Markets consolidated on Wednesday to end marginally lower, after rising over 3% in the previous two sessions, as investors booked profits ahead of the Oct-Dec earnings on concerns that earnings would remain muted.
The 30-share Sensex provisionally ended at 15,859 down 80 points and the 50-share Nifty ended at 4,742 down 24 points.
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(Updated at 13:10Hrs)
Markets continue to trade on a lacklustre note in noon deals. The Sensex is down 67 points at 15,871 and the Nifty has shed 19 points to 4,746 levels.
Earlier in the day, the Indian markets opened on a flat note and soon dipped into the red on back of selling pressure visible in the auto, realty and consumer durable stocks.
According to Somil Mehta, Senior Technical Analyst (Equity) with Sharekhan, "Nifty, in the short-term, is expected to be range bound between 4,870 and 4,650 before the next leg down expected around 4,350 in the medium-term."
Bajaj Auto is the top loser among the Sensex stocks, down 4.5% at Rs 1,428. The stock is at its lowest level since August 28, 2011 on the National Stock Exchange. Hero MotoCorp, Mahindra & Mahindra, DLF, Hindustan Unilever, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, SBI, J P Associates, TCS and Tata Steel are also among the prominent losers, down 1-3% each.
On the other hand, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, BHEL, Cipla, Hindalco, ONGC, Wipro and Sterlite Industries are among the gainers on the Sensex.
Smart movers
Among the individual stocks, Shares of Network18 Group companies –Network18 Media and Investments (Network18), TV18 Broadcast (TV18) – have rallied 20% each in morning trades, extending their Tuesday’s 20% surge, as the proceeds of the proposed rights issues of both
KEC International has rallied 9% to Rs 39.70 after the company said that it has secured new orders worth of Rs 1,253 crore.
PSL Ltd has moved higher by 8% to Rs 55 on receiving orders totalling Rs 924 crore for the provision of pipes and ancillary coating services from private sector companies.
In reverse gear
On the sectoral front, auto stocks are amongst the worst hit in trades thus far. The BSE Auto index is down 1.12% or 92 points at 8,109. Realty index is also down 0.8% at 1,416. BSE Teck, Consumer Durables, IT, FMCG and Oil & Gas indices are also witnessing mild selling pressure.
However, PSU stocks are trading higher after market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed companies to buy back their own equity from shareholders. The BSE PSU index has advanced 0.8% to 6,668. Capital goods, healthcare, power, banking and metal stocks are also witnessing some bit of buying in trades thus far.
The broader markets too are trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index has added 15 points to 5,270 and the small-cap index has added 9 points to 5,695.
The overall breadth is fairly positive as 1,359 stocks are advancing while 1,084 are declining.
