Sensex, Nifty turn positive after GAAR deferred by 1 year

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty turned positive after the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee deferred the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) by one year. He said the government would not use retro amendments on cases where assessment has been done, which was another positive thing for overseas companies (which want to invest in India). The Indian rupee too recovered by 49 paise to 52.98 a dollar.

The BSE benchmark was up 10.6 points to 16,841.68 and the NSE benchmark rose 4.3 points to 5,091 after showing recovery of more than 300 points and 100 points from day's lows, respectively. However, the fall in global markets has limited somewhat recovery; France's CAC and Germany's DAX dropped 1.5% while the Dow Jones futures declined 97 points.

State-owned BHEL topped the buying list, rising over 5% and Larsen & Toubro gained 3.5% on the back of value buying interest.

Banks too recovered - country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank moved up 0.5% and State Bank of India was flat while HDFC Bank was down over 1%.

Shares of housing finance company HDFC rose 0.5% after the company reported a better than expected growth of 16.37% year-on-year in its profit after tax of Rs 1,329 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12. Analysts on average had expected at Rs 1,239 crore.

Even auto stocks bounced back - Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki and Bajaj Auto were up 0.6-1.2%. Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel was up nearly 1%.

Titan Industries and Gitanjali Gems gained 1-2% after finance minister has withdrawn levy on all branded and non-branded jewellery.

However, index heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped over 1%.

Shares of ITC, HUL, TCS, M&M, Wipro and Coal India were down 0.5-1%.

At 13:54 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty pare losses; BPCL, BHEL, L&T outperform

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty pared some losses due to buying in BHEL, L&T and Bharti Airtel. Even banks, technology, metal and oil & gas showed some recovery from the day's low. The market breadth too improved - about three shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange, which was 6:1 at one point of time.

The NSE benchmark managed to get back above the 5000 level quite comfortably, which dropped 64.50 points to 5,022.35. Meanwhile, the BSE benchmark fell 200.46 points or 1.2% to 16,630.62.

The Indian rupee appreciated sharply after hitting an intraday low of 53.76 a dollar, which gained 27 paise at 53.20 a dollar led by RBI's intervention in forex market.

State-owned capital goods major Bharat Heavy Electricals jumped 2.5% while engineering and construction company L&T rose 0.8%.

Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel and drug maker Cipla went up 0.5% each.

Shares of oil marketing companies topped the buying list due to steep fall in crude oil prices since Friday. BPCL shot up 6.5% while HPCL and IOC gained 3-3.5%. However, Cairn India tanked 4.5%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and public sector lender State Bank of India lost over 2%.

Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank declined 1.65% and 3%, respectively. Software services provider TCS and Infosys were down around 1% while Wipro turned positive.

On the global front, European markets too trimmed losses - France's CAC and Germany's DAX slipped over a percent.

At 12:41 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty lose over 1.5%; European mkts open lower

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty slipped more than 1.5% due to fall in global markets. European markets opened lower after elections in Greece and France saw incumbents defeated, raising fears that the collective response to the euro zone debt crisis may not ease. France's CAC and Spain's IBEX lost 1.8% each in early trade. Germany's DAX was down 2.2% while US stock futures too were down 1%.

"There are great fears that the new government in Greece will end austerity measures and that will lead to a disorderly default, and that has led to a sell-off across all risk markets," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst with OptionsXpress in Sydney.

Back home, the BSE benchmark fell 308.17 points or 1.83% to 16522.91 and the NSE benchmark was down 94.60 points to 4,992.25. Even the broader markets were under pressure - the BSE Midcap Index was down 1.85% and Smallcap down 1.4%.

Country's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank crashed 3.5% while rival ICICI Bank was down 2.8%. Public sector lender State Bank of India tanked 3.8%.

Oil & gas producer Reliance Industries, software services exporter Infosys and engineering & construction company Larsen & Toubro were down 2% each.

FMCG majors (called defensive sector) ITC and HUL declined 1.5-2%.

The BSE Realty, Bank, Metal, FMCG, IT and Oil & Gas indices were down 1.5-3%.

Shares of Jaiprakash Associates and Cairn India retained their top positions in the selling list, losing over 5%.

