Sensex sheds over 300 pts; all sectoral indices in red

The benchmark Nifty was consistently trading below the 5300 level after the news that Mauritius government agreed to restart talks of revising the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) treaty with India.

Finance Secretary said Mauritius gave in-principle nod to mull treaty review. He said they would discuss Mauritius tax treaty in July-August.

He also said, "We await Mauritius confirmation on tax treaty review date. We need framework before levying tax on Mauritius investment." "We can't arbitrarily tax investment routed from Mauritius," he added.

Stocks with investments from Mauritius as well as companies, which pledged shares, came in under pressure as more than 40% of India's total foreign direct investments (FDIs) come from Mauritius. GTL crashed 61% and GTL plummeted 41% despite clarification from company.

KS Oils tumbled 18%. Delta Corp, Alok Industries, HDIL, Lanco Infratech, IVRCL and Punj Lloyd fell 6-8%.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 17,523, down 348 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 107 points to 5,259. About nine shares declined for every one share advancing.

All sectoral indices were in the red. BSE Oil & Gas, Realty, IT, Power, Auto, Metal, Healthcare and TECk indices dropped 2-4%.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries, ONGC, TCS, NTPC, ITC, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Wipro were down 2-3.5%. Tata Motors and Cairn India fell 4%.

Reliance Communications was down 8% and Reliance Infrastructure down 7%. Reliance Capital and Reliance Power were down 4-4.5%.

The sell-off in global markets too added some more pressure on our markets. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were down 1% each. US index futures namely Dow Jones and Nasdaq lost 0.5% each.

Sensex, Nifty trading below 200-DMA; Indian market in bear phase

A key technical stock market indicator is signaling a protracted gloom for Indian equities, reviving memories of a similar downtrend two years ago. Benchmark share indices Sensex and Nifty as well as broader indices such as the BSE-200 are trading below their 200-day moving average, or 200-DMA, an indication that Indian markets are in bear territory.

A decline below 200-DMA means that new buyers of indices or stocks are not willing to pay more than the average price of the previous 200 days. While Sensex and Nifty are about 6% below their 200-DMA, more than 75% stocks on the BSE-200 are below the mark, a technical sign of pessimism.

The downswing in equities market is also evident in Asian peers such as China's Shanghai Composite and Singapore's Straits Times that are trading below this mark, analysts said. The classic definition of a bear market is when key indices fall 20% below their peaks, though the 200-DMA gauge is also widely used.

"We are clearly in a bear market at the moment," said Alex Mathews, head-research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services . "Charts are pointing to a downtrend and a reversal looks difficult unless there are positive cues," he said.

The Indian markets last experienced a similar trend in March 2009 when shares were reeling under the impact of a global financial meltdown, and almost 78% stocks on the BSE-200 were below 200-DMA, Enam Securities said in a report. The difference between the two periods is that the Sensex is at about 18,000 now, almost 12% below peak, while it was nearing 8,000 in early March 2009.

Liquidity Remains Global Concern

Foreign funds have dumped Indian shares, pulling down the markets in recent weeks as stubborn price pressures and the central bank's aggressive monetary tightening threaten to hurt growth and dent corporate profits. Overseas investors have net sold Indian stocks worth Rs 8,200 crore so far in May, dragging down benchmark indices 5%. They have pulled out almost Rs 3,500 crore on a net basis so far this year, after investing about Rs 1.33 lakh crore in 2010.

Liquidity remains a concern globally and investors will closely watch the foreign flow trend post-June, when the Federal Reserve's bond purchase, or the second round of quantitative easing, comes to an end, analysts said. Overseas markets have been jittery over the closing of the bond buyback that pumped billions of dollars into global stocks and commodities in the last couple of years. Though there is consensus in the market that the undertone may remain weak, any sharp decline from current levels may take investors and traders by surprise, analysts said.

"Monthly and quarterly charts are showing bearish trends. While there may be a brief upmove to about 5,550 levels over the next couple of weeks, the trend over the next two months shows the Nifty is likely to fall 15% to around 4,500 levels," said Sandeep Wagle, managing director, Aptart Technical Advisors.

Nifty down below 5450; Sesa Goa, IDFC, HDFC down

Indian markets were witnessing profit booking as sentiments turned bearish globally on concerns of global economic recovery. Banks, metals and auto stocks led the decline while FMCG space showed some resistance.

"Things have turned a little sour for world equity markets in May. Investors seem to have taken the old axiom of 'sell in May and go away' seriously; and they have been lucky so far. India has been no exception with the key indices on a mostly downward spiral. The slide is likely to persist at least at the start of the last week of the month.

The US and European stocks slid amid lingering worries over the precarious fiscal conditions of Greece and other peripheral eurozone nations. The dollar has advanced while the euro has hit a record low versus the Swiss franc. Asian stock markets are down 1-2% this morning. Crude oil is hovering around $100 a barrel mark.

Indian markets did recover some ground late last week, but the overall outlook remains murky. Things could get volatile in view of the F&O expiry on Thursday. The near-term sentiment will hinge on global cues and results of a few top companies. The onset of monsoon will be another key event to keep an eye on," said IIFL report.

At 9:45 am; National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5432.25, up 54.10 points or 0.99 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5456.70 and low of 5417 in trade so far.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex was at 18159.68, down 166.41points or 0.91 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 18269.06 and low of 18106.99 in early trade.

BSE Midcap Index slipped 0.55 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved up 0.42 per cent lower.

Amongst sectoral indices, BSE Bankex was down 1.53 per cent, BSE Metal Index moved 1.46 per cent lower and BSE Auto Index slipped 1.29 per cent. BSE FMCG Index was up 0.37 per cent.

