 "Markets gain momentum; Nifty eyes 7,100")
Markets have turned positive amid choppy trades tracking a strong opening in the European equities. The gains in index heavyweights such as RIL, Infosys, and Tata Motors have arrested the decline in capital goods shares.
At 14:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 163 points at 23,355 and the Nifty50 was trading 48 points higher at 7,097.
The broader markets are underperforming the benchmarks with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices trading 0.1% down each. Market breadth continues to remain weak with 1,587 declines versus 862 advances on the BSE.
RUPEE
The Indian rupee depreciated to near record lows against the American dollar, forcing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to intervene to stem further falls.
The rupee dropped to as low as 68.67 to the dollar, not far from a record low of 68.85 hit in August 2013 when India was hit with its worst financial turmoil in the recent times.
CRUDE OIL
International crude oil prices remained volatile in today’s trade. After climbing higher in the morning trade, oil prices have dropped on the backdrop that Iran may not agree to a deal between Saudi Arabia, Russia and other producers to freeze oil output at January levels, thus keeping the current oversupply intact.
Brent crude was down 31 cents at $31.87 per barrel after settling down $1.21 in the previous session. It had climbed to $32.83 a barrel in early trade on Wednesday.
SECTORS & STOCKS
Sectorally, BSE Consumer Durables index was down 2.6% followed by Metal and Bankex indices.
Banking and financial pack is trading mixed as profit taking is witnessed in the private sector banks. ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and Axis Bank were down 0.4%-3% each while HDFC twins have gained 0.5% each.
State Bank of India has advanced more than 1%. The stock had corrected in the previous session after the management said non-performing assets are expected to rise in the coming quarter of this financial year and may impact its profitability.
Pharma shares were trading mixed with Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs up 1%-2% each while Lupin was down 1.8%.
Cipla has eased nearly 1%. The pharma major said the government has approved an investment by Mauritius-based FIL Capital Investments in its subsidiary Cipla Health.
HCL Tech trimmed early gains and was marginally down. The tech firm is planning to sell shares in the US this year which would be the first listing there by a large Indian company in more than eight years.
Infosys has gained 1.1%. The IT major is confident of achieving its ambitious target of hitting $20 billion in sales by 2020 despite the pall of economic gloom hanging over the Indian information technology (IT) industry.
Bank of India dropped 3% after Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook on Bank of India to negative from stable.
BPCL has gained 3.3%. The state-owned oil marketing major received clearance from the Environment Ministry for Rs 337-crore project at its Kochi Refinery in Kerala.
Tata Motors has jumped 3.4%. Tata Motors, Bharat Forge and General Dynamics have forged an alliance to bid for the $11 billion (Rs 78,000 crore) project of making combat infantry vehicles for the Indian Army under the Future Infantry Combat Vehicle (FICV) Programme.
Among other shares, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals has announced receipt of tentative approval from USFDA for its generic version of azelaic acid topical gel used for treating skin inflammation. The stock has gained 2.4%.
Shares of Just Dial has moved higher by 15% to Rs 509 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on back of heavy volumes after the company announced schedule for the buyback of equity shares.
