Markets finish on a weak note; Infosys outperforms

After a flat trading session, markets finished the day on a dismal note with Nifty closing below 8,600 mark as gains in IT giant Infosys post its robust Q1 results was unable to cap losses in FMCG and healthcare shares. 

FMCG major HUL dropped after its quarterly results were unable to meet the street expectation; meanwhile drug maker Sun Pharma lost nearly 15% on profit warnings.

Provisionally, the Sensex lost 231 points to close at 28,188 and the Nifty shed 72 points to end at 8,531.

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(updated at 3:10 PM)

Markets have slipped further in the negative territory owing to weakness in the FMCG shares with HUL declining over 2.5% post its Q1 results.

Meanwhile, loss in pharma shares with Sun Pharma slipping nearly 15% has dragged the indices lower.

At 3:10 PM, the Sensex was down 228 points at 28,191 and the Nifty was down 68 points at 8,535.

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(updated at 2:30 PM)

Benchmark indices are reeling under pressure as the gains in Infosys are not able to offset the losses in pharma and FMCG share.

At 2:30 PM, the Sensex was down 61 points at 28,359 and the Nifty was down 22 points at 8,580

The broader markets were also trading lower with the Midcap and Smallcap indices down 0.8 -0.9% each. The market breadth is negative with 1,553 declines against 1,137 advances on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the monsoon session of the Parliament that begun today is expected to be volatile as the opposition likely to target the government over multiple scandals that erupted in the recent past. However, the government would like to pass the key bills that include the rollout of GST Bill as well as the passage of the controversial Land Acquisition Bill.

RUPEE

The Indian rupee is quoting at 63.56, strengthening by 10 paise against the greenback.

TRENDING STOCKS

It is a tug of war between BSE IT and BSE Healthcare indices as IT is rallying 5% up while Pharma is down 5%.

Infosys, India’s second largest IT company has soared 11% on the Sensex after the company reported better-than-expected net profit and upped its dollar revenue growth for 2015-16. After several quarters the company raised its US dollar revenue guidance from 6.2-8.2% in dollar terms to 7.2-9.2%. Net profit for April-June 2015 was up 5% on a year-on-year basis at Rs 3,030 crore, against average analyst estimates of Rs 2,993 crore. However, on a sequential basis profit was down 2.1%. Its peer Wipro was up 2.7%.

On the other end of the spectrum, Sun Pharma has tanked over 13% after the drug maker said its profit might be
"adversely impacted" in financial year 2015-16 (FY16), owing to expenses related to its integration with Ranbaxy,
as well as remedial action at plants under the scanner.

Other stocks from the pharma pack are also under pressure with Lupin losing over 4% while Dr. Reddy’s down 2%.

FMCG sector has witnessed some pressure owing to Q1 results of HUL. The FMCG major has reported profit of 0.2%
year-on-year to Rs. 1059 crore, which was below the street’s expectations. The stock is down 1.7%

Bharti Airtel jumped 5% after the company said it has entered into exclusive talks with France's Orange to sell
its subsidiaries in Africa.