Sensex ends 136 pts down, Bankex falls 202 points; expiry eyed

The BSE Sensex shed more than half of yesterday's gains due to profit booking by investors and weak global trend on Wednesday, though it was a volatile session ahead of F&O expiry tomorrow. The NSE Nifty fell nearly 5% in the March series so far, weighed down by capital goods, banks, metals and oil & gas stocks while FMCG outperformed.

The BSE benchmark fell 135.74 points or 0.79%, to close at 17,121.62 led by 21 components. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty ended below the 5200 level, which lost 48.40 points to 5,194.75.

Today's fall was majorly led by banks due to tight liquidity situation. Country's largest lender State Bank of India fell 2.4% after the bank raised deposit rates by 25-100 basis points for deposits maturing within one year amid tight liquidity condition. Corporates had withdrawn money for paying advance tax by March 15.

After looking at current liquidity crunch, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, MD & CEO, Destimoney Securities Pvt Ltd expects some kind of a liquidity relief from RBI very soon.

"Probably the RBI will not wait till the next credit policy on April 17; even before that they may come with some kind of liquidity-boosting measure like SLR or CRR. That will ease somewhat pressure on the banking sector in terms of liquidity," he adds.

Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were down over 2%; Kotak Mahindra Bank tanked 3.4%. PNB and HDFC Bank fell over 1%. Housing finance company was down 0.9%.

High bonds yields too dampened the sentiment. The 8.79% 2021 10-year benchmark bond yield rose 1% to 8.60 after the borrowing calendar of the government indicated heavy borrowing in the first week of April. Bank of America Merrill Lynch sees the yield in a range of 8.50-9% between now & September. The government is going to raise 65% of its borrowing programme (total Rs 5.69 lakh crore) in first half of FY13.

Global markets were down post weak economic data from US and Europe yesterday. China's Shanghai hit quite badly, falling 2.65% - more than other global peers. Hang Seng and Nikkei fell over 0.7%. European markets too were down with moderate losses.

Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, country's largest software services exporters declined 0.8-1%. State-run oil & gas producer ONGC tumbled 2.75% while rival Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock lost 0.65%.

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals slipped 1% whereas rival Larsen & Toubro gained 0.4%. Among metals, Sterlite Industries and Hindalco tanked 2-2.75% while Tata Steel shot up 2%.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki, country's top car maker rallied 1% after company said the cost of higher tax imposed by government would pass on to customers. Cigarette major ITC gained 0.5%.

Stocks in News

Shares of Coal India closed flat ahead of board meeting today. Amid independent directors opposing a proposal to sign fuel pacts with power producers for a minimum 80% supply of the commitment, CIL board will meet on Wednesday to get the draft agreement approved, reports ibnlive.com.

Dr Reddy's Labs rose 1% amid extremely high volume as the company launched Quetiapine fumarate tablets, a bioequivalent generic version of Seroquel? tablets in the US market on March 27, 2012.

Linc Pen and Plastics shot up 20% post Japan's Mitsubishi Pencil has picked up a 13.5% stake in the company for Rs 20 crore.

United Breweries and UB Holdings gained 1.5-2% after the news that liquor baron Vijay Mallya could be looking to offload 12-13% of his stake in United Breweries. Sources say Mallya and Heineken are in final stages of negotiations and Heineken may look to acquire controlling stake. Deal could be valued around Rs 1700 crore. United Spirits rallied nearly 5%.

Dhanlaxmi Bank was down 4% ahead of its board meet today to discuss its revival plan. The board may also discuss sale of its 15% stake n new silk route controlled Destimony Securities.

In the second line shares, SREI Infrastructure, Mercator, HDIL, Titan, BEML, JSW Steel, Unitech, Punj Lloyd, Allahabad Bank, Bajaj Hindusthan, Voltas, HCC, Indiabulls Real and Lanco Infratech were down 2-6%. Gitanjali Gems down 7% while Shree Ganesh Jewellery shot up 12% amid heavy volume.

About three shares declined for every share gaining on the BSE.

At 14:35 hours IST: Sensex extends losses; Reliance, ONGC, Infosys tumble

The BSE benchmark extended its fall due to sell-off in 24 components, losing 166 points to 17091. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank tumbled over 2% while rival HDFC Bank was down 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark slipped below the 5200 level, which was down 56 points to 5,187. Even European markets turned negative after initial gains.

Nilesh shah of Axis Direct says, the upside for India looks capped given fundamental headwinds and low conviction among investors.

