 "Sensex falls 100 points, Nifty below 7,800; banks drag")
At 11:27 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 116 points at 25,374 and the Nifty50 was down 32 points at 7,783.
Top Sensex losers include SBI, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and Axis Bank, all slumping between 2%-5%. On the gaining side, De Reddy’s Labs, Asian Paints, Infosys, Lupin and Tata Motors are up 1%-3%.
Public sector banks (PSBs) were trading lower by up to 7% on the bourses after reporting a disappointing set of numbers for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4F16).
Bank of Baroda (BOB), Union Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Dena Bank, Allahabad Bank, Bank of India (BOI), Uco Bank, Syndicate Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and State Bank of India (SBI) declined over 2% each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
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Updated at 10:30 am
Markets continued to remain rangebound after the first hour of trade after losses in state-owned banks capped upside.
At 10:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 61 points at 25,429 and the Nifty50 was down 15 points at 7,800. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were trading flat with positive bias. Market breadth was 1008 gainers and 844 losers on the BSE.
"Despite last week’s bear swings, uptrend has not lost its shape entirely, suggesting that early bias today could be positive and in the 7790-7870 region. Breakout past these extremities may not trigger a directional move though, as the present moves are enveloped in a much more challenging band of 8017-8540," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services said in a note.
Bank of Baroda extended losses and was down over 7% after it registered a loss of Rs 3,230.14 crore for the March quarter. The bank had reported a loss of Rs 3,342.04 crore in the preceding December quarter.
Among other PSU banks, Dena Bank, Central Bank of India, Union Bank, Allahabad Bank, SBI and PNB were down 2.5%-4% each.
Other losers include, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries among others.
Dr Reddy's Labs was up 3% as analysts remain positive on long-term prospects going by the strong pipeline of products. However, uncertainties remain on warnings by the US regulator on its three plants.
Among other shares, Nilkamal has surged 10% to Rs 1,370 on the BSE in early morning trade in an otherwise sluggish market after the company reported 50% year on year (YoY) growth in standalone net profit at Rs 33 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16). The plastic products maker had rgistered a profit of Rs 22 crore in a year ago quarter.
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(Updated at 9:30am)
Markets pared early gains with select state-owned banks leading the decline after they posted huge losses in the March quarter.
At 9:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 53 points at 25,436 and the Nifty50 was down 13 points at 7,802.
The outcome of the Assembly polls in five states will be the key factor for the markets in the week ahead, along with the next batch of fourth-quarter earnings and trends in global crude oil prices.
Foreign investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 1,494 crore on Friday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
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Stocks
Select PSU banks were among the top losers after they posted huge losses in the March quarter.
Bank of Baroda slumped nearly 6% after it registered a loss of Rs 3,230.14 crore for the March quarter. The bank had reported a loss of Rs 3,342.04 crore in the preceding December quarter.
Union Bank of India was down over 3% after it reported a 78% drop in its fourth-quarter profit as it raised provisions for bad loans. Company's net profit fell to 961.2 million rupees on a standalone basis for the fiscal fourth quarter ending March 31, from 4.44 billion rupees a year earlier.
UCO Bank was down nearly 3% after it posted a huge net loss of Rs 1,715 crore in Q4 of FY16, against a net profit of Rs 209 crore in the same quarter in FY15. Sequentially, the net loss swelled by 15 per cent from Rs 1,497 crore in Q3 of FY16.
Dena Bank was down over 4% after it posted a net loss of Rs 326 crore in Q4 against a net profit of Rs 56 crore in the year-ago period.
Allahabad Bank was down nearly 3% after it recorded loss in Q4 at Rs 581 crore, against Rs 203 crore profit reported in the same period a year ago.
Central Bank of India was down over 4% after it posted a net loss of Rs 898 crore in the quarter compared with a net profit of Rs 174 crore in Q4 of FY15.
Global Markets
Asian stocks firmed up on Monday with Japanese shares gaining the most. The Nikkei was up over 1.2% while Hang Seng was up 1% while Straits Times and Shanghai Composite were trading with marginal gains.
US stocks ended lower amid sluggish earnings from retail majors raising concerns about consumer spends. Dow Jones industrial average ended down 1% at 17,535 and S&P 500 eased 0.9% at 2,047 and Nasdaq settled 0.4% lower 4,718.