Mkt sees 2nd highest ever turnover, Sensex ends 72 points down

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed the session with marginal losses on Wednesday ahead of settlement day for July contract. The market saw the second highest turnover today of Rs 3.01 lakh crore while the highest ever turnover stood at Rs 3.29 lakh crore that traded on February 23, 2012.

Benchmarks erased all yesterday's gains as the market has not been getting any action on government's reforms. Even the stocks exclusion from the F&O segment dented sentiment.

Anshul Bhargava, head of institutional derivative research at MF Global, attributes the depression in several F&O counters today to the exclusion of 51 stocks from the segment by the NSE. He believes this decision has adversely impacted sentiment, and could cause some volatility going forward.

The 30-share BSE benchmark went down 72.03 points to close at 16,846.05 after recovery of 110 points from day's low of 16,736.60. The 50-share NSE benchmark fell 18.60 points to 5,109.60.

July series will end tomorrow and the market has not moved much on either side, falling just 0.5% compared to last expiry as nothing major has happened in case of first quarter earnings, monsoon and even post presidential election expectations. So now traders may be preparing for next series i.e. August, when the Reserve Bank of India will declare its monetary policy review on July 31.

Strength in European markets too helped market trim losses in late trade. France's CAC and Germany's DAX gained 0.6% each while Britain's FTSE was up 0.3%.

Back home, the Indian rupee, which touched an intraday low of 56.41 a dollar, recovered to 56.20 against the US dollar at 15:31 hours IST. It was down by 9 paise compared to previous close.

Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever tanked 2.4% on profit booking as the stock had rallied 7.5% yesterday after strong numbers in Q1 while cigarette major ITC gained 1.6% ahead of quarterly earnings tomorrow.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro were down around 1%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India declined over 1% whereas its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained just 0.2% each.

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular moved down 1.5%-2.3%.

Software services exporter Wipro dropped another 2% after a forecast of flattish growth for September quarter while its rival TCS was up 0.3%.

Jindal Steel topped the selling list, falling more than 4% after disappointing numbers in Q1. Hindalco, Sterlite Industries and Tata Steel were down 1.7%-2.4%.

Ahead of earnings tomorrow, state-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL declined 0.7% while cement stocks like Ambuja Cements and ACC gained 3.66% and 0.5%, respectively.

HCL Tech, country's fourth largest software services exporter was the top gainer since initial trade today, rising 7% as its net profit rose by 42% QoQ to Rs 854 crore in the quarter ended June 2012.

In the second line shares, Marico has touched a 52-week high of Rs 197, which gained 3.6% ahead of earnings that scheduled for August 3.

Yesterday the National Stock Exchange decided to remove 51 stocks from F&O segment. These are Educomp Solutions, Lanco Infratech, Sterlite Tech, JSW ISPAT Steel, S Kumars Nationawide, SREI Infra, Jet Airways and Praj Industries, which fell 5%-9.6%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1678 to 1064 on the BSE.

Indian equity benchmarks cut more than half of losses led by further buying in ITC. Major private sector lenders and software services exporters too helped while State Bank of India, L&T, ONGC and Bharti pared somewhat losses.

The BSE benchmark fell 72.36 points to 16,845.72 and the NSE benchmark was down 17.15 points to 5,111.05.

The Indian rupee too recovered from day's low of 56.41 to 56.21, which was down by 10 paise compared to previous close.

Cigarette major ITC rallied 1.3% while private sector lender HDFC Bank gained 0.6%. Shares of ICICI Bank, TCS and Infosys turned positive.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 0.95% and 0.3%, respectively.

Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever remained lower by more than 2% on profit booking; the stock had rallied 7.5% yesterday on strong numbers in Q1.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro and public sector lender State Bank of India went down 0.75%.

Shares of Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, NTPC and Wipro were down 1.5-2%.

Among metals and mining stocks, Sterlite, Hindalco, Coal India and Tata Steel dropped 1-2% while Jindal Steel tanked 4%.

On the global front, European markets moved slightly higher after initial flat trade. France's CAC was up 0.5% and Germany's DAX rose 0.3%.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty trimmed losses as both benchmarks were down around 0.6% as compared to 1% in morning trade. Private sector lenders helped the market recover - HDFC Bank was up 0.55% and ICICI Bank gained 0.11%. Housing finance company HDFC rose 0.2%. Cigarette major ITC too was quite supportive with gain of 0.6%.

The BSE benchmark declined 108.57 points to 16,809.51 and the NSE benchmark went down 30 points to 5,098.40.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro were down 0.7%-1%.

Software services exporter Wipro, FMCG major HUL, telecom operator Bharti Airtel, country's largest power producer NTPC and aluminium major Hindalco Industries tanked 2% each.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors dropped 1.7%. Car maker Maruti Suzuki, two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto and utility vehicle maker M&M plummeted 1% each.

HCL Tech, country's fourth largest IT exporter shot up 7% after strong numbers in fourth quarter.

Cement stocks were on buyers' radar. Ambuja Cements rallied nearly 4% and ACC was up 1.4%.

