Nifty ends above 5900; ITC hits life high, IT stocks up

Key equity benchmarks closed in green after consolidating for most part of the day. The action was by and large limited around the stocks that had declared their results. Positive regional shares helped the Nifty to close above 5900 mark once again.

Broking house Religare expects to see some correction in Indian stocks in May due to macroeconomic headwinds. The May selloff is likely despite the satisfactory Jan-March corporate results so far and a possible 25 basis points reduction in interest rates by the RBI on May 3.

The Sensex closed at 19387.5 up 100 points and the Nifty closed at 5904 up 32 points. 

Largecap IT stocks ended in green on the back of short covering. However, midcap IT stocks disappointed the street mirroring lackluster earnings performance of some of the largcap IT stocks. Hexaware, Polaris and Geometric missed street estimates on the operation front.

Realty stocks also surged in trade today ahead of the RBI credit policy on May 3. Shares of DLF, HDIL, Indiabulls Real Estate and Unitech were up between 1-6 percent.

Auto majors Hero Moto and Maruti Suzuki continued their good run after companies outperformed earnings estimate on Friday.

ITC closed at all-time high after its rival HUL posted better-than-expected results despite challenging environment.

The biggest earning shocker of the day so far was Indian Overseas Bank. The bank reported net profit of Rs 58.7 crore, ad drop of close to 90 percent over the previous year figures. The stock closed with 7 percent losses.

Bank of Maharashtra on the other hand ended 20 percent higher over its previous close. The bank's net profit jumped more than 300 percent to Rs 259 crore in the fourth quarter compared to previous year.

Nifty recovered from its early losses to scale above 5900. The NSE benchmark gained 40.85 points to trade at 5912.30 while the BSE Sensex surged 125.66 points to trade at 19412.38.

Consumer Durables, FMCG and realty stocks were lending strength to the indices while metal stocks continued their southward journey. Midcap universe was going strong as well with Reliance Communication (up 8.4 percent), Jain Irrigation (up 5.8 percent) and Idea (3.1 percent) being some of the top gainers there.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) surged 6.5 percent as it beat expectations in the January- March quarter earnings by registering a 14.6 percent year-on-year rise in its net profit to Rs 787 crore.  During the period, net sales grew slightly higher-than-expected by 12.5 percent to Rs 6,367.1 crore from Rs 5,660 crore Y-o-Y.

Other lead gainers in the Sensex were Hero MotoCorp, Wipro, Sterlite and ITC. Meanwhile, on the losing side were Jindal Steel, Coal India, Sun Pharma, HDFC and L&T.

Delta Corp was still down 6.9 percent on the BSE.

The Nifty was trading flat in the afternoon session as traders maintained a cautious stance ahead of the RBI credit policy on May 3. The uncertainty on the political front was also keeping traders in check. European markets opened in green. The market will remain shut on Wednesday.

The Sensex was up 0.77 point 19287.49, and the Nifty was up 3.90 points at 5875.35. About 1164 shares advanced, 1006 shares declined, and 1500 shares remain unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp was top gainer in the Sensex, up almost 3 percent. Wipro was up 2.4 percent on short covering. Jindal Steel touched fresh 52-week low after disappointing results.

IT stocks bounced back in trade today after hammering last week. HCL Tech and Wipro were up over 2 percent each.

Realty stocks were doing well today. Indiabulls Real Estate was up around 7 percent, HDIL gained 2.7 percent, Unitech was up 1.9 percent.

BSE banking index has surged 10 percent this month as many believe RBI will cut interest rates this Friday. In the aviation sector, SpiceJet has rallied 43.34 percent so far this month while Jet Airways has risen 18.72 percent on renewed optimism post Jet-Etihad deal.

Sterlite Industries' copper smelter will remain shut for now as a local environmental court transferred a case over its closure to New Delhi, extending a month-long closure at the facility that meets half of the country's copper demand, reported Reuters. The stock was up 1 percent ahead of results.

