Sensex, Nifty close flat; weak European cues weigh

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed flat after shedding all its gains in the last couple of hours of trade due to weak European cues. It was looked like a nice rebound in the morning trade, with the Sensex rising more than 150 points led by appreciation in rupee. However, the fall in European markets in afternoon trade erased all those morning gains.

The market stayed lower in last four out of five sessions. The BSE benchmark fell 59.53 points or 0.36%, to close at 16,420.05 and the NSE benchmark dropped 9.10 points to 4,965.70 after shedding 73.6 points from day's high of 5,039.30.

Listen to the market wrap with moneycontrol.com's Anisha Mappat.

European markets were down, with weak Chinese trade data stoking fears of slower growth and undermining risk appetite as European leaders struggled to contain a worsening debt crisis.

France's CAC fell over 1% after disappointing economic data; industrial production dropped higher than expected at negative 0.9% for March as against consensus estimate of negative 0.5%. Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX slipped 0.4-0.6%.

Back home, the rupee trimmed some of its earlier gains against the dollar, though it remained well above the session lows after the RBI said it would require exporters to convert 50% of their existing foreign currency holdings into rupees (with inputs from Reuters). It appreciated by 22 paise to 53.60 a dollar after hitting a high around 53.20.

India's largest lender State Bank of India tanked 2.3% while its rival ICICI Bank fell over 1%. However, HDFC Bank gained 0.8%.

Software services provider Infosys dropped 0.8% while TCS rose 0.6%. Cigarette major ITC declined 0.5% led by profit booking as it had rallied nearly 6% yesterday after the government removed ad valorem duty on cigarettes.

Among auto stocks, Tata Motors, Maruti and Hero Motocorp were down 1-3%. Metals and mining stocks too closed in red - Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Sterlite Industries and Coal India tanked 1-2.7%.

Shares of NTPC, country's largest power producer, lost over 1% after its net profit dropped 6.8% year-on-year to Rs 2593 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as fuel shortage impacted fixed cost recovery.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC gained 1.25% while Cairn India shot up 4%. Realty major DLF rallied over 2%.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing by 1515 to 1237 on the BSE.

In the second line shares, Glenmark, Godfrey Phillip, Hexaware Tech, Amara Raja Batteries and Hathway Cable shot up 4-6% whereas Responsive Industries, HDIL, Shree Global, Redington and Andhra Bank tanked 4-6%.

At 14:52 hours IST : Sensex pares gains; blue chips hit

The Sensex and the Nifty pared gains with the benchmark index and the 50-share NSE index both flat.

Blue chips lead decliners, with ITC, Infosys and banking stocks all were down.

Foreign investor selling has been a top concern this week, with net sales reaching a provisional 13.4 billion rupees over the previous three sessions.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India extended losses, falling over 2% while its rival ICICI Bank declined 0.6%.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki is the top loser among largecaps, falling over 3%. Among other auto stocks, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp were down 0.5-1.5%.

Metals and mining stocks too caught in bears' grip - Sterlite Industries, Coal India, Jindal Steel and Hindalco fell 1-2%; Tata Steel was down 0.5%.

However, index heavyweight Reliance Industries too shed all its gains while rival state-owned ONGC rose over 1%.

Country's largest software services exporter TCS moved up 0.5% and private sector lender HDFC Bank advanced 0.9%.

Realty major DLF topped the buying list, gaining over 2%.

European markets slipped further amid volatility - France's CAC was down 1% and Britain's FTSE slipped 0.5%.

At 13:57 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty turn negative; SBI, ITC, Infosys drag

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty gave up most of their early gains, weighed down by Infosys, ITC and State Bank of India.

ICICI Bank too was under pressure. Even the broader markets turned negative. However, the buying interest in oil & gas and capital goods has limited the downside.

The BSE benchmark was down 26 points to 16,453.49 after losing around 200 points from day's high. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark fell 4.7 points to 4,970.10.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were down 1% and 0.2%, respectively while HDFC Bank gained 0.7%.

Cigarette major ITC declined more than 1% on the back of profit booking; it had rallied nearly 6% yesterday after removal of ad valorem duty on cigarettes by the government.
 
Auto stocks were sharply under pressure - Top car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 3% and India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Motocorp was down 2%. Tata Motors and Bajaj Auto slipped over 0.5%.

However, housing finance company HDFC gained 0.5% and FMCG major HUL rose 0.8%.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL moved up 0.36% and 1%, respectively. Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC advanced 0.5-0.9%.

On the global front, European markets too turned lower after French economic data - industrial production dropped higher than expected at negative 0.9% for March as against consensus estimate of negative 0.5%. France's CAC and Britain's FTSE were down while Germany's DAX gained marginally.

At 12:10 hours IST: Nifty keeps head above 5000; Rupee above 53

The benchmark index Nifty surged close to 1% on back of short covering despite weak global cues. Asian shares fell on Thursday, as a weak Chinese trade data stoked fears of a growth slowdown, further undermining risk appetites already reduced by worries about the health of Spanish banks and deepening political chaos in Greece.

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To curb the slide in the rupee, the Reserve Bank of India has asked exporters to convert 50% of their dollars held in Exchange Earner's Foreign Currency (EEFC) accounts into rupee. The central bank has also ruled that exporters can henceforth access the forex market for buying dollars only after they have utilized the balance in their EEFC accounts.

The Sensex was up 156.88 points or 0.95% at 16636.46, and the Nifty was up 52.35 points or 1.05% at 5027.15. About 1434 shares advanced, 865 shares declined, and 1122 shares remain unchanged.

