Nifty ends above 5300 1st time since Apr; metals up 2%

The BSE Sensex remained in a consolidation phase for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, especially after a smart rally of more than 400 points on last Friday due to European Union Summit. Volumes were quite low in the beginning of July as compared to previous month, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks - The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.9%.

The NSE Nifty closed above the 5300 level for the first time since April 19, 2012 that rose 14.60 points to close at 5,302.55. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark moved up 37.10 points to 17,462.81.

TS Anantakrishnan, director, Prime Broking says, more than the global factors, the Nifty will be driven by local factors. "From a broad market perspective, we think the range will be between 5,100 and 5,500. But I think it's more stock specific. Within the same sector, there is huge divergence in terms of returns," he adds.

Metal stocks were quite strong today as the BSE Metal Index surged 2%. Sterlite Industries topped the buying list, rising over 5%. Sesa Goa shot up over 4% and Jindal Steel gained 3.4%. Tata Steel and Hindalco were up over 1%.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rallied for the second consecutive session after TDSAT verdict. The stock rose 2%. Country's largest lender State Bank of India rose 1.85%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro moved up 0.9% as its subsidiary L&T construction has received orders worth Rs 1,523 crore. State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL was up 0.7%. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki spiked 2.56%.

However, state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC declined 1.9% as WTI crude spiked 4% yesterday. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down just 0.3%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down 0.3% and 1%, respectively. Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro dropped 0.66% and 1.5%, respectively.

Air-conditioner manufacturers Hitachi Home & Life Solutions shot up 20% and Whirlpool of India rose 10%. Voltas was up 7% and Blue Star rallied 12.56%.

In the second line shares, JSW Steel, Uttam Galva Steel and Hindustan Zinc jumped 3-6.6%. Kalyani Steels spiked 16%.

Ashok Leyland, HDIL, Dish TV, Indiabulls Real, Punj Lloyd and GMR Infrastructure rallied 2-5%. However, Sun TV, Crompton and Titan Industries were down 1.5-3%.

About two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

European shares retreated from two-month highs after three days of gains made on hopes of more monetary stimulus from central banks and progress made in dealing with the euro zone debt crisis. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 0.2%-0.4%.

Activity was expected to be subdued with US markets closed for the Independence Day holiday, and ahead of meetings of European Central Bank and Bank of England policy makers on Thursday.

At 15:02 hours IST: Nifty, Sensex lacklustre; midcaps, smallcaps outperform

Indian equity benchmarks were complete lacklustre in trade today as banks, metals, auto and telecom stocks were supporting the market whereas oil & gas, FMCG and select technology stocks were under pressure.

The BSE benchmark went up 49 points to 17,474.53 and the NSE benchmark was up 18 points to 5,305.90.

The Indian rupee recovered quite sharply from day's low of 54.75 against the US dollar, which gained 4 paise at 54.32 a dollar.

Sterlite Industries topped the buying list, rising 5.5%. Jindal Steel surged 4% while Tata Steel gained 2%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied 2% while its rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were up 0.4% each.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 1% as its subsidiary secured contracts worth Rs 1,523 crore.

However, shares of ONGC and Wipro were down 1.5%. Tata Motors, Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, HUL and Coal India declined 0.4-0.8%.

In the second line shares, Blue Star, Whirlpool, Sterlite Tech, Voltas and Edelweiss Financial shot up 7-14% whereas City Union Bank, India Cements, Bajaj Electricals, Alstom T&D and S Mobility declined 2-3%.

The market breadth remained positive; advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1683 to 1098 on the BSE.

At 14 hours IST: Nifty in tight range; Jindal Steel, Sterlite rally 4%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were consistently moving around their previous closing values. The market has been consolidating for third consecutive session today due to lack of domestic and global cues.

The BSE benchmark was down 2.73 points to 17,423 and the NSE benchmark was flat at 5,288. However, European markets were down 0.4-0.6%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India climbed 1.76% and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rose 1.5%.

