BSE Sensex, Nifty end lower; pharma stocks take hit

Indian shares took a breather on Monday and closed marginally in red on profit booking after hitting fresh 2.5 year highs. Pharma companies dragged key equity benchmarks lower while major auto stocks ended in green.

The Sensex closed at 20223.98, down 62 points or 0.31% and the Nifty ended at 6156.90 down 30 points or 0.49 percent. About 1107 shares advanced, 1298 shares declined, and 141 shares were unchanged.

Macquarie's Head of Research Rakesh Arora sees the Nifty hitting 6900 by this year end. Arora is hopeful of the capital expenditure cycle picking up from the second half of this financial year. In the infrastructure space, Arora is bullish on Cummins. In the banking space, he likes SBI and Axis Bank, and among autos, his top bets are Maruti and Tata Motors.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Coal India, up over a percent each.

Laggards included Ranbaxy Labs, Lupin, Jaiprakash Associates, Bharti Airtel and ONGC, down between 2 to 6 percent.

Pharma stocks were severely hit today. Glaxo SmithKline Pharma, Cadila Healthcare, Cipla and Ranbaxy are likely to be negatively impacted from the new drug price control order (DPCO) says broking firm HSBC.

Auto stocks were biggest gainers of the day. Shares of Maruti surged to fresh year high on further weakness in yen while M&M rallied to record highs after its arm Ssangyong Motor Company touched 16-month high.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals and India Cements ended with heavy losses after reporting disappointing quarterly results while City Union Bank and Adani Enterprises closed in green post earnings.

In the midcap space, shares of Himadri Chemicals, Voltamp Transformers, Thomas Cook, KSK Energy Ventures, MTNL, Motherson Sumi, Bajaj Finance and GSFC gained between 5 to 20 percent.

The Indian rupee was trading at 2.5 month low in the late afteroon trade. Traders say good demand for the greenback from oil importers and gold firms hurting the rupee, reported Reuters.

In the primary market, Just Dial IPO opened for subscription today. The issue price range is Rs. 470 - 543 and the discount to retail investors is Rs. 47 (10 per cent to the floor price). The issue will close for subscription on May 22.

Moneycontrol Bureau
3:20 pm News update: Global retailers like Walmart and Tesco can set up warehouses, cold storages and source products from SMEs in states which have not permitted FDI in the multi-brand retail sector, a senior official said.

"Foreign players can set up warehouses and also source products from small and medium enterprises from those states which are against FDI in multi-brand retail. No state will stop any foreign player to procure goods or do business with SMEs," a top official in the DIPP told PTI.

3:12pm Buzzing now: Thomas Cook surges 12.65 percent after sources indicate the company is looking to monetise its land assets. The company owns 32 properties across India.

3:08 pm Weather update: IMD says monsoon has covered Andaman Sea and more parts of Bay of Bengal

The market is off the day's highs as the Nifty has fallen off the 6200-mark. The Sensex is down 41.11 points at 20245.01, and the Nifty fell 19.55 points at 6167.75.

The midcap index was flat, but names like Ashok Leyland, Reliance Cap, HDIL and IVRCL are seeing smart gains.

Weakness in pharma and consumer durables were pulling down the indices.

Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Dr Reddys Labs,  Wipro and Cipla were major losers in the Sensex.

02:51 pm Bank Nifty down 90 points

02:48 pm Earnings Central City Union Bank's fourth quarter net profit jumoed to Rs 82.5 crore from Rs 72 crore, a year ago. Net Interest Income shot up to Rs 173.3 crore. The stock was up 2 percent.

02:38 pm Pharma stocks extend loss further

Shares of Apollo Hospitals, Ranbaxy, Elder Pharma, Lupin, Venus Remedies, Torrent pharma, Wockhardt were down in the range of 1 to 6 percent.

02:33 pm Market check The Sensex is up 21.34 points or 0.11% at 20307.46, and the Nifty is down 4.85 points or 0.08% at 6182.45. About 1179 shares have advanced, 1124 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

02:30 pm Sun Pharma close to life-high

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shares gained over 1.5 percent on Monday after the pharma major said the High Courts of Mumbai and Gujarat have given the go ahead to spin-off its domestic formulation business.

