Sensex extends losses; oil & gas, IT, cement, FMCG dip

At 14:55 hours IST - equity benchmarks extended losses on the back of sell-off in oil & gas, capital goods, technology, FMCG, cement, financial (barring ICICI Bank) and healthcare companies' shares. The Nifty was inching back towards 5650 level while the Sensex shed over 150 points in trade today amid volatility.

Witnessing short build-up in the index and short futures, Vineet Bhatnagar managing director of MF Global expects another 120-points compression on the Nifty. Bhatnagar points out that the foreign institutional investors have sold USD 1.3-1.4 billion in the index futures and cash market. However, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto along with realty and metal companies' shares were on buyers' radar. The 50-share NSE Nifty was trading at 5,672, down 51 points and the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 169 points to 18,922. The broader indices too wiped their gains. Among largecaps, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Reliance Infrastructure, DLF, Bajaj Auto, SAIL and HCL Tech jumped 1-4%. However, SBI, L&T, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Jindal Steel, Ambuja Cements, GAIL, Suzlon Energy and ACC were down 1.4-2.9%. Tata Coffee, LIC Housing Finance, SBI, Orchid Chemical, L&T and Reliance Industries were most active shares on exchanges. In midcap space, ARSS Infra, Manappuram, SRF, Ruchi Soya and HMT were up 5-7.4% while Future Capital, ING Vysya Bank, Sintex India, IVRCL Infrastructure and CESC fell 3-4.5%. In smallcap space, Sequent Scient surged 15% and Tata Coffee rose 12.97%. Odyssey Finance, Atco Corp and Reliance Broadcast rallied 7.5-10.5%. However, SE Investments, Sahara One, Centrum Finance, India Securities and Symphony lost 5-8%. _PAGEBREAK_ Nifty tests 5700 amid volatility; Infy, SBI, TCS, L&T drag At 13:48 hours IST - equity benchmarks slipped below key psychological levels in afternoon trade after witnessing a tight range since morning. The Nifty broke the 5700 level and the Sensex tanked has touched 19,000-mark amid volatility, led by fall in heavyweights like Infosys, TCS, SBI, L&T, HDFC Bank, ITC, NTPC and Reliance Industries. However, buying continued metal and Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group companies' shares. ICICI Bank was also trading with 0.7% rise though it wiped some gains from day's high. HCL Tech, M&M and DLF were other gainers, which all were capped the gains. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 97 points to 18,994 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 29 points at 5,695. Broader indices too came off their highs. Among frontliners, Infosys, SBI, TCS, L&T and HDFC Bank were down 1-2%. Reliance Industries, BHEL, Wipro, ITC, HUL and HDFC lost 0.3-0.7%. Bajaj Auto declined 0.7% despite good set of numbers. Net profit went up 40.42% to Rs 667 crore in December quarter and revenues were up 26.76% to Rs 4,177 crore on year-on-year basis. Tata Motors and Maruti declined 0.6% while M&M rose 1.5%. However, SAIL was top gainer on Nifty with 4.5% gain. Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Goa moved up 1-2.9%. Tata Coffee, LIC Housing Finance (ahead of results), Orchid Chemical, SBI, L&T and Reliance Industires were most active shares on exchanges. In midcap space, ARSS Infra, Manappuram, SRF, Network 18 and HMT rallied 4.8-9.7% whereas Sintex India, CESC, Shoppers Stop, Radico Khaitan and AIA Engineering slipped 2.8-4.3%. In smallcap space, Tata Coffee, Sequent Scient, Shree Gan Jewellery, Atco Corp and Piramal Glass surged 8-10.9% while SE Investments, Consolidated Construction, India Securities, KPIT Cummins and LS Industries lost 4-7%. About 1667 shares advanced as against 1087 shares declined on National Stock Exchange. _PAGEBREAK_ Nifty in tight range; Infosys, TCS, L&T, SBI, HDFC Bank dip At 11:55 hours IST, the benchmark Nifty was trading in a tight range of 5708-5747 since morning after the pullback that it saw yesterday on the back of short covering. Metal, oil & gas, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and telecom companies' shares were supporting the markets, along with ICICI Bank, HCL Tech, NTPC, M&M, ITC and Cipla. On the other side of trade, selling continued in IT majors, capital goods, cement and select auto companies' shares. SBI, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, JSPL, HDFC and PNB were also down. Experts see more downside going ahead though currently the markets were in a consolidation mode. Witnessing short build-up in the index and short futures, Vineet Bhatnagar managing director of MF Global expects another 120-points compression on the Nifty. Bhatnagar points out that the foreign institutional investors have sold USD 1.3-1.4 billion in the