Sensex closes 76 points up amid volatility; banks, infra lead

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed marginally higher amid a rangebound trade on Thursday. Consolidation mode for the fourth consecutive session indicated that investors are keenly waiting for the decision by European Central Bank after European Summit and disappointing manufacturing data. Locally first quarter results of FY13 and inflation data (ahead of RBI's first quarter review of monetary policy) will also be closely watched by investors.

The BSE benchmark rose 75.86 points to close at 17,538.67 and the NSE benchmark went up 24.75 points to 5,327.30 ever after the sharp fall in rupee.

The statement from Mauritius Foreign Ministry saying India has assured Mauritius economic interests won't be harmed also helped market extend gains in last couple of trade. Mauritius Foreign Ministry said, "We have made offers to India w.r.t to tax treaty revision and the meeting of joint working group will take place on August 27-28.

The Indian rupee was quite volatile today that depreciated by 57 paise or 1.07% to 55.05 against the US dollar ahead of ECB meeting.

The European Central Bank is widely expected to cut borrowing costs to a record low on Thursday to support a deteriorating euro zone economy and complement measures agreed by government leaders last week to tackle the bloc's debt crisis. France CAC was flat while Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX were marginally higher.

Economic surveys released on Wednesday suggested even euro zone powerhouse Germany is entering a modest downturn and investors want the ECB to take action. The consensus forecast is for a 1/4-percentage point cut in its main interest rate.

Back home, cigarette major ITC rose 1.6% and India's most valued stock Reliance Industries was up 0.6%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank rallied 2% while its rivals HDFC Bank and State Bank of India were up 0.86% and 0.36%, respectively.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki climbed 1.6%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro gained 0.8% and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL rose 1%.

Drug maker Cipla topped the buying list, rising 2.67%. However, oil & gas producer ONGC tumbled over 2%.

Shares of software services exporter TCS and telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down 0.6% and 0.8%, respectively. Bajaj Auto, country's second largest two-wheeler maker fell 1.8%.

(With inputs from Reuters)

At 15:02 hours IST: Sensex gains 70 pts; Cipla tops buy list, ONGC tanks 2%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed higher due to buying interest in banks, capital goods, FMCG, auto and power stocks. Reliance Industries too was quite supportive since early trade, rising 0.8%.

The BSE benchmark gained 70 points at 17,533 and the NSE benchmark rose 20.65 points to 5,323.20. The broader markets like BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up over 1%.

Drug maker Cipla topped the buying list, rising 2.8% whereas Dr Reddy's Labs declined 0.8%.

Cigarette major ITC, top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and country's largest private sector lender were up 1.6% each.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro went up 0.86% and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL gained 1%.

Top lender State Bank of India rose 0.5% while its rival HDFC Bank moved up 0.8%.

However, state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC tanked over 2%. Second largest two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto slipped 1.6%.

Software services exporter TCS and telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down 0.5% each.

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

In the second line shares, Shoppers Stop, Anant Raj Industries, Trent, Schneider Electric and Shree Renuka rallied 5.5-8.5% whereas J&K Bank, Bajaj Holdings, Sobha Developer, AIA Engineering and Godfrey Phillip lost 2-3%.

Among smallcap stocks, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Ram Kaashyap, Nitin Fire Protection, UB Holdings and Dhanlaxmi Bank surged 11-16%. However, Vaarad Ventures, Jai Balaji, Numeric Power, Symphony and Inventure Growth fell 3.5-4.5%.

At 13:58 hours IST: Volatile Sensex, Nifty gain strength; banking stocks lead

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty gained some strength in afternoon trade after Mauritius Foreign Ministry says India has assured Mauritius economic interests won't be harmed.

Mauritius Foreign Ministry said, "We have made offers to India w.r.t to tax treaty revision and the meeting of joint working group will take place on August 27-28.

The BSE benchmark rose 79 points to 17,541.83 and the NSE benchmark gained 22 points at 5,324.55 amid volatility.

Country's largest private secto lender ICICI Bank climbed over 1% while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were up 0.4%. The Bank Nifty went up 0.6%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro and state-owned power equipment manufacturer rallied 1% each.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL went up 1% too. India's most valued stock Reliance Industries also gained 1%.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors was up 1.4% and car maker Maruti Suzuki moved up more than 2%.

However, country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys were marginally lower. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel was down 0.5% and state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC tanked 2%.

At 12:42 hours IST: Sensex remains flat; retail, rice stocks on buyers' radar

Indian equity benchmarks remained volatile, but the midcap and smallcap stocks were on buyers' radar. European markets opened flat ahead of European Central Bank meet later in the day today. Market experts feel the central bank may cut rate by 25 basis points.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 28 points to 17,490.62 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 5.4 points to 5,307.95.

Index heavyweights like oil & gas producer Reliance Industries, cigarette major ITC and private sector lender ICICI Bank moved up over 0.7%.