02:27 pm Jubilant Foodworks gains after Citi says buy

Foreign brokerage house Citi rated Jubilant FoodWorks a 'buy' with a target price of Rs 1,300.

02:23 pm BSE Pharma index down close to 1 percent.

Ranbaxy was the top loser in BSE pharma index. Lupin and Apollo Hospitals were down close to 3 percent each.

02:18 pm Tata Teleservices locke at 20 percent upper circuit.

GSM industry body COAI plans to approach the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in the "next few days" seeking cancellation of 19 licences awarded to Tata Teleservices  over five years ago, reported PTI.

02:12 pm Auto stocks buzzing: Shares of M&M were trading at life-high and crossed Rs 1000 mark on the upside after its arm Ssangyong Motor company hit a 16-month high, reported Reuters.

02:05 pm Earnings Impact: India Cements reported fall in its net profit to Rs 26.3 crore from Rs 65 crore, a year ago. The company posted marginal growth in its sales at Rs 1190 crore against Rs 1116 crore. The stock was down 2 percent.

Key equity benchmarks took a breather in the afternoon trade. European shares were trading in green while major Asian markets ended with smart gains.

At 13.58 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 80.44 points or 0.40% at 20366.56, and the Nifty up 16.55 points or 0.27% at 6203.85. About 1177 shares have advanced, 1061 shares declined, and 143 shares are unchanged.

Shares of Colgate were under pressure as Procter & Gamble is all set to foray in the toothpaste segment in India.

The Nikkei share average surged to a fresh 5-1/2 year high on Monday, buoyed by further weakness in the yen and optimism over the growth outlook after the Japanese government raised its assessment of the economy for the first time in two months.

Shares of Apollo Hospitals were down 4 percent after company's net profit (excluding tax reversal and extraordinary income) rose slightly to Rs 59.6 crore from Rs 59.3 crore year-on-year.

1:50 pm News update: Tata Power is likely to commission 240 mw Indonesia JVunit by July 15, reports Cogencis.

1:40 pm Apollo Hospitals Q4:
Net profit at Rs 75.5 crore vs Rs 59.3 crore (YoY)
Net sales at Rs 848.3 crore vs Rs 744.6 crore (YoY)
Tax reversal of Rs 11.4 crore.

It is quoting at Rs 1,028.15, down Rs 39.60, or 3.71 percent.

Experts talk:
Credit Suisse neutral on Mahindra Satyam; trims estimates
ITC results in-line, other FMCG profits surprise: StanChart

1.32 pm Market check: The market has gone a bit weak. The Nifty slips below 6200. The Sensex is up 71.72 points or 0.35% at 20357.84, and the Nifty up 10.90 points or 0.18% at 6198.20.

1:28 pm News update: Sun Pharma gets High Court nod to spin off domestic formulations operation. It is quoting at Rs 981.00, up Rs 15.70, or 1.63 percent.

1:25 pm Losing stocks: Wipro, Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddys Labs, ICICI Bank are major losers in the Sensex.

1:15 pm Star of the day: Mahindra and Mahindra was quoting at Rs 1,013.50, up Rs 28.00, or 2.84 percent after stocks of its subsidiary Ssangyong Motor Co hit a 16-month high, dealers say.

Shares in Ssangyong Motor jumped as much as 13.5 percent on Monday amid expectations the ailing automaker may post a profit this year.

Ssangyong Motor's factory utilisation and sales were growing faster than expected, and the company was seen returning to profit this year, said Yang Hee-joon, an analyst at Taurus Investment & Securities, in a note on Monday.

1:10 pm Movers now: M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors and Coal India are key gainers in the Sensex.

It is a stable start to the week. The Nifty was trading above 6200 led by autos and public sector banks. The mid and small caps too see significant traction.

The Sensex is up 96.27 points at 20382.39, and the Nifty up 20.35 at 6207.65.

Colgate is down 2.9 percent in trade today. P&G is set to foray into the Indian toothpaste market in June, with the launch of Oral B toothpaste. The move is seen as a serious threat to Colgate over the long term. CLSA recommends investors to sell while maintaining an underperform rating on stock.

The rupee, meanwhile, slipped to an 11-week low against the dollar hurt by strength in the green back. The range is tipped at 54.8 to 55.2 for the day

12.52 pm Market check: The Sensex is up 93.73 points at 20379.85, and the Nifty is up 18.80 points at 6206.10

12:45 pm Key gainers: Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Coal India are lead gainers in the Sensex.

