Nifty closes 1.3% lower on expiry day; Tata Motors down 4%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty fell more than 1% in late trade on Thursday, settlement day for July contract. Market experts feel traders may have wound up their long positions that had built up on expectations for a diesel price hike and other reforms by the government post presidential election.

Market analyst Ambareesh Baliga feels the lack of policy action will drag Nifty closer to 5,000 in days to come. "People have actually lost patience with Delhi. Unless you have that action happening you really can't see any further movement in the market."

 The BSE benchmark dropped 206.23 points or 1.22% to close at 16,639.82 and the NSE benchmark went down 66.60 points or 1.30% to 5,043.

Even the deficiency in monsoon added fuel to the fire as India's rainfall reported at 309.9mm during June 1 - July 25, which was 22% below the normal level.

Cigarette major ITC lost 2% even after its first quarter net profit rose a slightly higher-than-expected 20% year-on-year to Rs 1,602 crore, driven by price hikes it took in cigarettes and lower losses in its other FMCG business. Analysts had expected the company to report a net profit of Rs 1,581 crore.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India plunged 2.6% while its rivals HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were down 1.2% and 1.56%, respectively. PNB went down 4.6% ahead of results.

Top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors fell quite sharply in late trade on unwinding pressure; the stock crashed 3.8%. Other Tata group stocks like TCS and Tata Steel declined more than 0.8% while Tata Power plunged 3%.

Software services exporters Infosys, TCS and Wipro dropped 1%-2.6%. Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC plummeted 1.2%-1.8%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro tumbled 1.7%. State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL too caught in bear grip, even after stronger than expected numbers in the quarter ended June 2012; the stock lost 1.8% which had gained 1% immediately after results. Net profit rose higher than expected by 12.87% year-on-year to Rs 921 crore in the first quarter of FY13 while analysts had a forecast of Rs 850 crore.

However, drug major Sun Pharma too trimmed gains to 0.8% from nearly 3%. Shares of Bajaj Auto, NTPC, GAIL and Maruti were up 0.4-1%.

Ambuja Cements shot up 3% as its June quarter net profit grew tad higher than expected by 35% year-on-year to Rs 469 crore on improved realisations.

The broader markets hit quite badly as margin calls got triggered in some shares. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices tanked 2% each.

In the second line shares, Pipavav Defence, Era Infra Engineering, Amar Remedies, Pradip Overseas and Parsvnath Developers crashed 20% each.

Tulip Telecom plunged 26% as Fitch downgraded the company to 'A-' from 'A+'. Rating agency said the company has still not tied up funds for redemption of USD 97 million FCCB. FCCB redemption is due in August 2012.

Radico Khaitan, Balrampur Chini, Bajaj Hindusthan, S Kumars Nationwide, Raymond, Orchid Chemical, Unitech, Ashok Leyland and Aban offhore were down 4%-12%.

Thermax declined 1.5% and Bajaj Electricals fell 5% on disappointing numbers in Q1.

However, MTNL outperformed others, rising 10.5% and IVRCL gained 3.5%. Bayer Cropscience gained 12% on strong numbers in the quarter ended June 2012.

Tomorrow will be the banks' day; ICICI Bank, Indian Bank, Dena Bank, Union Bank and PNB will declare their results for the quarter ended June 2012.

About four shares declined for every share advancing on the National Stock Exchange.

Indian shares extended losses in afternoon trade amid volatility due to further fall in Infosys, Reliance and SBI. L&T, ITC, ONGC and private banks' stocks too fell further. The broader markets too widened losses to 1.5% as about three shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

The 30-share BSE benchmark fell 108 points to 16,738.04 and the 50-share NSE benchmark was down 35 points to 5,074.30.

Index heavyweight ITC, Reliance Industries and Infosys dropped 1% each. Country's largest lender State Bank of India tanked 1.9% while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank slipped 0.6% each.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro and state-owned oil & gas producer were down 1.5%.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors, software services exporter Wipro and private power producer Tata Power tumbled 2% each.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL declined 0.7% on profit booking. The stock had gained 1% after better than expected results.

However, drug producer Sun Pharma retained its top position in the buying list, rising 2.6% while rival Dr Reddy's Labs gained 1.4%.

Shares of Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Jindal Steel, Cipla and Hero Motocorp gained 0.4-0.8%.

On the global front, France's CAC and Britain's FTSE were flat, but Germany's DAX tanked 1%.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty continued to trade lower with marginal loss amid volatility, weighed down by State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro. Reliance Industries, Infosys and Tata Motors too added pressure on the market. However, the buying in healthcare stocks, ICICI Bank, Bharti and BHEL has limited the downside..

The BSE benchmark was down 36 points to 16,810 and the NSE benchmark went down 13 points to 5,096.3 while the Indian rupee appreciated by 27 paise to 55.89 against the US dollar.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India dropped 1.3% whereas its rival ICICI Bank rose 0.3%.

Top commercial vehical maker Tata Motors tumbled 1.5% while India's largest car manufacturer Maruti gained more than 1%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost 0.67% and state-owned oil & gas producer ONGC slipped 1.3%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro declined over 1% while power equipment producer BHEL went up 0.7%.

Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro were down 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

However, telecom operator Bharti Airtel and drug producer Dr Reddy's Labs climbed 1% each. Sun Pharma was the top gainer with 2.6% gains.

Cement maker Ambuja Cements gained another 2% ahead of quarterly results today.

The broader markets extended losses a bit - The BSE Midcap Index tanked 1.3% and Smallcap Index fell 1.2%.

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

In the second line shares, Bayer Cropscience, MTNL, Jet Airways, Sterlite Tech and Allcargo rallied 4-12%. However, Tulip Telecom, Era Infra Engg, Glodyne Tech, Parsvnath and Pipavav Defence tanked 17%-27%.

Indian equity benchmarks were completely lacklustre in trade as healthcare, auto (except Tata Motors) stocks, ICICI Bank and BHEL were quite supportive whereas the selling continued in technology, FMCG, metals and oil & gas stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 26.28 points to 16,819.77 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went down 10 points to 5,099.90, but the broader markets remained heavily under pressure. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 1% each.

Healthcare stocks continued to see buying interest. Sun Pharma topped the buying list, surging 2.5% while Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 1% each.

State-owned power equipment manufacturer BHEL rebounded after the company reported higher than expected numbers in the quarter ended June 2012. The stock rose 1% as its net profit grew by 13% year-on-year to Rs 921 crore while analysts had a forecast of Rs 850 crore, though operating profit margin declined by 220 bps.

Among auto stocks, Bajaj Auto and Maruti rallied 1.7% each while M&M and Hero Motocorp moved up 0.4% each. However, Tata Motors declined 0.7%.

Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank was up 0.4% whereas its rivals HDFC Bank and State Bank of India fell 0.4-0.8%.

Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro went down 1% each. Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro dropped 1%.

Cigarette major ITC erased gains as the company could not report much higher than expected numbers in the June quarter. Net profit rose by 20.2% year-on-year to Rs 1,602 crore and operating profit margin grew by 200 basis points to 34.7%. Analysts had a forecast of Rs 1581 crore and 33.9% for net profit and OPM, respectively.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 974 to 392 on the National Stock Exchange.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty continued to move in a tight range around previous day's closing values ahead of settlement for July contract. Shares of Sterlite Industries and BHEL plummeted 0.9% each ahead of quarterly earnings today. However, cigarette major ITC gained 0.6% ahead of earnings.

The 30-share BSE benchmark went down 27 points to 16,819.11 and the 50-share NSE benchmark slipped 8 points to 5,101.55, but the broader markets saw heavy selling pressure. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 1% each.

Lenders HDFC Bank and State Bank of India declined more than 0.5% while their rival ICICI Bank gained 0.4%.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors were down over 1%.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC fell 0.3% and 0.76%, respectively. Top software services exporters TCS, Infosys and Wipro dropped in a range of 0.2%-1%.

Healthcare stocks were on buyers' radar. Sun Pharma topped the buying list, rising over 2.5%. Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were up around 1%.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki and country's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto gained 1.3%-1.8%.

In the second line shares, Bayer Cropscience, Hindustan National Glass, MTNL, Gujarat State Petronet and Motilal Oswal gained 3-6.5% whereas Tulip Telecom plunged 30%. Era Infra Engineering, Glodyne Tech, Pipavav Defence and Parsvnath fell 20% each.

Among smallcaps, Fairfield Atlas was locked at 20% upper circuit. Jamna Auto, Warren Tea, Atul and AGC Networks were up 5-6% while Pradip Overseas, SRS, Amar Remedies, Everonn Education and Unisys Software lost 8-20%.

Crude oil prices retreated today as Brent and NYMEX crude fell 0.5% each as compared to a gain of 0.5-1% yesterday.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened volatile on Thursday ahead of expiry of July contract. Most of the market experts feel the Nifty close the expiry in a range of 5100-5150.

The BSE benchmark was up just 0.85 points at 16,846.90 while the NSE benchmark fell 0.55 points to 5,109.05.

Asian markets were flat to positive in early trade. Nikkei, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted gained 0.4-0.5% while Shanghai and Hang Seng were flat.

Back home, Ambuja Cements, Hindalco, Sesa Goa, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, Reliance Infrastructure, JP Associates, HUL, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were supporting the market.

However, ONGC, Coal India, Infosys, HCL Tech, Tata Motors and BPCL were under pressure. Wipro was marginally down, losing for the third consecutive session today after first quarter numbers.

The CNX Midcap Index was up just 7 points at 7,217. The market breadth was in favour of advances.

In the second line shares, Raymond tanked 3% after the company posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 35 crore in the quarter ended June 2012 as against profit of Rs 10.7 crore in a year ago period.

Indiabulls Real Estate, Biocon and Uflex were down 1%-3% after quarterly earnings.

JSW ISPAT shot up 6% as the company turned profitable in the fourth quarter of FY12. It has posted net profit of Rs 478 crore as against loss of Rs 1130 crore year-on-year.

Jet Airways, HCC, Suzlon Energy, Kingfisher, Yes Bank and Hexaware were up around 1%-1.5% while Subex and LIC Housing Finance gained 0.4% each.

Deccan Chronicle was down 0.8% as its Managing Director N Krishnan quit the company.

Sugar stocks like Baja Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini and Shree Renuka were down 0.9%.