Metals stocks remained strong - Jindal Steel & Power surged 4% and Sterlite Industries jumped 3.6%. Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries were up 1-1.5% while Sesa Goa rallied nearly 3%.

Among auto stocks, top car maker Maruti Suzuki advanced over 2% and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra was up 1%. Two-wheeler majors Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto gained 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively whereas Tata Motors declined 0.4%.

However, state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC tanked 2% and index heavyweight Reliance Industries slipped 0.5%.

Software services exporter Infosys fell 0.9% while its rival Wipro plunged nearly 2%. FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down 0.6-1%.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks, rising more than 0.5%. Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1527 to 1146 on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Whirlpool, StanChart IDR, Blue Star, Sterlite Tech and Hathway Cable surged 8-9% whereas Allcargo, Bajaj Electricals, City Union Bank, India Cements and S Mobility dropped 2-3%.

At 12:58 hours IST: Choppy Sensex erases early gains; Rupee falls 26 paise

The 50-share NSE Nifty erased early gains amid volatility due to further fall in technology, oil & gas and FMCG stocks. However, the buying interest in metals, banks and auto stocks remained supportive.

The BSE benchmark was down 10 points to 17,415.55 and the NSE benchmark declined 1.2 points to 5,286.75. European markets started off trade on a flat note on Wednesday as investors looked cautiously ahead to the ECB meeting.

The Indian rupee, which rose sharply in four previous sessions, fell by 26 paise to 54.62 against the US dollar.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.5% and 2%, respectively whereas Cairn India rose 1% due to a rally of more than 4% in WTI crude yesterday.

Country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys declined over 0.5% while their rival Wipro tanked 2%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down 0.5-1%. Healthcare companies like Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma slipped 1-2%.

However, Jindal Steel & Power rebounded quite sharply after a fall in previous two sessions due to Odisha Government has ordered stoppage of operations at Keonjhar Mines. The stock rallied over 4%. Sterlite Industries surged 3% while Hindalco and Tata Steel were up 1.4%.

Top lender State Bank of India and telecom operator Bharti Airtel went up over 1% each. Car maker Maruti Suzuki gained over 2%.

The broader markets were outperforming benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices moved up 0.5-0.7%.

At 11:35 hours IST: Volatile Sensex flat; technology, oil & gas stocks down

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty remained lacklustre for third consecutive session today due to lack of global and domestic cues. In actual, globally every market is waiting for the ECB meet scheduled for July 5 as investors expect some policy action to ease ongoing Eurozone debt crisis. Among Asian markets, Nikkei, Kospi and Straits Times moved up over 0.5% while Shanghai, Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted were flat.
 
The BSE benchmark went up 28.60 points to 17454.31 and the NSE benchmark gained 8.55 points at 5,296.50. However, the Indian rupee depreciated by 14 paise to 54.50 against the US dollar after rising in four previous sessions from 57.15 a dollar.

Metal stocks extended gains as copper surged 2.5% yesterday on London Metal Exchange (on hopes of monetary easing in China). A state-owned newspaper in China said the time is ripe for a reduction in banks' reserve-requirement ratios, which means monetary easing.

Shares of Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel and Sesa Goa rallied 3-3.5%. Tata Steel and Hindalco were up over 1%. The BSE Metal Index gained nearly 2%.

Housing finance company HDFC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel rose 1% and 1.5%, respectively.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India was up 1.5% while its rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were up around 0.5%.

However, state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC tanked 2.5% as sharp rally in crude oil prices could be the reason. Iran missile tests and Bullish API report aided crude oil rally. Brent crude hit a session high of USD 101.6 a barrel while WTI crude was up 4% at USD 87.7 a barrel as API says inventory was down by 3 million barrels yesterday.

Shares of HUL, Reliance Industries, TCS, Infosys and ITC were trading marginally lower. Technology stocks were down due to volatility in rupee; Wipro was down 1.5%.

Most active shares on the BSE were State Bank of India, OnMobile Global, Reliance Capital, Indraprastha Gas and HDIL.

