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Markets finished the day on a lower note with Nifty closing below 8,600 on the back of weak quarterly numbers posted by some of the prominent largecaps amid a depreciating rupee. Meanwhile, the deadlock between the government and the opposition in the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament continues to dampen sentiment.
Provisionally, the Sensex lost 149 points to close at 28,356 and the Nifty shed 47 points to end at 8,587.
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(updated at 15:00 PM)Benchmark indices are trading lower amid volatility, weighed down by weak earnings reported by blue-chip companies such as Lupin and Bajaj Auto. However, the downside is limited due to buying in auto shares.
At 15:00PM, the Sensex was down 77 points at 28,428 and the Nifty was down 29 points at 8,605.
In the broader market, the small-cap stocks are in focus with the Small-cap index up nearly 1%; the Mid-cap index is, however, marginally down. Market breadth remains positive with 1,464 gainers and 1,255 losers on the BSE.
Market participants will continue to keenly watch the developments in Parliament, with the Modi government hopeful of the passage of the GST Bill during the present monsoon session.
RUPEE
The rupee remains weak with 14 paise to 63.71 against the US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange following gains in the American currency against major currencies globally.
RESULT IMPACT
Bajaj Auto has shed over 4% post its quarterly results as the company’s operating profit failed to meet the street expectations. The company reported a 37.14% increase in its standalone net profit at Rs 1,014.80 crore for the first quarter ended on June 30.
Lupin has dipped 6% at Rs 1,714 on the NSE after the drug maker reported a 16% year-on-year (YoY) drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 525 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 (Q1), due to lower sales.
Ceat is up 8% after the company reported a 134.2% increase in net profit in the June quarter to Rs.121.01 crore compared with Rs51.67 crore a year ago.
Bajaj Finserv has climbed 4% after the company reported a 46% jump in net profit in the June quarter aided mainly by robust profit from life insurance business.
Container Corporation of India has shed 3.6% after the company reported a 21% decline in net profit to Rs.206.9 crore in the June quarter compared with Rs.261.88 crore a year ago.
Alstom India is up 3.2% after the company reported a 46.3% decline in net profit in the June quarter to Rs.8.05 crore compared with Rs.14.99 crore a year ago.
KPIT Technologies has rallied 12.3% after the company posted consolidated net profit of Rs.44.4 crore in the June quarter, down 11.7% from a quarter ago.
SECTORS & STOCKS
Sectors such as Healthcare, Capital Goods, Banks, IT, Metal and Power have slumped 0.1-1% each. However, BSE Consumer Durables index has surged over 2% followed by sectors such as Auto, Oil & Gas, Realty and FMCG, all gaining 0.3-1% each.
Banking majors, including ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank have plunged 0.5-1.1% each. The Reserve Bank is likely to keep interest rates on hold in the next month's monetary policy meet, but may slash the key lending rate by a 50-75 basis points by March 2016, Morgan Stanley today said.
The investment firm believes that the RBI will leave the interest rates unchanged in its August 4 policy review meet given the acceleration in June headline CPI inflation and increase in core CPI for the third consecutive month.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has received the highest number of complaints for call drops against Bharti Airtel. Shares of Bharti Airtel are down over 1%.
Tata Steel is down over 3% on weak industry outlook with the global crude steel output slipping 2%. Among its peers, Hindalco and Vedanta have lost up to 1% each.
Shares of consumer goods companies are trading higher in a weak market on hopes of passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill during the present monsoon session; the consumer durables sector is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of GST.
Rajesh Exports, PC Jeweller and Titan have gained 1-10% each. Bajaj Electrical, Bajaj Electronics, Symphony, Whirlpool India and Honeywell are trading higher by 2-6% each.
From the auto space, Tata Motors, M&M and Maruti Suzuki have gained 1-1.5% each.
Shares of Cairn India rallied nearly 7% on the NSE, on media reports that Britain's Cairn Energy Plc is set to vote against Vedanta buyout offer for Cairn India's minority shareholders.
GLOBAL MARKETS
A raft of forecast-beating corporate results kept European equities afloat on Thursday, shrugging off declines in Asia on the back of mixed regional data.
Top euro-zone equities were up 0.3%, slightly outperforming the broader pan-European FTSE 300 index. The MSCI All-Country World index also rose.
Asian shares edged lower on Thursday as mixed regional data and overnight declines on Wall Street prompted investors to take profits, while the dollar held steady as expectations for a rise in U.S. interest rates were strengthened by buoyant home sales.
With Reuters input
