 "Nifty above 8,900; Sun Pharma, HUL up 2%")
Markets pared early gains but staged a recovery after the first hour of trade as gains in defensive sectors such as pharma and FMCG helped offset losses in private banking major ICICI Bank and IT majors.
At 10:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 65 points at 29,445 and the 50-share Nifty was up 12 points at 8,935.
On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 2786 crore while dmestic institutional investors also bought shares worth Rs 17 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Technical analysts expect the markets to continue facing selling pressure at higher levels. "Nifty has observed a sharp decline from its recent highs and has closed below the 9000 levels. The index faces crucial hurdles at 8,980-9,000 levels on the upside, expect selling pressure to continue at higher levels," said a morning note from Nirmal Bang.
The display of lack of strength during upmove of previous few sessions, point out analysts with HDFC Securities in a note, seems to have resulted in a sharp dip in the market yesterday. They expect the Nifty to show minor corrections ahead down to 8,780-8,800 levels in the next two-three sessions.
"The significance of lower levels supports around 8780-8800 is the upper and lower area of symmetrical triangle as per change in polarity and higher bottom principle. However, immediate resistance is placed around 9000 levels," they suggest.
ASIAN MARKETS
Asian shares came off their early highs and were trading lower with Chinese shares losnig the most on the back of lower growth rate forecast for the current year. The country has targeted a lower economic growth of 7% this year compared with 7.4% last year. China's benchmark share index, Shanghai Composite was down 1% while shares in Hong Kong also mirrored weakness in the mainland and the Hang Seng was down 0.6%. Meanwhile, shares in Japan were trading marginally higher as caution ahead of the US jobs data on Friday capped upside gains. The Nikkei was up 0.1% while Straits Times was down 0.2%.
BUZZING STOCKS
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Systems, along with Reliance Infrastructure, has acquired Pipavav Defence, a private shipyard based in Pipavav in Gujarat, in an all-cash deal. As per the deal Reliance Infrastructure will acquire 18% stake from promoters of Pipavav Defence at Rs 63 per share and also make an open offer for addditional 26% stake at Rs 66 per share. Pipavav Defence is down 10% as the proceeds from the deal would go to the promoters and not the company while Reliance Infrastructure was up nearly 3%.
In the telecom pack Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were down 1-2% on worries that acquisition of spectrum at higher prices would dent margins going forward. The telecom spectrum auction got off to an enormous start on Wednesday, the first day, with bids worth Rs 60,000 crore.
Cairn India extended losses and was down nearly 3% after it lowered its capex guidance. The oil explorer has announced a 58% reduction in its projected capital expenditure for the next financial year to $500 million from the earlier projection of $1,200 million.
IT majors such as Infosys and TCS were down 0.3% as investors remained cautious ahead of the US jobs data. However, Wipro was up 1%. These companies generate most of their revenues from exports to the US.
Sun Pharma extended gains and was up 2% after the company announced that it has reached an agreement with GSK Pharma to acquire the latter's Opiates business in Australia. The product portfolio consists of poppy-derived opiate raw materials that are primarily used in the manufacture of analgesics for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Among other pharms shares, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were up 1.2-2.4% each.
FMCG major ITC which had witnessed selling pressure in the previous sessions was trading with marginal gains while its peer Hindustan Unilever was up 2%.
Other Sensex gainers include, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank among others.
Among other shares, Crompton Greaves has gained 3% at Rs 185 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company announced that it has won three orders from Energy Efficiency Services for the implementation of energy efficiency projects in the country.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,169 gainers and 882 losers on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
At 10:40AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 65 points at 29,445 and the 50-share Nifty was up 12 points at 8,935.
On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 2786 crore while dmestic institutional investors also bought shares worth Rs 17 crore, as per provisional stock exchange data.
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ON THE CHARTS
Technical analysts expect the markets to continue facing selling pressure at higher levels. "Nifty has observed a sharp decline from its recent highs and has closed below the 9000 levels. The index faces crucial hurdles at 8,980-9,000 levels on the upside, expect selling pressure to continue at higher levels," said a morning note from Nirmal Bang.
The display of lack of strength during upmove of previous few sessions, point out analysts with HDFC Securities in a note, seems to have resulted in a sharp dip in the market yesterday. They expect the Nifty to show minor corrections ahead down to 8,780-8,800 levels in the next two-three sessions.
"The significance of lower levels supports around 8780-8800 is the upper and lower area of symmetrical triangle as per change in polarity and higher bottom principle. However, immediate resistance is placed around 9000 levels," they suggest.
ASIAN MARKETS
Asian shares came off their early highs and were trading lower with Chinese shares losnig the most on the back of lower growth rate forecast for the current year. The country has targeted a lower economic growth of 7% this year compared with 7.4% last year. China's benchmark share index, Shanghai Composite was down 1% while shares in Hong Kong also mirrored weakness in the mainland and the Hang Seng was down 0.6%. Meanwhile, shares in Japan were trading marginally higher as caution ahead of the US jobs data on Friday capped upside gains. The Nikkei was up 0.1% while Straits Times was down 0.2%.
BUZZING STOCKS
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Defence Systems, along with Reliance Infrastructure, has acquired Pipavav Defence, a private shipyard based in Pipavav in Gujarat, in an all-cash deal. As per the deal Reliance Infrastructure will acquire 18% stake from promoters of Pipavav Defence at Rs 63 per share and also make an open offer for addditional 26% stake at Rs 66 per share. Pipavav Defence is down 10% as the proceeds from the deal would go to the promoters and not the company while Reliance Infrastructure was up nearly 3%.
In the telecom pack Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were down 1-2% on worries that acquisition of spectrum at higher prices would dent margins going forward. The telecom spectrum auction got off to an enormous start on Wednesday, the first day, with bids worth Rs 60,000 crore.
Cairn India extended losses and was down nearly 3% after it lowered its capex guidance. The oil explorer has announced a 58% reduction in its projected capital expenditure for the next financial year to $500 million from the earlier projection of $1,200 million.
IT majors such as Infosys and TCS were down 0.3% as investors remained cautious ahead of the US jobs data. However, Wipro was up 1%. These companies generate most of their revenues from exports to the US.
Sun Pharma extended gains and was up 2% after the company announced that it has reached an agreement with GSK Pharma to acquire the latter's Opiates business in Australia. The product portfolio consists of poppy-derived opiate raw materials that are primarily used in the manufacture of analgesics for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Among other pharms shares, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were up 1.2-2.4% each.
FMCG major ITC which had witnessed selling pressure in the previous sessions was trading with marginal gains while its peer Hindustan Unilever was up 2%.
Other Sensex gainers include, Reliance Industries, HDFC, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank among others.
Among other shares, Crompton Greaves has gained 3% at Rs 185 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company announced that it has won three orders from Energy Efficiency Services for the implementation of energy efficiency projects in the country.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,169 gainers and 882 losers on the Bombay Stock Exchange.