Markets off day's low; TCS rallies 2%

Benchmark indices opened on higher note with Nifty reclaiming its 8,800 mark but later pared gaind to trade in red as Asian markets stayed cautious following growing political risks in Europe and mixed overnight trade on Wall Street.
 
Street also watched out for some major companies to declare their Q3 earnings during the day. A total of 268 firms are supposed to report their third quarter results during the day including SAIL, BPCL, Power Grid, Lupin, Cairn India and Aurobindo Pharma.
 
Also, RBI, yesterday held repo rates at 6.25% for the second time in a row, changing its stance to "neutral" from "accommodative".

 

At 12:44 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,256, down 34 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,754, down 15 points.
 
In the broader market, BSE Midcap fell 0.11% while BSE Smallcap gained 0.13%.

"With the 8,730 region holding yesterday’s volatility precisely on anticipated lines, the next move in focus is that aiming 8,950. However, choppiness is likely to prevail, given the softness in directional moving indicators, and to that end, 8,833 would be in focus early in the day for signs of weakness," said Geojit BNP Paribas in a note.
 
On Thursday, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 127.69 crore, while Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also sold shares worth a net Rs 166.82 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

 
Meanwhile, Gold hit a three-month peak as the political risk of European elections and worries over president Trump's policies led to safe-haven demand.
 
Sector and Stocks

TCS, GAIL, Infosys and PowerGrid were the top movers on BSE Sensex while Tata Steel, Cpila, SBI and L&T were the biggest laggards.

HeroMoto gained over 1.5% even after the two-wheeler company reported a decline of 2.6% in its standalone profit to Rs 772.05 crore in Q3.

Manappuram Finance rose over 8% in early morning trade after the company registered an over two-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 202.54 crore for third quarter ended December, 2016

PowerGrid was also gaining 1% ahead of its third quarter earnings.

Among losers, Union Bank of India fell 4.11 % even as it posted a 32.4% jump in net profit at Rs 104 crore for third quarter ended December 31, 2016, on healthy earnings from interest. T
 
Global Markets
 
Asian stocks looked set to consolidate around four-month highs on Thursday on a cautious Wall Street close and growing political risks in Europe force investors to the sidelines.
 
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was broadly flat, with early Asian markets such as Australia hemmed in tight ranges. Nikkei 225 fell 0.40% by early trade, while in South Korea, the Kospi was down 0.04% while Hang Seng and Shanghai were trading higher by 0.52% and 0.45%, respectively.

 
New Zealand stocks edged higher after the central bank signaled that a further cut in interest rates was no longer likely, but also that any tightening in policy might be two years or more away.
 
The S&P 500 ended slightly higher on Wednesday as investors digested mixed earnings reports, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped as bank stocks weighed.