Sensex, Nifty extend rally; Mid & Smallcap underperform

Moneycontrol Bureau 12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended rally in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 268.67 points or 1.11 percent to 24491.99 and the Nifty climbing 87.50 points or 1.19 percent to 7449.30.12:40 pm Interview: NH Bhansali, CEO, Finance, Strategy & Business Development and CFO, Emami Group said the company has continued to gain market share despite a relatively weak sentiment, and the third quarter performance was satisfactory in spite of delayed winter, erratic rainfall. Bhansali is upbeat on the outlook for the fourth quarter and next fiscal on hopes of improving global sentiment, normal monsoons in India, and more new launches both in the healthcare and personal care segments, as well as investments in existing products. He is confident of maintaining margins in 17-19 percent range.12:20 pm Earnings: ABB India, the power and automation technologies leader has reported a massive 53.6 percent year-on-year growth in profit Rs 129 crore for October-December quarter. Bottomline growth was driven by strong operational performance in power systems, power products and process automation businesses.

"Efforts towards increased localisation coupled with strong focus on cost savings and project execution helped improve profitability," the company reasoned for earnings growth. Employee cost as well as raw material cost for the quarter remained flat at Rs 195.5 crore and Rs 1298.8 crore on yearly basis.

Revenue increased 8.3 percent to Rs 2,425 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,238.4 crore in year-ago period, aided by base orders.

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The market gained strength in noon trade with the Sensex rising 182.07 points to 24405.39 and the Nifty climbing 62.95 points to 7424.75. The broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.4-0.7 percent.

The market breadth was positive as about 1345 shares advanced against 933 declining shares on the BSE.

Hindalco Industries topped the buying list on Sensex, up 5 percent followed by Infosys, L&T, Tata Motors, ONGC and Adani Ports with 2-3 percent upside.

Lupin fell 3 percent ahead of third quarter earnings due on Friday, which are expected to be hit by US business. Cipla, NTPC and GAIL were down 1-2 percent.