profit went down 14.5 percent YoY to Rs 1,679 crore for the second quarter. Media reports suggest that company's workers threaten to strike against government's move to disinvest another 10 percent stake.

Mangalore Chemicals  gained 2 percent after the company's net profit rose 82 percent YoY to Rs 56.4 crore in the three months period ended September 2012.

Bombay Dyeing plummeted 1.5 percent as the company reported net loss of Rs 28 crore in the July-September quarter as against loss of Rs 34 crore in a year ago period.

Emami rose 2 percent as its net profit jumped 17 percent YoY while Radico Khaitan rallied 3 percent after showing growth of 15 percent YoY in net profit.

Among others, Madhucon Projects, UB Holdings and Manappuram Finance were up 1.5-2 percent.

Unitech and Indiabulls Real were down 2-3 percent.