Stocks hit 52-week low

Infosys touched a low of Rs 2150, which fell 0.21%. JSPL hit a low of Rs 395.50, which was down 3.36%. BEML tanked 3% and Godrej Properties rose 0.33%, which touched a low of Rs 500.05. Reliance Communications too tested a 52-week low of Rs 58.05, which tanked more than 2%.

On the global front, France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were flat.

The NSE Nifty pared somewhat losses in afternoon trade led by ITC, HDFC Bank and HDFC, but was still trading below the 5100 level. TCS and ICICI Bank too recovered from day's low. However, metals, telecom, auto and infrastructure stocks remained under pressure.

The BSE benchmark was down 141 points at 16,777.22 and the NSE benchmark fell 40 points to 5,087.75. The Indian rupee declined by 30 paise to 56.41 against the US dollar.

Cigarette major ITC rose 0.4% whereas fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever dropped over 2% on profit booking.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank gained 0.3% while its rival State Bank of India slipped more than 1%.

Software services exporter Infosys and Wipro were down 0.75% and 2.4%, respectively, but their rival TCS was flat.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC went down 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel tanked 2.5% and engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro was down more than 1%.

Metals and mining stocks like Jindal Steel, Sterlite, Hindalco, Coal India and Tata Steel tumbled 2-4%.

Auto majors Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki declined more than 1%.

The market breadth too remained in favour of declines; about three shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian shares went down around 1%, weighed down by broadbased selling and further fall in Asian markets. The Indian rupee too dropped further, depreciating by 30 paise to 56.41 against the US dollar.

The BSE Sensex tanked 170.28 points or 1.01% to 16,747.80 and the NSE Nifty lost 0.93% or 47.65 points to 5,080.55. On the global front, Nikkei tanked nearly 2% and Kospi was down over 1%. Shanghai, Hang Seng, Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted fell 0.2-0.7%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped 1.5% while state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC was down 1%.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors, fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever and telecom operator Bharti Airtel tumbled more than 2%.

Private steel and power producer Jindal Steel topped the selling list, losing 4.5% after disappointing numbers in Q1.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro and country's largest lender State Bank of India declined 1% each.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank and software services exporter Infosys were down 0.7% each.

Among metals and mining stocks, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco, Coal India and Tata Steel tanked 2-3%. Wipro, country's third largest IT exporter tumbled another 3% after results.

The market breadth has widened its gap; about three shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

The BSE Sensex fell more than 100 points due to further decline in rupee. Reports indicated that the government is unlikely to bite the bullet in diesel/LPG/Kerosene price hike as opposition parties increased pressure, which dented sentiment of the market. The Indian rupee depreciated by 21 paise to 56.32 against the US dollar.

The BSE benchmark was down 111.66 points at 16,806.42 and the NSE benchmark slipped 29 points to 5,099.25.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC declined 1% each. Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro was down 1.44%.

Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever went down 1.75% on profit booking; the stock had rallied 7.5% yesterday after strong quarterly results. However, cigarette major ITC was up 0.26%.

Country's largest software services exporters TCS and Infosys moved down 0.6% each while their rival Wipro plunged 2.4%.

Top lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank plummeted 0.5% each whereas rival HDFC Bank gained 0.5%.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and telecom operator Bharti Airtel were down 1% each.

However, HCL Tech shot up over 6% as company's net profit rose higher than expected by 41.6% to Rs 854 crore while analysts on an average had expected at Rs 675 crore.

The broader markets were down around 0.5% as about two shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

The BSE Sensex started off trade with a loss of 70 points on Wednesday following weak US markets. Asian markets too were marginally lower, weighed down by Eurozone debt concerns and weak data.

The BSE benchmark dropped 66.22 points to 16,851.86 and the NSE benchmark was down 14 points to 5,114.10.

HCL Tech shot up 6% after higher than expected numbers in the fourth quarter of FY12. Net profit grew by 41.6% quarter-on-quarter to Rs 854 crore.

Cipla, Ranbaxy Labs, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel and HDFC Bank were marginally higher.

However, JSPL tanked 3% and Sesa Goa lost 1.5% after disappointing numbers in Q1.

Wipro lost another 1% after falling 3% yesterday as company has forecast of flattish growth for September quarter.

Sterlite, Maruti, L&T, BHEL, SAIL, JP Associates, Reliance Industries, TCS and ONGC too were under pressure.

The CNX Midcap Index fell 13 points to 5,113. About two shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, KPIT Cummins and Polaris shot up 4% each. Geometric gained for the fourth consecutive session today, rising 2%.

ING Vysya Bank rallied 2% after strong numbers in Q1. Lupin gained another 1% and hit a new 52-week high of Rs 593.85.

Yes Bank gained just 0.34% ahead of numbers. UB Holdings surged 3.5%.

However, IRB Infrastructure tanked 2.5%. DCB crashed 5% as NSE has decided to remove from F&O segment. HCC and GVK Power were down 1-2%.