Sensex ends flat after late recovery but gains 1% this week

Indian equity benchmarks closed flat on Friday after recouping losses in late trade, but the week was positive as the benchmark gained 1 percent.

The 50-share NSE Nifty fell below the 5600 level to touch an intraday low of 5,593.55 following the Parliament logjam for the second consecutive session today. But the recovery in late trade helped the index fall just 1.15 points to close at 5,626.60.

Meanwhile, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 10.77 points to end at 18,506.57.

Both houses the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned for the second day on Friday after opposition uproar over FDI in retail and SC/ST Bill, respectively.

The Indian rupee declined 32 paise to 55.53 against the US dollar despite intervention by RBI. The RBI likely sold dollars via state-run lenders as the rupee slid to a more than two-month low below 55.50, four traders said. Also Read: Domestic politics to drive Indian rupee: HSBC

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries gained 0.89 percent.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, drug producer Sun Pharma and two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp rose 1 percent each.

State-controlled power equipment maker BHEL jumped 1.5 percent as sources said the company was the lowest bidder for Orissa project of 1,320 MW.

Tata group’s stocks like TCS, Tata Motors and Tata Power were up 0.7-1 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel declined 0.9 percent each.

Power producer NTPC lost 2.57 percent. The Cabinet has approved 9.5 percent stake sale in the company.

Country’s largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Software exporter major Infosys slipped 0.4 percent.

Hindustan Copper plunged 20 percent amid high volumes as the floor price for its offer for sale (OFS) was 41 percent discount to its previous day’s closing value. The OFS was closed today.

The offer for sale of Blue Dart Express received good response, but the stock fell 3 percent because the floor price at Rs 1,720 a share was 20 percent discount to its previous day’s closing price.

Karnataka Bank gained 9% on reports that the bank may be a potential takeover candidate.

The broader indices closed flat but the market breadth was in favour of declines. About 615 shares advanced while 801 shares declined on the National Stock Exchange.

For the week, the Sensex rose 1 percent while the Nifty went up 0.94 percent.

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At 14:53 hours IST: Choppy Nifty trades lower; BHEL extends gains on order

Indian equity benchmarks continued to trade lower due to weakness in ITC and HDFC Bank. However, state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL rose 1.5 percent as the company was lowest bidder for Orissa project of 1,320 MW, reports NW18 quoting sources.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 78.28 points to 18,439.06 while the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 22.35 points to 5,605.40.

Cigarette major ITC, state-run gas transmission company GAIL and drug producer Cipla were down 1.8 percent each.

India's biggest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 0.5-1.1 percent.

State-controlled power generation company NTPC topped the selling list, losing nearly 3 percent. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has given an underperform rating on the stock with a target price of 153. "The 9.5% stake sale by the government is a potential overhang, given the weak execution and its rich valuation," the research firm reasoned.

Shares of Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro, Infosys, Wipro and ONGC were down 0.4-1 percent.

Meanwhile, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Sun Pharma and Coal India gained 0.7-1 percent.

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At 13:48 hours IST: Nifty tests 5600 amid selling pressure; banks drag

The BSE Sensex extendex losses, losing more than 100 points and the NSE Nifty fell below the 5600 level, weighed down by banks, metals and technology stocks. However, the upmove in Reliance, which rose 0.4 percent, has limited the downside.

The 30-share BSE benchmark lost 111.78 points to 18,405.56 and the 50-share NSE benchmark declined 32 points to 5,595.60.

Gainers and Losers

India's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank went down 0.9 percent each while their rival HDFC Bank moved down 1.26 percent.

Software services exporter majors Infosys and Wipro plummeted 1 percent each.

Metals stocks too were under pressure - Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco Industries were down 0.6-1.4 percent.

Cigarette major ITC, engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and telecom operator Bharti Airtel slipped 1 percent each.

Meanwhile, state-controlled power equipment maker BHEL gained 1 percent as sources said the company was lowest bidder for 1,320 MW Orissa project, reports NW18.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 820 to 546 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 12:31 hours IST: Volatile Sensex declines after Lok Sabha adjourns till Mon

The BSE Sensex fell marginally amid choppy trade as Lok Sabha is adjourned on the second day as well after opposition uproar over FDI in retail.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 45 points to 18,472.15 while the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 13 points to 5,614.85.

