Sensex ends 81 points down; Tata Power, rate sensitives hit

It was a volatile Tuesday for the key equity benchmarks. Indices slipped to intra-day lowest level during the afternoon session, the Sensex lost 140 points and the Nifty dropped to 5,893.65, after touching a high of 5,952 at the outset.

Though a mild recovery was seen, but the Nifty lost half a percent to close at 5914.10 and the Sensex fell 81.29 points to end at 19,564.92. About 1158 shares advanced, 1730 shares declined, and 621 shares remained unchanged. The midcap index also ended in the red today.

"Given the choppiness seen in the market today, I would recommend traders not to carry any trades," said technical analyst Sudarshan Sukhani.

Meanwhile, the index of industrial production (IIP) for January was 2.4 percent, higher than the 1.2 percent estimated by a CNBC-TV18 poll. However, consumer price index-based (CPI) inflation for February rose to 10.9 percent, the third successive month when it has been above the psychological mark.

According to market expert SP Tulsian, CPI is not the only factor which might prompt the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to take any step on the rate cut. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is a material factor. It will be announced on Thursday and market would now be closely watching that

In stock specific action, HUL was the top gainer on the Sensex up 1.16% followed by Tata Motors, Jindal Steel, ITC and Reliance.

Sugar stocks Sakthi Sugars (5.04 percent), Shree Renuka Sugars (3.04 percent), Balrampur Chini Mills (1.33 percent) ended in the green on the back of reports indicating a possible decontrol of sugar prices.

Rate sensitives took a beating today after sources indicated that the Punjab government may be pulling out of the discom restructuring plan.

On the flip side, Tata Power was top losers on the Sensex falling 3.12 percent. Credit Suisse downgraded Tata Power to "underperform" from "neutral" and cut its target price to Rs 83 from Rs 104. Bharti Airtel (2.13%), BHEL (2.12%), HDFC Bank (1.79%) and  Sterlite Industries (1.55%) were the other losers.

Sensex, Nifty recover from day's lows

Key equity benchmarks recovered from their intra-day lows. At 14.59 hrs IST, Sensex was down 58.83 points at 19587.38 and the Nifty slipped 23.95 points at 5918.40. About 1138 shares advanced, 1639 shares declined, and 732 shares remain unchanged.

Sensex lost 140 points at mid-session due to selling by funds amid a weak global trend. Similarly, Nifty dropped by 48.70 points to 5,893.65, after touching a high of 5,952 at the outset.

According to market experts higher industrial output numbers for January, which may ease the pressure on the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates to spur growth, may have dampened investor sentiment to some extent.

Also Read: Dalton sees little upside above 6K; max 15% returns this year

The Reserve Bank of India policy meeting is scheduled on March 19 to decide on an interest rate cut. The Industrial production in January climbed 2.4 per cent from a year ago after a revised 0.5 per cent drop in December.

They said a weak trend in the Asian region and lower opening in Europe after Fitch rating downgrade Italy and China's retail sales and industrial output missed market expectations.

Major losers were Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, BHEL, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, Axis Bank and Hindalco.

Sensex drops 100 pts; Tata Power falls 3%

A steep cut in Asian indices and an ever-rising CPI inflation dampened mood in the market with the 30-share BSE benchmark dropping as much as 100 points in mid afternoon trade. CAC Futures also show that Europe is likely to open weak.

At 12.16 PM, the Sensex was trading 0.5 percent down at 19545.63, and the 50-share NSE benchmark Nifty fell 36.30 points or 0.61% at 5906.05.

The mayhem spoiled the chance to celebrate an improvement in industrial growth marked by January IIP data . Tata Power was the biggest loser on the Sensex, trading with a cut of 3.02 percent.  Private banking giant HDFC Bank fell by 2 percent after the stock was downgraded by Credit Suisse. HDFC too was down along with ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

Tech biggies Infosys and TCS were down by 1 percent; IT stocks in general had a good run in the past few sessoins and the stocks fell as a result of profit booking. Other big losers include Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Cairn India and Seimens - all down over 2 percent.

Despite good Jan IIP data, weak CPI deflates Sensex

Stock indices rose after Industrial growth came in at a decent 2.4 percent but the enthusiasm deflated after CPI inflation number showed an incline. January IIP (Index of Industrial Production ) data showed Manufacturing and Electricity picked up momentum, but performances of Mining and Capital Goods remain circumspect. February CPI inflation number disappointed market, coming in at over 10 percent for the third consecutive month. The 10-year bond yield also rose on the back of negative inflation numbers. Elevated CPI inflation may weigh on Reserve Bank's (RBI)decision to cut interest rates in it March policy meet.

At 11.23 AM, the Sensex was down 1.88 points or 0.01% at 19644.33, and the Nifty fell 2.25 points or 0.04% at 5940.10. HUL, Tata Motors, Reliance, Hindalco and Mahindra and Mahindra gained around 1 percent on the Sensex. Index heavyweight Hindustan Lever was trading at Rs 445.85 up 1.56% from its previous close of Rs 439.00.

Bharti, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp were seen declining  along with IT leaders Infosys and TCS. Private banking giants ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC and Axis Bank were on the losing side while shares of public sector lenders SBI, PNB and Bank of Baroda moved up.

Real Estate sector was seeing some spark with Oberoi Realty, Shobha Developer, Godrej Properties and DLF gaining 2.3 percent, 1.18 percent, 1 percent and 0.54 percent, respectively.

Nifty flat; Berger leads gainers on Sherwin buy

Benchmarks began the day steady, but brokers said the market would struggle to sustain at these levels in the absence of follow-up buying. The Nifty and Sensex had rallied around 4 percent last week, riding the bullish wave in global markets.

The Nifty was at 5944, up 2 points over its previous close. The Sensex was up 26 points at 19673.

According to UR Bhat of Dalton Capital, foreign fund flows could moderate further as most global money managers were no longer underweight on India. Bhat says the kind of fund flows witnessed last year was unlikely. Also, central banks across the globe were likely to start tightening again, and this could have implications for worldwide liquidity.

Berger Paints shares were up a little over 2 percent to Rs 211 after the company on Monday said that its wholly-owned subsidy Brushworks Paints Ltd has acquired the architectural paints business of Sherwin Williams Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

Other gainers at this hour included Opto Circuits, Mahindra & Mahindra Finance, Coromandel International and United Breweries, up between 2-4 percent.

Overall, there was good interest in mid and small cap shares.