 "Nifty holds 7,700 amid volatile trade; Metal shares drop")
National Stock Exchange
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At 14:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 94 points at 25,136 and the Nifty50 was down 31 points at 7,716. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 0.5% each.
After remaining buyers in the previous sessions, foreign institutional investors turned net sellers in equities worth Rs 755 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
Global crude oil prices eased after the dollar gained momentum and higher output from Metal .
shares were among the top losers with Hindalco and Tata Steel down over 4% each on the back of weak April manufacturing data from China, the world's largest consumer. China's manufacturing activity expanded at a slower pact in April. April PMI stood at 50.1 against market expectations of 50.3.
Adani Ports was the top Sensex loser down nearly 10% on concerns over equtiy dilution after the board, at its meeting held on Tuesday, May 03, approved raising of funds by various financial instruments for an aggregate amount up to Rs 10,000 crore.
Tata Motors dropped nearly 5% after weak JLR sales in the US during April 2016.
Oil explorers ONGC, Oil India and Cairn India were down 1%-3% each tracking weakness in global crude oil prices.
HDFC was up over 3% after a foreign brokerage upgraded the stock post its March quarter earnings. The housing finance major reported net profit of Rs 2,607 crore for the quarter ended March (Q4FY16), up 40 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), which was way ahead of Bloomberg consensus estimate of Rs 2,303 crore.
Among other shares, JSW Energy announced its plans to acquire Jindal Steel & Power's (JSPL) Chhattisgarh power plant for Rs 6,500 crore. The Naveen Jindal-promoted JSPL has been looking to sell its assets as part of monetisation plans to generate cash flows. JSPL is trading with marginal gains. However, JSW Energy was up 0.2% and Jindal Steel & Power eased 1.9%.
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals (GNFC) was up 3.5%, extending its past one-week rally on the BSE in an otherwise weak market after reporting strong set of numbers for the quarter ended March 2016 (Q4FY16).
BASF India has surged 5% after the company reported a net profit at Rs 77 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2016 (Q4), on back of strong operational performance and one-time gain due to profit on sale of its non-core assets.
