Sensex ends flat after 207pts rally; TCS, Europe spoilsport

Market took a disappointing U-turn after gaining 207 points in mid-trade to close flat. The Nifty nicely held the 5600-mark in the second half of trade after a bearish trend in early part of the day. But the sell-off in TCS ahead of results & MET department comments on monsoon played a spoilsport and washed out all gains in the last half an hour of trade.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained as much as 207 points to hit an intra-day high of 18,803.05, before closing with just 22.18 points gain at 18,618.2.

Experts too perplexed after a sudden fall in the late trade. Dilip Bhat, Joint MD of Prabhudas Lilladher feels that this correction is something like a volatile movement, which really happens in the market on a day to day basis.

European markets too added some pressure - France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down about a percent. "Europe continues to be in a state of flux," Bhat said.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rose 14.35 points, to close at 5,599.80, as 30 stocks out of 50 closed in the green.

Met Department said monsoon level was 19% below normal in week to July 13. However, department did not change July forecast.

TCS was the leading dragger on Nifty ahead of its results today evening, with falling over 2%. Country's largest software services exporter is expected to report 5.7% fall in the profit after tax of Rs 2,264 crore in the quarter ended June 2011. Infosys too fell over 1% and Wipro ended with 0.5% loss.

Bajaj Auto too slipped over a percent after a tad disappointment on the results front. India's second largest two-wheeler maker reported first quarter FY12 profit after tax of Rs 711 crore, a growth of 20.5% while CNBC-TV18 expected at Rs 726 crore. Another two-wheeler maker Hero Honda fell 1.5%.

ONGC, NTPC and ITC were down 0.5-1%. Reliance Communications was down over 1.5%. BHEL too fell marginally.

However, rate sensitives looked quite supportive after inflation data, which was on the expected lines.

Overall inflation for June surged to 9.44% from 9.06% in May. Market had expected inflation in double digit when hike in diesel and cooking gas prices announced by government last month. Standard Chartered Bank sees inflation at above 9% till October.

Largest banks stocks SBI and ICICI Bank were up nearly 1.5%. Tata Motors, HDFC and L&T gained 1-2%. From the realty space, DLF surged 3%.

Cement stocks too were on buyers radar after dealers said institutional cement price in Gujarat has been hiked by Rs 20/50 kg, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting NW18. Ambuja Cements and ACC were up 2-3%.

Midcaps like SpiceJet, PTC India, Supreme Industries, Cholamandalam and IRB Infra gained 5-8% while SKS Microfinance tumbled 10% for second consecutive day. Gujarat State Petronet, Godfrey Phillip, Himadri Chemical and KGN Industries lost 3-5%.

Williamson Financial Services and Williamson Magor shot up 20% each.

Total traded turnover on exchanges was nearly Rs 1.67 lakh crore, including Rs 1.52 lakh crore from F&O segment.

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Nifty erases gains; TCS, ONGC, Infosys drag

Indian equity benchmarks washed out all their gains in last ten minutes of trade due to sell-off in European markets. Technology - especially TCS was taking huge beating ahead of first quarter numbers in the evening today.

European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX, Britain's FTSE, FTSE MIB (Italy), Athex Composite and IBEX (Spain) were down 0.5-1%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,598, up 2 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose just 5 points to 5.591 amid extreme volatility.

ONGC, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, GAIL and Power Grid were down over 1%. BHEL, ITC, Wipro and SAIL were marginally in the red.

However, SBI, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, DLF, L&T, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Cipla and ACC were on buyers' radar.

Nifty touches 5650; realty, banks, metals lead

The benchmark Nifty has seen huge uptrend in the afternoon trade by hitting 5650 level as well. Even the Sensex added nearly 200 points led by short covering.

Financial, realty, cement, metal, four-wheeler, capital goods and FMCG companies' shares were leading the market higher. Heavyweight Reliance Industries too aided this rally after sluggish trade in the morning, with rising over a percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 18,789, up 193 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 64 points to 5,649. The Nifty July futures too were trading with 17 points premium.

"We remain buyers of Indian equities with a 12 to 18-month view," Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley said. "Our 2011 Sensex target implies 20% upside. We are focused on stock picking, since we believe the "macro effect" has peaked. Small and midcaps look more attractive than large caps," he added.

ICICI Bank, SBI, L&T, Tata Motors, DLF, JSPL, Sun Pharma, IDFC, Sesa Goa, Ambuja Cements, ACC, Cipla and Jaiprakash Associates jumped 2-3.5%.

However, TCS, ONGC, Infosys, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, GAIL, Power Grid and Reliance Communications were on sellers' radar.

Midcaps like SpiceJet, IRB Infra, PTC India, Supreme Industries and Cholamandalam gained 5-8%.

However, SKS Microfinance plunged 10%. Gujarat State Petronet, KGN Industries, Godfrey Phillip and United Phosphorous lost 2-4%.

Smallcaps like Greenply Industries, OCL Iron, Mastek, KNR Construction and Banco Products surged 7-13%. However, Unisys Software, Mudra Lifestyle, GIC Housing Finance, Centrum Finance and Zenith Infotech fell 5-8%.

Nifty above 5600; Reliance, ICICI Bank, SBI gain

The benchmark indices moved up smartly after early trade volatility. The NSE Nifty crossed the 5600-mark. Buying was seen in realty, banks, metals, capital goods and pharma stocks. However, IT stocks were trading weak. The broader indices were trading with half a percent gain.

Heavyweights like Reliance, ICICI Bank, ITC, L&T and HDFC were positive contributors to the Sensex while Infosys, TCS, ONGC and M&M were negative contributors.

Nilesh Shah of Axis Bank says,