Nifty listless; Hindalco top loser, Rupee hits 7-week low

The NSE Nifty was listless since morning trade despite weak global cues. The Indian rupee has touched a 7-week low today as against the US dollar on weak euro and dollar demand from oil companies. It fell by 1.25 percent or 67 paise to 54.48 against the US dollar.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 20 points to 18,735.54 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 1.75 points to 5,695.95. Aluminium major Hindalco Industries and two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto topped the selling list, losing 2.6 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Shares of Reliance Industries, Infosys, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were down 0.2-0.5 percent. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra and telecom operator Bharti Airtel fell 0.8 percent each. Among Tata pack, Tata Power, Tata Motors and Tata Steel declined 0.5-1 percent. Cigarette major ITC and drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs rose nearly 1.5 percent. Shares of Cipla and BHEL gained 0.8 percent each while private sector lender HDFC Bank went up 0.4 percent. Declining shares outnumbered advancing by a ratio of 777 to 645 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE plummeted 0.6-0.8 percent ahead of Tuesday's US Presidential election. _PAGEBREAK_ At 13:52 hours IST: Volatile Sensex trades lower on weak European cues The BSE Sensex fell 50 points amid volatility, tracking weakness in European markets, as investors looked cautious ahead of US Presidential election on Tuesday. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE declined 0.5 percent. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank extended losses to 0.91 percent and 0.75 percent, respectively. State-owned lenders Allahabad Bank and Vijaya Bank plunged 5 percent following disappointing numbers in the second quarter of FY13. The 30-share BSE benchmark was down 48.56 points to 18,706.89 and the 50-share NSE benchmark went down 11 points to 5,686.75. The Indian rupee dropped 58 paise to 54.39 against the US dollar. Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto and aluminium major Hindalco Industries plunged over 2 percent. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra were down 1 percent each. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel lost over 1 percent whereas its rival Reliance Communications gained 1.4 percent as Bombay HC dismissed I-T Department plea to tax company Rs 5,600 crore. Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries, housing finance company HDFC and engineering major Larsen & Toubro slipped 0.3 percent each. Shares of ITC, Cipla and BHEL rallied 1 percent each. Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs climbed 1.65 percent. At 12:39 hours IST: Nifty directionless; ITC, BHEL, Cipla gain 1% The NSE Nifty fell below the 5700 level amid choppy trade, weighed down by banks, metals and auto stocks. Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and software services exporter Infosys continued to trade lower since early trade, which lost 0.4-0.7 percent.
 
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 21.28 points to 18,734.17 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 5 points to 5,692.90.
 
Drug producer Cipla gained 1.2 percent ahead of second quarter numbers. Going by the performance of last quarter, analysts on an average expect the September quarter will be a strong one for Cipla. Dr Reddy's Labs rose 1.4 percent, continuing its upmove for the sixth consecutive session today following strong numbers last week. Cigarette major ITC and state-run power equipment maker BHEL were up over 1 percent. Software services exporter TCS and private sector lender HDFC Bank went up 0.3 percent each. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 0.6-0.8 percent. Among auto stocks, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and Mahindra & Mahindra fell 0.3-0.7 percent while Bajaj Auto tanked 1.8 percent. Aluminium major Hindalco Industries plunged 2.4 percent; shares of Tata Steel and Jindal Steel slipped 1 percent each. At 11:40 hours IST: Sensex flat; Reliance, Infosys remain under pressure Indian shares remained lacklustre since early trade despite weakness in Asian markets. Drug producers Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs retained their top positions in the buying list with gains of nearly 2 percent. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 15.34 points to 18,770.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 4.7 points at 5,702.40. Cigarette major ITC rallied over 1 percent. Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL were up 0.4 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Country's largest software services exporter TCS went up 0.66 percent. Media reports suggest that TCS and HCL Tech are in talks to buy IT arm of Belgium’s KBC Group. Private sector lender HDFC Bank was up 0.3 percent while its rivals State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 0.2-0.3 percent. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors gained 0.56 percent ahead of second quarter earnings on Wednesday. Aluminium major Hindalco Industries plunged 2 percent. Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and software services exporter Infosys were down 0.5-0.6 percent. In the second line shares, India Infoline, Shree Global, Phoenix Mills, State Bank of Bikaner and Apollo Hospital jumped 3-6 percent while Indiabulls Financial, Schneider Electric, Akzo Nobel, Greaves Cotton and CESC slipped 2.5-3 percent. At 10:24 hours IST: Nifty hovers around 5700; Dr Reddy's up 8% in 6 days The NSE Nifty was hovering around the 5700 level as the gains in Tata Motors, TCS, HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro, FMCG and healthcare stocks counterbalanced by the weakness in Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC, SBI and ICICI Bank. The 30-share BSE benchmark rose 12 points to 18,767.53 and the 50-share NSE benchmark was up 4 points at 5,701.75. Market expert Ambareesh Baliga says he's confident of the Nifty crossing the 5,800 mark. "I have been bullish on the market for a while. The market would be in the range of 5,600-5,800, before breaking out. But, last week, we had the scare of the market nearly breaking that 5,600 level. It broke it for a while. But then we saw a very good bounce back. Now, looking at all the news flows, the results and going ahead into the festive season, I clearly see the market moving up. We have closed at a good level this week. We should soon be able to cross that 5,800 mark and go beyond that," Baliga explained. Cigarette major ITC extended gains to 1 percent while Hindustan Unilever rose 0.55 percent. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 1.4 percent and country's largest software services exporter TCS went up 0.7 percent. Healthcare companies remained in bull grip. Cipla surged nearly 2 percent ahead of earnings for the quarter ended September 2012. Dr Reddy's Labs continued to gain, rising 1.6 percent today and nearly 8 percent in six consecutive days following strong numbers last week. Shares of Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC, State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 0.3-0.6 percent. Steel producer Tata Steel and two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto dropped 1 percent each. Aluminium major Hindalco tanked 1.5 percent. The Indian rupee fell by 33 paise to 54.14 against the US dollar. At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex volatile; Cipla up 2% ahead of Q2 nos Indian equity benchmarks were flat to positive in early trade on Monday, helped by FMCG, pharma and capital goods stocks. But the fall in banking & financials stocks, Reliance and Infosys has limited the upside. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 3 points to 18,758.30 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 1.10 points at 5,698.80. Asian markets like Hang Seng, Nikkei, Shanghai, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted were down 0.4-0.7 percent, tracking a weakness in US markets as investors looked cautious ahead of election in world's number one economy - United States of America on Tuesday. Back home, drug producer Cipla rallied nearly 2 percent ahead of quarterly earnings today. Shares of Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma moved up 0.7-0.9 percent. FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were up 0.3-0.7 percent. Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL rose 0.7 percent each. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors went up 0.5 percent while M&M, Maruti and Bajaj Auto were down 0.4-0.6 percent. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell 0.3 percent while housing finance company HDFC declined 0.4 percent. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys slipped 0.4 percent each. The broader markets were flat as the market breadth was neutral. In the second line shares, Petronet LNG gained 1 percent whereas United Spirits dropped 1.5 percent. Reports suggest that market regulator SEBI will look into United Spirits' stake sale. Promoter's holding fell from 51.5% to 43.09% in last quarter without disclosure, say reports. Results reactions MRPL was up 7 percent while REC and Sobha Developers were up 2 percent each. Godrej Consumer dropped 2 percent and Crompton Greaves tanked 8 percent. Jet Airways rallied 3.5 percent. City Union Bank rose 1 perecnt. Provogue was up 6 percent and Shree Renuka climbed 1.3 percent.