October 10, 2013 / 19:45 IST
Moneycontrol Bureau
Equity benchmarks closed flat amid choppy trade on Thursday as investors eye Infosys's September quarter earnings on Friday. Industrial output data for August will also be closely watched tomorrow, which is expected to be around 2.5 percent, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.
The Sensex rose 23.65 points to close at 20272.91, and the Nifty advanced 13.50 points to 6020.95 while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.
The BSE Midcap and Smallcap Indices gained between 0.6 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively as advancing shares outpaced declining ones by 1404 to 1008 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Experts feel the market may go upto 6100-6200 on the Nifty in near term, tracking current environment and then may see a correction. Overall it may remain rangebound till elections in 2014, experts add.
Krishna Kumar Karwa, MD, Emkay Global Financial Services says the market has already entered into the corridor of uncertainty, which is 6,000 to 6,200.
“Based on past track records and expected earning growth etc for the immediate term, 6,000-6,100 seems to be a kind of level where markets find a reason to come back or rather correct from those levels, Karwa explains.
Meanwhile, Ambareesh Baliga of Edelweiss Financial Services says that the volatility is going to stay in the market at least for the next couple of months till the elections.
All eyes are on Infosys’
July-September quarter earnings that will be announced on Friday morning. Experts are largely believed that all IT companies are expected to report strong earnings in the quarter gone by, due to combination of improving demand, seasonal strength and significant rupee weakness.
According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect profit after tax of the country’s second largest software services exporter to rise by 10.2 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 2,614 crore during the September quarter. The stock gained 0.5 percent.
Tata Motors was
the star today, rallying 5 percent after its UK subsidiary reported record retail sales of 43,181 units in September, up 17 percent year-on-year and 55 percent sequentially. The stock touched an all-time high of Rs 373.80 on the BSE.
Country’s largest lender State Bank of India gained more than a percent on a media report that finance ministry nod is likely for the bank’s Rs 8000 crore QIP or FPO.
Metals and select auto stocks also gained while FMCG, healthcare and private banks stocks were down on profit booking.
In the broader space, MCX and Financial Technologies rallied 3-5 percent after a management rejig at MCX. Kalpataru Power Transmission gained 4.5 percent as the company secured orders worth over Rs 620 crore.
IL&FS Engineering was locked at 10 percent upper circuit as the board approved rights issue worth Rs 300 crore. Shares of Ashok Leyland jumped 4.4 percent after more than Rs 41 crore worth of shares change hands via a block deal on the BSE.
Meanwhile, the rupee closed at 61.39 against the dollar, up 54 paise from previous close.
FIIs have net bought Rs 614.27 crore worth of equity shares today whereas DIIs have net sold Rs 460.47 crore worth of equities, as per provisional data available on the NSE website.
Globally, European markets were trading one percent higher (at 16:40 IST) on ease of concerns over US political deadlock and debt ceiling.
