Disappointing close for Sensex, Nifty; TCS outperforms

In the absence of positive global cues, poor third quarter earnings and slowdown in the economy, equity market saw a disappointing close on the last trading day. BSE benchmark Sensex ended 95 points down at 19484.77 and NSE Nifty lost 35.30 points to close at 5903.50.  Nifty even went below 5900 intra-day, triggering Puts at the lower levels. For the week, the benchmarks lost nearly 1.5 percent each, while midcaps bled with 3 percent cut.

Tech stocks held steady throughout the week with TCS closing up 2.58 percent on Friday. Wipro closed with 1.57 percent gains and Hexaware made smart gains. Other winners include HDFC Bank, BHEL and Larsen, all of which moved up around 1 percent.

The cement duo - ACC and Ambuja Cements - performed miserably on the bourses, they lost 5.2 percent and 3.02 percent respectively. Hindaclo was a big loser; the stock wiped out 3.18 percent to trade  at Rs 109.75 after it announced a ho-hum quartely numbers. Sterlite and Sesa lost 3 percent and 2.5 percent each. Despite good numbers, first by Sun Pharma and later by Mahindra and Mahindra, the mood in the market could not be reversed. Both ended in the red.

In the midcap space, Jet Airways moved up 1.46 percent as Etihad completed due diligence. Other gainers include Essar Oil, Strides Arcolab and Bajaj Electric. On the losing side, Jain Irrigation and Manappuram finance stand as biggest losers of the week. Srei Infra lost a lot of ground on news that the company has sold its KFA loan to Diageo.

Market muted; Canara Bank down 2.15% on dismal Q3 results

Key equity benchmarks succumbed to selling pressure in the afternoon. The Sensex is down 14.27 points at 19566 and the Nifty slips 13.20 points to 5925. About 941 shares have advanced, 1594 shares declined, and 960 shares remain unchanged.

Hindalco fell 2.82 percent ahead of third quarter earnings. The company is expected to post tepid numbers . Cipla continues it downward journey after disappointing the street with dismal Q3 results.

Coal India and Sterlite Industries are also trading down more than two percent each. From the midcap space, Shashun Pharma is down 11.86 percent after reporting a fall of nearly 67 percent year-on-year to Rs 8.2 crore in Q3FY13.

Public sector lender Canara Bank saw a drop of 19 percent in net profit dented by higher provisions. The stock is down 2.15 percent.

IT majors TCS (up 2.85 percent) was the top gainer on the Sensex. BHEL, Larsen, NTPC and HDFC Bank were all up more than a percent.

Sensex, Nifty in green; IT, cap goods lead fightback

Key equity benchmarks turned positive after a flat start to trade. The BSE Sensex is up 44.36 points or 0.23 percent at 19624.68, and the Nifty up 4.75 points or 0.08 percent at 5943.55.

IT majors TCS (up 2.95 percent) and Wipro (up 1.79 percent) are leading the fightback, with capital goods heavyweights Larsen & Tubro (up 1.22 percent) and BHEL (up 1.48 percent) giving them good company. 

Mahindra and Mahindra shares gain 1 percent, while Sun Pharmaceutical Ltd rises 0.8 percent ahead of quarterly earnings due later in the day.

On the losing side, cement companies fall after earnings trail market estimates: ACC falls 1.2 percent and Ambuja Cement is down 2.9 percent.

Indiabulls Financial Services share drop 5.8 percent, after more than a dozen block deals on both National Stock Exchange and BSE.

Friday Open: Nifty flat; Tata Mtrs up 2%, Shasun slips 12%

Investors woke up to a flat Friday morning mirroring the global mood, with indices seeing support from auto, banking and realty major DLF. The midcap space was trading sideways with stock specific action.

At 09.24 AM, the Sensex was up 29.36 points at 19609.68, and the Nifty moved ahead 6.80 points to touch 5945.60.

The day began with auto stocks ruling the show. With 1.9 percent upmove, Tata Motors was the biggest gainer. Mahindra & Mhindra, Bajaj Auto, Maruti Suzuki, and Hero MotoCorp were other Auto winners. Stocks like HDFc Bank, SBI, and Bank of Baroda alose moved up to trade with sub 1 percent gains.

NTPC moved up after successful completion of its OFS (offer for sale), which saw good response from FIIs. The government raised USD 2.15 billion from the NTPC share sale.

Shahsun was the biggest loser in the midcap space; it was trading with 12 percent cut. Investors dumped the stock after the company posted a steep dip in third quarter net profit (at Rs 2.89 crore from Rs 12.68 crore in the corresponding quarter last year). IndiaBulls was the other big loser, falling 4.7 percent. Jubilant Foodworks fell 2 percent on profit-booking.