Sensex ends flat after erasing 217 pts gains; IT dips 2.7%

It was a day of consolidation as the bulls took a breather after a two-day rally. The Nifty started off strong, but soon slipped on indifferent European cues to close flat at 4,974, while the Sensex closed at 16,536.5 down 21 points.

Investors were also nervous ahead of I-T major Infosys' Q2 results that are slated to come out tomorrow.

Though the street expects the company's dollar revenue to be in-line with guidance, Infosys is expected to beat on rupee EPS.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, Q2 dollar revenue is seen up around 5% at USD 1,756 million. At the same time rupee revenue is seen up around 8% at Rs 8,080 crore.

Infosys is expected to post EBIT at around Rs 2,187 crore. Meanwhile, PAT for the second quarter of the fiscal is seen up around 10% at 1,891 crore.

The earnings per share is expected to be up around 9% at Rs 32.9. This is way ahead of the expectation of a negative to zero EPS growth.

The IT index closed the day down 2.7%. Infosys fell 3%. TCS and Wipro were down 2% each.

Largecaps like ONGC, BHEL, HUL and ICICI Bank slipped 1.4-2%. Reliance Industries and SBI declined 0.25% each.

However, the upside of 3-3.6% in Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors and NTPC supported the markets quite nicely. L&T gained 1.7%.

Sun Pharma turned biggest gainer, surging 4.5%. HDFC, HDFC Bank, SBI, Coal India and Hero Motocorp moved up 0.5-0.9%.

The broader indices closed marginally higher. About 775 shares advanced as against 654 shares declined on National Stock Exchange. Total traded turnover was nearly Rs 1.18 lakh crore.

Asian markets closed in positive terrain following rally in US stocks post the news that Sarkozy and Merkel will announce a big package possibly in the first week of November. However, European markets were trading 1% lower on profit booking.

K Ramanathan of ING Investment Management feels the package is going to be a temporary solution. ''It doesn't solve the fact that global growth is going to be slow. There could possibly be a recession, a short recession in Europe especially, while the news from the US seems to be on the positive side.''

Likewise, V Anantha Nageswaran of Asianomics feels that the rally seen by most of the globe is a sucker's rally, not just in the global markets, but also in markets like India. "The rally is based on garbage. Investors have been proving to be remarkably myopic."

At 15:02 hours IST : Nifty hovers around 4980; NTPC, Bharti, Tata Motors up 3%

The market was completely directionless after Europe fell nearly 1% and heavy sell-off in technology and oil stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 33 points to 16,524.43 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 10.5 points to 4,969.10.

Infosys was the top loser among Nifty 50 stocks. The IT major tanked 3% ahead of its Q2 earnings. In fact, the BSE IT Index fell 2.5%; constituents like TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech were down 1-2.5%.

Heavyweight ONGC too slipped over 2%. ICICI Bank, BHEL, HUL and Sterlite Industries were down 1-1.5%. Reliance Industries too was down.

On the other side, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors gained 3.4% each. L&T, SAIL, JSPL, Sun Pharma, PNB and Hindalco rallied 2-2.5%.

HDFC, HDFC Bank, SBI, Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki and ACC were up 0.4-0.8%.

Meanwhile, the market breadth was about 809 shares advanced as against 603 shares declined on NSE.

At 13:58 hours IST : Sensex turns choppy; Infosys slips 3.5%, TCS down 2%

Indian equity benchmarks turned choppy ahead of the second quarter earnings season, which will kick off with Infosys tomorrow. The stock extended loss, falling over 3.5%. ONGC, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech fell 1-2%. Heavyweights Reliance Industries, ITC, BHEL and ICICI Bank too were marginally low. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 22.6 points to 16,534.59 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 3.5 points to 4,976.10.

The fall in European markets too added pressure on Indian benchmarks. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 1% on the back of profit booking.

On the home turf, the rally of 3% in largecaps like NTPC, Bharti Airtel and Tata Motors was quite supportive.

L&T jumped 2%. HDFC and HDFC Bank too gained 1%. JSPL, Cairn, Sun Pharma, SAIL, PNB and Hindalco were up 2-3%.

About 1488 shares advanced as against 1173 shares declined on BSE.

Among midcaps, Wockhardt, Chambal Fertiliser, HMT, Rashtriya Chemical and Jubilant Foodworks gained 6-10%. However, SpiceJet, KGN Industries, Educomp Solutions, Kwality Dairy and Ipca Labs slipped 3-5%.

At 12:46 hours IST : Sensex adds over 100 pts; Bharti, NTPC, L&T support

Indian equities were trading 0.5% higher in the afternoon trade, though the Sensex shed more than 100 points from the day's high. European markets fell 0.5% in the opening trade led by profit booking, which added some pressure on the market. The 30-share BSE Sensex moved up 118 points to 16,675 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 35 points to 5,015 amid volatility.