12:40 pm Brokerage call:

CLSA on Colgate:
P&G set to foray into toothpaste market
Advertising and promotions expenses for Colgate to rise
Recommend investors to sell Colgate

12:30 am European markets: European markets have opened in the green territory. FTSE is up 0.12 percent, CAC is up 0.09 percent while Dax is up 0.6 percent.

Expert talk:
See Nifty 6900 by Dec; like infra, auto: Macquarie's Arora

IPO Check: Just Dial IPO opens for subscription today
MUST READ: Just Dial eyes large chunk of traffic from mobile internet

Buzzing Stock: Bajaj Finance touched fresh 52-week high today at Rs 1578.70 extending recent gains triggered by the company reporting strong Q4 earnings.

Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Healthcare was down 7 percent in trade after rallying over 6 percent on Friday. 

12:11pm Top gainers in the BSE Smallcap were Voltamp Transformers (Rs 500.25, 19.99%), Himadri Chemicals (Rs 22.06, 19.96%), Prozone Capital (Rs 28.85, 19.96%), Rupa and Comp (Rs 209.95, 16.64%) and JK Lakshmi Cement (Rs 107.45, 7.72%)

Indian shares were consolidating in the afternoon trade after touching fresh multi-month highs in the morning trade. Nifty scaled above the 6200 mark led by heavy buying in auto stocks. BSE Sensex saw some profit booking at higher levels. Realty, oil&gas and metal stocks also hogged the limelight.

At 12.00 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 99.47 points or 0.49% at 20385.59, and the Nifty up 20.55 points or 0.33% at 6207.85. About 1116 shares have advanced, 888 shares declined, and 122 shares are unchanged.

MCX Gold cracked over a percent citing weakness in the COMEX Gold. It was down over Rs 400 at Rs 25404 per 10 grams.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Tata Motors (Rs 312.55, 3.03%), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,757.90, 2.88%), Mahindra and Mahindra (Rs 1,013.65, 2.67%), Bajaj Auto (Rs 1,869.90, 2.07%) and Reliance Infra (Rs 434.40, 1.82%).

Top losers were Lupin (Rs 772.05, 3.93%), Ranbaxy Labs (Rs 454.65, 3.57%), Cipla (Rs 420.25, 1.26%), Kotak Mahindra (Rs 784.55, 1.23%) and BPCL (Rs 413.75, 1.08%).

Moneycontrol Bureau
11:52 am Buzzing now: JK Lakshmi Cement is quoting at Rs 107.50, up Rs 7.75, or 7.77 percent.

11:50 am FII flow: Foreign investors have been net buyers for 22 consecutive sessions as of Friday, bringing in a net of about USD 13.52 billion in 2013, regulatory and exchange data shows.

11:45 am Market check: The Sensex is up 91.92 points at 20378.04, and the Nifty up 23.60 points at 6210.90.

11:45 am Macro outlook: There is no case for downgrading India's sovereign credit rating, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told a news channel, after Standard & Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on the country's credit rating.

11:40 am Boardroom on CNBC-TV18
Pawan Singh, director and CFO, PTC India Financial Services says:
Saw a marginal decline on revenue front
Will be able to maintain NIM at current level going forward
Loan book stands at around Rs 10,000 crore
Have confined ourselves to  energy value chain

11:35 am News update: Aurobindo Pharma promoter releases 20 lakh shares from pledge. It was quoting at Rs 194.45, up Rs 2.20, or 1.14 percent.

11:34 am: Gold value: Gold fell for an eighth straight session on Monday to its weakest level in over a month, as fears that the US Federal Reserve may wind back its economic stimulus programme hurt the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation.

Investors have been dumping gold, which is down 20 percent so far this year, as stocks and the dollar continue to outperform. If gold closes in the red on Monday, it would match the metal's longest losing streak since March 2009.

11:30 am Buzzing now: TTML surges 5.2 percent as Tata sons has cancelled the offer for sale for Tata Teleservices Maharashtra following a tepid response from investors. Just over 80 percent of the issue was subscribed at more than 30 percent below the floor price.

11:20 am Losing stocks: Wipro, Cipla, ICICI Bank, ONGC and TCS are major losers in the Sensex.

