Sensex down over 100 points; ONGC drops 6%

Markets extended losses in noon trades led by selling pressure in oil shares.

Markets extended losses in noon trades with oil shares leading the decline after reports of attacks on NATO fuel trucks on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

At 12:20PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 130 points at 25,115 and the 50-share Nifty was down 39 points at 7,519.

ONGC was the top Sensex loser down 6.5%, Reliance Industries slipped 2.5% while ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI were down over 1% each.

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(Updated at 11:29AM)
The markets trade flat as gains in power and infra pack offset losses in oil & metal shares. The 30-share Sensex is up 11 points and the 50-share Nifty is up 0.5 points  at 25,257 and 7,558 levels, respectively.

 

 

The broader markets are also trading flat in tandem with their Largecap counterparts. BSE Mid-cap and BSE Small-cap are up marginally by 0.06% and 0.16% each.

 

The market breadth is positive on BSE. 1145 stocks declined while 1224 stocks advanced.

 

US Markets:

 

U.S. stock markets ended on a positive note, with the S&P 500 ending at a record after the Federal Reserve hinted at a slightly faster pace of interest-rate increases starting next year. 

 

The Dow Jones rose 98.13 points or 0.58 percent, to end at 16,906.62, while S&P 500 gained 14.99 points or 0.77 percent, to 1,956.98, a record closing high. The Nasdaq Composite added 25.60 points or 0.59 percent, to 4,362.84.

 

Asian Markets:

 

Asian stocks gained after dovish comments from the US Federal Reserve pushed Wall Street shares to touch record highs. The Federal Reserve indicated that interest rates would stay low for some time at the conclusion of its two-day policy review, which sent the S&P 500 to a record finish. 

 

The central bank said it would cut monthly asset purchases from USD 45 billion to USD 35 billion next month, as expected, and alluded to a slightly faster pace of rate increases next year, while suggesting borrowing costs in the longer term would be lower than before. 

 

Japan’s Nikkie rose 1.2%, Straits Times Index surged 0.08% and Hong Kong'Hang Seng Index gained 0.19%. On the other hand, Shanghai Composite Index dipped 0.6%

 

Rupee:

 

The rupee strengthened to 60 per dollar on Thursday, its highest in almost a week, after the U.S. Federal Reserve pointed out that interest rates will stay low for a while yet.

 

Sectors & Stocks:

 

Technology stocks are witnessing an upsurge as weak rupee against the US dollar boosts the margins of the export-oriented sector.  Infosys, Wipro and TCS up 0.3%-1.4%

 

Shares of Power and infra companies surged as the BJP-led  government has decided to bring reforms in the infrastructure and power sectors and resolve the  country's economic challenges . Tata Power, NTPC, BHEL and Larsen have gained 0.3%-1.7%

 

Index heavy weight ITC rose 0.2%

 

In banking space, ICICI Bank and HDFC rose 0.2-0.4%, whereas Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI lost 0.04%-0.2%

 

Metal shares which gained yesterday have lost ground on account of profit booking. Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite are down 0.8%-1.4%

 

Oil and Gas shares which experienced an upsurge in the recent past on news of oil price hike as Iraq crises deepened have lost on the account of profit booking. ONGC, GAIL and Reliance are down 0.04%-4.5% 

 

In auto space, Tata Motors, M&M and Hero Motocorp are up 0.07%-1.2%. In contrast, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto are down 0.08%-1.1%

 

Pharma stocks are trading mixed with Cipla and Dr Reddy’s Lab up 0.1%-0.5% whereas Sun Pharma is marginally down 0 .01%  

 

Among other shares, DVR, or Differential Voting Rights, shares are in demand and have rallied up to 11% even though their main shares trading flat on the bourses.

 

Shares in Punj Lloyd has surged 7% to Rs 59.55, extending its previous day’s 16% rally, after institutional investors bought over 2 million equity shares for Rs 11.5 crore through open market transaction.