Markets recover from day's low

Benchmark Indices have recovered from the day’s low with the Sensex and the Nifty inching towards 17,700 mark and 5,400 levels, respectively amid volatility. Firm Asian cues along with banking, engineering shares are lending support to the markets.

At 11:30 hrs, the Sensex was up 74 points at 17,658 and the 50-share Nifty rose 32 points at 5,371. 

On the global front, Asian markets are trading firm with Nikkei, Strait Times, Hang Seng, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai gaining between 0.2-1%.

Back home, BSE Bankex has zoomed by almost 2% on buzz that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to ease the tight liquidity situation in the system before the scheduled mid-quarter review on March 15. ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank have surged between 1-2%.

Capital goods majors like L&T and BHEL have rebounded between 1-2% post downtrend in previous sessions after the manufacturing growth came in at 0.4% vs 2.7% y-o-y.

From the metal space, Jindal Steel, Hindalco and Tata Steel have gained between 1-2%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries is trading marginally higher whereas ONGC has declined by over 2%, extending its Thursday’s fall, on poor response from the overseas investors for the company’s stake sale offer through an auction process which concluded yesterday.

Among Healthcare segment, Sun Pharma is the top Sensex gainer, up over 2%. The company on Wednesday after market hours said that it has received approval from the US health regulator for its generic Zyprexa Zydis tablets, used in treating mental disorder, in the American market.

DLF from the Realty pack has tumbled by over 4%, extending its previous day’s 5% loss, on report that the Canadian research firm Veritas said the accounting practices of the realty major is “conflicting” and pointing at gaps in its business model — charges the company termed “mischievous and presumptive”.

Auto shares like Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki have surged by almost 1% each. Hero Moto has extended yesterday’s rally after reporting a 10.89 per cent rise in its sales for February at 523,465 units. Bajaj Auto has posted a 5% rise in February vehicle sales, in line with a demand recovery in the industry.  

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices with the Mid-cap and the Small-cap indices up by nearly 1% each.

HCL Infosystems has soared 17% on reports of winning contract worth of Rs 2,200 crore from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The information technology company has emerged as the lowest contactor in the bidding process.

Mphasis has tanked after reporting 18% year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in net profit at Rs 185 crore for the quarter ending January 31, 2012 (Q1).

The overall market breadth in BSE remains positive with 1,514 shares advancing and 884 shares declining.