Sensex ends 75 pts up; auto, pharma rally, Hindalco up 5%

Indian equity benchmarks gained strength in late trade with the NSE Nifty closing above the 5600 level on Wednesday, helped by banking & financials, auto, technology and healthcare shares.

The 30-share BSE Sensex bounced back following 205 points fall yesterday after RBI policy; gained 74.53 points to close at 18,505.38.

Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 21.80 points to 5,619.70.

But the benchmarks shed 1.4 percent in October owing to rising inflation, unchanged in policy rates, raising provision limit for banks and disappointing earnings.

The profit booking was another reason behind this fall because the market had rallied over 6 percent in September following reforms by the government and inflow of foreign money after unlimited bond buying plans unveiled by Federal Reserve & ECB.

Going forward, US elections that will be taking place on November 6 and winter parliament session will be closely watched by investors next month.

If the government continues its reform process, founder of Citrus Advisor, Sanjay Sinha feels the market should see actually going up even higher from the current levels.

''Only setback that I see is the winter session of the Parliament where some of the policy measures that have been announced would be put to test of the voting. If there is fair amount of obstruction then there could be some amount for disappointment or some retracement. Otherwise I think there is a clear ground now for the market to go up even more,'' he explained.

Shares of Hindalco Industries, an aluminium major, shot up 5 percent, topping the buying list after the company has secured stage 1 forest clearance for Mahan coal block (a joint venture between Essar Energy and Hindalco), which was allocated in 2006.

Auto stocks remained in bull grip since opening today as these companies will declare their sales numbers for October tomorrow. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and top car maker Maruti Suzuki gained 3 percent on upgrade by brokerages.

India's largest lender State Bank of India was up 1.7 percent while its rival ICICI Bank rose 0.5 percent on short covering. Housing finance company HDFC went up 1.4 percent.

Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs spiked 2 percent, which had gained 1.6 percent yesterday due to strong numbers in Q2. Shares of Cipla and Sun Pharma moved up 2.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC and gas transmission company GAIL were down 1.7 percent each.

Power equipment maker BHEL fell 1.3 percent, continuing the fall since it disappointed the street by its numbers on every count in Q2.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever went down 0.55 percent, extending the downward journey after poor volume growth in second quarter.

Cigarette major ITC and telecom operator Bharti Airtel lost 0.4 percent each. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro moved down 0.8 percent.

In the second line shares, Jammu & Kashmir Bank, which hit a new high of Rs 1,239 today, gained 9.4 percent after solid numbers in September quarter.

Karur Vysya Bank and Glenmark Pharma rallied 6-8 percent following strong quarterly earnings.

Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor dropped 2.76 percent as its net profit fell 41 percent year-on-year to Rs 45.2 crore in Q2FY13.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.88 percent and the Smallcap up 0.5 percent.

On the global front, the US equity markets will start trading today after closing for last two days on Hurricane Sandy. The Dow Jones, Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures up 0.4-0.5 percent, indicating positive opening.

Indian shares gained strength with the NSE Nifty climbing above the 5600 level amid choppy trade, helped by auto, healthcare and banking & financials stocks. Shares of country's fourth largest two-wheeler company TVS Motor trimmed losses to 1 percent from 3.5 percent following better-than-expected numbers in Q2FY13.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 53 points to 18,483.97 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 13 points to 5,611.15.

Housing finance company HDFC and public sector lender State Bank of India gained 1.3 percent each. Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were trading marginally higher.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries topped the buying list, rising 3.25 percent after the Essar Energy (a subsidiary of London listed Essar Energy plc) has secured forest clearance for Mahan coal block (a joint venture between Essar Energy and Hindalco).

Among auto stocks, commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors rallied 1.7 percent while car maker Maruti Suzuki surged 3 percent. Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1.5 percent while two-wheeler makers Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto were up over 0.5 percent.

Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and software services exporter Infosys moved up 0.3 percent each.

State-owned gas transmission company GAIL and oil & gas producer ONGC dropped 1.5-2 percent. FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were down 0.4 percent and 1.35 percent, respectively.

Coal mining company Coal India and power equipment maker BHEL fell 1 percent each.

Most active shares on exchanges were State Bank of India, United Spirits, Reliance Capital, Larsen & Toubro, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.

Equity benchmarks remained in a tight range around their previous day's closing values since early trade. Country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki shares hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,439.95, gaining over 3 percent as the street and many brokerages gave a big thumbs up to its second quarter performance and road ahead.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 18 points to 18,413.09 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 11 points to 5,587.25.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Labs remained with more than 2 percent gains on higher-than-expected numbers in Q2 while its rival Cipla rose 1.6 percent.