Sesa Goa (-3.74%), IDFC (-2.51%), HDFC (-2.25%) Tata Motors (-2.13%) and Kotak Bank (-2.13%) were the top Nifty losers.

GAIL (0.96%), ITC (0.91%), BHEL (0.71%), Bharti Airtel (0.16%) and Siemens (0.05%) were amongst the major gainers.

Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 1051 declines as compared to 649 advances.

Meanwhile, Asian markets were witnessing some selling pressure. Nikkei 225 was down 1.34 per cent, Hange Seng fell 1.74 per cent and Taiwan Weighted slipped 1.31 per cent.

Market expert: SBI, RIL, Tata Steel may lead Nifty to 5330

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Jatinder Sharma, Partner, Equity Strategists says, after trading between 5,450-5,460 and 5,600 for past nine sessions, the market has given very valid technical breakdown. “SBI results may have tilted balance firmly in favour of the bearish outcome,” he adds.

He believes that now the levels to look forward would be around 5,330-5,335. “SBI, Reliance and Tata Steel could be the leaders in this particular fall and they might lead it towards 5,330-5,335 kind of levels,” he adds.

Also read: See Nifty in range of 5450-5600 for few days, says Deven Choksey

Below is verbatim transcript of his interview with Reema Tendulkar and Gautam Broker Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: The Nifty has broken that 5,450 mark? Now, what is the kind of downside which is opened up on any kind of trade?

A: I think after trading between 5,450-5,460 and 5,600 on the upside for past nine sessions, the market has given very valid technical breakdown. SBI results may have tilted balance firmly in favour of the bearish outcome. So, I believe that now the levels to look forward would be around 5,330-5,335 levels with some support coming in between around 5,375-5,380 levels.

Q: If we go all the way down to the 5,350 mark, what is primarily going to be leading us downside over there? Any kind of strategy that you have on key banking names or even the banking index now?

A: Along with SBI today, two more heavyweights have seen technical breakdown, Tata Steel as well as Reliance Industries. Reliance Industries was finding support around Rs 935-940 levels. It was expected that it will bounce back again to about Rs 979-980 kind of levels, but it has broken support. Now, it could be headed towards Rs 880-885 levels.

Similarly Tata Steel, it has given a valid breakdown again on daily charts as well as weekly charts. It could shed some more weight in the coming days. So, SBI, Reliance and Tata Steel could be the leaders in this particular fall and they might lead it towards 5,330-5,335 kind of levels.

Q: Technically, what about State Bank of India? What are the charts telling you as key support levels for State Bank of India?

A: State Bank of India was precariously placed around Rs 2,600 levels before the results. It has given a breakdown now. The levels to look forward to in the short run would be around Rs 2,375-2,380 where strong weekly support is seen. So, there could be technical rebound from around those levels.

Q: Do you think there could be any kind of an opportunity in the financial space, any other smaller banks that you like?

A: In the morning, Bank of India was looking good because it was finding support around Rs 390-385 levels. It has found support around these levels for past so many months now. So, a technical rebound could have been expected. Even now, I believe that that stock could be bought at current levels with small risk trade because Rs 385 is the stop loss level for Bank of India and it could go to all the way up to around Rs 435-440 or maybe if the market support, it could even head higher.

Among the largecaps, I believe HDFC Bank is still showing some resilience around Rs 2,240-2,245 levels. So, maybe on semblance of some support around these levels, one could go long in HDFC Bank.

Q: What would you recommend buying in terms of the sectors in the defensive side, pharma, FMCG and maybe IT?

A: FMCG and pharma are looking much better than even IT. In IT, the whole chart pattern is not looking good because of Infosys. Infosys is trading just around its strong support levels, weekly support levels about Rs 2,835-2,850 levels. But it is not showing any inclination to move higher.

TCS might trade in a range. But it is not looking good to give you some decent returns even in the short run. So, we are left only with the FMCG as well as pharma.

In FMCG, Hindustan Unilever looks to be a better chart right now, in fact better than ITC because it has held on to most of its gain for past three-four sessions and absorbed all the profit taking above Rs 305-306 levels. So, it could head towards Rs 320-325 levels over next five-seven trading sessions.

Nifty hovers around 5500; market awaits SBI results for cue

The Indian markets opened on a subdued note awaiting results of India's largest public sector bank SBI. The limelight was hogged by MSCI India addition stocks in early trade.

At 09.20 hrs IST, the Sensex was up 39.15 points or 0.21% at 18384.18, and the Nifty was up 5.80 points or 0.11% at 5504.80. About 530 shares advanced, 191 shares declined, and 2920 shares remain unchanged.

Buying was seen in capital goods, FMCG, IT and consumer durables stocks. The broader markets too were trading with nominal gains.

Titan Ind, Shriram Transport, Mundra Port, Dabur, Bank of India and Asian paints have been included in MSCI India Index. The stocks have rallied in the range of 2-11%.

Top gainers on the Sensex: TCS, Sterlite Industries, Larsen, Bajaj Auto and Cipla were up 0.-1.1%.

Top losers on the Sensex: ONGC, Hero Honda, NTPC, Wipro and Maruti Suzuki were down 0.5-3.5%.

Government increased upstream subsidy share to 38.5% of total subsidy burden for FY11. Now upstream companies like ONGC will have to bear Rs 30,000 crore in FY11, reports CNBC-TV18, quoting Sources.

According to CNBC-TV18's estimates, SBI's January-March quarter net interest income (NII) is seen at Rs 9176 crore, a growth of 37% as against Rs 6721 crore, same quarter previous year. Its Q4 PAT is seen up 59% at Rs 2963 crore versus Rs 1866 crore, YoY.

Midcap gainers: Kalpataru Power, State Bank of Mysore, CMC, KSK Energy and Berger Paints were up 2.5-6.5%.