The 8.79% 2021 10-year benchmark bond yield shot up 1.3% or 11 basis points to 8.61 % after the borrowing calendar of the government indicated heavy borrowing in the first week of April. Bank of America Merrill Lynch sees the yield in a range of 8.50-9% between now & September. The government is going to raise 65% of its borrowing programme (total Rs 5.69 lakh crore) in first half of FY13.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and ONGC were down 1% each. Shares of Sterlite Industries and Hindalco tanked 2.5% each.

Stocks in news

Technology stocks like Infosys, TCS and Wipro were down 0.5-1% after the US hiked H-1B visa fee from next fiscal.

Dr Reddy's Labs rose 1.4% amid heavy volume as the company launched Quetiapine fumarate tablets, a bioequivalent generic version of Seroquel? tablets in the US market on March 27, 2012. The Seroquel? brand had US sales of approximately USD 4.6 billion in 2011 according to IMS Health.

Titan Industries crashed 6% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight and cut the target price to Rs 198. The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ruling out any roll back of the proposed hike in gold duty also weighed on sentiment.

Linc Pen and Plastics shot up 20% post Japan's Mitsubishi Pencil has picked up a 13.5% stake in the company for Rs 20 crore.

United Breweries and UB Holdings gained 1.5-2% after the news that liquor baron Vijay Mallya could be looking to offload 12-13% of his stake in United Breweries. Sources say Mallya and Heineken are in final stages of negotiations and Heineken may look to acquire controlling stake. Deal could be valued around Rs 1700 crore. United Spirits rallied 4.6% and Kingfisher Airlines was up 1%.

Dhanlaxmi Bank was down 3% ahead of its board meet today to discuss its revival plan. The board may also discuss sale of its 15% stake n new silk route controlled Destimony Securities.

Unitech lost 3% as the IT Department has attached shares of 3 companies, through which company holds about 33% stake in the mobile phone company Unitech Wireless, for alleged outstanding tax dues.

At 13:46 hours IST: SBI, ICICI Bank drive Nifty down to 5200; Muthoot surges 6%

The BSE Sensex dropped more than 100 points again while the NSE Nifty tested the 5200 level amid choppy trade as heavyweights ICICI Bank, SBI and Infosys extended downtrend. Even Reliance Industries turned negative, falling 0.8%.

The BSE benchmark tanked 112 points to 17,144.95 and the NSE benchmark was down 40.4 points at 5,202.75. However, the rupee recovered sharply from day's low; it was down by 6 paise to 50.75 a dollar.

Shares of Jaiprakash Associates topped the selling list, falling 4.5%. Cairn India, Hindalco, Sesa Goa, Reliance Power, Sterlite Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI and NTPC were down 1.7-4%.

However, Tata Steel was the biggest outperformer among largecaps, rising 2%. Dr Reddy'ss Labs, GAIL, Ranbaxy Labs, ACC, Tata Power, L&T and ITC climbed 0.6-1.3%.

Shares of Schneider Electric Infrastructure, a demerged transmission and distribution business unit of Alstom T&D India (formerly known as Areva T&D India), crashed 5% amid heavy volumes and was the most active.

Muthoot Finance and Manappuram Finance rebounded after sharp fall since last week, rising 6% and 2.6%, respectively post RBI's regulations on gold loan financing companies.

The market breadth has been remained weak since yesterday; about two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

At 12:36 hours IST: Volatile Sensex trades lower; UB group stocks rally

The BSE Sensex stayed with negative trend since early trade due to profit booking and weak Asian cues. China's Shanghai was top loser among global peers, falling 2.75% while Hang Seng, Nikkei and Straits Times were down 0.5-1%.

Back home, the BSE benchmark declined 51 points to 17,206.35 and the NSE benchmark went down 20 points to 5,223.50. Even the broader markets were moderately lower.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India fell 1% after the bank raised deposit rates by 25-100 basis points for deposits maturing within one year amid tight liquidity situation. Its rival ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank were down 0.8-1.5% while Axis Bank was flat.

Technology majors Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro slipped 0.6-1%. London listed Vedanta group companies Sterlite Industries and Sesa Goa tanked 2% each while Hindalco and Jindal Steel declined 1.2-1.7%. Tata Steel rose over 1%.

State-owned oil and gas producer ONGC was down 0.8% whereas India's most valued stock Reliance Industries gained 0.3%.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL climbed 1% and 0.55%, respectively.

United Breweries and United Breweries Holdings rallied 3-3.5% amid heavy volumes after CNBC-TV18 reported that Vijay Mallya and Heineken are likely to be working on an agreement on UBL stake sale and are in final stages of negotiations & due diligence.

