Midcaps dive even as Sensex flat; rupee plunges to new low

Rupee plunged to a new low and mid caps were battered even as benchmark indices closed flat in a volatile session Monday.

With the RBI reluctant to support the rupee, outlook on the currency has turned bearish, and raised fears of foreign investors reducing exposure to Indian equities.

The BSE Sensex closed at 19441, up 12 points after swinging between a high and low of respectively. The Nifty shed 3 points to close at 5878.

Institutional investors however are divided on the impact of rupee of equities.

"In general foreign investors who have invested this year on the equity side are not overly feeling paranoid. It is more the fixed income guys for whom the sensitivity to currency movements is much more," said Samir Arora of Helios Capital in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Some experts now doubt if the RBI will cut interest rate at its policy review meet next Monday, as it could put further pressure on the rupee.

"A June rate cut is very much off the table and if things don't stabilise so will a July rate cut," said Sajid Chinoy in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Realty, banking and pharma shares were among the big losers, while buyers piled on to those from the FMCG and IT sectors.

Key gainers included GlaxoSmithkline Consumer, UltraTech Cement, Wipro, MCX and and Apollo Hospitals, which rose 2-3 percent.

Sellers mounted a renewed attack on second line shares, amid speculation that steep slide in some stocks could have to do with the unwinding of pledged shares.

Stocks like Hindustan Construction Company, Shree Renuka Sugars and Opto Circuits plunged 12-23 percent.

Among frontline names, Jet Air shares fell over 11 percent to close at Rs 403.70.

3:57 pm Government action: The Finance Ministry, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and market regulators on Monday discussed loosening rules for investment by foreign sovereign wealth funds in response to a sharply falling rupee and a wide current account deficit that are hurting the economy, reports Reuters.

Two senior ministry officials, who declined to be named, said the aim was to attract more capital flows from wealth funds in Middle East countries. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has visited the Middle East in recent months to drum up investment.

3:45 pm Gold update: Gold futures edged higher on Monday, after the rupee hit a record low, while physical trading remained muted due to seasonal slackness amid lack of supplies after a ban on consignment imports.

3:40 pm Buzzing: A GMR Infrastructure subsidiary has acquired 17.03 per cent stake in Delhi Duty Free Services at Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport for an undisclosed sum.
    
Delhi Duty Free Services is operating, maintaining and managing the duty free outlets at the IGI airport under concession from Delhi International Airport Private Limited for a period of 15 years up to 2024-25. The stock closed down 1.2 percent on the BSE.

3:30 pm Market update: The Sensex closes up 49.57 points at 19478.80, and the Nifty ends 5878.85, down 3 points (provisional).
About 873 shares have advanced, 1401 shares declined, and 153 shares are unchanged.

3:20 pm Alert: FMCG major Dabur India on Monday said it has expanded its skin care portfolio with the launch of gel-based facial bleach in the country.

The company said the product--'Oxy Life Gel Bleach with Aloe Vera', has been developed after extensive research by Dabur Research & Development Centre. The stock is down 3.4 percent on the BSE.

Expert talk: Why do great Indian cos self-destruct? Ambit explains

The market is treading through choppy waters as rupee hit all-time low of 57.97 per dollar.  The Sensex is down 8.08 points at 19421.15, and the Nifty slips 8.10 points to 5872.90. About 785 shares have advanced, 1415 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged.

Most of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) are weak today as sources say OMCs are likely to take a Rs 22000 crore hit on under recoveries on account of rupee depreciation.

Jindal Steel (down 4.15 percent),  BHEL (down 3.03 percent),  Maruti Suzuki (down 2.21 percent),  ICICI Bank (down 2.19 percent) and Tata Motors (down 2.19 percent) are laggards of the day.

2:55 pm Macro outlook: India's industrial output probably rose for a fourth consecutive month in April , but at a slightly slower pace, a Reuters poll showed, suggesting economic recovery remains tepid.

A weaker reading of factory activity will increase the pressure on the RBI to ease monetary conditions to spur growth at its policy meeting next week while it seeks to balance risks from a high current account deficit and a weaker currency.

2:45 pm Alert: Most of the oil marketing companies (OMCs) are weak today as sources say OMCs are likely to take a Rs 22000 crore hit on under recoveries on account of rupee depreciation.

