Sensex, Nifty close flat; SBI, L&T up, RIL, ITC decline

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed flat on Friday after a sharply rally the day before on hopes of diesel price hike. Recovery in rupee and strength in European markets helped markets recoup losses in second half of trade.

The BSE benchmark fell 4.48 points, to close at 16,217.82 after a swing of 155 points between intraday high and low. Shares of SBI, L&T, and metal stocks helped the market whereas the fall in ITC, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC weighed.

The NSE benchmark touched an intraday low of 4,889.35, before managing to close above the 4,900 level. It fell 1 point to 4,920.40.

The May futures and options series will end next week. VK Sharma, head private broking & wealth management of HDFC Securities says, if the currency holds, the Nifty could close definitely above 4,850.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India spiked 1.7% while its rival HDFC Bank gained 0.26%. However, top private sector lender ICICI Bank went down 0.5%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 1.5%. Realty major DLF went up nearly 2%.

Among metals and mining stocks, shares of Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and Coal India moved up 1-2.5% whereas Jindal Steel tanked 2.6%.

Auto stocks were mixed - Tata Motors and Hero Motocorp climbed around 1% while M&M and Maruti Suzuki tumbled 2-2.5%.

State-owned gas transportation services provider GAIL topped the buying list, shooting up 3.4%.

However, cigarette-to-hotel major ITC declined 0.75% after fourth quarter numbers. FMCG company HUL too was down nearly 0.9%.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock lost 0.6% and mortgage lender HDFC fell 0.86% on profit booking.

For the week, the Nifty rose 0.5% and Sensex gained 0.3%.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks, rising 0.5%. Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 1476 to 1248 on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Voltas gained 12% and Shree Ganesh Jewellery shot up 15% after good performance in fourth quarter numbers. However, Gujarat Fluorochemicals and Crompton Greaves declined over 2% amid heavy volumes, after disappointing numbers in January-March quarter.

On the global front, European markets were up 0.5% and even euro rose against the dollar due to better than expected German and French consumer confidence data, but eurozone concerns still persist.

At 14:51 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty flat amid seesaw trade; GAIL surges 4%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were completely lacklustre in trade, even after the sharp recovery in rupee. SBI and L&T were quite supportive while Reliance Industries and ITC capped the recovery.

The BSE benchmark gained 7 points at 16,229.24 and the NSE benchmark rose 2.6 points to 4,924. The Indian rupee appreciated by 26 paise to 55.39 a dollar.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India extended gains, rising 1.7% whereas its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank remained flat.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro rose 1% and top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors too went up 1%.

Metals stocks were strong; Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries spiked 1.5-2% whereas Jindal Steel tanked nearly 2%.

State-owned gas transportation services provider GAIL topped the buying list, rising nearly 4%. Oil marketing company BPCL rose 1.5% after it announced bonus in the ratio of 1:1.

However, shares of housing finance company HDFC, oil & gas producer Reliance Industries and cigarette major ITC fell 0.5-0.8%.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra were down 1.7% and 2.7%, respectively.

In the second line shares, Voltas shot up 13.5% on good performance at EBITDA level in Q4FY12.

At 13:59 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty lacklustre despite rupee's 81 paise gain

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty were trading close to their previous closing values, having recovered from the day's low.

The rupee appreciated sharpely since afternoon with reports suggesting that the Reserve Bank of India may have intervened by selling dollars. It was trading at 55.27 to the dollar, an increase of 38 paise over previous close of 55.65 and 81 paise from intraday low of 56.08 a dollar.

Euro too bounced back against the US dollar, rising 0.45% to 1.2595 a dollar. European markets like France's CAC and Britain's FTSE went up over 0.7% while Germany's DAX gained 1.3%.

The BSE benchmark rose 3.11 points to 16,225.41 and the NSE benchmark was up just 0.35 points at 4,921.75.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India went up 1.2% while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were flat.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL climbed nearly 1%. Even top telecom operator Bharti Airtel and state-owned oil & gas producer GAIL moved up close to 1%.

Shares of Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries and GAIL gained 2% each. Technology majors TCS, Infosys and Wipro turned flat after recovery.

However, India's most valued stock Reliance Industries stayed 0.6% lower. Shares of HDFC, HUL, M&M, Maruti and JSPL lost 1-2%.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 822 to 549 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 12:43 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty recover; SBI, L&T, Bharti gain

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty recouped losses in afternoon trade following recovery in rupee. Even mildly positive opening of European markets helped Indian equities. L&T, State Bank of India, Bharti and BHEL extended somewhat gains.

The BSE benchmark gained 11 points at 16,233 and the NSE benchmark went up 4 points to 4,925. On the global front, France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE opened 0.3-0.7% higher, though Greece woes still persist.

The Indian rupee recovered 40 paise from intraday low of 55.95 to trade at 55.55, up 10 paise over previous close of 55.65 a dollar.

Country's largest engineering and construction company by sales Larsen & Toubro and state-owned BHEL gained 0.9% each.

Private steel producers Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries topped the buying list, rising 2% each. Top aluminium company Hindalco Industries went up 1% while JSPL lost 1%.

