Nifty remains firm; Puravankara, Apollo Hospital down 4-6%

Moneycontrol Bureau
Live Market Commentary

11:59 am In the midcap space, Sun Pharma Advanced rallied 6 percent while Shipping Corporation, AIA Engineering, Crompton Greaves and Jain Irrigation gained 2.5-3 percent.

However, Puravankara Projects dropped 6 percent after the company set floor price at Rs 80 a piece for its IPP issue that opened for subscription today. The stock is trading at Rs 90.15.

Omaxe, Linde India and AstraZeneca Pharma are down 3-4 percent.

Apollo Hospital slipped 3 percent after JP Morgan downgraded the stock to neutral with a target price of Rs 900.

11:51 am Subex is locked at 10 percent lower circuit to Rs 8.43 after weak fourth quarter results.

Software firm posted a loss of Rs 1.57 crore in January-March quarter as against profit of Rs 7.68 crore in previous quarter, impacted by high finance cost. Revenues fell nearly 12 percent Q-o-Q to Rs 80 crore.

Margin crashed 620 basis points to 20 percent as against 26.2 percent on forex loss of Rs 4.41 crore.

11:45 am Dr Reddy's Labs rallied more than 2 percent to Rs 2,062.

Also Read - Trade deficit a worry, positive on pharma: Mirae

Meanwhile, housing finance major HDFC and private oil & gas company Reliance Industries declined 0.5 percent each.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on Tech Mahindra with a target price of Rs 1,300. "The stock is trading at attractive valuations, at a 31 percent discount to HCL Tech, its closest peer in terms of scale," Goldman in a report said.

The government cut base import price of gold to USD 440 per 10 gram as against USD 466/10 gram.

11:40 am Indian rupee not as big a concern for FIIs now: Goldman

Although rupee has been weak for almost 18 months, it should stabilise once the economy recovers, says Prashant Khemka, Co-CEO, CIO- Active Equity, Goldman Sachs in an interview to CNBC-TV18. Khemka says the rupee has not been as big a concern for FIIs as it was 12 months back because the risk appetite of the investors has improved significantly over last year.

Also read: 55.30/USD key level for rupee now: Moses Harding

11:37 am Justdial IPO, which closes today, fully subscribed.

11:31 am United Spirits touched a new 52-week high of Rs 2,520 after Morgan Stanley resumes coverage with an "overweight" rating on the stock.

The brokerage firm set a target price at Rs 3,115 for the stock. "New owner Diageo Plc could implement a greater focus on profitable growth for the liquor maker," the firm reasoned.

Morgan Stanley also expects capital efficiencies, reduced leverage, strengthened leadership, and consistent disclosures to boost United Spirits' shares. The stock rallied more than 4 percent to Rs 2,513.25.
 
11:25 am IOC fell nearly 1 percent. Cogencis reported quoting government sources that the Cabinet panel may consider a plan of divestment in IOC during June. It is learnt that the government hopes to raise Rs 6,000-7,000 crore via 10 percent IOC stake sale.

Must Read - Gold charts point to fresh trouble ahead with eyes on $1,100/oz

11:20 am Expert talks - Tushar Mahajan, head of futures & options at Nomura (India) does not see Nifty crossing 6300 in the May series. However, he says the pullback over the last two trading session is "healthy" for the market.

11:15 am Technology stocks gained as the Indian rupee is trading below the 55 per dollar level. Infosys rose 0.8 percent while TCS and Wipro were up 0.4 percent each.

The Indian rupee is trading at 55.42. "Rupee weakened more than other Asian currencies," Ananth Narayan, Managing Director, Co-Head of Wholesale Banking at South Asia Standard Chartered Bank said.

He feels the RBI will step in and sell dollar when rupee touches 55.50-56/dollar. However, he expects rupee to be at 54.50 per dollar by end of June.

Tech Mahindra shares surged 6 percent after strong fourth quarter earnings.

11:08 am Sun Pharma shares hit new all-time high of Rs 999 Wednesday, rising more than 2.5 percent. The company will consider its fourth quarter and full year earnings on May 28.

11:00 am Equity benchmarks continued to trade higher since early trade, helped by major banks and healthcare stocks.

At 10.57 hours IST, the Sensex is up 81.69 points at 20193.30 and the Nifty gained 21 points at 6135.10.

Larsen & Toubro and NCC gained 0.5 percent & 2 percent ahead of their fourth quarter earnings while Thermax remained flat. 

JSW Steel's crude steel production was down by 11 percent year-on-year to 0.64 million tonnes in April; shares advanced just 0.35 percent.