The Indian rupee too declined 22 paise to 55.44 against the US dollar. HSBC says its base case scenario is for the government to maintain its reform agenda, but warns the parliamentary process is "fraught with downside risks."

Most active shares on exchanges were Jet Airways, Hindustan Copper, SpiceJet, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and United Spirits. Country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank slipped 1 percent while their rival State Bank of India was down 0.6 percent.

Software exporter majors Infosys and Wipro erased early gains, falling 0.5 percent. Cigarette major ITC and engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro were down 0.6 percent. Shares of GAIL and Cipla lost over 1.5 percent.

Healthcare firm Ranbaxy Labs dropped over 2 percent after the company said it was recalling some batches of its cholesterol lowering drug Atorvastatin (generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor) from the US market, and supplies would be affected until an investigation is completed.

Meanwhile, private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever gained 0.5 percent.

State-owned power equipment maker BHEL and two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp climbed 1.5 percent each. Drug producers Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs rose 0.9 percent.

At 10:43 hours IST: Sensex consolidates; Reliance, BHEL, Sun Pharma top gainers

Indian equity benchmarks continued to consolidate around their previous closing values while the broader markets were trading marginally higher.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 13.13 points to 18,530.47 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 4 points at 5,631.80.

Experts say the market will see rangebound trade in the next three-four days ahead of expiry on next Thursday.

"The Nifty will be in a range of 5580 on the downside and 5720 on the upside and traders will have to play within this range only," according to Hemant Thukral, national head-derivative desk, Aditya Birla Money.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries, software services exporter HCL Tech and drug producer Sun Pharma gained 1 percent each.

State-controlled power equipment maker BHEL topped the buying list, rising 1.76 percent.

Shares of TCS, Infosys, HDFC, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, ONGC and Wipro were up 0.2-0.4 percent.

Meanwhile, country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank fell 0.5 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively.

Healthcare firm Cipla shed 1.4 percent on profit booking. Cigarette major ITC and state-run gas transmission company GAIL were down 0.76 percent each.

Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra slipped 0.2 percent each.

Meanwhile, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.3 percent each. About 1122 shares advanced while 825 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Edelweiss Financial, Greaves Cotton, Eros International, Jet Airways and Bajaj Finance were up 3-9 percent.

Blue Dart lost 6 percent as the DHL set floor price for offer for sale (OFS) at Rs 1720 (a 20 percent discount to Thursday's closing price). The offer for sale opened for subscription on exchanges.

Hindustan Copper tumbled 12 percent following the government fixed floor price at Rs 155/share (a 41.7 percent discount to Thursday's closing price) for OFS, which opened today.

STC India, Amtek India, City Union Bank and Biocon declined 1.6-3 percent.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex flat; Hind Copper, Blue Dart fall on low OFS price

The BSE Sensex was listless in early trade on Friday despite positive Asian cues. Asian peers gained after manufacturing surveys from China and US raised hopes that the global growth outlook is improved at last. Shanghai moved up 0.7 percent and Nikkei rallied 1.56 percent while Hang Seng was up 0.28 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 18 points to 18,535.33 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 4.2 points to 5,632.

The CNX Midcap Index was up 17 points to 7,802 as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 461 to 252 on the National Stock Exchange.

Hindustan Copper plunged 14 percent as the offer price was fixed at Rs 155 per share, nearly 41 percent discount to yesterday's closing price.

Blue Dart Express was down 3.5 percent. The offer for sale issue opened today. The company has fixed offer price at Rs 1720 a share, 20 percent discount to previous day's closing price.

Shares of Reliance Industries, Infosys, Bharti, TCS, BHEL, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Auto and Wipro gained 0.4-1 percent.

However, ITC, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Cipla, M&M and State Bank of India were down 0.2-1 percent.

Bajaj Hindusthan and Balrampur Chini gained nearly 2 percent. Cabinet has approved 5 percent mandatory ethanol blending in petrol and also approved market-determined price for ethanol.

Ashok Leyland and Pantaloon Retail were up 1 percent.

TBZ surged 5 percent; the public issue of Tara Jewels will close for subscription today that has been subscribed 0.16 times so far.

Indian Hotel was down 0.5 percent as DowJones sources said the company might hike offer for Orient-Express Hotels.

Praj Industries shot up 5 percent.