)
Benchmark indices have reached near day’s low ahead of F&O expiry with Nifty breaking the psychological levels of 6,050 levels.
At 1110 hrs, the Sensex was down 238 points at 20,409 and the Nifty was trading at 6,046 mark, down over 70 points.
Adds Mudit Goyal, Technical Analyst, SMC Global, “Currently index is moving below its 21EMA, 50EMA and 100EMA on daily charts which indicates that Short term and medium term bias remains negative for the markets. For near term, Key support is seen around 5980-5970 levels and on the upper side, index can face hurdle around 6180-6200 levels.”
Traders will roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the near month January 2014 series to February 2014 series. The January 2014 F&O contracts expire today.
Meanwhile, Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 250.48 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
On the global front, Japan's Nikkei share average tumbled more than 3% on Thursday morning after the US Federal Reserve scaled back stimulus amid emerging market turmoil, while a rise in the yen soured overall sentiment.
The Nikkei dropped 3.3% to 14,873.03 in mid-morning trade after falling to as far as 14,853.83, the lowest since November 14. The index's support is seen at 14,731.17, a 61.8 retracement from an October low to a December high.
A spike in the yen soured market sentiment after the Fed, in a widely expected move, cut its bond purchases by another $10 billion to $65 billion a month. The decision sent investors scurrying to the safety of bonds and yen.
Back home, the rupee weakened in early trades as the US Fed announced further tapering of $ 10 billion. The first round of tapering of an equal quantum was announced last month.
Bank of India, Hero Motocorp, HCC, Indbulls Real Estate, JSW Energy, Phoenix Mills, Shoppers Stop, Siemens, Sintex Inds and Voltas will unveil their third quarter earnings today.
On the sectoral front, BSE Realty and Metal indices have surged by nearly 3% each followed by counters like Banks, FMCG, Capital Goods, Power, Oil & Gas and Auto, all falling between 1-2%. Infact all the major BSE sectoral indices are trading in red zone.
Banking shares continue under pressure in six straight trading sessions with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Bank Nifty hits its lowest level since October last year.
Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda and Indusind Bank have slipped by 3% each, while State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank are down by 2% each.
The NSE banking share index, Bank Nifty is down 2% or 210 points at 10,228, hits three month low following the US Federal Reserve announcing plans to scale back its bond purchases by another US$10 billion.
Other notable losers are Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, BHEL, Hindalco, Hero Moto, ITC and Tata Power.
Among other shares, Crompton Greaves is trading higher by 4% at Rs 106 after reporting a consolidated net profit at Rs 62 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q3), on back of higher sales. The company had recorded loss of Rs 189 crore in the same quarter year ago.
Titan Company is trading lower by 3% at Rs 208 on reporting 19% year-on-year (yoy) decline in net profit at Rs 166 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q3) on account of extremely poor retail sales during the quarter. The company had profit of Rs 204 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal.
TVS Motor Company is trading higher by 2.5% at Rs 72.65, extending its previous day’s 5% rally, after reporting a healthy 31% year-on-year (yoy) growth its net profit at Rs 68.80 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q3), driven by a strong operating performance and sharp decline in finance cost. The two-three wheeler manufacture had a profit of Rs 52.45 crore in the same period previous fiscal.
The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down by over 1.3%.
The market breadth in BSE remains dismal with 1,329 shares declining and 529 shares advancing.
