Key benchmark indices languished in red in morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 12.98 points or 0.05%, up about 55 points from the day's low and off about equal points from the day's high. Gains in crude oil prices weighed on key benchmark indices. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive.
Capital goods stocks edged lower. TCS hit record high.
At 10:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 12.98 points or 0.05% to 26,134.35. The index fell 69.63 points at the day's low of 26.077.70 in early trade. The index rose 43.48 points at the day's high of 26,190.81 at the onset of the trading session, a record high for the index.
The CNX Nifty was down 11.85 points or 0.15% to 7,783.90. The index hit a low of 7,771.65 in intraday trade. The index hit a high of 7,802.45 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 905 shares rose and 859 shares fell. A total of 78 shares were unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently almost unchanged for the day at 9,312.06. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 22.78 points or 0.22% at 10,26.96. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
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Reliance Industries (RIL) dropped 0.56% to Rs 1,027.25. The stock hit high of Rs 1,031.80 and low of Rs 1,025 so far during the day.
ONGC gained 0.1% to Rs 405.50. The stock hit high of Rs 407.75 and low of Rs 405.15 so far during the day.
Minister of State (I/C) in the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday, 23 July 2014, that ONGC and Reliance Industries (RIL) have selected an independent agency to verify the state explorer's allegation that RIL may be drawing gas from a common reservoir in the two companies' adjoining blocks in the KG Basin. ONGC in July 2013 stated that the wells drilled in blocks KG-DWN-98/3 by RIL in the vicinity/on boundary of ONGC's nomination Godavari PML and NELP-I Block KG-DWN-98/2 may be draining gas from ONGC's gas reservoirs. Both ONGC and RIL have made hydrocarbon discoveries in their respective blocks. While RIL is producing gas from its block since 2009, ONGC is yet to start production from its block. In May, 2014, ONGC filed an extra-ordinary writ petition in Delhi high court against Union of India, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons and RIL with a request to appoint an independent agency to establish the continuity of reservoirs between KG-DWN-98/2 block operated by ONGC and KG-DWN-98/3 block operated by RIL and to estimate the volume of gas and also for working out gas balancing between the above reservoirs if found to have continuity.
TCS gained 0.04% to Rs 2,588 after hitting record high of Rs 2,600 in intraday trade. The company early this week announced a new partnership with MapR Technologies, Inc., provider of the top-ranked distribution for Apache Hadoop, to help enterprise customers easily and rapidly capture critical big data insights. The partnership's new big data offerings will shift the IT cost curve and allow companies to strategically reimagine their business models, TCS said.
Capital goods stocks edged lower. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (down 0.01%), Crompton Greaves (down 0.87%), L&T (down 0.83%), Siemens (down 0.27%) and Thermax (down 1.67%) declined.
ABB India lost 1.93%, with the stock extending Wednesday's post-result losses. The company's net profit rose 20% to Rs 48 crore on 3.69% growth in revenue to Rs 1794 crore in Q2 June 2014 over Q2 June 2013. The Q2 result was announced during market hours on Wednesday, 23 July 2014. ABB India said that the top line during the quarter remained stable with encouraging growth mainly from short cycle business. The company maintains its policy of cash over revenue, ABB India said in a statement.
ABB India attributed the growth in bottom line during the quarter to higher focus on continuous localization, cost optimization and striking the right balance of risks and returns.
The company's order backlog stood at Rs 8083 crore as on 30 June 2014 as against Rs 8260 crore as on 30 June 2013. The order backlog position of the company has been steadily increasing over the last six months providing revenue visibility, ABB India said in a statement.
Panacea Biotec jumped 7.1% after the company said its board will meet on 1 August 2014 to consider raising funds by way of issue of securities aggregating upto Rs 250 crore or equivalent thereof in any currency. The announcement was made after market hours on Wednesday, 23 July 2014.
A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices slipped into the red after opening higher. The Sensex hit record high at the onset of the trading session.
Gains in crude oil prices weighed on key benchmark indices. India imports almost 80% of its crude oil requirements. Crude rose as geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East persisted. Brent crude futures for September delivery were up 17 cents at $108.20 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract rose 70 cents to settle at $108.03 a barrel on Wednesday, 23 July 2014.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 60.0725, compared with its close of 60.105 on Wednesday, 23 July 2014.
Asian stocks rose for a fourth day today, 24 July 2014, after a Chinese manufacturing gauge rose to its strongest reading in 18 months. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Indonesia were up by 0.13% to 0.84%. Key benchmark indices in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan fell by 0.01% to 0.05%.
A Chinese manufacturing gauge rose to an 18-month high in July, adding to signs that the government will meet its 2014 economic-growth target of about 7.5 percent. A preliminary Purchasing Managers' Index from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was at 52, compared with a final reading of 50.7 in June. Numbers above 50 indicate expansion.
South Korea unveiled 11.7 trillion won ($11.4 billion) in government initiatives to shore up Asia's fourth-largest economy after growth slumped to the weakest pace in more than a year in the second quarter.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 14 points at the opening bell on Thursday, 24 July 2014. US stocks were largely higher on Wednesday, 23 July 2014, with the S&P 500 index hitting another record high after bullish results from tech giants Apple and Microsoft, though technical resistance and conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip kept gains in check.
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