Midcap losers: Page Industries, SKS Microfinance, Greaves Cotton, Godrej Proper and Bharat Forge were down 1.4-2.6%.

Smallcap gainers: Unisys Soft, Prime Securities, Ashapura Mine, Nirlon and Money Matters were up 4-6%.

Smallcap losers: Empee Sugars, R M Mohite Inds, Apar Ind, Halonix and Consolidated Co were down 4-10%.

Stocks to watch

Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd after it said it would consider issue of preference shares to Gammon India on May 19.

Software services firm CMC Ltd after it won an order from the Life Insurance Corporation of India.

Shalimar Paints after the Financial Express cited sources as saying the paints maker was up for sale and Kansai Nerolac and Sherwin-Williams were in the race to buy it. The company's chief operating officer, Sandeep Sarda, told the newspaper it does not comment on market speculation.

The US markets slid as technology stocks unraveled, and investors worried about the euro zone debt crisis and its impact on the economic recovery. Asian markets also trading in red.

Market cues:
Results Today: SBI, Bajaj Finserv, HT Media, Opto Circuits, Prestige Estates, Petron Eng
FIIs net sell USD 825 million in the cash market on May 13
MFs net buy Rs 14.80 cr in cash market on May 13
NSE F&O Open Int was up by Rs 4393 cr at Rs 1.42 lakh cr
MSCI India additions: Titan Ind, Shriram transport, Mundra port, Dabur, Bank of India, Asian paints

F&O cues:
Total Futures Open Int up Rs 1008 cr and Total Options Open Int up Rs 3385 cr
Total Stock Futures OI add 1.63 cr shares in OI
Nifty Futures OI add 12.11 lakh shares in OI
Nifty discount at 10.3 pts Vs premium at 14.15 pts
Nifty Open Int PCR at 0.96 Vs 1.05
Total Put sheds 4.61 lakh shares in OI
Total Call adds 58.55 lakh shares in OI
Highest OI Outstanding At 5400 Put, 5800 Call and 5600 Call
Nifty 5500 Call adds 29.10 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5600 Call adds 16.61 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5400 Call adds 7.35 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5700 Call adds 3.5 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5400 Put adds 3.12 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5600 Put sheds 9.05 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5200 Put sheds 2.3 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 6000 Call sheds 2.22 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5800 Put sheds 1.06 lakh shares in OI
Nifty 5500 Put sheds 1.06 lakh shares in OI
India VIX up 4.02 % at 21.46
Deccan Chronicle, PFC and Orchid Chem in F&O ban

(With inputs from Reuters)

Nifty ends in red; auto, tech, metals down

Indian markets ended in the red after briefly moving into positive terrain. Gains in oil&gas, FMCG and capital goods were offset by losses in auto, technology and metals space.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5537.30, down 27.95 points or 0.50 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5578.80 and low of 5503 intraday.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 18469.36, down 65.33 points or 0.35 per cent. The 30-share recovered from intraday low of 18339.53 and high of 18604.36.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.45 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.54 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Auto Index was down 1.33 per cent, BSE IT Index moved 1.08 per cent lower and BSE Metal Index slipped 1.05 per cent. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.2 per cent and BSE FMCG gained 0.36 per cent.

ACC (-6.20%), Ambuja Cement (-5.61%), Bajaj Auto (-4.91%), Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (-4.64%) and Grasim (-4.57%) and were the top losers.

ONGC (5.73%), BPCL (4.18%), Punjab National Bank (3.47%), HDFC Bank (1.76%) and Ranbaxy Laboratories (1.62%) were the major Sensex gainers.

Market breadth was negative on the NSE with 1687 declines against 1110 advances.

Coal India strikes record high

The key benchmark indices recovered after hitting fresh intraday lows. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 36.59 points or 0.19% to 19,255.43, up 42.80 points from the day's low and off 101.07 points from the day's high. The market breadth turned negative from positive. Weak Asian stocks and data showing sustained selling by foreign institutional investors this week weighed on the sentiment.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) snapped a four-day 6.35% fall on bargain hunting. Oil exploration major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation extended Thursday's gains triggered by reports of rise in oil and oil equivalent gas production in the year ended March 2011. Coal India struck record high on reports of getting imported coal at discounted prices. Auto shares were mixed. Cement shares rose as top cement firms -- UltraTech Cement and ACC early this week forecast strong growth in cement demand at the time of announcing January-March 2011 quarter results. Most bank stocks declined as the central bank is seen raising key short-term interest rates by a minimum 25 basis points at a policy review early next week.

As per provisional data released by the stock exchanges, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs. 832.59 crore on Thursday, 28 April 2011. Foreign funds sold shares worth a net Rs. 796.80 crore in secondary equity markets in three trading sessions from Monday, 25 April 2011 to Wednesday, 27 April 2011, as per data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

At 11:25 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 36.59 points or 0.19% to 19,255.43. The index gained 64.48 points at the day's high of 19,356.50 in early trade. The Sensex fell 79.39 points at the day's low of 19,212.63 in morning trade, its lowest level since 20 April 2011.

The S&P CNX Nifty was down 6 points or 0.10% to 5,779.45. The Nifty hit low of 5,764.50, its lowest level since 20 April 2011.

The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, turned negative from positive breadth earlier in the day. On BSE, 1060 shares advanced while 1320 shares declined. A total of 99 shares remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs. 1129 crore by 11:25 IST compared with Rs. 741 crore by 10:25 IST.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 16 gained while the rest declined.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.68% to Rs. 980.50, halting a four-day 6.35% fall, on bargain hunting. Reportedly Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance group is in talks to buy the stake held by Bharti Enterprises in an Indian insurer joint venture with AXA Group. Bharti AXA is a joint venture between Bharti Enterprises, which controls India's largest listed cellular services provider Bharti Airtel, and AXA, Europe's second biggest insurer. Shares of Bharti Airtel declined 0.61%.

