Sensex closes 80 points up; ICICI Bank, L&T, TCS lead

Strength in last couple of hours of trade led by positive European cues helped the 50-share NSE Nifty get above the 5200 level on Wednesday. But overall the index remained in a tight range around 5150-5300 since last two-three weeks due to lack of major global and domestic cues.

The BSE Sensex rose 79.71 points to close at 17,185.01 after a consolidation and sell-off in previous sessions. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark was up 23.45 points at 5,216.30.

Deepesh Pandey, Head - Investments at IIFL Capital Pte Ltd feels the market is facing lot of uncertainties both on domestic front and global front which is what is keeping it in a narrow range bound manner.

"Hopefully there should be some triggers emerging over next 3-6 months in terms of interest rates, clarity on Europe situation, rainfall situation in India particularly and possibly some reforms that will set a direction for the market. But in the very short term triggers are missing, there are lot of uncertainties which is what is keeping it in a narrow range," he reasoned.

The Indian rupee fell quite sharply in last hour of trade, depreciating by 32 paise to 55.43 against the US dollar at 15:32 hours IST.

Bajaj Auto, India's No. 2 two-wheeler maker rallied over 5% as the company as well as experts feels the worst is over now after first quarter earnings. Earnings met expectations, but there was a disappointment on margin front due to higher employees and tax expenses during the quarter.

Hero Motocorp gained 0.7% on hopes of good numbers in Q1 that will be announced tomorrow. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki rose over 2% whereas commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors fell 2% as it is trading ex-dividend (Rs 4 per share).

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank moved up 1.6% while its rival HDFC Bank was up 0.66%. Top lender State Bank of India dropped 0.6%. PNB and Bank of Baroda were down 2-3%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro surged 1.7% and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL rose 1.5%.

Software services exporters TCS, Wipro and Infosys gained 0.2%-0.8%. Metals stocks bounced back quite sharply today after a fall in previous sessions; Jindal Steel shot up 2.7%; Sterlite Industries was up 2.4% and Tata Steel went up 1.2%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined 0.5%. Pharma major Dr Reddy's Labs tanked nearly 2% ahead of first quarter earnings tomorrow.

In the second line shares, Reliance Mediaworks shot up 5.5% as the company will sell stake in film and media services division for Rs 605 crore.

Tata Communications rose 5.5% as sources said Cabinet would consider demerger of VSNL surplus land on Thursday. Bajaj Finserv jumped 4.4% after strong results in first quarter of FY13.

GTL Infrastructure gained 7% as promoters infused Rs 930 crore in company and subsidiary. GTL rose nearly 3%

Financial Tech and Pantaloon Retail were up 6-7% whereas Kingfisher Airlines, Union Bank of India, Motilal Oswal and Oriental Bank of Commerce were down 2-3%.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.3-0.5% while the market breadth was neutral.

On the global front, European markets traded higher on strong earnings reports from European companies. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were up 0.1-0.6%.

Sensex gains strength on European cues; Bajaj Auto up 4%

The BSE Sensex and NSE NIfty gained strength after a consolidation and downward journey in previous sessions. European markets too moved up further; France's CAC rose over 1% while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE went up 0.5% each.

The BSE benchmark climbed 95 points to 17,200.30 and the NSE benchmark was up 28 points to 5,220.65.

Country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained 1.6% and 1%, respectively. Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro was up 1.5%.

Bajaj Auto, India's No. 2 two-wheeler maker, topped the buying list. The stock shot up 4% as experts feel the worst is over for the company. Company expects margins and sales to improve in coming quarters.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki rose 1.5% while M&M, Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors were down 0.5-2%.

Software services exporters Infosys, TCS and Wipro were up over 0.6%. Housing finance company HDFC too gained 0.6%.

Private power producer Tata Power surged 3%. Among metals and mining stocks, Jindal Steel and Sterlite Industries rallied over 2.4%; Tata Steel and Coal India moved up 1.5%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained over 0.6%.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and State Bank of India lost 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively.

In the second line shares, Bajaj Hindusthan, Shree Renuka Sugars, GMR Infrastructure, Gammon India, HCC, IVRCL, Pantaloon Retail, Provogue and JSW Energy rose 1-6%.

Sensex flat amid seesaw trade; ICICI, L&T on buyers' radar

Indian equities were completely listless in trade as private banks, metals and technology stocks were on buyers' radar whereas the fall in Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and ITC has limited the upside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 23 points to 17,128.43 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 3.3 points to 5,196.15. European markets like Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were marginally higher while France's CAC rose 0.8%.

Country's largest lender ICICI Bank went up 1.2% whereas its rival State Bank of India lost 1.2%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC moved up 0.6% while Reliance Industries fell 0.5%.

Country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto surged 2.7% after first quarter earnings met expectations. The stock had fallen quite sharply in previous sessions in anticipation of lower net profit.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro climbed 0.7% and housing finance company HDFC gained 0.5%.

Private power producer Tata Power shot up 3% and Jindal Steel & Power was up over 2%.

However, top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors crashed 3%. Two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp and utility vehicle maker M&M were down nearly 1%.