2:40 pm: Rupee has hit an all time low of 57.97 per dollar.

2:35 pm: Supreme Court is going to again hear PIL against Ranbaxy on June 12 (Wed).  Ranbaxy Laboratories is at Rs 371.40, down Rs 5.95, or 1.58 percent on the BSE.

02:30pm Indian equities continue to trade in a tight range of 5885-5910. BSE Sensex is up 46.37 points at 19475.60, and the Nifty is up 12.65 points at 5893.65.

Reliance Communications and State Bank of India are most active shares on exchanges.

Indian rupee remains near record low of 57.77 per dollar, escalating worries about the country's current account deficit and complicating the task of the RBI as it tries to loosen monetary conditions to spur an economic recovery, Reuters reports.

02:20pm Shree Renuka Sugars crashed 13 percent and Opto Circuits dropped 27 percent.

Jet Airways shares plunged more than 10 percent ahead of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) meeting scheduled on Tuesday to approve its stake sale transaction with Abu-Dhabi's Etihad Airways.

Among smallcaps, shares of UB Holdings , HOEC, Patel Engineering, Jai Balaji and Gokaldas Export slid 6.5-10 percent.

02:10pm Equity benchmarks are trading higher, but broader markets underperformed benchmarks that led the market breadth in favour of declines. More than 465 equity shares advanced while 758 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

BSE Sensex rose by 88.38 points to 19517.61, and the Nifty is up 26.00 points at 5907 whereas BSE Midcap and Smallcap fell 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

LK Advani quits all posts in BJP today, after Narendra Modi's elevation as campaign chief, reports CNN-IBN.

01:59pm NHPC shares dropped 3.4 percent amid very large volumes. More than 82 lakh equity shares changed hands at Rs 18.30 a piece on National Stock Exchange via two blocks that were worth Rs 15 crore.

01:50pm BSE Sensex gained 101 points to 19530.50, and the NSE Nifty is up 27.65 points at 5908.65.

Index heavyweight HDFC shares rallied nearly 3 percent and private sector lender HDFC Bank rose by 1.4 percent.

Among technology stocks, Infosys and Wipro advanced 2 percent each while their rival TCS gained 0.8 percent.

Shares of ITC and Reliance Industries soared one percent each. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank , Tata Motors , Bharti Airtel and Sun Pharma fell more than 1.3 percent.

More than 49 lakh equity shares of Magma Fincorp changed hands at Rs 92.75 a piece on National Stock Exchange. The stock is down 1.3 percent.

01:40pm Eicher Motors rose by 1.5 percent after a block deal worth Rs 6.21 crore. More than 17,000 equity shares changed hands at Rs 3,616.95 a piece on National Stock Exchange.

Exide Industries dropped 4 percent; 5 lakh shares changed hands at Rs 133 a piece on National Stock Exchange.

01:30pm Indian equities gained some strength, led by further upmove in HDFC and Infosys shares. ITC and HDFC Bank too extended gains to 1.03 percent and 0.82 percent from 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.

HDFC rallied 2.4 percent and Infosys advanced 1.8 percent.

BSE Sensex is up 81.84 points at 19,511.07, and the Nifty is up 21.60 points at 5902.60.

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company slipped two percent amid hefty volumes. More than 6.5 lakh equity shares changed hands at Rs 255 a piece on Bombay Stock Exchange and 5 lakh shares changed hands at Rs 260.35 a piece on National Stock Exchange.

01:25pm Larsen and Toubro shares gained 0.6 percent, after its consortium received order worth Rs 6,700 crore from Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation Of India (DFCCIL).

Federal Bank lost 2 percent, after two big block deals. 16 lakh equity shares changed hands at Rs 446.50 a piece on both exchanges.

01:15pm Marico shares rose by 0.5 percent amid large volumes, after 7.5 lakh equity shares changed hands at Rs 234.50 on National Stock Exchange via block deal.

Japan's Nikkei 225 average soared 4.9 percent Monday - a biggest one-day gain since March 2011, after US jobs data.

Investors were also encouraged by data that showed Japan's economy grew 1.0 percent in January-March, revised up slightly from a preliminary estimate. The figures underscored a steady recovery driven by a pickup in global growth and sweeping stimulus policies by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, according to Reuters reports.

