Sensex off day's low; European markets down 2%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty slipped more than 0.5% each, though they pared losses in afternoon trade despite further fall in European markets and the rupee breached 56 a dollar level. State Bank of India and technology stocks helped somewhat recovery.

European markets extended losses ahead of informal European leaders summit today. Even retail sales data disappointed the street. UK's retail sales went down 2.3% in April (MoM) and down 1.1% (YoY). France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE tanked 2% each. Euro was trading at 21-month low as against the US dollar.

The Indian rupee touched a record low of 56.18 a dollar, down 79 paise as compared to previous close of 55.39 a dollar. Nick Parsons of National Australian Bank, who tracks the Indian currency closely, predicted its butchering will continue all the way down to 70/USD.

The BSE benchmark declined 86.16 points or 0.54% to 15,940.25 and the NSE benchmark was down 28.70 points or 0.59% to 4,831.80.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rose 0.6% and state-owned power plant equipment manufacturer BHEL too gained 0.6%.

Technology stocks like TCS and Wipro were up 0.17% and 0.5%, respectively. Gas transportation services provider GAIL stayed 3% higher.

However, top telecom operator Bharti Airtel crashed 4%. Shares of Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, L&T, HDFC and ONGC were down 0.7-1.4%.

ITC, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank fell 0.4% each. Tata Power and Jindal Steel lost over 2%.

At 14:01 hours IST: Sensex stays under pressure; Re hits 56/$, Bharti down 4%

The BSE Senesx and NSE Nifty fell nearly 1% again after further downtrend in European markets and the Indian rupee breached 56 a dollar level in afternoon trade. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel crashed 4.5%.

Rupee touched an all-time low of 56.11 to the dollar today, a fall of 72 paise or 1.30% from previous close of 55.39 a dollar.

Priyanka Kishore of Standard Chartered believes that the rupee will extend its decline to 58 a dollar, after which some strength might seep into the currency. ''What started out as fundamental stress is clearly the European uncertainties,'' she explained.

The BSE benchmark went down 145 points or 0.91% to 15881 led by 25 components. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark dropped 45.6 points or 0.94 to 4,815.

European shares ended a two-day rally and German bond prices rose, as a split between France and Germany over measures to tackle the euro-zone debt crisis and renewed speculation of a Greek exit from the 17-member currency bloc hit investor sentiment. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE tanked 1.5% each ahead of informal European leaders summit.

The euro, commodities and commodity-linked currencies all slid, while safe-haven demand lifted the dollar index measured against major currencies to 81.830, its highest level since September 2010.

Back home, private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were down 0.65-1% while rival State Bank of India was down 0.40%. Housing finance company HDFC declined over 1%.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock dropped 1.2% and its rival state-owned ONGC slipped 1.8%. Cigarette major ITC moved down 0.7%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro tanked 1.6% whereas state-owned BHEL gained 0.65%.

Shares of Tata Motors, Jindal Steel, Tata Power, Hero Motocorp, Sun Pharma, Sterlite and Bajaj Auto were down 1.5-3%.

About two shares slipped for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

At 12:40 hours IST: Sensex pares losses despite rupee at record low of 55.99/$

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty trimmed somewhat losses in afternoon trade due to buying interest in banks and capital goods, even after the Indian rupee touched a record low of 55.99 a dollar (down 60 paise or 1% from previous close).

The BSE benchmark slipped 99 points or 0.62% to 15,928 and the NSE benchmark went down 30 points or 0.6% to 4,831. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell 0.5% each.

European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE went down 1-1.5% in initial trade after former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos statement saying preparations for the country's exit from the euro zone are being considered, but will be very damaging. He says such a move is unlikely to materialize but the risk is real.

Back home, country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied 1.3% while its rival ICICI Bank rose 0.2%, but HDFC Bank was down 0.2%.

Technology majors too turned positive; TCS and Wipro gained 0.3% each whereas Infosys declined 0.35%.

State-owned gas transportation services provider GAIL topped the buying list, rising 4%. However, oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC went down 0.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

State-owned capital goods major BHEL jumped 1%; even top engineering and construction company by sales Larsen & Toubro turned flat after recovery.

However, auto stocks like Tata Motors, Maruti, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto tumbled 1-2%. Housing finance company HDFC went down over 1%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL were moderately down.

About two shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

At 11:43 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty drop 1%; Asia extends losses, rupee @ 55.88/$

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended losses following further fall in rupee. Asian markets too slip further; Nikkei 225 Average tanked over 2% as yesterday Fitch downgraded Japan to A+ from AA due to growing risk of high public debt. Hang Seng, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan were down 1.2-1.75% while Shanghai declined 0.76%.

The Indian rupee was moving towards 56 a dollar; it dropped 49 paise to 54.88 a dollar. Neeraj Gambhir, Managing Director and Co-Head of Fixed Income India, Nomura feels the global sentiment is impacting quite a lot. "It's very difficult right now to say where this will pause and what will it take to pause this," he says.

