Sensex closes lacklustre trade flat; FOMC meet eyed

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed marginally higher amid consolidation on Wednesday, supported somewhat by positive Asian cues. But the broader markets outperformed benchmarks throughout the session.

Indian equities stayed higher for the second consecutive session after a disappointment by the RBI in first session of this week. The BSE benchmark rose 36.83 points, to close at 16,896.63. The NSE benchmark gained 16.70 points at 5,120.55 after trading in a range of 5100-5140.

Globally every market is keenly waiting for the outcome from Federal Open Market Committee's meeting that will be announced around 23 hours IST today. Market experts feel the base case scenario appears to be an extension of operation Twist.

"We expect the Fed to ease monetary policy on June 20, in response to the weak economic data and increased downside risks from Europe. However, the form of easing is a closer call. We expect a new asset purchase program, but an extension of Operation Twist is also possible," Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs said.

Among Asian markets, Shanghai, Nikkei, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.5-1% whereas Shanghai fell 0.34% at close. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were lacklustre in trade.

Back home, country's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors shot up 3% and top two-wheeler major Hero Motocorp was up over 1% whereas Maruti Suzuki fell over 1%.

Among metals and mining stocks, shares of Jindal Steel, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel gained 1.5-3% while Coal India tanked 1.5%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC rose 2% and drug maker Dr Reddy's Labs surged 3%.

Country's largest lenders ICICI Bank and State Bank of India went up 0.8% and 0.65%, respectively whereas HDFC Bank lost 0.5%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro moved up 0.9% and state-owned capital goods company BHEL was up 1.7% ahead of PMO meet on power equipment duty.

However, shares of cigarette major ITC and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel declined over 1%. Software services exporter TCS tanked 1.7% while its rival Infosys was down 0.3%.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8% each as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1613 to 1091 on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Educomp Solutions surged 11% as it has tied up for USD 155 million to pay off FCCBs worth USD 78.5 million on due date.

Aviation stocks like Kingfisher, Jet Airways and SpiceJet rallied 4-6% on reports that the civil aviation ministry will meet with finance ministry counterparts to discuss lowering aviation turbine fuel taxes.

Pantaloon Retail gained over 3% after Rakesh Biyani, joint managing director of Pantaloon says the company is planning some more transactions on non-core assets to further bring down debt.

At 15:05 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty consolidate; ACC, Ambuja Cements bounce back

Indian equity benchmarks moved higher amid choppy trade led by support from ICICI Bank, ONGC and Larsen & Toubro. Steel, healthcare and power stocks too were quite supportive whereas ITC, TCS, Coal India and Bharti remained under pressure.

The BSE benchmark moved up 65.54 points to 16,925.34 and the NSE benchmark was up 28 points to 5,131.95.

ACC and Ambuja Cements recouped all early trade losses, rising nearly 4% each. In early trade, these stocks were down because sources said CCI found cement companies guilty of cartelisation and slapped with penalty of 8% of average turnover of 3 years.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 3.2% and state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC was up 2.22%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank gained 1.2% while its rival State Bank of India rose 0.7%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro moved up 1.35% and state-owned capital goods company BHEL was up 2.2%.

Aviation stocks surged on reports that the civil aviation ministry will meet with finance ministry counterparts to discuss lowering aviation turbine fuel taxes, raising hopes of an announcement, traders said.

The civil aviation ministry had proposed earlier to slash state taxes on jet fuel, which would help bring down costs for ailing local airlines that are reeling under a debt load of USD 20 billion and annual losses of around USD 2 billion. Jet Airways was up 4% and Kingfisher Airlines rallied 8%.

Educomp Solutions shot up 12% amid heavy volumes as company tied up for USD 155 million to pay off FCCBs worth USD 78.5 million on due date.

At 13:59 hours IST: Sensex lacklustre; ITC, TCS, Bharti, HDFC Bank down

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were completely listless in trade following flat European markets on Wednesday. Shares of Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Labs, Jindal Steel and BHEL topped the buying list, rising 2-3%.

The BSE benchmark rose 47.06 points to 16906.86 and the NSE benchmark went up 17.5 points to 5,121.30. Even the Indian rupee was moving in a range around 56 to the dollar.

Markets globally are waiting for the statement by Federal Reserve at its two days meeting that will end today. Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to expand Operation Twist to boost growth and buy protection against a deeper crisis in Europe. The Fed is also likely to keep rates unchanged.

However, Ethan Harris, BofA ML Global Research is not very positive about the outcome. According to him, Operation Twist will not aid economy much.

Back home, engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro was up 0.9%. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank moved up over 0.5%.
State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC rallied 1.6% and top two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Motocorp climbed nearly 2%.

However, the consistent fall in HDFC Bank, ITC, TCS, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Hindalco and Maruti, which fell 0.7-1%, has capped the upside.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.6% each as advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1472 to 1061 on the BSE.

At 12:31 hours IST: Nifty, Sensex rangebound; European markets open flat

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty continued to trade higher with marginal gains due to consistent buying interest in Tata Motors and ICICI Bank. L&T, ONGC and Reliance Industries too were quite supportive whereas the fall in ITC, HDFC Bank, Bharti, TCS and Infosys capped the upside.

The 30-share BSE benchmark rose 60.52 points to 16,920.32 and the 50-share NSE benchmark has been moving in a 30 points range around 5105-5135 that moved up 22.30 points to 5,126.15.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank gained over 1% while its rival State Bank India was up just 0.5%. HDFC Bank declined 0.9%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC jumped 1.8% and index heavyweight Reliance Industries went up just 0.3%.