01:05pm NSE Nifty is flat to positive and is trading below the 5900 level. Technology stocks are quite supportive due to sharp rupee depreciation.

BSE Sensex is up 28.82 points at 19458.05, and the Nifty is up 5.10 points at 5886.10.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel and commercial vehicle major Tata Motors lost 1.9 percent each.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank slipped 1.7 percent; Bank Nifty fell 100 points.

Housing finance company HDFC rose by 1.7 percent and HDFC Bank shares gained 0.3 percent.

Among technology stocks, Infosys and Wipro advanced 1.5 percent while TCS soared just 0.5 percent.

12:50 pm: Wipro , HDFC , Infosys , NTPC and Hero Motocorp are key gainers.

12:45 pm:  Citi feels that Sensex is likely to hit 20,800 by December 2013. The brokerage says "Our target offers a reasonable 6 percent from here and largely reflects our 'on the right side - but early' perspective on the economy, earnings and the market.

Citi says that the portfolio has a cyclical bias with overweight on financials, energy, telecom and pharma. "Time for positioning, rather than a pay-off," it adds.

12:42 pm Global outlook: The question on everyone's mind is how soon the Fed will move on QE exit. Former Fed Chairman, Alan Greenspan feels the central bank should taper now. He says the sooner we come to grips with this excessive level of assets on the balance sheet of the federal reserve, the better. Greenspan says bond prices need to fall for the economy to normalise.

12:40 pm: It is a positive session for most of Asia, as the Japanese market rallies 5 percent on the back of a strong GDP revision and a weaker yen. The Chinese market is shut today.

12:30 pm European market:  European markets are trading mixed.

12:35 pm: The midcap index is in the red. Jain Irrigation , Federal Bank , Idea and HDIL are all down 3 percent apiece.

Don't miss: Panic in market about Rupee 'unwarranted', says FinMin

The Nifty is struggling below 5900 led by rate sensitives and pharma. The Nifty is up 0.20 points to be at 5881.20 while the the Sensex is up 11.47 points at 19440.70. About 910 shares have advanced, 1077 shares declined, and 146 shares are unchanged.

Samir Arora of helios capital says there is no panic situation yet for the Indian market, while Adrian Mowat of JP Morgan says they will buy India aggressively due to the currency factor.

Jindal Steel , Bharti Airtel , Sun Pharma , Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki are major laggards of the day.

In commodities, Brent nudges towards the USD 105 per barrel level helped by jobs data. Gold hovers below USD 1400/ounce.

Indian government bonds sank partly because of foreign institutional investors' selling and also because the falling currency is seen preventing the RBI from cutting rates in the June 17 credit policy. Higher prices of crude is adding to the negative sentiment.

11:59am PVR gained 1.6 percent, after the board of directors approved merger of Cinemax India , Cine Hospitality with self (a wholly-owned subsidiary).

In January, PVR had announced to acquire 69.27 percent stake from the promoter group of Cinemax in all cash transaction Rs 395 crore. Cinemax India shares surged 10 percent.

11:50am Rupee extended its fall due to weakness in Indian macros as well as global dollar strength. It depreciated by 70 paise to a record low of 57.76 per dollar.

FIIs have redeemed more than Rs 7,600 crore from Indian debt market in the first week of June owing to weakness in the rupee. Standard Chartered says the rupee move is reminescent of August 2011 fall and debt markets may see more outflows.

11:45am Coromandel International gained is up 0.4 percent, as Deutsche Bank has a buy rating on the stock, with a target price of Rs 260. "FY14 is likely to be significantly better on expected normal monsoon, lower discounts and as dealer margins drive improvement in margins," Deutsche Bank report said.

GSK Pharma lost 2.6 percent, after brokerage house Nomura downgraded the stock to a reduce, with a target price of Rs 2,236. "The stock has rallied expectations of an open offer from the parent. But while Glaxo plc might be interested in raising its stake, the valuation could be a deterrent," Nomura reasoned.

11:30am Equity benchmarks are trading flat to positive in late morning trade, after losing more than 100 points on the Sensex.

