Sensex recovers; banks, realty, FMCG stocks gain

The market showed smart recovery from day's low, following an upside of 1-1.5% in the European markets on opening. Gains in banks, realty, FMCG and select auto stocks offset majority of losses made by technology, telecom stocks, and L&T and Reliance. The Sensex was down 38 points at 15,647.29 and the Nifty lost just 8 points at 4,685.10.

Shares of banks like ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI gained 1-1.4%. In the realty space, DLF shot up 3.4%.

Among auto stocks, Tata Motors was up 1.5%; Maruti and Hero Motocorp were marginally higher.

In the FMCG space, HUL jumped nearly 2% and ITC was up 0.4%. Heavyweights ONGC and BHEL went up just 0.2%.

However, technology stocks remained under pressure; Wipro tanked 2.8% and Infosys was down 1.8% while TCS fell just 0.8%.

Shares of Bharti Airtel maintained its top position in the selling list, falling 3.5%. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and L&T declined 0.3-0.6%.

At 12:39 hours IST : Nifty extends losses; Bharti down 5%

The Nifty extended losses in the afternoon trade amid volatility, falling below the 4650 level. It was dragged down by index heavyweights Infosys, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and ICICI Bank. The Sensex dropped 169 points to 15,515.67 and the Nifty lost 47 points to 4,646.35.

Shares of largest telecom operator by market share Bharti Airtel lost its whole gains today, falling 5% to Rs 324.50. Reliance Communications fell 3%.

Among other largecaps, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, TCS and L&T were down 1.5-2.5%.

Coal India, Wipro, Hindalco, JSPL, Tata Steel and M&M tanked 1.5-2.5%. ONGC, SBI, HDFC and BHEL too were marginally lower.

However, HUL retained its top position in the buying list, rising over 2%. ITC, NTPC, Tata Motors and DLF gained 0.4% each.

Sugar stocks like Shree Renuka Sugars, Balrampur Chini, Bajaj Hindusthan and Dhampur Sugar rallied 4-7% on sugar decontrol hopes. Food Minister is in talks with Finance Ministry on sugar decontrol.

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At 12 hours IST : Sensex retains 100 pts loss; HUL, Ranbaxy outperform

The Sensex continued to trade with its 100 points fall since the opening, weighed down by technology, telecom, metals and capital goods stocks. Even Asian peers were down with moderate losses. The Nifty was down 31.5 points at 4,661.65 and the Sensex fell 121 points to 15,563.96.

Among largecaps, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Infosys, Reliance Communications and Coal India were biggest losers, falling 2-3%.

TCS, Reliance, ICICI Bank, L&T, M&M, Hindalco and JSPL among others dropped 1-1.5%.

However, Ranbaxy Labs and HUL topped the buying list, rising 2.6%. PNB, DLF, Ambuja Cements and NTPC moved up 1-1.8% while Tata Motors and Cipla gained just 0.7%.

In the midcap space, Bajaj Hindusthan, SKS Microfinance, Shree Renuka, Balrampur Chini and Gujarat Flourochem shot up 4-5% whereas Anant Raj Industries, Bajaj Electricals, Kwality Dairy, Shoppers Stop and S Mobility lost 4-6%.

Smallcaps like TRF, aurionPro Solutions, Dhampur Sugar, Future Capital and Gati gained 7.5-10% while Usher Agro, Alchemist, GSS Infotech, Godawari Power and Asian Hotel (W) slipped 6-10%.

At 10:38 hours IST : Nifty under pressure; tech index down over 2%

The Nifty remained below the 4700 mark, weighed down by profit booking in technology, telecom, metals and capital goods stocks. Index heavyweights Reliance and ICICI Bank too were down. The Sensex was down 119 points to 15,566.43 and the Nifty fell 31 points to 4,662.30.

Asian markets were also moderately lower after investors raised doubts over money borrowed by banks from ECB in the 3-year long term refinancing operation (LTRO). Markets realised that these funds are likely to remain within the banking system instead of investment in sovereigns