Nifty ends at 2-month low, drops 1%; rate sensitives drag

Indian shares closed at two-month low on Friday due to build up of short positions in rate sensitives in late trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty broke the range of 5600-5750, which has been seen since September, on the lower end. The index fell 56.95 points or 1.01 percent to close at 5,574.05.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 162 points to 18,309.37 following weak global cues and ahead of winter parliament session that will begin on November 22.

According to Dipan Mehta, Member of BSE & NSE, today's fall is attributed to weak global markets and fears of likely fresh set of uncertainty in winter parliament session.

Technically, he feels the markets have certainly become weak. ''One should expect some amount of selling and maybe the markets to trade 3-4 percent lower,'' he adds.

The Indian rupee too was under pressure, losing 41 paise to 55.11 against the US dollar and 35 paise to 70.20 against the Euro.

The BSE Realty index hit very hard, falling 3.36 percent followed by Bank, Auto, Capital Goods, FMCG and Power indices that slipped 1-1.6 percent.

Real estate firm DLF plummeted 2.6 percent while HDIL, DB Realty, Indiabulls Real and Unitech were down 4-6 percent.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India dropped 2.13 percent while its rival ICICI Bank tanked 2.65 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC, private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro went down 1-1.8 percent.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors tumbled 2.6 percent and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever was down 2.3 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and software services exporter TCS were down 0.7 percent each.

Shares of Maruti, BHEL, Tata Steel, GAIL, Hindalco and Sterlite tumbled 1.5-2 percent.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel rallied 3.5 percent, extending gains for the second consecutive session after second generation spectrum auction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has upgraded the stock to buy from neutral rating.

Software services exporter Infosys and drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs gained 2 percent.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1728 to 1063 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

On the global front, European markets were down 0.3-0.6 percent on continued uncertainties over Greece.

Asian markets closed mixed. Shanghai fell 0.77 percent while Hang Seng gained 0.24 percent. Nikkei rallied 2.2 percent on hopes of monetary easing.

The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped below the 5600 level for the first time in November, dragged down by banking & financials, capital goods, FMCG and auto stocks. Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries extended losses to 1.5 percent.

The BSE benchmark was down 150 points to 18,321.52 and the NSE benchmark fell 56 points to 5,575.

The Indian rupee dropped by 47 paise to 55.17 against the US dollar.

India's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank plummeted 2.2 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively. The Bank Nifty tanked 1.7 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and steel producer Tata Steel were down over 1.5 percent.

Commercial vehicle major Tata Motors plunged nearly 3 percent and top car maker Maruti Suzuki went down 2 percent.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were down 0.9 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained nearly 4 percent while shares of Infosys, ONGC and Dr Reddy's Labs rallied 1.7-2 percent.

In the second line shares, Bajaj Hindusthan, Indiabulls Real, Unitech, HDIL, IVRCL, IFCI and Reliance Power shed 3-6 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks erased morning gains amid choppy trade, weighed down by SBI, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell 0.2-0.4 percent on uncertainties over Greece.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 0.87 point to 18,470.5 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 10 points to 5,621.20.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank extended losses to 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Housing finance company HDFC dropped over 1 percent.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors plunged 1.7 percent while top car maker Maruti Suzuki was down 1.2 percent.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and top software services exporter TCS wiped out gains, falling 0.2 percent each.

Telecom major Bharti Airtel surged over 4 percent on upgrade reports by brokerages. Software services exporter Infosys rallied over 3 percent.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Labs and Jindal Steel gained 2.5 percent each while ONGC rose 1.8 percent.

Most active shares on exchanges were United Spirits, Tata Coffee, L&T Finance, SBI, United Breweries, Infosys and Bharti Airtel.

In the second line shares, Tata Coffee spiked 14 percent. Strides Arcolab, Apollo Hospital, Motilal Oswal and Amtek India were up 5-6 percent whereas Tuni Textile, JK Bank, Biocon, Responsive Industries and Bajaj Hindusthan lost 3-5 percent.

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade flat to positive, helped by technology and telecom stocks. However, the downtrend in private banking & financials and auto stocks has capped the upside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 66 points to 18,537.36 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 11 points to 5,642.25.

India's second largest software services exporter Infosys surged 3.66 percent while its rivals TCS and Wipro gained just 0.3-0.8 percent. The Indian rupee lost by 19 paise to 54.89 against the US dollar.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel spiked 3.2 percent and its rival Idea Cellular rallied nearly 2 percent as brokerage houses upgraded these stocks after 2G spectrum auction.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and cigarette major ITC were up over 0.6 percent.

Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs and steel & power company Jindal Steel climbed 2.6 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.

