 "Banks gain ground in a rangebound market; HCL Tech dips 5%")
Markets are trading in a narrow range with Nifty hovering around the crucial level of 8,550 owing to a smart rally in the PSU banks with SBI gaining nearly 3% after the government decided to infuse nearly Rs 20,000 crore to various public sector banks in the next two months to shore up their capital base.
However, weakness in the Asian peers amid signs of a deepening slowdown in China's economy has capped the upside.
At 10:35am, the Sensex was at 28,189, higher by 78 points and Nifty was at 8,549, up 16 points. The broader markets are outperforming their largecap peers; the midcap and smallcap indices have advanced by 1%, respectively. The market breadth is strong, with 1,556 advancing stocks as against 679 declines.
KEY EVENTS THAT WILL SHAPE THE WEEK
The Reserve bank of India’s (RBI) third bi-monthly monetary policy review meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, i.e. August 4. The repo rate is at 7.25% after the central bank cut it by 25bps on June 2, 2015.
On the earnings front, Bharti Airtel, Technologies, Britannia Industries, BHEL, M&M and Tata Motors, among others, are expected to announce their Q1 results during this week.
Also Read
AUTO PACK
Maruti Suzuki India has gained 2% after its total vehicle sales rose 20.1% to 1.21 lakh units in July 2015 over July 2014.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M)has shed 1.3% after its total tractor sales dropped 11% to 15,460 units in July 2015 over July 2014.
Hero MotoCorp fell 2.3% after its total two-wheeler sales dropped 7.93% to 4.87 lakh units in July 2015 over July 2014. Hero Motocorp is due to post its quarterly results today.
TVS Motor recorded a marginal increase in sales in July to 2,18,321 units. The stock is down 1.4%.
Bajaj Auto announced a rise of 3% in sales to 3,30,231 units in July compared to 3,19,292 units sold in last year period. The stock is trading flat.
BUZZING STOCKS
On the sectoral front, BSE Bankex, Power, Consumer Durables and Realty indices are trading higher up to 1.5%. However, BSE Capital Goods, Metal and Oil & Gas indices are trading lower up to 0.5%.
The banking sp[ace is on a roll today after the government decided to infuse nearly Rs 20,000 crore to various public sector banks in the next two months to shore up their capital base. SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank are up between 1-3%.
ICICI Bank's first quarter net profit grew by 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,976 crore and net interest income rose by 13.9 percent to Rs 5,115 crore. Asset quality improved on sequential basis.
L&T lost 2% after it reported 37.3% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 606.19 crore on 6.53% increase in total income to Rs 20509.53 crore in Q1 June 2015 over Q1 June 2014.
Reliance Industries rose 0.3% after the company said that Viacom Inc has acquired a 50% interest in Prism TV for Rs 940 crore (approximately $153 million).
Shares of HCL Technologies are down 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company's net profit dipped sequentially by 5.9% to Rs 1,783 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. Further, EBIT margin at 20.1% was below estimates and lower than 21.33% recorded in the previous quarter.
A gauge of China's factory activity slipped in July, pointing to further sluggishness in the key manufacturing sector of the world's second-largest economy. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index slipped to 50 in July from 50.2 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday, 1 August 2015. Reacting to the weakness in the China shares, metal pack is trading lower with Tata Steel and Vedanta trading lower up to 1%.