RIL said recently that it is drawing up a plan to raise gas production from its D6 deepwater block in the Krishna Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal, off India's east coast. RIL said the reservoirs in the block are more complicated than previously expected and continuous and significant efforts are underway for understanding these reservoirs. RIL said it is trying to identify well locations for incremental production and sustenance.

Gas output from the block touched a peak of 60 million metric standard cubic meters a day (mmscmd) last year. Production has now fallen to 50 mmscmd as against a target of 69.8 mmscmd, S.K. Srivastava, head of India's upstream regulator, said last week. He also said that Reliance hasn't given any satisfactory response on the matter.

Integrated development plan for all other discoveries in KG-D6 is being conceptualized to augment production in the most capital efficient manner, RIL said on 25 April 2011. The company said it is studying various options such as recompletion of wells and compression to increase gas production.

India's largest oil exploration firm by market capitalization Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 0.52%. The stock extended Thursday's close to 2% gains triggered by reports the company's oil and oil equivalent gas production rose 1.8% to 62.03 million tonnes in the year ended March 2011 over the year ended March 2010.

Coal India rose 1.28% to Rs. 381.10 after striking a record high of Rs. 383.30 on reports the company has received 27 proposals from 16 companies for getting imported coal at discounted prices.

India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank rose 0.28% on strong Q4 results. During market hours on Thursday, the bank reported a 44% jump in net profit to Rs. 1452 crore on 23% growth in net interest income to Rs. 2510 crore and an 18% growth in fee income to Rs. 1791 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010. Consolidated net profit rose 16.85% to Rs. 1567.93 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010.

The bank said its savings deposits increased by 26% to Rs. 66,869 crore as at 31 March 2011 from Rs. 53,218 crore as at 31 March 2010. The CASA (current & savings accounts) deposits ratio increased to 45.1% as at 31 March 2011 from 41.7% as at 31 March 2010. ICICI Bank's net non-performing asset ratio decreased to 0.94% as at 31 March 2011 from 1.87% as at 31 March 2010 and 1.16% as at 31 December 2010.

Most bank stocks declined as the central bank is seen raising key short-term interest rates by a minimum 25 basis points at a policy review early next week. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank slipped 1.66% while India's largest bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India declined 0.73%.

Auto shares were mixed. India's largest bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors lost 2.10% to Rs. 1660.50 ahead of declaration of its year ended March 2011 result on 4 May 2011. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack.

India's largest tractor and utility vehicles maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) slipped 1.47%. The company on Wednesday announced the launch of its next generation passenger carrier Maxximo Mini Van priced at Rs. 3.2 lakh. Maxximo Mini Van will compete with Tata Magic and Maruti Omni in the mini van segments.

India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors fell 0.63%. Recent reports indicated the company has cut production in April 2011 of its sports-utility vehicles and cars--besides the Nano--by 15%-20% over March 2011. The production cut is normal balancing in production, reports said.

India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India rose 1.12%. Chief Executive Shinzo Nakanishi said at the time of announcing Q4 results early this week that Maruti will make efforts to protect and increase margins going forward. Net profit fell 8.4% to Rs. 2288.60 crore on 24.60% increase in total income, net of excise, to Rs. 37522.40 crore in the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011) over the year ended March 2010. The company announced the FY 2011 results during trading hours on Monday, 25 April 2011. The company said adverse currency movement (particularly on exports), higher commodity prices and new model launches impacted the company's profits in the year ended March 2011.

India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto rose 0.52%. The company announces its Q4 March 2011 result on 18 May 2011.

India's largest household products maker Hindustan Unilever gained 2.26% to Rs. 285 and was the top gainer from the Sensex pack. Reportedly the company has formed customer care teams to help boost efficiency and sales after studying product demand and customer behaviour at supermarkets.

India's second largest listed cellular services provider by sales Reliance Communications rose 0.96% on bargain hunting after sliding over 5% on Thursday on investor worries about the ongoing telecoms licencing graft case.

Reliance Infrastructure rose 0.16%. The company said after market hours on Thursday it bought back additional 2 lakh shares on Thursday, 28 April 2011, under its buyback programme of up to Rs. 1000 crore. The company has so far bought back 10 lakh shares under the buyback programme.

GVK Power Infrastructure advanced 2.07% to Rs. 24.65 after a large bulk deal of 1.5 crore shares was executed on the counter at Rs. 24.15 per share at 09:47 IST on BSE.

Crompton Greaves tumbled 9.92% on high volume of 14.49 lakh shares after consolidated net profit declined 18% to Rs. 251.43 crore on 16% rise in net sales to Rs. 2908.03 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010. The result was announced after market hours on Thursday, 28 April 2011.

Cement shares rose as top cement firms -- UltraTech Cement and ACC early this week forecast strong growth in cement demand at the time of announcing January-March 2011 quarter results. ACC (up 0.26%), India Cements (up 0.23%), Madras Cement (up 1%), UltraTech Cements (up 2.15%), Shree Cement (up 0.23%), (up 8.28%), Prism Cement (up 2.66%), gained. Ambuja Cements surged 2.39% on massive volume of 5.34 crore shares on NSE.

The corporate results announced so far have been good. The combined net profit of a total of 380 companies rose 23.2% to Rs. 30693 crore on 26.3% rise in sales to Rs. 261302 crore in Q4 March 2011 over Q4 March 2010.