State-run oil & gas producer ONGC rallied over 2 percent whereas pharmaceutical company Cipla fell 1.6 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC and private sector lender ICICI Bank dropped 1 percent each.

Auto stocks like Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto were down 0.7-1 percent.

On the global front, European markets opened flat while Asian markets closed mixed.

The BSE Sensex remained listless since early trade as the gains in Infosys, Bharti, ITC, ONGC and L&T counterbalanced by losses in banking & financials and auto stocks.

The 30-share BSE benchmark rose 33.39 points to 18,504.76 and the 50-share NSE benchmark was up 2.4 points at 5,633.40.

The Indian rupee fell by 29 paise to 54.99 against the US dollar.

In the second line shares, coffee producer and exporter Tata Coffee gained over 14 percent, extending its upmove for the 12th consecutive session today.

Amtek India, a provider of iron cast automotive components, rallied over 13 percent.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel topped the buying list, rising over 3 percent following yesterday's 3 percent gains after 2G spectrum auction. Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to buy from its neutral rating.

Steel producer Jindal Steel and software services exporter Infosys extended gains to 2.5 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro were up 0.5 percent. Shares of ONGC, Coal India and Dr Reddy's Labs climbed 1-1.6 percent.

HDFC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, HUL and GAIL were down 0.5-1.5 percent.

On the global front, Asian markets stayed mixed as Shanghai fell 1 percent whereas Nikkei jumped over 2 percent on hopes of monetary easing that dragged the Yen to 6-month low.

Indian equity benchmarks extended gains with the NSE Nifty inching towards 5650 level, helped by stocks that saw selling pressure yesterday. Cigarette major ITC and country's second largest software services exporter Infosys gained 1.6 percent each.

The 30-share BSE benchmark rose 66.5 points to 18,537.90 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 13 points to 5,644.05. The broader markets too were on buyers' radar as the BSE Midcap Index was up 0.5 percent and Smallcap moved up 0.4 percent.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rallied over 2 percent, rising consistently since the end of second generation spectrum auction. Its rivals Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications too were up 1-1.7 percent.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, steel producer Tata Steel and state-run oil & gas producer ONGC climbed 1 percent each.

India's biggest lender State Bank of India gained 0.6 percent whereas its rival ICICI Bank fell 0.7 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors were down 0.7 percent each.

Drug producer Cipla, software services exporter HCL Tech and oil & gas producer Cairn India went down 1 percent each.

In the second line shares, Amtek India and Tata Coffee surged over 10 percent.

Strides Arcolab and Apollo Hospital gained over 6 percent whereas MCX India slipped 2 percent.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1235 to 870 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was flat to positive in early trade on Friday amid concerns over weak Eurozone economic activity and US fiscal crisis.

The BSE benchmark was up 54.41 points to 18,525.78 and the NSE benchmark rose 9.6 points to 5,640.60.

Manoj Murlidharan Vayalar, associate vice president-derivatives at IIFL expects the Nifty to trade in 5,600 and 5,700 range as of now. However, he cautioned that it may slip to its three months weighted average price, which is around 5,500.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 about the futures and options market, he pointed out that FIIs are shorting index futures in the November contract, which indicates that there some more downside in Nifty is yet to come.

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were up over 1 percent, extending gains after 2G spectrum auction.

Cigarette major ITC and private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries went up 0.8 percent each.

Software services exporter Infosys moved up 0.5 percent while its rival TCS declined 0.3 percent.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL gained 0.5 percent.

HDFC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Power and GAIL were under pressure.

Asian markets were mixed but Japan's Nikkei surged 2.3 percent on fall in Yen against the US dollar and on hopes of further easing of monetary policy. The US equity markets closed flat to lower yesterday amid worries over a looming fiscal cliff.

Back home, the CNX Midcap Index was up 27 points at 7,966.

In the second line shares, Tata Coffee jumped another 7 percent following yesterday's 20 percent rally. Other beverages stocks like Jayshree Tea and Assam Company gained over 2 percent.

SREI Infrastructure climbed 2.3 percent as media reports suggest that the company received SEBI registration for MF business.

Biocon was up 2.2 percent as the company entered into option agreement with Bristol-Myers for IN-105 - an oral insulin drug candidate.

Media stocks continued to see buying interest. Dish TV, Sun TV, TV18 Broadcast and Network18 were up around 1 percent. (Moneycontrol.com and Television Eighteen Network are both part of the Network18 Group.)

Jet Airways gained 2 percent as sources said the government is open to tweaking FDI policy in aviation to attract investment.

Zee Entertainment went up over 1 percent after media reports suggest that BCCI will pay the company Rs 120 crore as damages for ''arbitrarily'' terminating its five year contract in 2007.