11:17am: Biggest loser: Lupin was quoting at Rs 771.90, down Rs 32.35, or 4.02 percent following the launch of rival Mylan Inc's generic version of the cholesterol-lowering Tricor tablets.

Mylan Inc said in a statement on Friday its unit Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc has shipped generic Tricor, or fenofibrate tablets, of 48 mg and 145 mg.

11:12 am News update: Suzlon is in talks with 2012 bondholders to refinance debt. It may issue dollar bonds to repay USD 209 million of 2012 notes, reports agencies.  It is quoting at Rs 14.65, up Rs 0.18, or 1.24 percent.

11:05 am Brokerage calls: Citi has assigned a 'buy' rating on Jubilant Foods with a target of Rs 1300. ''Risk-reward seems to be more reasonable after a moderation in expectations and the recent underperformance,'' it says.

Experts take:
CY13 Sensex target at 20700; bet on NBFCs, pvt banks: HSBC
See Nifty 6900 by Dec; like infra, auto: Macquarie's Arora

The market seems to be flexing its muscles today. The Sensex is up 144.50 points at 20430.62 while the Nifty is 6224, up 36.70 points. About 1076 shares have advanced, 715 shares declined, and 98 shares are unchanged.

Auto, metals and realty stocks were lending strength to the indices.

Dhanlaxmi Bank was up 2.1% after reporting a profit of Rs 29 cr compared to loss of Rs 86.5 cr in comparable quarter of last year.

M&M, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India and RIL were the biggest gainers in the Sensex.

10:59 am Only Buyers: Voltamp Transformers, Kothari Sugars, Himadri Chemicals, Radico Khaitan locked at upper circuits.

10:53 am Intraday Block Deals: Large ticket-size deals hapenned in heavyweights like Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Nestle, ICICI Bank, Amara Raja Batteries, Bajaj Finance, HDFC and NTPC on the NSE.

10:48 am Brokerage Calls

AnandRathi has a 'Buy' rating on HDFC with a stop loss at Rs 885 and target of Rs 975. The stock is trading above all key trading averages.

IIFL has a 'Buy' rating on Century Textiles with a stop loss at Rs 316 and target of Rs 337. The stock has moved in a trading band between Rs 306 to Rs 322.

Also Read: Motilal Oswal maintains 'buy' on Sun TV, target Rs 505

10:40 am Gold check: MCX Gold cracked more than 1.5 percent or Rs 421 in the opening trade to Rs 25414 per 10 grams citing weakness in COMEX Gold.

MUST READ: Gold not best asset to be in; look at equities now, says Udayan

10:33am Buzzing Stock: Lupin is down 4 percent today. Mylan's launch of Tricor will result in higher competition translating it to lower pricing and some decline in Lupin's market share. Tricor is a fairly big contributor to Lupin's bottomline.

10:30 am ABB denies delisting plans. The stock was down 1 percent on Monday at Rs 655 after rallying more than 20 percent on Friday.

Market Outlook: Jitendra Sriram, MD & Head of Research, HSBC India is more cautious on Indian equities, compared with other Asian markets, given expensive valuation. On stocks he is bullish on NBFCs & private banks.

MUST READ: CY13 Sensex target at 20700; bet on NBFCs, pvt banks: HSBC

Just Dial IPO Management: VSS Mani, Founder & CEO at Just Dial told CNBC-TV18, "61 percent of our traffic comes via internet while 39 percent from voice. We expect large chunk of traffic to come from mobile internet."

Commenting on the safety net, he said "The safety net will protect retail investors for 180 days. We expect safety net to boost retail confidence in our IPO."

IPO Check: Just Dial IPO opens for subscription today

10:13 am Top percentage gainers in the NSE: JHS Svendgaard (Rs 22.80, 17.83%), Himadri Chemicals (Rs 21.70, 16.04%), Voltamp Transformers (Rs 478.80, 14.12%), IOL Chemicals (Rs 23.75, 11.50%) and RS Software (Rs 128.90, 9.33%)

10:04 am Currency check: Rupee depreciates further to 55.13
Also Read: Rupee hits 2-1/2 month low

Key equity benchmarks were trading firm tracking positive regional shares. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was up 400 points while Japan's Nikkei rallied more than 200 points.