The BSE benchmark fell 152 points or 0.95% to 15,874 led by 27 components. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark went down 48 points or 0.98% to 4,813.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank dropped 0.5-1% while rival State Bank of India rose 0.24%. Housing finance company HDFC went down 1.76%.

Top software services exporters TCS and Infosys fell 0.6% and 1.2%, respectively, even after the rupee continued to depreciate.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.8-1.2%. India's largest engineering and construction company by sales Larsen & Toubro lost 0.9% whereas state-owned capital goods company BHEL gained 0.9% ahead of quarterly numbers.

Auto stocks were completely in bear grip as rising rupee may impact royalty payments and import cost. Maruti Suzuki and Hero Motocorp tumbled 2.5% each. Bajaj Auto was down 2% while Tata Motors and M&M declined 0.3-0.7%.

In the second line shares, Wockhardt was the most active stock since its results got announced yesterday. The stock gained 5% today and 8% yesterday as it reported strong performance at EBITDA level in Q4FY12.

At 10:21 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty continue to languish; Tata Power tanks 4%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed lower since initial trade due to consistent downward journey in oil & gas producers, FMCG, power and select technology stocks. HDFC, HDFC Bank and auto exporters too were under pressure.

The Indian rupee has not been showing any sign of recovery due to outflow of foreign money, even after the Reserve Bank of India tried to support the rupee. FIIs have sold more than Rs 2,000 crore worth of equities since April. The rupee was trading at 55.78 a dollar, down 39 paise from previous close of 55.39 a dollar.

The BSE benchmark was down 79.41 points or 0.5% to 15,947 and the NSE benchmark fell 24 points to 4,836.50.

UR Bhat, MD of Dalton Capital Advisors feels that the Nifty may fall to 4700 in the near-term

Housing finance company HDFC tanked 1.7% and private sector lender HDFC Bank was down 0.76% whereas top lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank moved up 0.65% and 0.11%, respectively.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC fell nearly 1% while gas transporter GAIL rallied 3%.

Private power producer Tata Power tanked 4% after the company reported net loss at Rs 629 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as against profit of Rs 625 crore YoY.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL were down 0.5% each.

Auto stocks continued to fall as falling rupee may increase royalty payments and import cost for these companies. Maruti, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto tumbled 1.6-2%.

Technology stocks Infosys and Wipro were moderately down whereas TCS was flat, even after depreciation in rupee.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 723 to 442 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex down 0.4% on Greece woes; Rupee hits 55.75/$

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened 0.4% lower on Wednesday following Greece concerns and sharp fall in rupee. The India rupee went down to 55.75 a dollar at open (a new all-time high), but immediately came off day's low to 55.65 a dollar, down 25 paise or 0.46% from previous close of 55.39 a dollar as reports suggested that RBI sold dollars.

The BSE benchmark was down 63.36 points to 15,963.05 and the NSE benchmark fell 19.60 points to 4,840.90.

Among Asian markets, only Shanghai was down just 0.44% while others were down 1.2-1.7% due to eurozone concerns.

Former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos says preparations for the country's exit from the euro zone are being considered, but will be very damaging. He says such a move is unlikely to materialize but the risk is real.

Back home, Tata Power lost 3.5% after the company reported net loss at Rs 629 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as against profit of Rs 625 crore YoY.

Ambuja Cements, Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Motors, SBI, SAIL, ICICI Bank, PNB, IDFC, ITC and Coal India were down 1-1.5%.

Reliance Industries slipped 1% as CNBC-TV18 reported quoting sources that Niko Resources will exit D4 block with RIL and BP due to size & risk issues, and current commercial environment in India.

However, GAIL, BPCL, Infosys, TCS, Wipro and HCL Tech outperform in early trade.

State-owned capital goods company BHEL was up nearly 1% ahead of Q4 numbers.

The CNX Midcap Index was down 26 points to 6,830. About two shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, GMR Infra tanked 3.3%.

Idea Cellular and Reliance Communications fell 3% and 1%, respectively as brokerages downgraded telecom space.

HDIL, Manappuram Finance, Shree Renuka, VIP, Central Bank, Andhra Bank, S Kumars and Ashok Leyland lost 0.75-1.5%.

A2Z shot up 5% after Rakesh and Rekha Jhunjhunwala bought 26.5 lakh shares (more than 3.5% equity) of the company.

3i Infotech surged 5%. Wockhardt gained another 3.3% after rallying 8% yesterday due to better than expected performance at EBITDA level in Q4FY12.

Thomas Cook was up 0.9%, continuing yesterday's upmove further as parent company sold Indian unit to Fairbridge Capital.

PFC was up 0.6% and Indraprastha Gas rose 1.5%.