Sensex, Nifty close off day's high, rupee hits all-time low

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty closed flat on Monday after shedding all gains in late trade due to sharp fall in rupee and erasing somewhat gains by European markets. SBI, Reliance Industries, L&T and ICICI Bank helped market closed marginally higher while the fall in ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank and ONGC limited the upside.

The BSE benchmark shed more than 100 points from day's high of 16,298, before closing at 16,183.26, up 30.51 points or 0.19% over previous close. The NSE benchmark managed to close above the 4900 level; it gained 14.60 points at 4,906.05.

Ambareesh Baliga, COO of Way2Wealth said the market could not see a rally unless the rupee slips below 50.51 a dollar. According to him, eyes have to be on to what sort of action the government takes post the parliament session ends.

The Indian rupee touched an all-time low of 55.04 a dollar, before closing at 55.03 to the dollar, down 61 paise.

European markets too came off day's high amid endless worries over Greece. Investors remained wary over the euro zone despite world leaders pledging calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth.

Back home, country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied 3.4%, continuing Friday's upmove further due to better than expected numbers for the fourth quarter of FY12. The stock had gained 5% on Friday. Bank of Baroda jumped 4%. Private sector lender ICICI Bank rose 0.7% while rival HDFC Bank fell 0.6%.

Engineering and construction major by sales Larsen & Toubro jumped 2.35%, and state-owned capital goods company BHEL went up 2.5%.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock and oil & gas producer moved up 1% whereas rival state-owned ONGC was down 0.74%.

Private power producers Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure gained 4-4.5% whereas public sector unit NTPC lost 1%.

Shares of Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma, Coal India and Hindalco Industries rallied 2-3%.

However, FMCG majors ITC and HUL extended fall in late trade, losing 2% and 1%, respectively.

Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro dropped around 2% while rival TCS was down just 0.2%.

At 14:57 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty pare some gains; rupee at 54.78/USD

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty pared somewhat gains due to weakened rupee, but still up 0.7% led by index heavyweights State Bank of India, Reliance Industries and Larsen & Toubro. European markets stayed higher - France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were up over 0.5% amid worries over Greece and Spain.

The BSE benchmark rose 107 points or 0.66% to 16,259.56 and the NSE benchmark went up 35.75 points or 0.73% to 4,927.20.

The Indian rupee was moving towards its record low of 54.89 a dollar. It depreciated by 36 paise to 54.78 a dollar.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied 4%, retaining upmove since Friday due to strong results in Q4FY12 while rival ICICI Bank was up over 1%.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL shot up nearly 3%. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki jumped over 3% while top commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and utility vehicle maker M&M gained 1% each.

Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock moved up 1.5% and housing finance company HDFC was up 1.5%.

Private power producers Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure topped the buying list, rising 6% and 5%, respectively.

However, software services exporters Infosys and Wipro were down 1-1.5% while rival TCS fell just 0.16%.

FMCG majors ITC and HUL declined 0.5-1%. State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC dipped 0.4%.

At 13:40 hours IST: Sensex rises over 100 pts; European markets up 0.5-1%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty extended gains in afternoon trade following upmove in European markets. France's CAC rose 1% while Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE went up over 0.5% on value hunting after last week's heavy losses, but investors remained wary over the euro zone despite world leaders pledging calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth.

The BSE benchmark went up 133 points or 0.82% to 16,285.82 and the NSE benchmark was up 43 points or 0.88% at 4,934.55.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India moved up further, rising 4% after reporting better than expected net profit of Rs 4,050 crore for the fourth quarter of financial year 2011-12 as against Rs 21 crore in a year ago period. Its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up 1% and 0.5%, respectively.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel jumped 1.4% each.

Housing finance company HDFC, and country's largest engineering and construction company by sales Larsen & Toubro rallied 2% each.

State-owned capital goods company BHEL and realty major DLF climbed 2% each.

Private power producers witnessed huge buying interest - Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure shot up 5% each.

However, shares of Infosys, ITC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and NTPC were down 0.5-1%.

In the midcap space, Jai Corp, DB Realty, Fresenius Kabi, FDC and Suzlon Energy rallied 5-9% while Tulip Telecom, Polaris Tech, S Mobility, Essar Ports and Bayer Cropscience tanked 2.5-4.5%.

TV Today Network was locked at 20% upper circuit after Aditya Birla Group agreed to buy 27.5% stake in Living Media India (holds 57.1% stake in TV Today) via private investment arm.

In reaction to the above news, other media companies too were on buyers' radar - NDTV surged 10%. TV18 Broadcast and Network 18 gained 3% each.

However, Andhra Petro tanked 10% and Petron Engineering Construction lost 5%.

At 12:31 hours IST: Sensex maintains uptrend; Tata Power, Reliance Infra up 4%

The BSE Sensex gained 60 points due to consistent buying interest in banks, auto and capital goods stocks. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and TCS too were quite supportive while the fall in Infosys and ITC has limited the upside.

The BSE benchmark rose 60.36 points to 16,213.11 and the NSE benchmark gained 20.15 points at 4,911.60. European markets opened flat.

Back home, the market is forming a temporary range, says Hemant Thukral, national head-derivative desk of Aditya Birla Money. ''The range would be 4,770-4,750 on the downside. Upside seems to be capped at 5,035,'' he asserts.

Shares of private power producers rallied quite smartly while public sector units were under pressure. Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure shot up 4% each whereas NTPC tanked over 2%.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India extended gains, rising 3.8% after outstanding performance in fourth quarter earnings. The stock had rallied 5% after results on Friday.