The BSE Sensex is up 44.55 points to 19473.78, and the Nifty advanced 11.05 points to 5892.05. About 980 shares advanced while 878 shares declined.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Average jumped by 5 percent or 636.67 to 13,514.20 while other Asian markets are up between 0.3 percent and 0.8 percent.

Back home, Fortis Healthcare gained 1.3 percent, after the company raised USD 55 million (around Rs 310 crore) through the FCCB route. These funds will help the company for further expansion of hospital beds in India over the next three to five years and to reduce debt.

Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) lost 4.4 percent on reports that the consortium of banking lenders has authorised SBI to file a recovery suit against the company in the debt recovery tribunal to realise its dues aggregating Rs 7000 crore. Lenders have also given their consent to SBI to proceed against the guarantor of loans given to KFA.

11:20am Technology stocks continue to trade higher, tracking sharp depreciation in rupee that could help software services exporters. Hexaware's chairman Atul Nishar says the rupee depreciation would help margins improve by 100 basis points.

He expects 10 percent growth in CY13, and revenue growth will be better in second half of year, he adds.

Hexaware shares gained 2.5 percent to Rs 86.45.

11:10am Indian rupee depreciated by 64 paise to touch a record low of 57.70 per dollar on Monday. Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan said the rupee fall could be a temporary phenomenon.

"We will keep taking medium-term steps to ease rupee volatility," Rajan added.

Sun Pharma , Bharti Airtel and Jindal Steel are top losers, falling between 1.5 percent and 2 percent.

Indian equities erased all early gains on sharp depreciation in rupee that touched a record low of 57.70 per dollar on Monday. The BSE Sensex gained 19.88 points at 19449.11 that rallied 156.52 points in early trade.

The NSE Nifty rose 5.40 points to 5886.40.

Now the Indian rupee is trading at 57.68, down 62 paise from Friday's closing level.

Even though the rupee is keeping market watchers on the edge, Samir Arora of Helios Capital says he is not " overly worried " about the currency. That's because he feels the bad phase for the economy and the market, which is down about 4-5 percent in dollar terms, is now behind us.

Medical equipment maker Opto Circuits fell 17.75 percent to Rs 23.40 on National Stock Exchange.

Technology stocks are on buyers' radar after rupee depreciation. Infosys and TCS gained 0.9 percent while Wipro rose 2.2 percent.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries , ITC and HDFC are up nearly 0.5 percent.

Among banks, top lender State Bank of India gained 0.33 percent while its rival ICICI Bank fell 0.8 percent.

10.54 am Market update: The Sensex is up 19.88 points at 19449.11, and the Nifty is up 6.35 points to be at 5887.35. About 921 shares have advanced, 738 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged.

10:42 am Expert talk: In an interview to CNBC-TV18 , Mehraboon Irani, principal and head- Pvt Client Group, Nirmal Bang Securities says the Indian equity market is likely to see a correction given the rupee downward trajectory. However, Irani is optimistic towards the market and says investors should wait and look out for good buying on dips opportunities.

10:37 am Dealing room check: Flows in the market are mixed as currency move is biggest worry. All eyes are on macro data as MSCI re-balances this week.IT and pharma stocks are in focus while bank stocks are seeing selling pressure. Cracks are seen in mid cap and small cap stocks. Last week there was an outflow of USD 12.5 billion from all bond funds and USD 6.2 bn outflow was seen in equity funds.

Flows suggest that money is moving out of emerging equity and debt fund. Dealers expect the phenomenon to continue in near term.

10:35 am Buzzing: Reliance Communication is down 2.5% today, Bank of America-Merill Lynch has an underperformance rating with a target price of Rs 100. It has reiterates underperformance rating due to fragile FY14-15 earnings outlook and steep balance sheet risks.

10:30 am FII View: Even though the rupee is keeping market watchers on the edge, Samir Arora of Helios Capital says he is not "overly worried" about the currency. That's because he feels the bad phase for the economy and the market, which is down about 4-5 percent in dollar terms, is now behind us.

