 "IT stocks weigh on markets; Nifty holds 7,800")
Markets continued to remain weak after the first hour of trade with information technology shares leading the decline after the sharp hike in H-1B and L-1 visas by the US Congress.
At 10:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 68 points at 25,736 and the Nifty50 was down 21 points at 7,823.
In the broader market, BSE Midcap index was up 0.2% led by Bharat Electronics, Glenmark Pharma and Adani power leading the gains. Smallcap index was up 0.1%. Market breadth was positive with 1,071 gainers and 870 losers on the BSE.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said from April 1, 2016, banks must review their lending rates frequently, and reflect changes in their cost of borrowing in a bid to force banks to effectively pass on policy rate cuts.
Further, foreign funds were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 638 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data on the BSE.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
BSE IT index was the top loser down 0.8% followed by Bankex and Metal indices. FMCG, Realty and Capital Goods indices were the top gainers.
IT stocks were the top losers after the US Congress has doubled a special fee on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas raising it up to $4,500 to fund a 9/11 healthcare act and biometric tracking system thus hitting Indian IT companies. TCS and Infosys were down over 1.2% each while Wipro eased 0.3%
Private banking stocks were subdued following the RBI directive on the new lending rate regime from April 1, 2016. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.3%-0.6% each while SBI was down 0.1%. However, Axis Bank was up 0.4%.
Oil stocks remained subdued tracking weakness in global crude oil prices. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries witnessed profit taking after sharp gains in the previous sessions and was down 0.7% while ONGC eased 0.5%.
Maruti Suzuki was trading with marginal gains after minority shareholders appear to have given their approval to allow Suzuki to invest and run its third plant in Gujarat. Maruti has a contract manufacturing agreement with Suzuki for the Gujarat plant, under which the Japanese auto major will sell products to Maruti on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
NTPC was the top Sensex gainer up 1.5%. Reports suggest that the company has now put its decision of converting its Badarpur Thermal Power Station into a gas-based plant on the back burner because of shortage of gas supplies.
FMCG majors were trading mixed with HUL up 0.8% while ITC pared early gains and was down 0.3%.
Among other shares, Somany Ceramics was down nearly 7% after the company set the floor price of Rs 357.24 per share for its qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.
SMS Pharmaceuticals surged 13% to Rs 117, extending its previous day’s 5% gain on the BSE, after the company sub-divided the face value of equity shares of the company from Rs 10 to Rs 1. The stock turned ex-stock split on Thursday, December 17, 2015.
At 10:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 68 points at 25,736 and the Nifty50 was down 21 points at 7,823.
In the broader market, BSE Midcap index was up 0.2% led by Bharat Electronics, Glenmark Pharma and Adani power leading the gains. Smallcap index was up 0.1%. Market breadth was positive with 1,071 gainers and 870 losers on the BSE.
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The Indian rupee weakened by 10 paise to 66.52 to the US dollar following gains in the American currency after the US Fed raised interest rate by 25 basis points, the first in nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said from April 1, 2016, banks must review their lending rates frequently, and reflect changes in their cost of borrowing in a bid to force banks to effectively pass on policy rate cuts.
Further, foreign funds were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 638 crore on Thursday, as per provisional data on the BSE.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
BSE IT index was the top loser down 0.8% followed by Bankex and Metal indices. FMCG, Realty and Capital Goods indices were the top gainers.
IT stocks were the top losers after the US Congress has doubled a special fee on the popular H-1B and L-1 visas raising it up to $4,500 to fund a 9/11 healthcare act and biometric tracking system thus hitting Indian IT companies. TCS and Infosys were down over 1.2% each while Wipro eased 0.3%
Private banking stocks were subdued following the RBI directive on the new lending rate regime from April 1, 2016. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.3%-0.6% each while SBI was down 0.1%. However, Axis Bank was up 0.4%.
Oil stocks remained subdued tracking weakness in global crude oil prices. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries witnessed profit taking after sharp gains in the previous sessions and was down 0.7% while ONGC eased 0.5%.
Maruti Suzuki was trading with marginal gains after minority shareholders appear to have given their approval to allow Suzuki to invest and run its third plant in Gujarat. Maruti has a contract manufacturing agreement with Suzuki for the Gujarat plant, under which the Japanese auto major will sell products to Maruti on a no-profit-no-loss basis.
NTPC was the top Sensex gainer up 1.5%. Reports suggest that the company has now put its decision of converting its Badarpur Thermal Power Station into a gas-based plant on the back burner because of shortage of gas supplies.
FMCG majors were trading mixed with HUL up 0.8% while ITC pared early gains and was down 0.3%.
Among other shares, Somany Ceramics was down nearly 7% after the company set the floor price of Rs 357.24 per share for its qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.
SMS Pharmaceuticals surged 13% to Rs 117, extending its previous day’s 5% gain on the BSE, after the company sub-divided the face value of equity shares of the company from Rs 10 to Rs 1. The stock turned ex-stock split on Thursday, December 17, 2015.