Shares of country's second largest software services exporter Infosys plunged 3.5% ahead of second quarter results tomorrow. TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech too followed the same trend, falling 1% each.

Sterlite Industries declined nearly 1% post Supreme Court asked Tamil Nadu to issue notice to company to comply with pollution control. SC maintained stay on Sterlite plant closing order.

Heavyweight ONGC too was down 1.66% on the back of profit booking. Rise in crude oil prices was another cause of concern. Brent crude was trading above USD 108 a barrel.

However, largecaps like NTPC, L&T, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, SBI and HDFC were quite supportive, gaining 1-3%. Bharti Airtel jumped another 4% today post unveiling of telecom policy.

Coal India, ITC and BHEL gained 0.6-0.9%. Reliance Industries too was marginally in the green.

About two shares gained for every share falling on NSE.

At 11:26 hours IST : Sensex erases some gains; ONGC, Infosys, TCS, Wipro down

Indian equity benchmarks erased some of the early gains due to sell-off in technology stocks. Even heavyweight Reliance Industries turned flat. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 107.66 points to 16,664.89 and the 50-share NSE Nifty moved up marginally 36 points to 5,015.95.

Andrew Holland, chief executive officer- equities at Ambit Capital tells CNBC-TV18 in an exclusive chat that now is a great time to buy Indian stocks with a two-year perspective. "The market is likely to start reporting better earnings from early next year," he says. He sees Nifty moving towards the 5200 levels in the short-term.

Among the largecaps, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, Jindal Steel, DLF, Sun Pharma and Reliance Communications rallied 2.5-4%.

NTPC, HDFC Bank, L&T, SBI, HDFC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and BHEL rose 1-2%.

However, ONGC and Infosys plummeted over 2%. HCL Tech, TCS, Wipro and Sterlite Industries were down 0.5-0.8%.

About three shares gained for every share declining. The broader indices like BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 1% each.

In the midcaps pace, Chambal Fertilisers, Jubilant Foodworks, BF Utilities, Rajesh Exports and Motherson Sumi rallied 5-7% while Network 18, KGN Industries, Shriram City, Bayer Cropscience and SpiceJet slipped 2-5%.

In the smallcap space, OM Metals Infra, Garden Silk Mills, ITI, Genesys International and Parekh Aluminex shot up 8-15%. However, Zenith Infotech plunged 20% and Electrotherm lost 13%. Unisys Software, Clarus Finance and R M Mohite fell 5-7%.

On the global front, Asian markets maintained their morning gains. Hang Seng, Nikkei, Kospi, Straits Times and Taiwan moved up 2-3%. Shanghai was up just 0.3%.

At 10:30 hours IST : Nifty holds on to early gains; telecom, banks, power lead

Though the market came off a bit from morning high, it was still trading up close to 1%, supported by telecom, banking, metal, capital goods and power stocks. Asian markets maintained their uptrend - gaining 2-3% - following strong US cues resulting from a potential solution to European debt crisis. Shanghai, however, rose only 0.7%. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 16,717.74, up 160.51 points. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 49.35 points to 5,028.95.

Heavyweight Bharti Airtel was the top leader on Nifty, rallying 4% post unveiling of telecom policy yesterday. Reliance Industries too was quite supportive, gaining 0.8%.

Among other largecaps, NTPC, SBI, L&T, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, JSPL, Axis Bank, DLF and Bajaj Auto jumped 1.5-2%.

However, Infosys was witnessing profit booking ahead of Q2 results tomorrow, falling 2%. ONGC lost nearly 2% post spike in crude oil prices.

HUL and Wipro were marginally in the red.

The broader indices too moved up 1%. About three shares advanced for every share falling.

At 9:19 hours IST : Sensex rises 1% mirroring global rally; BPCL, ONGC dip

Indian equity benchmarks moved up 1% in the opening trade on Tuesday, following a global rally that was fuelled by a hope to stem stem Europe's debt crisis. Yesterday German and French leaders promised to take a concrete step to mitigate the problem that has snowballed into a crisis.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 160.88 points at 16,718.11 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 48 points to 5,027.60.

Aditya Narain of Citigroup said India should offer some upside in near-term. "Valuations are reasonable, earnings & growth for FY12 have been cut sharply, rate/inflation cycle is likely to peak, commodities have begun to weaken and consensus is very bearish. We remain optimistic on the market," he explained.

Hindalco, Sterlite Industries, JSPL, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, DLF, L&T, Reliance Communications, Reliance Industries, TCS, IDFC and Tata Motors were the major contributors in the early trade.

HUL, ITC and Maruti too were on buyers' radar.

However, BPCL and ONGC declined marginally due to rise in crude oil prices.

The CNX Midcap jumped 67 points to 7,054. About four shares gained for every share falling.

Jaypee Infra shot up 11%.

Jubilant Foodworks, Educomp, Zee Learn, CMC (ahead of numbers) and Hexaware were up 2-4%.

However, Sun TV plunged 4% and Camlin lost 9%.