Markets come off day's high; Nifty holds 8,150

Markets have come off day’s high as investors turned cautious after gains in the previous four sessions with select index heavyweights leading the decline.

At 11:45am, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 36 points to quote at 26,689 and the Nifty50 was up 10 points at 8,167. In the broader market, the Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.2%-0.3% each. Market breadth was strong with 1130 gainers and 1079 losers on the BSE.

Index heavyweight HDFC was down over 3% on profit taking after gains in the previous sessions while ITC was down nearly 1%.

Engineering major BHEL was down over 3.5%. Net profit for March 2016 quarter was down 60% at Rs 360 while net revenue, at Rs 9,792 crore, was down 26 per cent over a year.

Tata Motors was up over 3% ahead of its results for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.

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(Updated at 10:35am)
Markets have come off day’s high as book profits at higher and attractive levels after the benchmark indices gained for four straight sessions. Last batch of corporate results, monsoon advancement, and macro economic data will dictate the street movement this week.

 

At 10:35 am, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 29 points to quote at 26,683 and the Nifty50 climbed 12 points to trade at 8,169.

HOT STOCKS

Coal India was up 5% to Rs 296 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company raised prices by 6.29% across all its subsidiaries for both regulated and non-regulated sectors.

Hindalco Industries has surged 10% to Rs 101 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company reported standalone net profit of Rs 356 crore for the quarter ended March 2016 (Q4FY16) due to lower input costs. The company had registered a profit of Rs 160 crore in the year ago quarter.

ITC is trading higher by 1% at Rs 355 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the stock turned ex-dividend for Rs 8.50 per share on Monday.

The board of directors of ITC at its meeting held on May 20, 2016, recommended dividend of Rs 8.50 (including special dividend of Rs 2) per ordinary share of Re 1 each for the financial year ended March 31, 2016.


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(updated at 9:15 am)

Markets have opened the session on a positive note mirroring strength in Asian equities. Last batch of corporate results, monsoon advancement, and macro economic data will dictate the street movement this week.

Auto stocks will remain in focus as the companies unveil the monthly sales data for the month of May. Also, purchasing managers' index (PMI) data for services and manufacturing sectors are scheduled for this week, which will have some bearing on trading.

At 9:15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 102 points to quote at 26,756 and the Nifty50 climbed 30 points to trade at 8,186.

"Last week’s surge having catapulted prices towards the medium term objective of 8,200-8,300, the challenge this week would to weather the resistance that is likely to be posed as the critical region of 8,300 is approached. Though a vertical turn lower is less anticipated, the higher opening that is anticipated today, may lead to volatile moves in the early hours. Visibility past 8,300 is limited at this point, but the potential for continuation of the uptrend, would be alive as long as 8,000 holds forte," said Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note.

GLOBAL MARKET

After a weak opening, Asian equities have gathered steam amid strong dollar. However, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested that an interest rate hike may occur if economic growth picks up and there is an improvement in the labour market.

Japan’s Nikkei is up over 1% on the back of a strong dollar. Among other Asian indices, China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained between 0.2%-0.7%.

STOCKS

Amtek Auto, Alok Industries, Bajaj Electricals, Bata India, Hindustan Copper, M&M, Monsanto India, NTPC, RCom, SAIL, Sun Pharma, Suzlon Energy, Tata Motors and Unitech will unveil their Q4 numbers today.

ITC is trading higher by 1% at Rs 355 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the stock turned ex-dividend for Rs 8.50 per share on Monday.

Diageo-controlled liquor firm United Spirits (USL) gained 0.6% as it looks to reduce its debt by up to Rs 2,000 crore in the next two years through various measures that include sale of shares and properties earlier owned by embattled businessman Vijay Mallya.

Aluminium major Nalco has decided to drop its plan to foray into nuclear energy generation. The stock surged 2%. State-run National Aluminium Co Ltd (Nalco) on Sunday reported a 41.4 per cent decline in its standalone net profit to Rs 208 crore during the fourth quarter ended March.

Coal India revised the price of non-coking coal to keep the domestic coal prices at globally competitive level. Coal India has reported a marginal rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,247.93 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015-16. The stock soared over 4%.

Tata Steel might still hold on to its UK steelworks and their proposed sale put off. The stock has gained over 1%.

State-owned ONGC is mulling buying a majority stake in GSPC's Krishna-Godavari basin gas block, which will help prevent the Gujarat government firm's Rs 19,500-crore loan from turning into an non-performing asset (NPA). The stock is up nearly 1%.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) has decided to focus on the EPC business once again and has set an ambitious revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore by next fiscal, a top company official has said. The stock is up over 1%.

Bajaj Auto has gained 15 as it decides to invest Rs 575 crore this fiscal, a major chunk of which will be used for launch of new products.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has subpoenaed India's largest drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, seeking information about the pricing and marketing of the generic drugs it sells in the United States, the company said on Saturday. The stock is up 1%.

Maruti Suzuki will recall more than 77,000 cars, most of which the Baleno hatchback, to upgrade an airbag software and fix other problems, taking the number of vehicles that auto makers in India recalled so far this month to about 1.5 lakh.  The stock has shed 0.5%.

Reliance Power posted 15.80% increase in its consolidated net profit in 2015-16's fourth quarter ending March 31, at Rs.320.16 crore compared to Rs.276.47 crore in the corresponding period in 2014-15.  The stock inched up.

BHEL on Friday reported a 59.97% drop in net profit at Rs 359.58 crore for the March quarter. The stock declined over 3%.

Food services major Jubilant FoodWorks dropped over 3% on reporting a 6.56% decline in its standalone net profit at Rs 29.46 crore for the quarter ended March 31 on the account of higher expenses.