Most active shares on exchanges were HUL, SBI, Adani Enterprises, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1408 to 1112 on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Reliance Mediaworks shot up 8% as company will sell stake in film, media services division for Rs 605 crore.

Bajaj Finserv gained 4% after strong numbers in the first quarter. Healthcare stocks continued to attract buyers - Cadila Healthcare rose 4.5% and Shasun Pharma was up 5.5%. Orchid Chemical gained 2.5%.

Greaves Cotton, Shoppers Stop, Pantaloon Retail and Carborundum gained 4-11% whereas Tata Investment Corp, Graphite India, Rajesh Exports, Motilal Oswal and Oriental Bank were down 2.5%-6%.

Nifty in tight range; Tata Power, Bajaj Auto top buy list

The NSE Nifty remained lacklustre since early trade and was moving in a tight range around 5170-5200, even after a fall in Asian markets. Hang Seng, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted dropped 1-1.5% while Shanghai declined 0.6%. Nikkei and Straits Times slipped 0.3% each.

The BSE benchmark went down 17 points to 17,088.31 and the NSE benchmark slipped 8 points to 5,184.80.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India plummeted 1% while its rival ICICI Bank rose 0.55%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was down 0.77% and cigarette major ITC declined 0.5%.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors tanked 2% while Mahindra & Mahindra and M&M went down 1% each. However, Bajaj Auto gained 1.5% after Q1 earnings met expectations.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL were down 1% each.

However, private power producer Tata Power topped the buying list, rising 2.4%.

Housing finance company HDFC and private sector lender HDFC Bank moved up 0.76% and 0.34%, respectively.

India's largest software services exporters TCS, Infosys and Wipro were trading marginally higher.

Metals and mining stocks bounced back after seeing sell-off in previous sessions. Jindal Steel, Tata Steel, Coal India and Sterlite Industries were up 0.5%-1%.

Sensex lacklustre; Reliance, SBI, L&T under pressure

Indian equity benchmarks continued to move around their previous closing values as the market is waiting for further earnings like Reliance (on Friday), L&T and ICICI Bank (next week). The Reserve Bank of India's move on July 31 will also be watched carefully after some improvement in inflation and industrial output data.

The BSE benchmark was down 11 points at 17,094.44 and the NSE benchmark went down 6 points to 5,186.85.

Oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro dropped 0.7% each.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors (is quoting ex-dividend - Rs 4 a share) and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra were down 1.6% each.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India plummeted 0.9% whereas its rival ICICI Bank gained 0.5%.

Two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp (will announce results tomorrow) and Bajaj Auto (will declare earnings today) slipped 1.4% and 0.5%, respectively.

Pharma major Dr Reddy's Labs declined 0.5% on profit booking. State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL went down 1.4%.

Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter and its rival Wipro were up 0.7% each.

Oil & gas producer ONGC rose 1%. Largest mining company Coal India and private power producer Tata Power went up 1.7% each.

Steel stocks like Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel bounced back, rising 0.5-1.5% after falling in previous sessions.

Adani group stocks extended losses: Adani Enterprises tanked 3% and Adani Power was down 2%.

Sensex, Nifty listless; ONGC, Coal India top gainers

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened on a flat note due to lack of domestic cues. ONGC and Coal India topped the buying list, rising 1.5-2% whereas Tata Motors and Hero Motocorp were top losers among largecaps.

The BSE benchmark rose 17 points to 17,122.44 and the NSE benchmark was up 3.35 points at 5,196.20.

On the global front, the US markets bounced back in late trade amid volatility, after Ben Bernanke gave a slight hint of further easing. But that could drive Asian markets higher.

Asian markets were trading lower barring Nikkei. Kospi, Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted fell 0.6% each. Shanghai and Straits Times were flat whereas Nikkei gained 0.2%.

Back home, there are no major results today. The Indian rupee too was flat at 55.11 against the US dollar.

Among frontliners, ONGC, Coal India, HCL Tech, Wipro, ICICI Bank, Ranbaxy Labs, Sun Pharma, HUL and ITC were gainers in early trade.

TCS was up 0.8% as DNA reported that company received a multi-year contract from Scandinavian Airlines for an undisclosed amount.

Axis Bank was up 0.5% on short covering; yesterday it tanked 2% on rising bad loans.

However, Tata Motors lost 1.5%. Bajaj Auto slipped 1.3% ahead of numbers today.

JP Associates, Hero Motocorp (dropped over 1% ahead of numbers tomorrow), NPTC, ACC, Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel, Infosys and L&T were under pressure.

The broader markets were flat as the market breadth was neutral.

In the second line shares, Reliance Mediaworks shot up 8.5% as company will sell stake in film, media services division for Rs 605 crore.

Adani Enterprises gained 1.7% on short covering.

Bajaj Finserv was up 1.6% after strong results in first quarter of FY13.

GTL Infrastructure gained 7% as promoters infused Rs 930 crore in company and subsidiary.

DCB, Idea Cellular, Lanco Infratech and GVK Power were down 2% each.

Hexaware, Reliance Capital, Shree Renuka, Balrampur Chini and Reliance Communications declined 0.6-1%.