Transformers and Rectifiers was one of the biggest gainers in the broader market. "The company is confident of maintaining growth rate going forward. Currently, it has total order book of Rs 650 crore," said the company's management to CNBC-TV18.

Key equity benchmarks consolidated in the afternoon trade tracking positive regional shares. Asian shares inched ahead while the dollar lost ground as investors counted on easy money from central banks in the euro zone and United States to offset the risk of further disappointment from global economic data, reported Reuters.

The Sensex was up 21 points at 19307, and the Nifty was up 6 points at 5877. The breadth of the market was neutral. About 1051 shares advanced, 961 shares declined, and 1658 shares remain unchanged.

Stocks of auto, power, PSU and realty sectors were leading from the front. Metal stocks were trading sluggish. The action was mainly seen in stocks which have either declared the results or will declare them today.

Shares in Hero MotoCorp rose 3.6 percent after the company's January-March operating profit margins beat street estimates for the first time in six quarters.

Buying activity also triggered in Maruti Suzuki which came out with better-than-expected earnings on Friday. Stocks of country's largest car maker rose 1.77 per cent to Rs 1,703 after company reported 79.4 per cent jump in its standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31 at Rs 1,147.5 crore.

ICICI Bank was also up 1 percent today after the hammering it received on Friday post results. FMCG major HUL is down 1 percent ahead of its earnings today. The stock has lost more than 12 percent so far this year.

Jindal Steel, Ambuja Cements, ACC, NMDC and Axis Bank were major laggards in the Nifty.

Key gainers in the broader markets were Indian Infotech, Coromandel International, Sun Pharma Advanced, TTK Prestige and Infotech Enterprises, up between 4-14 percent.

Laggards included Delta Corp, Bajaj Finance, Federal Bank, Parsvnath and NBCC, down 3-6 percent.

Ruchi Soya shares were up nearly 4 percent post joint venture announcement with Kagome and Mitsui

In the currency market, the rupee was trading at 54.30 per dollar. Gold was trading flat at Rs 27158 per 10 grams.

The market continued its uptrend led by technology and oil and gas stocks. The Sensex gained 81.55 points at 19368.27 while the Nifty was up 21.30 points at 5892.75. Broader market too were in the positive terrain.

Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, Wipro, Strelite and Infosys were the lead gainers in the Sensex.

Lanco Infratech surged around 10 percent today after months of negotiation its Australian arm ended the USD 3.5 billion litigation with Perdaman Chemicals.

Raymond was up 2.9 percent on better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) improved 110 baisis points year-on-year to 9.1 percent vs 7.9 percent while net sales were up 13 percent Y-o-Y.

Suzlon was up 2.1 percent after its subsidiary REpower announced a plan to streamline operations.

Meanwhile, Jindal Steel, HUL, SBI, Hindalco and HDFC dragged in the first hour of trading. Stocks like Hindustan Lever, Sterlite Industries, Hexaware and ING Vysya will be in action ahead of announcement of January-March quarterly results to be announced today.

Jaypee Infra was down 2 percent after the net profits dipped more than 57 percent to Rs 148.5 crore while the sales were slightly higher at Rs 958 crore.

Benchmark indices were up slightly in early trade Monday. Brokers said increased political uncertainty in view of the Opposition's latest attacks on the government could limit upside near term.

The BSE Sensex was up 51 points at 19338, and the Nifty was up 11.65 points at 5883.

Shares from the power, pharma and auto sectors were firm, while banking, IT and metal shares were sluggish.

Key gainers included LIC Housing, Suzlon, Indraprastha Gas, Castrol and Hero Motocorp, up between 2-4 percent.

Laggards included Jindal Steel, Ambuja Cements, Federal Bank, Exide and Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services, down 2-5 percent.

Hindustan Unilever and Sterlite Industries will be announcing quarterly numbers later today.

A key trigger for the market this week is the review of the RBI's monetary policy this Friday. The market is expecting a 25 basis point-cut in interest rates.