Nifty closes sub 6K, midcaps butchered; Sun Pharma up 4%

Bad corporate results, poor global cues and weak domestic economic situation kept investors in the sidelines once again, leading to a very sluggish Tuesday. The Sensex closed 91.37 points at 19659.82, and the Nifty ended the day 30.35 points lower at 5956.90.

Jaiprakash Associates, BHEL, Bank of Baroda, Sterlite Industries, Tata Motors, ITC, Bhart Airtel and BPCL stand as biggest loser of the day. The stocks lost between 1.5 percent to 4 percent. Jaiprakash Associates lost 4.4 percent today, and 22 percent year-to-date. Bank of Baroda lost 10 percent in 2 days. BHEL fell for the third consecutive session, down 3 percent due to disappointing Q3 results.

NTPC, which is expected to announce its OFS on Thursday in order to mop up Rs 12000-Rs 13,000 crore, fell marginally to 0.06 percent on the NSE.

Sun Pharma was the biggest gainer. It rose 4 percent after posting better-than expected numbers, backed by Taro's numbers. Realty major DLF too  supported the markets today with nearly 1 percent gains. Despite seeing occasional bad days, the stock has made newer tops and bottoms.

A host of midcap stocks lay butchered due to extremely poor  quarterly numbers. Jubilant Foods, Jain Irrigation and UCO Bank tumbled 5-8 percent on lower-than-expected quarterly numbers. Jindal Stainless fell 5 percent as losses more than doubled in the third quarter to Rs 257 crore Year-on-year. Havells India slid 2 percent following a block deal of 5.25 percent equity worth Rs 390 crore. Indo Tech Transformers sank 5 percent after its delisting offer failed.

Meanwhile, United spirits rose nearly 2 percent after Sebi approved Diageo, USL open offer. It now awaits clearance from the CCI.

Equity markets fell sharply as sell-off intensified across Capital Goods and selct FMCG stocks. At 13.30 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 105.31 points or 0.53 percent at 19645.88, and the Nifty down 38.25 points or 0.64 percent at 5949.00. Europe has opened flat.

Ambuja Cement and ACC from the cement pack were trading with over 1 percent gains. Sun Pharma continues to trade as topper on the bourses

Midcaps were the worst hit with Bombay Dyeing falling a steep 9.5 percent followed by Jubilant Foods, UCO Bank and Jain Irrigation. CEBBCO recovered after management clarified that the company was not facing any corporate governance issues.

At 11.37 AM, the Sensex is down 40.72 points at 19710.47, and the Nifty is trading 19.10 points lower at 5968.15.

Sun Pharma's results, backed by Taro's numbers, makes it the most sought after stock. It  remains top gainer on the bourses with 4 percent gains. Following on Sun's steps, Cipla, Ranbaxy and Cadilla Health are trading with near 1 percent gains. Dr Reddy's and Wockhardt are trailing behind with 0.31 percent and 2.58 percent losses respectively.

BHEL and Jaiprakash Associates top the losers list with 3 percent cuts. Heavyweightes REliance Industries and ITC were doen nearly 1 percent each.

Commercial Engineers and Body Builders Co (CEBBCO) was quoting at Rs 44.75, down 6.09 percent. The stock plunged Monday on heavy selling by institutions. On Tueday, the company issued a clarification but the stock continued to fall after a brief recovery. It touched a 52-week low of Rs 42.90 and intraday high of Rs 51.90.

Midcaps are in the sea of red with Jubilant Food losing 6 percent and Jain Irrigation and UCO Bank falling 5 percent each on poor quarterly numbers.

The BSE benchmark Sensex today declined by over 88 points in early trade, extending losses for the fourth straight session as funds and retail investors engaged booking profit amid a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share barometer fell by 88.49 points, or 0.44 percent, to 19,662.70. The index had lost nearly 254 points in the past three sessions.

Stocks of realty, capital goods, metal, auto, power and banking sectors declined due to profit-booking.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 39.35 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 5,947.90.

Brokers said a weak trend in the Asian trade following overnight losses on the US market on weak data, spurring selling, dampened the trading sentiment here.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was down 1.27 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 1.66 percent in early trade.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.93 per cent down in yesterday's trade.