index futures and cash market. Laurence Balanco of CLSA too feels that the Nifty may test 5300-5500 in near term. "The Nifty has conclusively broken below the short-term uptrend support drawn off the late November 2010 lows which should result in a thorough test of the 5,300-5,500 support zone in the near-term." The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 23 points to 19,115 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was trading at 5,731, with gain of 6.75 points. Second largest IT software services exporter Infosys lost 1.5% followed by TCS with 0.6% loss and Wipro with 0.2% fall. However, HCL Tech outperform them today with 4.6% rally as company outshine them in December quarter with 20.85% jump in Q2 net profit to Rs 400 crore. L&T, BHEL and Siemens from capital goods space lost 0.7-1.7%. In financial space, SBI, PNB and HDFC Bank were down 0.9% each while ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank gained 1-2.3%. ADAG companies' shares were on buyers' radar on short covering; Reliance Communications, Reliance Capital and Reliance Power climbed 0.6-1.3%. Reliance Infrastructure rallied 3.65%. Heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC gained 0.8%. SAIL was the leader on Nifty with 4.6% rise; Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Goa were up 1.7-2.9%. In midcap space, Manappuram, ARSS Infra, Glenmark, IBN18 Broadcast and Dena Bank rallied 4-6% while CESC, Gujarat Flourochem, Radico Khaitan, Man Infra and Shoppers Stop slipped 2-4%. In smallcap space, Tata Coffee, Polyplex Corp, Atco Corp, Odyssey Finance and Electrotherm jumped 7-11% whereas SE Investments, TTK Prestige, Sahara One, India Securities and LS Industries fell 4.7-6.5%. Broader indices were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices went up 0.7% each. About 1732 shares advanced as against 931 shares declined on Bombay Stock Exchange. Sensex volatile; ICICI Bank, NTPC, RIL, Sterlite lead At 10:35 hours IST - equity benchmarks were quiet in trade and were hovering just around its previous closing values. On one side, metal, oil & gas, power and telecom companies' shares along with ICICI Bank & HCL Tech were supporting the markets. However, capital goods, technology and cement companies' shares along with SBI, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, HDFC, Bajaj Auto and Maruti were witnessing selling pressure. Despite yesterday's effort, experts do not seem convinced that the market is out of the woods just yet and say that the near to medium-term trend still looks uncertain. Vikas Pershad of Veda Investments said that though the sell-off may have concluded for now, 5300 should not be out of the realm of possibilities in the near-term, before adding that the Nifty could also crack 5,000 going forward. He however does not expect that to happen in the near-term. "I think the decline from the November-December peaks has been in high single digits around 10% but the market breadth in India does not look good, and earnings picture is also little mixed. So we could see further downside from here," Pershad said. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 19,115, up 23 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up just 5.7 points to 5,729. Among frontliners, Reliance Infrastructure, Sterlite, M&M, Hindalco, ICICI Bank, HCL Tech and SAIL gained 1.6-3.6%. HCL Tech has outperformed IT majors Infosys and TCS in December quarter. Its Q2 net profit rose 20.85% to Rs 400 crore. However, L&T, BHEL, Infosys, GAIL and Sun Pharma fell 1-2.3%. HDFC Bank and SBI slipped 0.8% each. Tata Coffee, SBI, Orchid Chemical, LIC Housing Finance, L&T, Reliance Industries and Infosys were most active shares on exchanges. In midcap space, KGN Industries, Marico, Manappuram, Polaris and Glenmark were up 3.7-5% while Radico Khaitan, Prism Cement, Shoppers Stop, CESC and ING Vysya Bank lost 2.3-3%. In smallcap space, Tata Coffee, Premier, Modern India, Gayatri Project and Polyplex Corp rallied 7.4-9.4%. However, Sahara One, India Securities, Spectacle Info, LS Industries and SE Investments declined 4-5.5%. Nifty flat; HCL Tech, Rel Infra top gainers, Infy slips The benchmark Nifty started the session on a quiet note after a rally seen on Tuesday in last couple of hours of trade. It was consolidating just around its previous closing value. Among frontliners, Jaiprakash Associates, Sterlite, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Reliance Infrastructure, ITC, Sesa Goa, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs and Reliance Industries were on buyers' radar. HCL Tech shot up 5% as its Q2 net profit rose 20.85% to Rs 400 crore. Reliance Infrastructure said would continue to get atleast 20 MW from Tata Power Company (TPC) till MERC decides. Bombay HC upheld Tata Power