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Nifty holds 8,850 amid choppy trades; Axis Bank drops 4%

Top losers from the Sensex pack are Axis Bank, Lupin, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys

Markets subdued in opening trades; L&T Technology Services lists today

SI Reporter Mumbai
Benchmark indices continue to trade in a narrow range with negative bias amid weakness among index heavyweight shares. However, the downside is limited due to buying demand among Reliance Industries and HDFC.

At 11:00 am, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 29 points at 28,744 and the Nifty50 dipped 7 points to trade at 8,861. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.4% each.

Top losers from the Sensex pack are Axis Bank, Lupin, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Infosys, all down between 1%-4.5%. Axis Bank was down over 4% on speculation of SUUTI stake sale in the bank.

On the gaining side, TCS, Reliance Inds, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and HDFC are up almost 1%.

L&T Technology Services opened at Rs 920 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today, against an issue price of Rs 860 per share, at a premium of around 7%.

Morepen Laboratories rose 6% to Rs 26.25 on the BSE on reports that the company may sell its over-the-counter brands to focus on active pharmaceutical ingredient and home diagnostics business as growth drivers.

Shares of Majesco are up nearly 3% to Rs 484 on the BSE after the company announced that it has entered into an agreement with Glemham, a UK based managing general agent, to create a new cloud based bureau processing business.

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Updated at 9:30 am

Markets are trading in a subdued note tracking mixed global cues on account of booking profits after the recent run-up.

At 9:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex slipped 48 points at 28,725 and the Nifty50 dipped 9 points to trade at 8,858. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.3%-0.5%.

“Subdued trading is expected early in the day inside the 8890-8860 region. Breakout beyond the same is expected, but a directional move is less likely. Downsides look limited, but upsides in the near term look more limited, suggesting that bearishness should dominate,” adds Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note.

 
On Thursday, Indian equities surged mirroring strong global markets after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates at a near-record low, but hinted a hike could come in December.

On the macro-economic front, the government, on Thursday, appointed three academics to the panel. The RBI has already appointed its members to the panel.

The government nominees are Chetan Ghate, professor, Indian Statistical Institute; Pami Dua, director, Delhi School of Economics; and Ravindra H Dholakia, professor, Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A).

Globally, Asian shares edged closer to 14-month highs on Friday while the dollar was on the defensive as investors grew more convinced that the Federal Reserve is settling into a phase of very gradual interest rate hikes.


MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was steady and within sight of its highest levels since July 2015 that it hit in early September. Japan's Nikkei dipped 0.2%, reflecting the yen's gains during Japan's market holiday on Thursday.

On Wall Street, S&P 500 Index gained 0.65%, led by 1.9% gain for the real estate sector.

Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 336.87 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.


Among corporate news, shares of L&T Technology Services will debut on bourses today. The company had priced its initial public offer (IPO) at Rs 860 per share, the top end of the Rs 850-860 per share price band for the IPO. The IPO which closed on 15 September 2016 received strong response from investors.

Top gainers from the Sensex pack are Dr Reddy’s Labs, L&T, RIL, TCS and Sun Pharma, all up between 0.3%-0.5%. On the gaining side, Axis Bank, Infosys, Tata Motors, Lupin and Bharti Airtel are up 0.5%-2%.

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed the principle contract with Vietnam Border Guard valued at $99.7 million for design and construction of high speed patrol vessels in India as well as for transfer of design and technology along with supply of equipment and material kits for construction of follow-on vessels at a Vietnam shipyard.


With Reuters input

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First Published: Sep 23 2016 | 11:00 AM IST

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