(With inputs from Reuters)

At 11:46 hours IST: Nifty struggles at 5000; rupee recovers on RBI intervention

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed sharply lower due to further fall in Asian markets. The Indian rupee bounced back as dealers said the banking regulator Reserve Bank of India intervened in the forex markets via PSU banks at Rs 53.70 a dollar level. The rupee appreciated by 15 paise to 53.32 a dollar after hitting 53.76 in morning trade.

The BSE benchmark fell 287 points or 1.71% to 16,544.02 led by 27 components. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark continued to struggle at the 5000 level, which dropped 88.55 points to 4,998.30.

Flows into India likely to remain limited in the near term, as relative valuations of stocks versus emerging markets do not look attractive, Macquarie says.

India thus "may be staring at a possible negative 12 month forward returns," Macquarie says.

Weaker than expected US jobs data, and rising concerns over austerity policies due to elections in Greece and France added fuel to the fire.

Back home, Cairn India tanked 5% after the sharp fall (4%) in crude oil on Friday, which also continued in today's trade. Jaiprakash Associates too lost 5% as Himachal Pradesh High Court has put a fine of Rs 1 billion and ordered not to set-up 62MW CPP.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Infosys were down 2.3-2.5%. TCS and Larsen & Toubro slipped 1.5-2%.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank tumbled 2.5-3.7%. However, BHEL, Sun Pharma and Cipla gained 0.5-1%.

At 10:20 hours IST: Sensex falls 300 pts; BSE Bankex down over 2.5%

The BSE Sensex tanked nearly 300 points due to consistent selling in banks, technology, auto, FMCG and metals, while the NSE Nifty was struggling to hold the 5000 level.

India's most valued stock Reliance Industries extended its fall, losing 2.7% in early trade.

Indian equity benchmarks had fallen over 2% last week, which has been continued due to sell-off in global risk assets after the weak US jobs data and elections in Greece and France. The picture is very negative for the market, says Jai Bala, chief market technician of cashthechaos.com.

"The range of about 190-200 points (in the whole of April) has actually broken down on the lower side. So, the minimum move for the market is going to be the height of the consolidation, which is about 200 points for the lower range of about 5,135. So, it's working to about lower range of 4,900 for the Nifty," he explains.

The BSE benchmark was down 295 points at 16,536.25 led by 26 components. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark fell 90 points to 4,996.90.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India tumbled over 4% while rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were down 2.7-3%. The BSE Bankex was down 2.6%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro lost nearly 3%. Infosys and TCS - India's largest software services exporters slipped 2% and 1.4%, respectively.

Even FMCG majors HUL and ITC were down 1.3% each.

However, shares of Cipla, BHEL and Bharti Airtel stayed higher.

At 9:19 hours IST: Sensex falls over 250 pts, Nifty tests 5K on global turmoil

The BSE Sensex dropped more than 1% on Monday, as global risk assets sold off after elections in Greece and France fuelled questions on their austerity policies.

The weaker rupee and uncertainty in a day when the Finance Bill containing the controversial provisions is set to be introduced to the parliament also weighed.

The Asian markets were down today morning. Hang Seng, Taiwan Weighted and Nikkei tanked 2.5% while Straits Times and Kospi were down 1.8%.

The BSE benchmark was down 283 points or 1.68% to 16,548 and the NSE benchmark slipped 89 points or 1.75% to 4,997.75.

JP Associates crashed 6% after the Himachal Pradesh High Court has put a fine of Rs 1 billion and ordered not to set-up 62MW CPP.

Banks stocks took big knock today, with the Bank Nifty falling over 2.5%. State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Bank of Baroda were down over 3%.

Reliance Infrastructure, L&T, Hindalco, BHEL, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, IDFC, Infosys and DLF dropped 2-3%.

Even FMCG (defensive sector) stocks like HUL and ITC declined 0.5% each.

However, Cipla and ONGC outperformed other largecaps.

Oil marketing companies like HPCL, IOC and BPCL gained 0.5-1.5% as crude fell 4% yesterday.

The CNX Midcap was down 124 points or 1.7% to 7,091. About six shares declined for every share gaining on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Allahabad Bank was down over 8%. Syndicate Bank, UCO Bank, Bank of Maharashtra and United Bank of India slipped 4-7%. 

HDIL, Delta Corp, Unitech , IRB Infra, TTK Prestige, VIP and Educomp Solutions too tanked 4-8%.