Shares of Jindal Steel and Cipla topped the buying list, rising 2% each. Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro and top lender State Bank of India advanced 0.4% each.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL jumped 1.3%. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra and top car maker Maruti Suzuki gained 0.6%.

The fall in shares of TCS, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors and ONGC (down 1.2%) has limited the upside.

The Indian rupee was quite choppy in trade ahead of ECB meeting, which declined 50 paise to 54.98 against the dollar.

Retail stocks were trading sharply higher after sources said Congress ruled states to go ahead with foreign direct investment in retail sector. Shoppers Stop rose 10% and Pantaloon Retail gained 5%.

Rice stocks were on buyers' radar after the Indian government has removed minimum export price of basmati rice. KRBL, Kohinoor Foods and LT Foods were up 9-13%.

At 11:57 hours IST: Sensex lacklustre; FMCG, capital goods, Reliance gain

The market has been in a consolidation mode for the fourth consecutive session today ahead of major events like European Central Bank's decision later in the day, quarterly earnings (that will start next week) and inflation data (that will decide the RBI's move on July 31).

The BSE benchmark rose 26 points to 17,488.75 and the NSE benchmark gained 4.6 points at 5,307.15. However, the broader markets extended gains - The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.75% and Smallcap Index went up 1.2%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL rebounded after yesterday's fall, rising 1% each. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were up over 0.3%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro moved up 0.5% and power equipment maker BHEL was up 1.4%.

Jindal Steel & Power gained for second consecutive session today, rising 1.55% after surging over 4% yesterday while other metals stocks were flat.

10:15 hours IST: Nifty ranged around 5300; midcaps, smallcaps outperform

The 50-share NSE Nifty has been in a range around 5300 level since the start of this week as investors shifted their focus to first quarter earnings (of FY13) that will be kicked off next week. Inflation and industrial output data will also be watched ahead of the first quarter review of monetary policy on July 31 by the Reserve Bank of India.

The BSE benchmark rose 11.49 points to 17,474.30 and the NSE benchmark was up 1.2 points to 5,303.75. The Indian rupee was quite volatile since yesterday. It depreciated by 30 paise to 54.78 against the US dollar after hitting a day's low of 55.02 a dollar.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock moved up 0.5% whereas state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC declined 0.7%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL bounced back, rising 0.5-1%. Utility vehicle major M&M, top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp gained 0.4-1% whereas Bajaj Auto tanked 2%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro went up 0.7% and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL moved up 1.3%.

However, country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys were down 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Top private sector lender ICICI Bank declined 0.4% while its rival State Bank of India was up 0.2%.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. About two shares advanced for every shares declining on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Trent, Shoppers Stop, Anant Raj Industries, Pantaloon Retail and KSK Energy Ventures surged 5-10%.

Among smallcap stocks, UB Holdings, Nitin Fire Protection, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, KRBL and Surya Roshni were up 8-13%.

Asian markets retreated on Thursday ahead of the European Central Bank's policy decision later in the day. Market experts feel the central bank may cut rates by 25 basis points today. Shanghai was down 1.2% while Hang Seng and Nikkei fell 0.3% each.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty flat; Rupee falls 1% to 55/$

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started off trade on a flat note for fourth consecutive session on Thursday. Investors may be waiting for decision by European Central Bank today and the first quarter results of FY13 (that will be kicked off next week with Infosys). Industrial output and inflation data (next week) will also be closely watched by investors.

The BSE benchmark was down 23.22 points at 17,439.59. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark has been moving around the 5300 level since the beginning of this week, which was down 7.55 points to 5,295.

The Indian rupee fell more than 1% to 55 against the US dollar in early trade.

Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, Head of Research at BofAML expect markets to correct on the back of weak results. "Headline net profit for Sensex companies may grow 13.7%, while sales growth may be the lowest in the last 10 quarters at 16.7%," he explained.

Shares of ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, L&T, ONGC, TCS, SBI, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Wipro and GAIL were under pressure.

However, ITC, Tata Motors, HUL, Sterlite, JSPL, Hindalco, M&M and BHEL gained.

The CNX Midcap Index too was flat, but the market breadth was in favour of advances. Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 500 to 300 on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, rice stocks gained quite sharply after the government has removed minimum export price of basmati rice. KRBL shot up 10% and LT Foods rose 9%. Kohinoor Foods rallied 12.5%.

Sources said Congress ruled states to go ahead with FDI in retail. Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma will call a meeting with all stakeholders next week, say sources. Pantaloon Retail was up 4% and Shoppers Stop rose 9%.

Edelweiss Capital surged 4.5% and Hitachi Home gained 3% (had rallied 20% yesterday). Kingfisher was up over 1% ahead of meeting with lenders at 11 am.

Arvind and Alok Industries were up 1.4%. SKS Microfinance rallied 3% and SPIC gained 5%.

Deccan Chronicle tanked 7% after The Economic Times reported that its debt was downgraded to junk as company defaults on repayment.

Ashok Leyland declined marginally as company (in a analysts' conference) scaled down growth guidance for entire industry due to slowdown.

IFCI and Essar Oil were down 1%.