"Fundamentally, you will be able to say a few things that inflation is on the way down, which I do not think anybody can deny. Also, whatever we may say, there will be suppression of gold demand going forward. In general foreign investors who have invested this year on the equity side are not overly feeling paranoid. It is more the fixed income guys for whom the sensitivity to currency movements is much more," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

10:25 am Loser: Kingfisher Airlines is down around 5 percent today as reports that the consortium of banking lenders has authorised SBI to file a recovery suit against KFS in the debt recovery tribunal to realise their dues aggregating Rs 7000 crore. Lenders have also given their consent to SBI to proceed against the guarantor of loans given to KFA.

10:20 am Buzzing: Fortis Healthcare is up 1.5 percent as the company raised USD 55 million (Rs 310 crore ) through the FCCB route. These funds will help the company for further expansion of hospital beds in India over the next three to five years and to reduce debt.

What Udayan says about market?

The market is managaing to hold gains as rupee hits an all-time low of 57.54 per dollar. The Sensex is up 75.32 points at 19504.55 while  the Nifty adds 23.45 points to be at 5904.45. About 780 shares have advanced, 461 shares declined, and 84 shares are unchanged.

Wipro , M&M, Bajaj Auto , Hero MotoCorp and L&T are major gainers in the Sensex. Meanwhile, Sun Pharma , Jindal Steel and Tata Motors are major losers.

Indian rupee hit a new record low of 57.37 in morning trade, after opening at 57.25 per dollar on Monday as against Friday's closing of 57.06 a dollar.

Earlier, it had hit touched a all-time low of 57.32 per dollar in June 2012.

The Chinese markets are shut on account of pre-dragon boat festival.

In the global market, the Bank of Japan kicks off its two-day meeting today and investors will be waiting to see if the central bank will take further steps to curb volatility in Japanese government bonds. Japan has seen a big surge in trade rebounding from the biggest weekly drop in a year last week after the US added more jobs than expected in the payroll report on Friday.

In commodities, brent crude rises to USD 104 per barrel on jobs data. From precious metals space, gold prices slip to sub USD 1400 per ounce.

9:50 am Private equity players announced investments worth USD 2.1 billion in Indian companies in May, the highest amount for any month in more than five years, according to global consultancy firm Ernst & Young.

The highest investment value primarily came on the back of Qatar Foundation Endowment's USD 1.26 billion deal with telecom major Bharti Airtel .

"PE funds announced 30 deals totalling to USD 2.1 billion during May 2013, making it highest monthly total since January 2008.

9:46 am Market update: The Sensex is up 110.94 points at 19540.17, and the Nifty adds 34.60 points to be 5915.60. About 767 shares have advanced, 358 shares declined, and 68 shares are unchanged.

9:40 am Alert: VA Tech Wabag gets order worth Rs 115 crore from Chennai Metro Water.

9:30 am: Capital goods and technology stocks are gaining while pharma stocks are weak.

Expert views: Nifty to trend down; banks may outperform, says Sukhani

The market has opened on a strong note after a disappointing last week. The Sensex opens up 136.63 points at 19565.86 while the Nifty gains 26.90 to be at 5907.90.

HDFC , Tata Power , M&M, Jindal Steel and Maruti Suzuki are key gainers in the Sensex.

On the losing side are  Dr Reddys Labs and Tata Motors.

Indian rupee hit a new record low of 57.37 in morning trade, after opening at 57.25 per dollar on Monday as against Friday's closing of 57.06 a dollar.

Earlier, it had hit touched a all-time low of 57.32 per dollar in June 2012.

The Supreme Court will be hearing cement companies' plea today. Madras Cement, Ultra Tech, JP Cements had approached the apex court for a stay on the Rs 6307 crore penalty. They are challenging Compat order refusing penalty stay.

The Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear the Sterlite case against the Tamil Nadu pollution control board's case today.

Fortis Health raised USD 55 million via FCCB allotment. India Bulls Power starts commercial operations of thermal plant at Amravati.

The Chinese markets are shut on account of pre-dragon boat festival.

In the global market, the Bank of Japan kicks off its two-day meeting today and investors will be waiting to see if the central bank will take further steps to curb volatility in Japanese government bonds. Japan has seen a big surge in trade rebounding from the biggest weekly drop in a year last week after the US added more jobs than expected in the payroll report on Friday.

In commodities, brent crude rises to USD 104 per barrel on jobs data. From precious metals space, gold prices slip to sub USD 1400 per ounce.