India's largest lender State Bank of India moved up 0.8% while its rival HDFC Bank was up 0.4%. ICICI Bank too turned flat after recovery.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel was up 0.7% and cigarette major ITC gained 0.3%.

However, shares of Reliance Industries, HDFC, HUL, Bajaj Auto and Cipla were down 0.5-1%. Top car maker Maruti was still down 2%.

In the second line shares, Indiabulls power, TVS Motor, Jain Irrigation and Sintex Industries went up 2-5%. Dishman Pharma shot up 11%.

At 11:46 hours IST: Sensex flat; Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Sterlite up 1%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty remained under pressure since early trade due to consistent selling in Reliance Industries, HDFC and ICICI Bank.

Cigarette-to-hotels major ITC was quite volatile ahead of its fourth quarter numbers today - analysts on average are expecting 21% growth year-on-year in net income of the company.

The BSE benchmark went down 64.77 points to 16157.53. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark continued to move around 4900 level; it fell 20 points to 4,901.30.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock dropped 0.8% while its rival state-owned ONGC fell 1% after rising 6% in yesterday's trade.

Top private sector lender ICICI Bank lost 1% whereas its rival state lender State Bank of India gained 0.3%. Housing finance company HDFC declined over 1%.

Auto stocks stayed in bear's grip as they started offering discounts on petrol models after oil marketing companies hiked petrol price by Rs 6.28 a litre (excluding taxes) on Wednesday. Tata Motors, Maruti and M&M were down 1-2%. Bajaj Auto was down 0.5% whereas top two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp jumped 0.8%.

Country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys slipped 0.3% each.

However, shares of private steel companies Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries gained 1.4% each.

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator rose 0.6%. Yesterday the stock had rallied 6% after company agreed to buy 49% stake in Qualcomm BWA entities for USD 165 million.

Sun Pharma went up over 1% after its subsidiary Taro showed good growth in January-March quarter of 2012 on year-on-year basis, but there was dip in margins sequentially.

At 10:24 hours IST: Nifty struggles at 4900; ICICI down 1% on profit booking

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed lower amid choppy trade, due to somewhat profit booking in ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries. Infosys, ONGC, HDFC and TCS too were down in morning trade whereas the upmove in Bharti, and capital goods stocks limited the downside.

Traders book profits after yesterday's sharp rally on hopes of diesel price hike. The BSE benchmark declined 78.53 points or 0.48% to 16,143.77 and the NSE benchmark fell 25 points to 4,896.15. However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks; the BSE Midcap Index rose 0.4% and Smallcap went up 0.7%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, which rallied 3% yesterday, fell over 1% while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were flat. Mortgage lender HDFC too dropped more than 1%.

Top software services exporters TCS and Infosys plummeted 0.5-0.8%. Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.35% and 1.3%, respectively.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and top car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 1% each as they offered discounts of up to Rs 50,000 on petrol models after hike in petrol price on Wednesday. M&M and Bajaj Auto too slipped over 1% whereas Sun Pharma outperformed with 0.6% gains.

However, top telecom operator Bharti Airtel gained another 0.6% after rising 6% yesterday as it bought 49% stake in Qualcomm BWA entities for USD 165 million.

Shares of Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries gained around 1%.

In the second line shares, Voltas, Punjab & Sind Bank, Shree Global, Motilal Oswal and FDC shot up 3-7% while Tulip Telecom, Jet Airways, M&M Financial, Responsive Industries and Alstom T&D lost 2-3%.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty marginally lower; rupee falls 30 paise

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened moderately lower on Friday following downtrend in Asian markets. Weak global data and endless eurozone woes continued to weigh on markets globally.

Profit booking may be another reason as the market rallied 1.7% yesterday. The BSE benchmark was down 50.83 points to 16171.47 and the NSE benchmark fell 18.25 points to 4,903.15.

Even the rupee too depreciated again; it fell 30 paise to 55.95 a dollar today after showing a recovery of 65 paise from record low yesterday.

State-owned ONGC and BPCL were down around 1% on profit booking.

Hindalco fell 1.6% due to disappointing numbers by subsidiary Novelis.

Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, Tata Motors, ITC (down 0.7% ahead of numbers), SBI, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro too were under pressure.

However, JP Associates, Sun Pharma (rose 1.5% after good numbers by subsidiary Taro), Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and IDFC were supporting the market.

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

In the second line shares, Voltas shot up 7% good set of numbers in Q4FY12.

JM Financial and TVS Motor gained 3% each on results. Shree Ganesh Jewellery spiked 12% on strong results while Jet Airways fell 2% due to bad results

Subex surged 4.5% and Allied Digital rallied 9.5% on value punting. VIP Industries rose 1%.

Future Capital went up 3% as CNBC-TV18 quoting sources reported that Future group and Warburg management are likely to meet on Friday to sign term sheet.

However, Lanco Infratech, Indiabulls Securities, Mahindra Satyam and SKS Microfinance were down around 1-1.5%.

Asian markets too were down marginally. Greece's future in the euro zone remains a primary risk for stocks. At least half of euro zone governments, as well as banks and large companies, are making contingency plans in case Greece decides to leave.

"The risk-off trade is very much the order of the day, so long as the potential contagion effect remains," said Milligan. "We don't know what policies might be proposed to keep Greece in the EU, and how Greece might respond to them."