Markets turn choppy; Nifty hovers around 7,550

Markets have again turned flat in the late noon trades amid high volatility. The stellar rally in Infosys has lifted the sentiment across the board.  The contraction in December WPI data for the 14th consecutive month has added some respite to the sentiment across the bourses.

At 2:15 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex has gained 15 points at 24,869 and the Nifty50 is up 1 point at 7,562.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies have recovered by up to 8% from their intra-day lows after the Infosys not only beat street estimates but revised its revenue guidance upwards. Infosys has jumped 6% while its peer TCS is up by 0.5%

The top gainers on the Sensex are Infosys, Lupin, Dr Reddy, HUL, and Cipla, up between 0.5-6%  each while top losers are Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, BHEL, and Hero Motocorp, down between 1.5-3.5% each.

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(updated 1:15 pm)

After a weak opening, markets have staged a recovery amid renewed buying interest in battered stocks at attractive valuations after data showed that December WPI contracted for the straight month.

 

At 1:15 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex has gained  84 points at 24,938 and the Nifty50 is up 17 points at 7,580. 

India's December WPI inflation stood at -0.73% year-over-year while November WPI was at -1.99%. However, India’s WPI fuel price index dropped 9.15 pct year-over-year and the food price index rose 8.17 percent year-over-year in December.

Top 5 gainers in the Sensex pack include Lupin, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s Lab up between 1-5%. On the flip side, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Axis Bank, Hindalco, M&M down 1.5%-3.5%.

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(updated at 11:30 am)

Markets are trading in a negative zone amid choppy trades tracking weaknesses among global peers as falling oil prices have heightened worries about the global economy. However, the downside is capped due to better than expected Q3 numbers of Infosys.

Brent oil stayed below $30 a barrel as prices remained weak in Asia today after US crude and fuel inventories rose, adding further anxiety over a global supply glut.

At 11:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 131 points at 24,722 and the Nifty50 was down 45 points at 7,519. The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 1% each.

“Nifty saw a spike on the daily chart indicating first sign of a probable reversal. The Index has a high reward to risk for longs post this formation and 7,380 becomes an important immediate support for the pattern to remain intact. Resistance for the Nifty is placed at 7,750 but should be temporary in nature and can move even higher. Nifty needs to add incremental open interest and breach of immediate range of 7,500 -7,700 for a fresh move to trigger”, adds Motilal Oswal report.

In the currency front, the rupee again breached the 67-mark by depreciating 26 paise to trade at one-month low of 67.11 against the dollar in early trade today, mainly due to strong demand for the American unit from importers and banks amid a lower opening in the domestic equity market.

Among overseas markets, Asian markets tumbled mirroring sharp losses on Wall Street. China's Shanghai Composite was off by 1.18%. US stocks slumped yesterday, 13 January 2016, as investors offloaded consumer-discretionary and health-care shares.

A renewed slump in crude-oil prices added to the selling pressure, driving the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials to their lowest levels since 29 September 2015.

Back home, shares of Infosys surged 5% to Rs 1,140, bouncing back 8% from intra-day’s low on the NSE, after the company reported a better-than-expected 1.98% quarter on quarter (q-o-q) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,465 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015 (Q3FY16). Revenues grew 1.7% at Rs 15,902 crore on sequential basis.

Tata Steel has dipped 4% after the company said the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the long-term corporate credit rating by a notch to 'BB-' from 'BB', citing weak financial performance and high debt leverage.

GenX Nano, launched by Tata Motors in May last year to push up sagging sales of the country’s cheapest car, has not been able to deliver yet. Sales volume of Nano, though more than the previous year, is much lower than most of the early years. Shares of Tata Motors are down over 3%.

Further, the company announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 18 January 2016 to consider and approve buyback of unsecured non-convertible debentures aggregating Rs 200 crores due to mature on 30 November 2018.

Shares of four oil exploration and production firms have declined as crude oil prices further extended losses. ONGC, Cairn India, Reliance Industries and Oil India are down between 1%-2%.

Among other shares, Redington (India) has surged nearly 7% to Rs 114 on the BSE after the HDFC Mutual Fund (MF) acquired 2% stake in the company for Rs 88 crore through open market.

Shares of MindTree are trading higher by 2% at Rs 1,531 on the BSE in an otherwise weak market after the company announced plan to issue bonus shares.

With Reuters input