Markets turn flat, Nifty holds 8,250; pharma, capital goods weak

Benchmark indices have extended gains led by buying demand among information technology and metal shares. However, the upside is capped due to selling pressure among pharma and realty segment.  
By 12:10 pm, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 16 points at 27,323 and the 50-share Nifty dipped 4 points at 8,259.

The top gainers from the Sensex pack are Bharti Airtel, Vedanta, Hindalco, Reliance Inds and Infosys, all surging between 1-2%.


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Updated at 9:25 am

Markets are trading marginally positive in opening trades led by index heavyweights like Reliance Inds and Infosys. However, the upside is capped due to selling pressure among select auto and metal shares.  

By 9:25, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 73 points at 27,379 and the 50-share Nifty gained 14 points at 8,276.

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.2-0.4%. Markets breadth is positive on the BSE with 84 shares advancing and 327 shares declining.

 
On Tuesday, markets snapped three day winning streak and closed lower amid volatile trades, weighed down by metal and oil shares. However, buying demand among select auto and IT shares limited the downside pressure.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 523.69 crore yesterday, 20 October 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

Further, the World Bank on Tuesday lowered its 2015 forecast for crude oil prices from $57 per barrel in its July report to $52 per barrel, a development that could bring in additional savings to the Indian treasury.

Q2 EARNINGS

Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, Wipro, Cairn India, Idea Cellular, IRB Infra, JSW Steel, KPIT Tech, Mahindra Finance will unveil their secong quarter earnings today.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares eked out cautious gains on Wednesday as concerns about corporate earnings hobbled Wall Street while investors counted down to the European Central Bank's policy meeting later in the week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a fraction firmer. Japan's Nikkei added 0.8%, while South Korea's KOSPI rose 0.6%.

Wall Street offered little in the way of a lead with the Dow ending Tuesday 0.1% lower, while the S&P 500 eased 0.14% and the Nasdaq 0.5%.

The S&P healthcare sector shed 1.5%, dragged by Allergan and Pfizer, while a drop in IBM offset gains in companies that reported strong quarterly results such as Verizon and United Technologies.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectors like Consumer Durables, IT, FMCG, Power and Realty are trading higher between 0.3-1%. However, Capital Goods and Metal counters are trading marginally lower.

The top gainers from the Sensex pack are Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Inds, Infosys and Cipla.

Hero MotoCorp reported a 1.1% rise in its second quarter net profit, beating Street estimates.  The stock is up 2%.

Bharti Airtel has completed the sale of 8,300 mobile towers in seven African countries for $1.7 billion (Rs 11,000 crore).  Shares of Bharti Airtel have gained almost 2%.

Drugs administration has made adverse observations regarding manufacturing practices at drug maker Cipla's Indore plant. Cipla is up 1%.

The Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) might take a write-down on the KG-D6 block. Those close to the development said RIL might account for the losses in its books at the end of this financial year. The stock has gained over 1%.

On the losing side, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and M&M are down between 0.5-1.4%.

Maruti Suzuki’s royalty payment to its parent, Japan’s Suzuki, has again caught the attention of corporate governance firms and proxy advisors. As percentage of its profit, the royalty payment by India’s biggest passenger car maker has nearly tripled from 13 per cent in 2005-06 to 36 per cent of profit before tax and royalty in 2014-15.

Tata Steel may cut 1,200 jobs at its UK long products division as the company proposes to stop making steel plates.

With Reuters & BS Reporter input