In the second line shares, Whirlpool, Blue Star, Voltas, Anant Raj Industries and Hindustan National Glass gained 5-9%.

Smallcap stocks like Hitachi Home shot up 16% and Symphony was up 13%. Industrial Investment, OnMobile Global and Goodricke Group rallied 9-10%.

About two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

At 10:14 hours IST: Nifty moves around 5300; Maruti, JSPL, Sterlite up over 2%

Indian equity benchmarks stayed slightly higher amid choppy trade led by buying interest in banks, telecom, metals, capital goods and auto stocks. However, the fall in oil & gas, technology and FMCG has limited the upside.

The NSE Nifty has been hovering around the 5300 level as it is looking for fresh trigger to move either side. Index rose 15.45 points to 5,303.40 while the BSE Sensex gained 53.88 points at 17,479.59.

Alok Sama, Baer Capital Partners expects a fairly reasonable rally in India. He is cautiously optimistic on India.

According to him, the market is at an interesting stage where a confluence of local and global factors could provide it with some reasonable positive momentum.

Asian markets have been trading higher since yesterday on hopes of some policy action by European Central Bank in its meet scheduled for July 5.

Back home, country's largest lender State Bank of India jumped 1.34% while its rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank advanced 0.5%. Housing finance company HDFC gained 0.65%.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel continued to gain since yesterday, rising 1.27%. Private power producer Tata Power moved up over 1%.

Among auto stocks, commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors rallied over 1% while top car maker Maruti Suzuki shot up 2.4%.

Metals stocks like Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, Hindalco and Sterlite Industries jumped 1-2.7%. Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 0.5% and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL was up 1.3%.

However, oil & gas producer ONGC slipped 1.7% and BPCL was down 0.7% as crude oil prices shot up in international market. WTI crude was up 4% at USD 87.7 a barrel as API says, inventory was down by 3 million barrels yesterday.

Shares of HUL and Wipro declined 1% each. Reliance Industries, TCS and Sun Pharma were trading marginally lower.

The broader markets gained more than 0.5% as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 869 to 365 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty trade marginally higher; banks stocks up

The BSE Sensex opened more than 80 points higher on Wednesday while the NSE benchmark has been moving around 5300 level since the start of this week. Benchmarks have been looking for a fresh trigger (which could be like fresh reforms from new finance minister or ECB meet scheduled for July 5) to extend gains.

The BSE benchmark was up 57.65 points to 17,483.36 and the NSE benchmark gained 18.65 points at 5,306.60.

State Bank of India, Tata Motors, HDFC, L&T, Tata Steel, Cipla, PNB, ICICI Bank, Sesa Goa, JSPL, Hindalco, Maruti, Hero Motocorp, BHEL and ITC were on buyers' radar.

WTI crude shot up 4% yesterday that resulted a rise of 1% in Cairn India and a fall of nearly 1% in BPCL.

However, HUL and ONGC were down over 0.5%.

The CNX Midcap Index was up 38 points at 7,505. The market breadth was strong; about four shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Ashok Leyland shot up over 3% post sales numbers for June.

Gujarat Pipavav was up 2.5% as the company launched qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue. It is planning to raise USD 36.39 million.

HOEC rose 0.7%. Brigade Enterprises, GVK Power and Lanco Infratech were up 1% while NCC was down 1%.

Eveready surged 4.5%. 3i Infotech was up nearly 2% as ICICI Bank acquired 8.9 crore shares (20.51%) of the company via conversion of preference shares and loan conversion to CDR scheme.

Jet Airways shot up 2%. Idea Cellular gained 1%, even after no conclusion at cabinet meet.

Essar Oil declined 0.6% as Gujarat HC has rejected company's plea for relief in repayment of over Rs 8,000 crore due as sales tax.

Berger Paints rose 2.5% as The Hindu Business Line reported that it is looking for acquisitions both in India and abroad.

Indiabulls Securities and Usha Martin surged 4% each.