Metal shares shine in trade after recent fall, with private sector aluminium major Hindalco Industries gaining for third straight session on strong Q4 sequential growth.

ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the first half of the year at the time of unveiling Q1 March 2012 results today.

Capital goods stocks were in limelight on bargain hunting after recent slide. Auto stocks were on buyers radar after recent losses triggered by most auto companies reporting tepid sales growth for April 2012.

Power generation major NTPC rose ahead of its FY 2012 results today. Pharma major Cipla too advanced ahead of its Q4 results.

In the largecap space, heavyweights like IDFC, Cairn India, BHEL, Axis Bank and Kotak Mahindra were trading in green. Ranbaxy Labs, Maruti Suzuki, PNB, Infosys and Asian Paints were bleeding in red.

China's exports grew 4.9% in April from a year earlier, data showed on Thursday, weaker than a 8.5% increase forecast and down from March's rise of 8.9%. Annual growth of 0.3% in imports last month also missed expectations for an 11% increase.

"Chinese trade data for April came in surprisingly weak, with both export and import growth disappointing ...indicating weakening external demand and suggesting that strengthening of the yuan in the past few years has undermined China's competitiveness," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

The Australian dollar initially strengthened on strong jobs data, which scaled back expectations for further aggressive monetary easing. But with the currency sensitive to data from China, the biggest export market, the gains were pared by Beijing's fresh trade numbers.

The Aussie last stood up 0.4% at $1.0079, slipping from an earlier high of $1.0120. On Wednesday, it touched $1.0021, its lowest since December 20.

Australian employment far outpaced expectations by adding 15,500 in April while the unemployment rate surprisingly dipped to 4.9%.

Oil fell as weak Chinese trade data fuelled concerns about demand, sending US crude down 0.4% at $96.38 a barrel and Brent down 0.5% at $112.66 a barrel.

Global shares slid for a sixth day while safe-haven US and German government debt rose on Wednesday on fears a political vacuum in Greece could put the highly indebted country on course for insolvency and exiting from the euro.

The euro turned around also from an earlier weakness, rising 0.1% at $1.2940. But it hovered near $1.29115 hit on Wednesday, its lowest since January 23, indicating markets remain wary over developments in the euro zone, which have fallen short of convincing investors to be risk-positive.

At 10:23 hours IST: Sensex stays up over 100 pts; banks, oil & gas support

The BSE Sensex stayed higher with more than 100 points gains led by 27 components while the NSE Nifty too held the 5000 level quite nicely. Index heavyweights Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro were helping the market.

The BSE benchmark moved up 131.46 points or 0.8% to 16,611.04 and the NSE benchmark was up 45.25 points or 0.91% to 5,020.05. The broader markets too trade in-line with benchmarks: The CNX Midcap Index climbed 0.93% or 65 points to 7,120.

The Reserve Bank of India said exporters will be required to convert 50% of their foreign exchange holdings into rupees, in a move that traders say could boost the sagging local currency.

Sources say half of Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency (EEFC) means USD 2.5 billion should be converted in two weeks. The Indian rupee rose 56 points to 53.26 a dollar.
Infrastructure financing company IDFC topped the buying list, rising more than 4.5%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India shot up 2% while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up nearly 1%. Housing finance company gained 1.6%.

Oil & gas producers Reliance Industries and ONGC moved up around 1%. FMCG majors ITC and HUL climbed 0.5% and 1.27%, respectively.

Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro was up 1.6% and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel advanced 1%.

However, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki and Sun Pharma underperformed, losing 0.7-1.5%.

In the second line shares, Glenmark, S Mobility, Motilal Oswal, Aventis Pharma and Chambal Fertiliser gained 3-5.5% while Shree Global, Dewan Housing, Responsive Industries, HDIL and Madras Cements lost 1.3-5%.

About three shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:19 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty gain 1%; rupee recovers too

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty rebounded on Thursday after witnessing a major fall in previous 3 out of 4 sessions. Both opened 1% higher led by buying interest in banks, oil & gas, auto, capital goods and FMCG stocks.

Even the Indian rupee recovered sharply, appreciating 67 paise to 53.15 a dollar, which closed at 53.85 to the dollar yesterday.

The BSE benchmark was up 153.59 points or 0.93% to 16,633.17 and the NSE benchmark went up 49.45 points or 0.99% to 5,024.25.

Infosys, Reliance Industries, Cipla (up 2% ahead of results today), ITC, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Hero Motocorp, JP Associates, Reliance Infrastructure, ICICI Bank and IDFC were supporting the market.

However, Infosys, Maruti and Sun Pharma were under pressure.

The CNX Midcap Index climbed 39 points to 7,095. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the.

In the second line shares, GTL Infrastructure shot up 9% as Indian Overseas Bank got 9% stake in the company via convertible debentures conversion.

GTL surged 11% after ICICI Bank returned 2.85 crore shares (29.3% of paid-up capital) to company's promoters due to invocation of the NDU / pledge.

KPIT Cummins, Allahabad Bank, VIP Industries, IRB Infrastructure and Aptech gained 1.5-4%.

Divestment Candidates ahead of cabinet meet today: MMTC and STC rallied 3-4%.

Results reaction: Gammon Infra tanked 5% as it reported consolidated net loss at Rs 15.5 crore in Q4FY12 as against profit of Rs 8.5 crore in a year ago period.

Mangalore Chemical rose 4% after its net profit jumped 121% year-on-year to Rs 21 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12.

Manapparum Finance was down 3%.