 "Nifty opens near 7,500; PSU banks in foucus")
Markets continue to trade in a tight range oscillating between positive and negative territory amid profit booking after the sharp rally in the previous three sessions capped upside gains.
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At 2:15pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 40 points at 24,646 and Nifty50 was up 19 points at 7,488.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was up 1.1% and the Smallcap index was up 0.8%. Market breadth was strong with 1,448 gainers and 891 losers on the BSE.
The top gainers on the Sensex are BHEL, Cipla, Tata Motors, DrReddy’s, and SBI have all gained between 2% and 4% each.
The top losers on the Sensex are Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, and Asian paints, down between 1% and 2% each.
BSE Metal pack has gained over 2%. Vedanta, Hindalco, JSWSteel, Coal India have all gained between 2% and 5.5% each.
Among other shares, shares of AGC Networks were locked in 20% uppper circuit at Rs 79.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said its cyber security division CYBER-i announced a strategic Managed Services Provider (MSP) partnership with Intel Security to offer outcome based managed security services across the globe.
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(updated 1pm)
Markets continued to trade flat in noon trades as profit booking after the sharp rally in the previous three sessions capped upside gains.
At 1pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 27 points at 24,634 and Nifty50 was up 6 points at 7,481.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap index was up 1.1% and the Smallcap index was up 0.8%. Market breadth was strong with 1,448 gainers and 891 losers on the BSE.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 912 crore on Thursday as per provisional stock exchange data.
Dr Reddy's Lab extended gains and was up 2.3% after the pharma major received the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to launch Aloxi generics.
HDFC is trading with marginal gains. The mortgage lender will raise Rs 1,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures, to cater to its housing finance business needs.
Tata Motors continues to witness buying interest on the back of robust JLR sales in the US and commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market. The stock was up 2.4%.
BHEL was up nearly 4% on commissioning its first 700 mega watt (MW) supercritical thermal unit at Bellary Thermal Power Project (TPP) in Karnataka.
Among others, shares of AGC Networks were locked in 20% uppper circuit at Rs 79.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said its cyber security division CYBER-i announced a strategic Managed Services Provider (MSP) partnership with Intel Security to offer outcome based managed security services across the globe.
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Markets continue to trade in a tight range with financials capping the upside gains as investors sought to profit booking at higher levels. Meanwhile, participants will watch out out for the second edition of Gyan Sangam, a retreat of heads of public sector financial institutions, in the background of the government's strategy to consolidate public sector (PSU) banks.
At 10:20 am, the S&P BSE Sensex has gained 27 points to quote 24,634 at and the Nifty50 has climbed 4 points to quote at 7,479.
(updated at 10:25 am)
After a firm opening, markets have turned flat and the benchmark indices are trading flat with a negative bias as investors book profits at higher and attractive levels. Participants will watch out out for the second edition of Gyan Sangam, a retreat of heads of public sector financial institutions, in the background of the government's strategy to consolidate public sector (PSU) banks.
Further, investors will keep an eye on US non-farm payrolls data due to be released later today.
At 9:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex has shed 25 points to quote 24,581 at and the Nifty50 has lost 19 points to quote at 7,457.
“If Nifty50 holds above 7,400 zones index has potential to continue its momentum towards 7,500-7,550 zones. Whereas on the downside, if it fails to hold 7,365 zones then only bears may again attack the market for a profit booking decline towards next support of 7,270 and 7,240 zones,” according to Anand Rathi morning report.
“If Nifty50 holds above 7,400 zones index has potential to continue its momentum towards 7,500-7,550 zones. Whereas on the downside, if it fails to hold 7,365 zones then only bears may again attack the market for a profit booking decline towards next support of 7,270 and 7,240 zones,” according to Anand Rathi morning report.
Back home, the second edition of a two-day retreat, Gyan Sangam, will outline the reform agenda for the coming year for state-owned banks. The event follows Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget statement that the government will unveil a road map for consolidation in public sector banks.
Asian equities are trading largely in green as participants remain cautious ahead of the US employment report due to be slated today amid volatility in crude oil prices. Japan’s Nikkei, Singapore’s Straits Times, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng are up 0.3%-1.3%. However, China’s Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
Reliance Industries is set to miss its deadline for re-opening all 1,400 retail fuel outlets by March-end. The stock is trading 0.5% lower.
HDFC will raise Rs 1,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures, to cater to its housing finance business needs. The stock is down 1%.
Mahindra and Mahindra Financial Services (MMFSL) plans to raise up to Rs 2,000 crore through a mix of retail bonds and commercial paper (CP) for business expansion. However, the stock has lost over 1%.
Yes Bank has acquired 5% stake in corporate governance and proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS). YES Bank is dow 1%.
Car maker Tata Motors extends gains on the back of good JLR sales numbers and is trading 2% higher.
Dr Reddy's Lab is trading 1% higher after the pharma major received the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to launch Aloxi generics.
PSU banks are trading largely in the red ahead of the second edition of Gyan Sangam, a retreat of heads of public sector financial institutions, in the background of the government's strategy to consolidate public sector (PSU) banks.
Nifty PSU Bank index is down over 1%. Among the prominent laggards are Andhra Bank, SBI, PNB, Canara Bank, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, IOB, Union Bank and Allahabad Bank are down 0.2%-1%