Software services exporter Wipro gained 1.5 percent ahead of quarterly earnings on Friday.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra were up 1 percent each.

Shares of Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, BHEL, GAIL, ONGC and Jindal Steel were down 1-2 percent. Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were marginally lower.

In the second line shares, Glenmark Pharma and Jammu & Kashmir Bank surged over 7 percent following strong numbers in the quarter ended September 2012.

Jet Airways, Vakrangee and EID Parry gained 3.5-4 percent whereas Shoppers Stop, TVS Motor ( ahead of earnings today ), Puravankara Projects, Bharat Forge and HT Media lost 3-5 percent.

The NSE Nifty continued to consolidate around the 5600 level as investors may be waiting for US election that will be taking place on November 6. Even there has been no cue from the US markets as they had been closed since Monday on Hurricane Sandy.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 11 points to 18,420 while the 50-share NSE Nifty was down 8 points to 5,589.85.

"In the world and even in India till yesterday, the market this month has been down about 1 percent, so it is too narrow to say why it happened. But obviously the US election is a big deal," Fund manager Samir Arora of Helios Capital said.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and top car maker Maruti Suzuki rallied 2-2.5 percent ahead of sales numbers for October month.

Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs rallied over 2 percent after strong numbers in Q2 and software services exporter Wipro rose 2 percent ahead of second earnings on Friday.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India was up 0.5 percent while its rival HDFC Bank fell 0.4 percent.

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra moved up 1.2 percent while healthcare company Cipla was up 1.5 percent.

Capital goods major Larsen & Toubro and BHEL were down 1.4 percent each.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC slipped 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

Shares of Jindal Steel and GAIL tanked 1.5 percent each. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever was down 0.9 percent.

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

Indian equity benchmarks remained lacklustre as the upmove in Reliance, ITC, auto, metals and healthcare shares counterbalanced by the fall in HUL, HDFC Bank, ONGC and capital goods stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 37.53 points to 18,468.38 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 6.35 points to 5,604.25. The Indian rupee fell by 21 paise to 54.17 against the US dollar.

Auto stocks were in bull grip ahead of sales numbers for October tomorrow. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors gained 1.7 percent and top car maker Maruti climbed over 2 percent. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra was up over 1 percent while two-wheeler majors Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto went up over 0.5 percent.

Healthcare stocks too were on buyers' radar. Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs extended gains to 2.2 percent, rising for second consecutive day after better-than-expected second quarter numbers. Cipla and Sun Pharma gained 1-1.7 percent.

Cigarette major ITC and country's largest lender State Bank of India moved up 0.4 percent each.

Shares of Hindalco, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel were up 0.3-0.9 percent.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL dropped over 1 percent. Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and FMCG major Hindustan Unilever fell 0.7 percent each.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by a ratio of 1133 to 913 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The BSE Sensex was listless in early trade on Wednesday following more than 200 points fall yesterday post RBI policy. Even Asian markets were mixed as there were no cues from US markets that were shut yesterday on Hurricane Sandy.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 30 points to 18,460.58 while the 50-share NSE Nifty gained just 4.65 point to 5,602.55.

Drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs gained another 1.6 percent following a rise of 1.6 percent yesterday after strong numbers in Q2.

Shares of ITC, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Bharti, M&M, Wipro and Maruti gained 0.2-0.8 percent.

Banks remained down with marginal losses following yesterday's RBI half-yearly monetary policy review.

Power equipment maker BHEL shed 1 percent.

The CNX Midcap Index went up 23 points to 7,705 as the market breadth opened in favour of advances.

In the second line shares, Glenmark Pharma surged 4 percent following a three times rise in net profit to Rs 157 crore in Q2 YoY.

Mahindra Satyam was up 0.7 percent after the second quarter numbers met expectations.

IDBI Bank fell 1 percent on disappointing quarterly earnings while Biocon, JK Tyre and Religare Enterprises were up 2 percent following good numbers.

Thermax was down 1 percent following poor numbers in September quarter.

TVS Motor dropped 3.5 percent ahead of earnings today; analysts on an average expect profit after tax to fall by 44 percent YoY to Rs 42.8 crore in Q2.

LIC Housing Finance, which will declare its numbers today, gained 1 percent.

TV Today rose 3 percent as Business Standard reported that AV Birla group may take a 51 percent stake in Living Media, which in turn owns 57.46 percent stake in TV Today Network.

UB Holdings and Kingfisher were up 2 percent.

IL&FS Engineering rallied 3 percent as the company received letter of intent (LoI) for Rs 445 crore order.