India's largest commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy's Labs rallied 3.5% each.

FMCG company HUL climbed over 1% whereas cigarette major ITC slipped 0.8% due to profit booking.

Among metals stocks, Jindal Steel gained over 2%; Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel rose 1% each.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL were up 1.3% and 2.4%, respectively.

However, shares of top telecom operator Bharti Airtel and largest mining company Coal India were down 1-1.5%. Software services exporters TCS and Infosys fell 0.7% and 0.3%.

The broader markets advanced 0.7% as the market breadth remained positive. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

On the global front, France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE started off trade on a flat note.

At 11:24 hours IST: Choppy Sensex stays up; Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Labs up 3%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended gains, rising around 0.5% each amid volatility led by oil & gas, capital goods, power, metals and select banks stocks. The Indian rupee appreciated by 11 paise to 55.83 as against the US dollar.

The BSE benchmark went up 70.55 points to 16,930.35 and the NSE benchmark was up 27 points at 5,131.05. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices advanced 0.8% each.

Asian markets too gained further ahead of FOMC meeting. Hang Seng rose 0.76% and Nikkei rallied 1.25%. Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.5% each while Shanghai was flat.

Back home, top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and drug maker Dr Reddy's Labs topped the buying list, rising 2.6% and 3%, respectively.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were up 0.76% and 1.17%, respectively. However, HDFC Bank fell 0.56%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro jumped over 1% and state-owned capital goods company BHEL was up 2%.

Oil & gas producers ONGC and Reliance Industries moved up 1.7% and 0.46%, respectively.

Among metals and mining stocks, Jindal Steel shot up over 2% and Tata Steel gained 1.3% whereas Coal India dropped 1.5%.

However, shares of cigarette major ITC, software services exporter TCS and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down 0.5-1%.

At 10 hours IST: Volatile Nifty holds 5100; midcaps, smallcaps outperform

The 50-share NSE Nifty continued to hold the 5100 level amid choppy trade while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks. PSU oil & gas, metals, capital goods and power stocks were supporting the market whereas the fall in Infosys, ITC, Bharti, Reliance and TCS has limited the upside.

The BSE benchmark was up 16.75 points at 16,876.55 and the NSE benchmark rose 7 points to 5,111.10. The Indian rupee too was hovering around 55.98 to the US dollar.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 2% and country's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Motocorp gained 1.35%. However, Maruti and Bajaj Auto fell 0.5%.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank gained 0.8% while its rival HDFC Bank went down 0.4%. Among FMCG majors, HUL was up 0.9% whereas ITC declined 0.5% on profit booking.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC and gas transportation service provider GAIL moved up 1% and 0.65%, respectively.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL gained 0.4% and 1.56% respectively after Mint reported that PMO called meeting on duty of power equipment today.

However, country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys slipped 0.7% each. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel was down 0.7% too.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbed 0.5% each. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Educomp Solutions shot up 7.5% as company tied up for USD 155 million to pay off FCCBs worth USD 78.5 million on due date.

Sintex Industries, Tata Coffee, AstraZeneca and Shree Global were up 2.5-5% whereas Himadri Chemical, Allcargo (on profit booking), Alstom T&D, South Indian Bank and Jubilant Life dropped 1.5-6.5%.

Among smallcap stocks, Kalyani Steels, J Kumar Infra, Surana Industries, Everonn Education and AP Paper Mills rallied 5-8%.

Saint-Gobain (on failure to execute delisting offer) and Henkel India were locked at 5% lower circuit each.

Nirlon, Savita Oil Tech and Panacea Biotec were down around 3%.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty open flat; capital goods, metals gain

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened flat for second consecutive session on Wednesday following quiet trade across Asia ahead of FOMC meeting.

The BSE benchmark rose 25 points to 16,885.02 and the NSE benchmark moved up 9 points to 5,112.75.

Markets across globe are waiting for the outcome of Federal Reserve statement that will be announced around 23 hours IST; base case scenario appears to be an extension of operation Twist.

Jan Hatzius of Goldman Sachs expects the Fed to ease monetary policy on June 20, in response to the weak economic data and increased downside risks from Europe.

However, the form of easing is a closer call. We expect a new asset purchase program, but an extension of Operation Twist is also possible, he quickly says.

Shares of L&T, BHEL and Reliance Infrastructure gained around 1.5% after Mint reported that PMO called meeting on duty of power equipment today.

ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Sterlite, Sesa Goa, JSPL, Tata Motors, ONGC, HDFC Bank, M&M, HUL, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and Tata Power were supporting the market.

However, Maruti, ITC, TCS, Reliance Industries, Infosys and Bajaj Auto were marginally lower.

ACC and Ambuja Cements tanked nearly 4% ahead of final report on cartelisation by CCI today. Sources indicated that CCI slapped with penalty of 8% of average turnover of 3 years on cement companies.

Among other cement stocks, Grasim was down 1%. India Cements tanked 3.5% and Ultratech Cement slipped 2.6%.

The CNX Midcap Index moved up 24 points to 6,994. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

Educomp Solutions surged 3% as the company tied up for USD 155 million to pay off FCCBs of USD 78.5 million on due date.

Kingfisher Airlines and UB Holdings were up 1% each.

Den Networks rose 3% and Hathway Cable advanced 1.5% after The Financial Express reported that Den Networks, Hathway, InCable and WWIL have put in bids to merge with rival DigiCable India.

Uttam Galva shot up 5% and Kalyani Steel gained 7%.

However, Apollo Tyres fell 2%.