At 09.59 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 118.38 points or 0.58% at 20404.50, and the Nifty up 29.80 points or 0.48% at 6217.10. About 845 shares have advanced, 467 shares declined, and 66 shares are unchanged.

The rupee is trading at 55.02/03 after touching 55.07 in opening deals, its lowest since March 4. Traders say a weak euro is helping the USDINR pair but gains in domestic shares may support the local unit, reported Reuters.

Key gainers in the Nifty were Tata Motors (Rs 313.30, 3.28%), Bank of Baroda (Rs 755.20, 1.99%), Maruti Suzuki (Rs 1,742.20, 1.96%), Coal India (Rs 303.00, 1.85%) and UltraTech Cement (Rs 2,053.00, 1.80%).

Laggards included Lupin (Rs 776.00, 3.43%), Ranbaxy Labs (Rs 461.40, 2.14%), ICICI Bank (Rs 1,219.95, 0.85%), Cipla (Rs 422.70, 0.68%) and BPCL (Rs 415.60, 0.63%)

Moneycontrol Bureau
9:54 am Currency check: Rupee hits 2-1/2 month low. The rupee is trading at 54.02/03 after touching 55.07 in opening deals, its lowest since March 4. Traders say a weak euro is helping the USD/INR pair but gains in domestic shares may support the local unit.

9:53 am Market check: The Sensex is up 130.55 points at 20416.67, and the Niftyis 6220.55,  up 33.25 points.

9:45 am News update: GSM industry body COAI plans to approach the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in the "next few days" seeking cancellation of 19 licences awarded to Tata Teleservices  over five years ago.

COAI is of the view that that the 19 licences awarded to Tata Teleservices (TTSL) on January 2008 stand cancelled as per the Supreme Court's February 2012 order. DoT had cancelled 122 licences following the apex court order.

9:43 am Midcap gainers: Coromandel International, Essar Oil, HMT, Ipca Labs, Shriram Cit, TataTeleservice are some of the early midcap gainers.

9:40 am IPO talk: The Rs 950 crore IPO of Justdial will open for subscription today, with a price band of Rs 470-543 a share.

Mumbai-based company, which provides search services over phone and web, will raise anywhere between Rs 822-950 crore depending on the final issue price. The issue will close on May 22, 2013.

Slide show: Sip of good health: 5 FMCG stocks for your portfolio

9:35 am Top gainers: Tata Motors, Coal India, ITC, Maruti Suzuki and Sterlite Industries are the key gainers in the Sensex.

9:30 am: BSE Metals index is up 1.2 percent.

9.25 am Market check:  The Sensex is up 117.52 points at 20403.64, and the Nifty gains 30.85 points at 6218.15.

Experts take:
No asset class is risk-free: Axis Cap's Nandan Chakraborty
Focus on Nifty & IT; ignore banks: Sukhani

The market opened on a positive note. The Sensex was up 28.47 points at 20314.59, and the Nifty gained 10.70 points to be at 6198.00. About 236 shares have advanced, 113 shares declined, and 37 shares are unchanged.

Experts warn that investors may be a bit worried today as rating agency Standard & Poor's affirmed its 'triple B minus' long-term and 'A-3' short-term unsolicited sovereign credit ratings on India and the the outlook on the long-term rating remain negative.

Stock-specifically, ITC, Tata Motors, Coal India, BHEL and Dr Reddy's Labs were the top gainers in the Sensex.

Income Tax department has slapped a fresh Rs 577-crore tax demand notice on Infosys for 2009-10 assessment year, adding to the tax woes of India's second largest IT firm. The Bangalore-based software services exporter said that it is in process of seeking legal recourse against the fresh tax demand notice

The IT major is already contesting additional Income Tax demands of about Rs. 1,175 crore (USD 214 million) for four fiscals years beginning 2005. At 09:22 hrs Infosys was quoting at Rs 2,364.00, up Rs 13.20, or 0.56 percent.

Meanwhile, other technology stocks like Wipro, TCS were losers in the Sensex.

Companies that are expected to announce March quarter earnings are Adani Enterprise, Voltas, City Union Bank, India Cements, Apollo Hospital, Divis Lab, Hotal Leela, Shriram City Union, SREI Infra, Bayer Corp, Globus Spirits and PC Jewellers among others.