Markets trim losses; Infosys up 1%

Benchmark indices have trimmed some of the losses aided by the strong rally in defensives.
 
By 14:15 PM, the Sensex has shed 45 points to trade at 27,870 mark whereas the Nifty is trading flat at 8,335.
 
 In the broader market BSE Mid cap index has crossed the 10,000 mark and is trading with a gain of 0.4% while BSE Small cap index has gained around 0.1%. Market breadth continues to be negative with 1,512 declines against 1,357 advances.

 On the back of depreciating rupee, defensive stocks have gained in the late noon trades.

Dr Reddys Lab and Axis Bank are the major gainers followed by Infosys and Sun pharma while HDFC Bank and ITC continue to lose
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(Updated at 12:50 PM)

Markets are trading lower in noon trades as investors booked profits at higher levels after the benchmark  indices hit record highs for a fourth straight session on Wednesday. Heavy selling is evident in the shares of capital goods, metal, banking and auto companies.

 

By 12.50 PM, the Sensex has shed 107 points to trade at 27,809 mark whereas the Nifty has declined by 24 points to trade at 8,314.

 

Meanwhile, the broader market is trading mixed as BSE Mid cap index has gained around 0.3% and BSE Small cap index is trading flat with a negative bias.

 

The market breadth is negative on the BSE with 1.463 declines against 1,269 advances.

 

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 1,031 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

 

Asian Market:

 

Asian shares edged down on Friday ahead of U.S. employment data later in the session, while the euro wallowed around two-year lows after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi vowed to take more easing steps to spark growth in the euro zone. Investors were likely to remain cautious ahead of the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls report. 

 

Japan's Nikkei has gained around 0.5% as sentiment was supported by a pledge from the European Central Bank to take further steps to revive the euro zone economy. Meanwhile, Chinese shares gained after after the Chinese central bank pumped liquidity into the financial system to help the economy. Hang Seng has lost 0.4% and Shanghai Composite has dipped around 0.5%.

 

Sectors & Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Capital goods index is the top loser down over 1% followed by Auto, Metal and Power indices down between 0.4-1%. However,  BSE Healthcare and Realty indices are up 1% and 2% each.

 

Pharma shares have recovered sharply from the early morning lows. Dr Reddys Lab has gained 3% after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it has granted final approval to Indian drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories and US firm Endo International Plc to make cheaper copies of Roche Holding AG's antiviral Valcyte. The tentative approval granted to Ranbaxy was revoked by FDA.

 

Sun Pharma has gained nearly 2% after paring early morning loss while Cipla is trading with marginal gains.

 

Auto shares are trading mixed with Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki up between 0.2-0.5% while other auto majors continue to decline. Bajaj Auto and M&M have declined between 0.5-1.5%. Hero Motocorp has declined 3% on a block sell-off of 8.5 million its shares by private equity company Bain Capital. The stock may recover later as there is a strong demand for its shares.

 

Among bank shares, Axis Bank has gained close to 3% and ICICI Bank is up 0.3% while SBI is down 1.3%. HDFC Bank has declined around 2% on reports that it has been excluded from MSCI India index.

 

Metal shares continue to lose sheen in today’s trade after the services purchasing managers' index (PMI) compiled by HSBC/Markit pulled back to 52.9 in October, the weakest reading since July, from 53.5 in September. Sesa Sterlite and Coal India are down between 1-2%.

 

Infrastructure scrips are witnessing profit booking after a smart rally on the back of government relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) rules in the construction sector by reducing minimum built up area as well as capital requirement and easing exit norms. L&T and BHEL have lost between 1-2%.

 

L&T is trading lower ahead of its results to be released later today.

 

GAIL and RIL are trading lower between 1-2% on falling crude oil prices.

 

Telecom major Bharti Airtel is down 0.7% today. Bharti Airtel has called off its plans to acquire business and assets of Mumbai based Loop Mobile, for about Rs 700 crore, as the Department of Telecom is yet to clear the deal.

 

DLF is trading 4% higher at Rs 132 on BSE, in otherwise subdued market, after the Securities Appellant Tribunal (SAT), in an interim relief, allowed real estate giant to redeem its mutual fund investments of Rs 1,806 crore to service its debt.