 "Auto stocks outperform on normal monsoon hopes; Bajaj Auto, M&M up 1%")
Markets trimmed intra-day losses but continued to trade with negative bias in noon trades on Tuesday tracking mixed cues from Europe.
At 1:15pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 74 points at 26,793 and the Nifty50 was trading 24 points lower at 8,214.
Meanwhile, the broader markets came off their intra-day highs and were trading with marginal gains. Market breadth remained neutral with 1176 losers and 1169 gainers on the BSE.
European shares were trading flat after profit booking post sharp gains in the previous session capped further upside. In the previous session, European shares surged after fears of Britain exiting the European Union receded. The CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were trading 0.1% higher.
Private lenders such as HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were among the top losers.
IT shares which had gained in the previous session amid a weakening rupee were down on profit taking. Infosys and TCS were down 0.3%-0.7% each.
Other losers include, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, L&T and Reliance among others.
Among others, Manappuram Finance (MFL) has rallied 7% to Rs 63.85, its highest level since November 2011 on the BSE, on the back of heavy volumes.
___________________________
(updated at 11:45pm)
Auto stocks continued to trade firm in a weak market on hopes that above normal monsoon would drive demand for two-wheelers and tractors among others.
At 11:45pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 34 points at 26,833 and the Nifty50 was trading 14 points lower at 8,224. Meanwhile, the broader markets have outperformed the benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.3%-0.4% each. Market breadth remained positive with 1224 gainers and 945 losers on the BSE.
The government on Monday a slew of reforms relating to foreign direct investment and announcing easier terms for investors in sectors ranging from civil aviation to pharmaceuticals.
Foreign portfolio investors turned net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 537.46 crore on Monday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Auto stocks were trading higher with Bajaj Auto up over 1% on reports that the company plans to increase its market share by launching new motorcycle models over the next few months.
Mahindra & Mahindra was also up 1% on hopes of good tractor sales on the back of above normal monsoon. The company had sold 22,148 tractors in May 2016 compared with 18,245 units in May 2015.
Among other auto stocks, Hero MotoCorp was up 0.5% while Maruti Suzuki was trading flat.
Hindalco has gained 3% to hit its 52-week high of Rs 124 on the BSE, extending its past one month rally, after the company reported better-than-expected results for the quarter ended March 2016 (Q4FY16).
The initial public offer from Mahanagar Gas (MGL) for 2.46 crore shares opens today. The issue will close on Thursday, 23 June 2016. The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 380 to Rs 421. The IPO includes offer for sale of upto 1.23 crore shares by GAIL (India) and upto 1.23 crore shares by BG Asia Pacific Holdings PTE Ltd (BGAPH). Meanwhile, the company on Monday raised Rs 309 crore from nearly two dozen anchor investors.
Most of the telecom operators have shown improvement in network performance although Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Aircel and Idea need to better their call drop rate performance in Delhi-NCR, Trai said on Monday. Reliance Communications was up 1% while Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were marginally down.
Bank stocks are mixed after the finance ministry in its quarterly revision on interest rates on small savings schemes kept the rates unchanged for Q2 September 2016. ICICI Bank was up nearly 1% while SBI, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank were trading with marginal losses.
Among others, shares of Siti Cable Network were up nearly 4% at Rs 38.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the government allowed 100% foreign direct investment for the broadcasting sector comprising of teleports, direct-to-home, cable networks, mobile TV and head-in-the-sky (HITS).