Nine of 14 economists polled by Capital Market expect 25 basis points (bps) hike in key short-term interest rates while five expect a 50 bps hike in short-term rates on 3 May 2011 when the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) undertakes its annual 2011-2012 monetary policy review. A cumulative hike of 75-100 bps in short-term rates is expected during the financial year ending March 2012 (FY 2012). 100 bps is one percentage point or 1 %. Economists expect inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) to slide to a median 7.8% in FY 2012 from 9.4% in the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). The poll shows that economists expect inflation to remain high in the first half of the year and slide in the second half of the year.

A sharp surge in global crude oil prices over the past few months has raised macroeconomic worries. India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and high oil prices have raised concerns about widening current account deficit. High oil prices have also raised concerns about higher oil subsidy bill for the government and its negative impact on the government's fiscal position. US crude futures were down 38 cents or 0.34% at $112.48 a barrel.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted the southwest monsoon 2011 to be 98% (normal) of the long period average (LPA) with a model error of plus/minus 5%. IMD has indicated that there is very low probability for the season rainfall to be deficient (below 90% of LPA) or excess (above 110% of LPA).

Good rains, if they arrive on time and if they are well spread, would help ease food inflation and boost rural income. Rainfall that comes within 96% to 104% of the long-term average is considered a normal monsoon season, but this alone doesn't guarantee a good crop. The timing and spread of the rains are equally important. The quantity and geographical spread of rainfall during the monsoon season is crucial for India's agriculture sector, which lacks irrigation facilities on more than half its farm land. Monsoon rains usually enter India's mainland through the southern state of Kerala in the first week of June, gradually progressing to cover most of central and northern India by July, before retreating in September.

Asian stocks declined on Friday after a report showing slowdown in US economy sparked concern whether earnings improvement can be sustained. The key benchmark indices in Singapore, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and Hong Kong slipped by between 0.02% to 1.07%. Japanese markets are closed for a public holiday.

US stocks extended their multi-year highs on Thursday as the market clung to optimism generated by the Federal Reserve's plans to keep interest rates low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.35 points, or 0.6%, to 12763.31, its highest close since 20 May 2008. The Nasdaq Composite index added 2.65, or 0.1% to 2872.53, its highest close since 12 December 2000 and the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index rose 4.82, or 0.4%, to 1360.48, finishing at its highest level since 9 June 2008.

In economic news, US gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 1.8% in the first quarter compared with a 3.1% gain in the fourth quarter last year. Initial jobless claims for the week ended 23 April 2011 rose by 25,00 to 429,000, the highest level since January 2011 and pending home sales index of contract signings rose 5.1% to 94.1 in March 2011, from 89.5 in February 2011.

Trading in US index futures indicates a flat opening on Friday, 29 April 2011.

Sensex falls on Asian cues; Banks, IT, auto down

The Indian markets have opened lower tracking global cues. The Sensex was trading 148 points lower at 19,435 and the Nifty declined 46 points to 5,828 at 9.50 am.

Realty stocks rebounded after Monday's declined. The BSE realty index rose 0.38 per cent. All other sectoral indices were trading in the red. Banking, auto and IT stocks fell close to 0.50 per cent.

Only four stocks rose on the Sensex. Reliance Com was the biggest gainer, rising 0.86 per cent. Jindal Steel, ONGC and Bharti also saw buying interest.

Among the losers, Sterlite saw the biggest cut, falling 2 per cent. The stock had seen a good run-up to the results, rising for the past few sessions. The company reported strong numbers on Monday, announcing a 35 per cent rise in net profit. Maruti declined 1.4 per cent. The stock rose on Monday after the company beat Street expectations in this quarter.

HUL, HDFC, Jaiprakash Associates, M&M, HDFC Bank and ITC declined 1-2 per cent.

The market breadth was weak with only 28 per cent stocks managing to mover higher on the BSE 500 index.

Ambareesh Baliga of Way2Wealth said, "The markets were looking to move up on account of earnings but that has not happened after Infosys and RIL punctured the rally. Earnings show that there is margin pressure coming in despite clear topline gains. 5,900-5,950 is a clear cap for markets though there is not too much downside."

Markets across Asia were trading in the red after the Wall Street saw a dip on Monday. The Nikkei in Japan was trading 1.32 per cent lower. Hong Kong's Hang Seng and South Korean Kospi were also trading in red.

Overnight, the Dow fell 26 points or 0.2 per cent on mixed earnings.

Sensex gains 131 points, led by RIL ahead of its results

The BSE Sensex gained for the third straight day today, adding 131 points to close at 19,602, led byReliance Industries ahead of its fourth quarter results and a firm global trend.

Brokers said investor sentiment remained positive on the back of steady FII inflows and expectations of encouraging Q4 earnings from RIL, to be announced this evening.

However, lower-than-expected earnings by software major TCS and higher food inflation for the week ended April 9, capped the gains.

The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, which climbed 380 points in the previous two sessions, added another 131.25 points, or 0.67 per cent to close the day at 19,602.23.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also surged 33.05 points, or 0.56 per cent to close at 5,884.70. It touched the session's high of 5,912.90 and a low of 5,864.35.

The RIL stocks rose by 1.39 per cent to Rs 1,039.95. However, having failed to meet market expectations,Tata Consultancy Services fell 2.23 per cent to Rs 1,191.65. It had gained two per cent in the early trade.

A firm trend in the Asian markets and higher openings in Europe, followed by overnight gains in the US supported Indian markets.

While metals, oil and gas, realty, bank and auto sectors, pushed up the market, a weak trend in capital goods, power and IT sectors reduced the gains.

Sensex ends 110 points up; Maruti, ONGC, Hindalco gain

Indian markets ended on a positive note but off highs as investors took some profits off the table ahead of truncated week-end. Metals, oil&gas and realty stocks led the upmove while capital goods, power and IT led the losers pack.

Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex ended at 19581.67, up 110.69 points or 0.81 per cent. The 30-share index hit a high of 19695.98 and low of 19530.50 intraday.

National Stock Exchange's Nifty was at 5887.70, up 36.05 points or 0.62 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5912.90 and low of 5866.90 in today's trade.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.10 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index edged 0.03 per cent lower.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Metal Index was up 1.57 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index gained 1.14 per cent and BSE Realty Index moved 0.60 per cent higher. BSE Capital Goods Index slipped 1.06 per cent and BSE Power Index declined 0.91 per cent.

Maruti (3.80%), ONGC (2.78%), Hindalco (2.66%),HDFC (2.46%) and Sterlite Industries (2.30%) were the major Sensex gainers.

BHEL (-4.73%), TCS (-2.61%), Bharti Airtel (-1.38%),Tata Motors (-0.99%) and Cipla (-0.42%) were amongst the top losers.

Shares of TCS were down on profit booking after it reported better-than-expected quarterly figures. Its standalone net profit grew to Rs 7569.99 crores for the year ended March 2011 against Rs 5618.51 crores a year ago. Net sales grew to Rs 29275.41 crores from Rs 23044.45 crores.

Reliance Industries will be announcing results later in the day. Analysts are expecting the oil&gas major to report robust numbers due to higher gross refining margins. The stock ended at 1.37 per cent higher on the BSE.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1364 gainers against 1510 losers.

Indian stocks slip as tech worries weigh

Indian stocks lost early gains to trade lower on Monday, with the information technology sector remaining under pressure after results and guidance from Infosys Technologies Ltd. disappointed investors last week.

The Sensex XX:SENSEX -1.51% fell 168.47 points, or 0.9%, to 19,218.35, led by declines of more than 2% for shares of Infosys IN:500209 -2.89% ; Cipla Ltd. IN:500087 -1.46% ; Tata Consultancy Services IN:532540 -3.07% ; and DLF Ltd. IN:532868 -5.16%

Shares of Hero Honda Motors Ltd.IN:500182 +2.33% bucked the trend, rising 3% after the auto maker last week announced an interim dividend to 70 rupees per share.

The S&P/CNX Nifty XX:NIFTY -1.64% fell 0.9% to 5,769.70.

The drop in Infosys shares follows a 9.6% slide on Friday after the firm said profit for its quarter ended March 31 rose by a smaller-than-expected 13.6% from the year-earlier period as costs outpaced growth in revenue.

Net profit rose to 18.18 billion rupees ($408 million) from 16.00 billion rupees in the year earlier period. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected the company’s profit to rise to 18.81 billion rupees.

For the current financial year that started April 1, Infosys said it expects an 8% to 10% growth in earnings per share in U.S. dollar terms, to a range between $2.83 and $2.88. Current financial year revenue is expected to climb 18% to 20% to $7.13 billion to $7.25 billion.

Deutsche Bank, however, said that the quarterly miss was a “one-time phenomenon” and that the software-maker’s management was “unduly conservative” in its guidance.

Among the offsets expected by Deutsche Bank is that Infosys should continue to benefit from increased hiring at lower wages, which should bring down its overall wage inflation and cost base.

Investors worried about the information technology’s prospect will next turn to results from Tata Consultancy Services IN:532540 -3.07% due on Thursday.

The banking sector, also a key component for the market’s overall earnings growth, fell 1% , with investors awaiting quarterly results earnings from HDFC Bank Ltd.IN:500180 -1.77% later Monday.

Marketwatch

Sensex hits one-week high; ITC scales record high

The key benchmark indices surged, snapping four days' losses as world stocks rose and as a slide in crude oil prices from 2-1/2-year peak helped ease macroeconomic concerns. The barometer index BSE Sensex struck one-week high. The Sensex was provisionally up 466.34 points or 2.42%, up close to 635 points from the day's low. The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was strong.

Bank shares rose across the board on expectation of good Q4 results. Capital goods and auto stocks rose on renewed buying. IT stocks rose ahead of IT bellwether Infosys' Q4 result on Friday, 15 April 2011. Cigarette maker ITC scaled a record high.

The market recovered after hitting 2-week low at the onset of the trading session, tracking recovery in Asian stocks. The market moved into the positive zone to hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. The market extended initial gains to hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The market trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. The market struck a fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. The Sensex extended gains in mid-afternoon trade. The barometer index surged to hit one-week high in late trade.

As per provisional figures, the BSE 30-share Sensex was up 466.34 points or 2.42% to 19,728.88. The Sensex rose 468.83 points at the day's high of 19,731.37 in late trade, its highest level since 6 April 2011. The Sensex shed 168.91 points at the day's low of 19,101.63 in early trade, its lowest level since 29 March 2011.

The S&P CNX Nifty was up 136.80 points or 2.36% to 5,922.50 as per provisional figures. The Nifty hit high of 5923.60 in late trade, its highest level since 8 April 2011. The Nifty hit low of 5,735.55 in early trade, its lowest level since 29 March 2011.

The market breadth, indicating the health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,941 shares advanced while 977 shares declined. A total of 93 shares remained unchanged. The breadth was negative at the onset of the trading session.

Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 28 advanced while only two of them declined.

BSE clocked turnover of Rs. 3373 crore, higher than Rs. 2588.21 crore on Monday, 11 April 2011.
Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.36% to Rs. 1020.80, off the day's low of Rs. 998 as refining margins are seen rising on the back of high crude oil prices. RIL recently bagged two blocks in the ninth round of oil and gas block auctions held by the government.