Heineken, which holds 37.5% stake, may look to acquire controlling stake in UBL, the reports said. Vijay Mallya may sell between 12-13% stake held in UBL for USD 400-500 million. However, both UB Group and Heineken said they would not comment on speculation. Group company Kingfisher Airlines too gained 2% and even United Spirits shot up 5.5%.

At 11:32 hours IST: Sensex trims losses; Reliance, L&T, ITC outperform

The BSE Sensex trimmed losses due to further buying in index heavyweights Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro. However, country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 1% each while rival HDFC Bank fell 0.5%.

The BSE benchmark was down 55 points at 17,202.16 and the NSE benchmark dropped 21 points to 5,222.15. Asian markets too showed somewhat recovery.

Experts don't see major downside from the current levels. They feel the Nifty would find support at 5,180-5,200.

Vineet Bhatnagar, managing director of MF Global says, cash market activity is not showing any panic and the Nifty is still holding up the 5,200 level. However, he says, the upside is capped at around 5,400.

Listen to the accompanying audio for more mid-market updates..

The Nifty March future was trading with 57 points premium at 5275 to spot ahead of F&O expiry tomorrow.

The Indian rupee too showed some recovery from day's low, down 20 paise to 50.89 a dollar after hitting 51.02 a dollar.

TCS and Infosys, India's top software services exporters were down 0.6% each whereas rival Wipro fell 1%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC slipped 0.85% and housing finance company HDFC was down 0.4%.

However, Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock gained 0.5%. Engineering and construction major L&T and state-run BHEL were up 0.7%.

ITC, which has a largest market share in cigarette business in India, gained 0.5%.

At 10:26 hours IST: Sensex falls 100 pts; Bankex down 1%, rupee touches 51/USD

The BSE Sensex continued to trade lower due to consistent fall in banks, technology and metals stocks. The BSE Bankex fell more than 100 points or 1% on fears that the rate hike may not be possible in April as the government is set to raise 65% of its borrowing in first half of FY13. The Indian rupee retreated today, which was down by 31 paise to 51 a dollar.

The BSE Sensex was down 106 points to 17,151.61 and the NSE benchmark fell 34 points to 5,209.50.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell over 1% while its rival HDFC Bank and Housing finance company HDFC too were down 1%.

There is lack of liquidity in the bond market, so bond yields are heading higher in anticipation of delay by RBI in announcing support to the borrowing plan, Nilesh Shah of Axis Direct told CNBC-TV18. The 10-year benchmark bond yields spiked 8 basis points to 8.59%.

In between April and September, 2012, the government will sell bonds worth Rs 3.70 lakh crore (gross) out of its budgeted target of Rs 5.69 lakh crore for the full year.

Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro, India's top software services exporters dropped 0.7-1%.

Among metals, Sterlite Industries, Hindalco and Jindal Steel were down 1.5-2.7%. Index heavyweight and oil & gas producer ONGC was down 1% while rival Reliance Industries gained 0.2%.

Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp went down 0.5-1.5% whereas M&M rose 0.5%.

However, capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL climbed 0.8%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 771 to 463 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:19 hours IST: Sensex retreats; Re moves towards 51 as sentiment weakens

The BSE Sensex fell more than 50 points in early trade following weak Asian cues and led by profit booking after yesterday's 205 points rally. The Indian rupee was moving towards 51 to the dollar, depreciating by 23 paise to 50.92 a dollar.

The BSE benchmark was down 77 points to 17,179.93 and the NSE benchmark slipped 28 points to 5,215.10.

Asian markets extended fall after weak US and European cues; Shanghai was down 1.5%. Hang Seng and Nikkei tumbled 1% each. Straits Times and Kospi were down 0.3-0.5%.

Among frontliners, JP Associates, Hindalco, JSPL, DLF, Tata Steel, Sterlite Industries, Sesa Goa, Maruti, Tata Motors, BHEL, L&T, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and PNB were down 0.5-1.5%.

However, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Cipla, HUL and Ambuja Cements moved up higher.

The CNX Midcap Index fell 38 points to 7,543. About two shares declined for every share rising on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Yes Bank, Titan Industries, GMR Infrastructure, Indiabulls Power, GVK Power and Sintex were down 1.5-4.5%.

However, Manappuram Finance bounced back with 2% gains after getting hammered since last week. It had fallen more than 30% in previous sessions.

IVRCL rose 3% after Essel Group acquired 10.19% stake in the company.

L&T Finance Holdings rose 2.6% post the company bought Fidelity MF.

Bombay Dyeing gradually inched up to 52-week high of Rs 572.70, rising 1.7%.