Among other largecaps, Maruti Suzuki, Bank of Baroda, Larsen & Toubro and HDFC were up 2-3%.

However, shares of Wipro, Bajaj Auto, Infosys, Tata Steel, ITC, Cipla and IDFC were down 1-1.8% in afternoon trade.

Reliance Capital was the most active stock with 6,94,328 equity shares. It shot up 7% after reporting a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 329 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as against loss Rs 6 crore in a year ago period.

The BSE Midcap Index was up 0.56% and Smallcap Index rose 1%. About two shares gained for every share falling on the BSE.

Kalpataru Power rallied 4.4% ahead of fourth quarter numbers today. Even Adani Enterprises gained 2.5% and Nalco rose 1.2%.

At 11:36 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty remain up 0.5%; SBI, Maruti shoot up 3%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty continued to gain 0.5% each amid a choppy trade while the Indian rupee was moving towards record low of 54.89 a dollar. Rupee declined 25 paise to 54.67 a dollar.

The BSE benchmark climbed just 81 points or 0.5% to 16,233.59 led by 22 components. Meanwhile, the NSE benchmark was up 26.30 points or 0.54% at 4,917.75.

The market has been sustained gains since Friday amid eurozone woes and depreciation in rupee. Andrew Holland of Ambit Capital says market will continue to focus on newsflow emanating out of the eurozone area.

According to Holland, the weakness in the domestic currency is adding to the negative sentiment in India. In this backdrop, he says, a retest of the December lows is very much on the cards. However, he adds that a short-term bounce cannot be ruled out.

Index heavyweight and oil & gas producer Reliance Industries rallied 1% while rival state-owned ONGC was flat.

India's largest lender State Bank of India shot up 3.3%. Private sector lenders HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank gained 0.5% and 0.25%, respectively. Housing finance company HDFC rose 1.6%.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL jumped 1.5% each. BHEL has received order from NTPC to build 1320 MW thermal power plant.

Among metals and mining stocks, Coal India, Sterlite Industries, Jindal Steel and Hindalco gained 1-2% whereas Tata Steel was down 1% on dismal performance in Q4 results.

Country's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki surged 3%.

Software services exporters Infosys and Wipro dropped 1% each while TCS was up 0.8%.

At 10:23 hours IST: Nifty holds 4900; HDFC, Reliance, TCS, L&T support

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty stayed higher amid volatility led by support from State Bank of India and Reliance Industries. HDFC, L&T and TCS too were helping the markets stay higher. Asian markets too turned higher from mixed trade; Shanghai, Nikkei, Kospi and Taiwan gained 0.3-0.6%.
  
The BSE benchmark gained 58.19 points at 16,210.94 and the NSE benchmark was up 21 points to 4,912.55.

The Indian rupee was moving towards record low of 54.89 a dollar; it depreciated by 25 paise to 54.67 a dollar today.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India rallied another 3% on value buying interest after the bank reported better than expected net profit of Rs 4,050 crore for the fourth quarter of FY12 as against Rs 21 crore in a year ago period. Analysts on average had expected profit at Rs 3,580 crore. Its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up marginally.

Housing finance company HDFC jumped 1.5% as the corporation increased FII investment limit to 100% from 74%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries and country's largest engineering and construction company Larsen & Tourbo rose 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel went up 0.6%.

TCS, India's largest software services provider moved up 0.7% whereas its rivals Infosy and Wipro fell 1% and 0.6%, respectively.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki and realty major DLF surged 2% each.

However, multinational steel company Tata Steel tanked 2.5% after disappointing numbers in fourth quarter. Cigarette major ITC was down 0.4%.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.7% each. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, DB Realty, Manappuram Finance, FDC, Fresenius Kabi and Dewan Housing shot up 4-7.5% whereas Tulip Telecom, Mahindra Holiday, Bajaj Finance, Polaris Tech and Redington fell 2-3%.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty up 0.5%; SBI extends gains on Q4 nos

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened 0.5% higher on Monday morning, continuing Friday's upmove further. Banks (except ICICI Bank), capital goods and FMCG stocks were supporting the market.

The BSE benchmark was up 79.45 points or 0.5% at 16,232.20 and the NSE benchmark rose 27.25 points or 0.56% to 4,918.70.

SBI gained another 2% after rising 5% on Friday due to strong results in Q4. PNB, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank too gained 1% each while ICICI Bank was down 0.5%.

DLF, JP Associates, L&T, Bharti Airtel, HDFC, BHEL (ahead of number this week), TCS, ONGC, Tata Motors and Maruti were trading higher.

However, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma and GAIL were under pressure.

The CNX Midcap Index rose 45 points to 6,912. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Glenmark Pharma and Pantaloon Retail were down 0.5% each in early trade.

Strong Results Reactions: Reliance Capital, Manappuram Finance and Alok Industries shot up 4-7%.

TV Today shot up 14% after Aditya Birla Group has agreed to buy 27.5% stake in Living Media India (holds 57.1% stake in TV Today) via private investment arm.

Other media companies: TV18 Broadcast was up 2.5% and Network 18 rallied 3.5%. (Note: Web18, which owns Moneycontrol.com and Indiaearnings.com, belongs to the Network 18 Group).

Himachal Futuristic Communication (HFCL) shot up 20% after The Economic Times reported that Reliance Industries tied up with this company for 4G launch.

Eveready Industries rose 6%. Deccan Chronicle, Suzlon Energy, Yes Bank and Jain Irrigation were up 1.5-2.5%.