ONGC gained 1.78% after chairman A. K. Hazarika was quoted by the media as saying that the company will sign an agreement during the week-end to purchase a 25% stake in the Satpayev exploration block in Kazakhstan. The government has approved a total investment plan of $400 million. This includes a signature bonus of $13 million and $80 million as a fee for taking the stake in the block. The rest will be spent on exploration activities.

IT stocks rose ahead of IT bellwether Infosys' Q4 result on Friday, 15 April 2011. India's second largest software services exporter Infosys Technologies rose 2.29%, with the stock gaining for the second straight day. The market has been abuzz with talks Infosys will give encouraging guidance for the year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) given underlying strong demand for offshore outsourcing. Infosys will give annual guidance for FY 2012 at the time of announcing Q4 March 2011 results on Friday.

India's largest software services exporter TCS advanced 2.23%. The company will announce Q4 result on 21 April 2011. India's third largest software services exporter Wipro gained 3.19%. The company will announce Q4 result on 27 April 2011.

Cigarette maker ITC rose 2.81% to Rs. 190.15 on expectations of good Q4 results. The stock hit record high of Rs. 190.50 today.

India's largest dam builder by sales Jaiprakash Associates surged 7.58% after executive chairman Manoj Gaur was quoted as saying the company aims to maintain a growth rate of 40% and aims to scale down debt significantly in the year ending March 2012 (FY 2012). It was the top gainer from the Sensex pack.

Bank shares rose across the board on expectation of good Q4 results. India's second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank rose 3.65%. The bank will announce Q4 result on 18 April 2011. India's largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank gained 2.68%. The bank will announce Q4 result on 28 April 2011.

India's largest state run bank by net profit and branch network State Bank of India (SBI) edged up 1.46%. Pratip Chaudhuri has taken over as the new chairman of State Bank of India the state-run bank said on 7 April 2011. Chaudhuri, 57, has been working with State Bank for 37 years and takes over from O.P. Bhatt. Before taking up the top role, Chaudhuri was deputy managing director in the international banking division of thebank.

Capital goods stocks rose on renewed buying. Punj Lloyd, ABB, Larsen & Toubro, BEML and Bhel rose by between 0.85% to 5.38%.

Auto stocks rose on strong domestic demand. India's top small car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki rose 3.41%, with the stock snapping last four days' losses. The company announced last week that it would recall 13,157 diesel engine cars. The company said it would inspect the 'connecting rod bolt' for units of its Swift and Ritz model diesel cars with engines manufactured between 13 November 2010 and 4 December 2010.

Maruti Suzuki increased the prices of its products by 0.2% to 2.4% from 4 April 2011, depending on the models to offset rising costs of key inputs viz. steel, aluminum, copper and natural rubber.
India's largest truck maker by sales Tata Motors gained 2.61%, with the stock snapping last three days' slide. The company had hiked prices of some car models by Rs. 7,000 to Rs. 36,000 from 1 April 2011.

India's top tractor and utility vehicles maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra rose 2.73% with the stock snapping last two days' fall. The company has reportedly raised prices on most of its models by 1.5% to 2% recently to offset higher commodity prices.

India's largest bike maker by sales Hero Honda Motors gained 6.34% with the stock snapping last two days' losses after company today declared an interim dividend of Rs. 70 per equity share for the year ended March 2011. Hero Honda's total sales rose 24.4% to 5.15 lakh units in March 2011 over March 2010. The monthly sales in March 2011 were record monthly sales.

India's second largest bike maker by sales Bajaj Auto rose 1.6% with the stock snapping last three days' losses. The company's total vehicle sales increased 12% to 3.07 lakh units in March 2011 over March 2010. The company announced its March 2011 sales figures on 4 April 2011.
The market was closed on Tuesday, 12 April 2011, on account of Ram Navmi. The near term major trigger for the market is Q4 March 2011 results which will start trickling in starting this week when IT bellwether Infosys unveils earnings on Friday, 15 April 2011. Investors will scrutinize post-result management commentary to gauge outlook on earnings at a time when rising salaries, raw materials prices and interest rates are pressurizing profit margins of India Inc.

European stocks rose Wednesday, boosted by strength in the auto sector and tracking gains in Asia, as investors looked to the next round of US earnings reports. The key benchmark indices in UK, Germany and France were up by between 0.78% to 0.84%.

Japanese stocks led recovery in Asian markets on Wednesday on reports Japan's Renesas Electronics Corp. would restart a key factory that was hit by last month's quake in June 2011, a month earlier than expected. The key benchmark indices in Japan, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia rose by between 0.55% to 1.56%.

Meanwhile, Japan's government on Wednesday downgraded its assessment of the economy for the first time in six months, saying it is showing weakness after a devastating earthquake and tsunami last month battered the northeast coast.

US stocks dropped on Tuesday on worries falling oil prices could set off a reversal in the high-flying energy sector, while Alcoa's leaner-than-expected revenue disappointed. US trade deficit shrank in February as a slowdown in demand both at home and abroad hit imports and exports. The trade gap totaled $45.8 billion, down 2.6% from January despite another monthly rise in oil prices to their highest since October 2008, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could gain 45 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 13 April 2011.

Back home, high global commodity prices will add to pressure on profit margins of Indian firms caused by rising salaries and higher interest rates. Investors can take some solace in a recent slide in crude oil prices from 2-1-/2-year highs.

A surge in crude oil prices over the past few months has sparked inflation and interest rate worries. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is seen raising key short term policy rates by 25 basis points at its annual 2011-2012 monetary policy review on 3 May 2011.

India imports majority of its crude oil requirements and high oil prices have raised concerns about widening account deficit. High oil prices have also raised concerns about higher oil subsidy bill for the government and its negative impact on the government's fiscal position. US crude futures were up 29 cents or 0.27% at 106.54 a barrel.

