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Benchmark share indices ended flat on Thursday, amid range bound trade, as investors remained cautious ahead of Infosys second quarter earnings.
The 30-share Sensex ended up 24 points at 20,273 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 14 points at 6,021.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained nearly 1% each.
The market breadth in BSE ended positive with 1,297 shares advancing and 932 shares declining.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Signs of progress in U.S. budget talks lifted the dollar on Thursday and helped European stocks edge off four-week lows, though gains were limited by expectations any solution to the stalemate would be temporary.
House Republican leaders will visit the White House on Thursday as efforts intensify to break the impasse that has left parts of the U.S. government shuttered for more than a week.
With the dollar on the up, the euro was already on the back foot, and there was further pressure after French industrial production rose 0.2% in August from July, falling short of expectations.
In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei share average advanced 0.9% to its highest in a week while shares elsewhere lost ground.
U.S. stock futures pointed higher, bolstering hopes of a second day of modest gains after sizable falls early in the week.
FIIs DATA
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 326.58 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
RUPEE & ECONOMY
India's outward direct investment in September slowed to around $1.3 billion from $1.9 billion in August, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of India on Thursday.
The rupee continued to trade weak in afternoon trade on dollar demand from importers ahead of the US debt payment deadline on October 17.
At 15:45 pm, the rupee was quoting Rs 62.06 a dollar compared to its previous close of Rs 61.94 per dollar.
SECTORS & STOCKS
On the sectoral front, BSE Auto index gained by nearly 2% followed by counters like Metal, IT, Healthcare, PSU, Power and Realty, all gaining between 0.3-0.5%. However, sectors like Banks, Oil & Gas and FMCG ended marginally lower.
With the country in festive mood, shares of India's auto companies are adding up to the festivities. They have zoomed in the past one month, with some of the auto counters galloping by almost 50%.
One of the best monsoons in over a decade period has started showing its positive impact as far as outlook for auto companies is concerned.
With recent actions on interest rates by banks and some lenders even waiving off the processing fees, passenger vehicles sales (which already have started showing some positive signs) are expected to remain reasonably better, if not robust.
Tata Motors was the top Sensex gainer, up 5% on expectation of the company's UK arm Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will report strong volume growth over next few months led by start of dispatches of new RR Sport and continued traction from recent launches of RR and F-Type, which in turn will boost realisation and margin.
M&M and Maruti Suzuki gained by 2%.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank downgraded Bajaj Auto Ltd to "hold" from "buy" and cut the target price on its stock to Rs 2,000 from Rs 2,250, saying current valuations have already priced in a "robust" margin trend. The stock ended lower by over 1%.
Mining and metal stocks were buzzing in trades today on renewed buying demand. Jindal Steel, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite increased between 1-2%.
JSW Steel Ltd’s crude steel production rose to 2.98 million tonne in Jul-Sep, up 37% from same period last year, the company said in a release today.
Real estate stocks have been gaining ground ever since the RBI announced measures to ease short-term liquidity. BSE Realty index outperformed the past month, gaining over 3.05% as compared to 1.2% gains on the BSE Sensex. Real estate stocks such as Unitech, DLF, Oberoi Realty gained anywhere between 1-8% the past month.
DLF ended higher by nearly 2%, extending its previous day’s nearly 6% rally on BSE, after the real estate developer said it sold assets worth of Rs 147 crore as part of its strategy to pare debt by exiting non-core businesses.
On the losing side, Hindalco, Tata Power, HUL and HDFC Bank declined between 1-2%.
SMART MOVERS
Kalpataru Power Transmission gained nearly 5% after the company announced that it has received fresh orders of over Rs 620 crore.
TVS Motor Company moved higher by over 3%, extending its past one week rally on BSE, on hopes of increase Its market share in the scooters segment with the launch of Jupiter.
Navin Fluorine International surged over 10% after the speciality and fine chemicals producer said, its board will consider the interim dividend while announcing July-September (Q2) earnings on October 23.
Shares of education companies such as Career Point, NIIT, Aptech, Educomp Solutions and MT Educare were in focus and ended higher by up to 20% on back of heavy volumes.
IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company rallied upto 10% after the board fixed the price of around Rs 32 per share for its proposed rights issue.