Industrial production rose 3.6% in February 2011, lower than market expectations of a 4.8% growth, data released by the government on Monday showed. Manufacturing output, which constitutes about 80% of the industrial production, rose an annual 3.5% in February 2011. January's industrial output annual growth rate was revised upwards to 3.9% from 3.7%.
The data of Wholesale Price Index for the month of March 2011 is due on Friday, 15 April 2011. A Capital Market poll pegs a median rate of rise in inflation at 8.4% in March 2011, higher than an annual rise of 8.3% in February 2011.

The International Monetary Fund has marginally cut its 2011 economic growth forecast for India to 8.2% from 8.4% as persistent inflation pressure forced aggressive monetary tightening.
Good monsoon this year could help ease food inflation and boost rural income. Recent reports indicate that India will receive good rains during the July-September monsoon season this year.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) will give its first official forecast for the June to September monsoon on 19 April 2011.

India Infoline

Sensex ends 208 points down

A benchmark index for Indian equities markets closed 208 points lower with realty, auto and consumer durables leading the losers list.

The 30-scrip sensitive index ( sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,382.91 points, was ruling at 19,242.59 points (provisional) -- down 208.86 points or 1.07% from its previous close at 19,451.45 points.

The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange too shut shop 1.07% lower at 5,779.5 points.

Broader markets were ruling dull, with the BSEmidcap index closing 0.77% down and the BSE small cap index ending a similar quantum lower.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Sensex down 140 pts on low factory output fears, weak market trend

The BSE benchmark Sensex opened 140 points down on continued selling by foreign funds and retail investors amid weak trend in Asian bourses and in anticipation of a weak factory output data, scheduled for release today.

The 30-share barometer, which has lost 250 points in the previous four sessions, moved further down by 140.02 points, or 0.71 per cent to 19,311.43 level, led by the fall in auto, realty, metals, IT and banking stocks.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty slid 36.70 points, or 0.62 per cent down to 5,805.30 points.

According to market experts, the trading sentiment remains bearish on continued selling by funds and retail investors ahead of the industrial production data (IIP) for the month of February, to be released later this morning.

Further, subdued trend on other Asian bourses has also dampened the market sentiment here.

Meanwhile, in other important indices in Asia, the Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.03 per cent and the Japan's Nikkei was trading 0.57 per cent down this morning. In the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.24 per cent lower in the previous session on Friday.

Sensex, Nifty open in red

BSE Sensex was trading at 19,363, down 87 points over the previous close. It opened at the day's high of 19,382 and went onto touch a day's low of 19,311.

The benchmark Indian equity indices have opened in the red in early morning trade, with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty down 87 points and 26 points respectively.

At 09:20 am (IST), the BSE Sensex was trading at 19,363, down 87 points over the previous close. It opened at the day's high of 19,382 and went onto touch a day's low of 19,311.

NSE Nifty was quoting 5, 815, down 28 points over the previous close. It had earlier touched a day's high of 5,818 and a day's low of 5,804. It opened at 5,805.

The BSE Small Cap index and the BSE Mid cap index were down 0.2% and 0.5% respectively.
Realty, Auto and Banking stocks are among the leading losers in terms of sectors. While, Metal, Power, PSU, Oil & Gas, Consumer Durables and select IT shares are struggling for direction.

Tata Power, Sterlite, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Sesa Goa, Tata Steel, BHEL, Grasim, Cairn India, Reliance Infra were among the notable leaders in the Sensex and the Nifty.

Siemens, IDFC, HDFC Bank, DLF, JP Associate, RCOM, BPCL, Hero Honda, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, SAIL, ONGC and TCS were among the notable losers in the Sensex and the Nifty.

The market breadth is negative on the BSE with 773 shares falling and 564 shares rising.

India Infoline

Sensex slips into red; Realty, auto stocks fall

The markets have reversed direction and have slipped into the red. The Sensex fell 111 points to 19,479 and the Nifty declined 37 points to 5,848.

The markets have been consolidating over the past 3-4 sessions after the sharp up move that saw the benchmark indices gaining 10 per cent over 10 days. Analysts say there is little headroom for the markets on the upside from these levels.

Ambareesh Baliga of Way2Wealth said, "The markets are towards the end of the rally seen in the last 2-3 weeks. There are no data points for the markets to shoot above these levels."

Somil Mehta of Sharekhan said, "Investors need to be cautious because the markets have entered a euphoric stage because small caps and mid-caps are moving too fast. The Nifty is likely to head towards 5,700 levels."

All sectoral indices slipped into the red. Realty stocks saw sharp cut with the BSE Realty index slipping 1.6 per cent. Indiabulls Real Estate declined 4 per cent. HDIL fell 3.5 per cent. DLF was trading 1.4 per cent lower.

Auto stocks declined 1.2 per cent. TVS Motors fell 2.7 per cent. Tata Motors declined 2.2 per cent. Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, M&M and Maruti were trading 1-2 per cent lower.

On the Sensex, only 5 stocks were trading higher. Bharti took the lead, rising 1.8 per cent. ITC, HUL, Sterlite and HDFC Bank were in the green. Jaiprakash Associates and Wipro fell 2-2.5 per cent.


Shilpi Cable Tech had a strong listing today but the stock has come under selling pressure and was trading 1 per cent lower.

Asian markets rose overlooking another strong quake in Japan. The Nikkei 225 in Japan was trading 2 per cent higher. The Hang Seng and South Korea's Kospi gained more than 0.5 per cent.

Overnight, the Dow closed with minor losses, down 17 points to 12,409.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/sensex-slips-into-red-realty-auto-stocks-fall-148311?pfrom=home-Business&cp