Sensex lacklustre; Pharma, Oil & Gas up

Benchmark indices were moving in narrow ranged Friday as investors stood on sidelines ahead of a long weekend. However, buying activity
was seen in midcaps and smallcap stocks.

“Bulls are indeed on seventh heaven as the September series came to a happy close with a 7% gain in the major indices. Foreign funds continue to pour money into Indian equities while the local funds don’t appear to be all that excited. The market is likely to remain sideways with mostly a positive bias and its direction will hinge on FII inflows and external environment. Results and RBI’s monetary policy are the two big events to watch out for next month.

We have two back-to-back extended weekends. This has the potential to make the market choppy but also gives you a chance to relax,” said India Infoline report.

At 12 pm, Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16749.53, down 31.90 points or 0.19 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 16618.43 and high of 16787.67.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4978.60, down 7.95 points or 0.16 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 4931.25 and high of 4989.50.

“Yesterday's recovery suggests us that the bull strength is still intact however; the recovery above 5020 level is needed to continue the same. On the lower side the level of 4925 may act as a major support for the market and failure to hold the same may invite further sell off in the market. Below 4925 level the index may reach 4870/4880 level. Traders can search for fresh trading long opportunity around these levels,” said Kotak Securities report.

BSE Midcap Index was up 1.21 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.53 per cent higher.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Healthcare Index gained 2.68 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index and BSE Realty Index was up 0.99 per cent each.

BSE IT Index was down 1.29 per cent and BSE Metal Index tripped 0.84 per cent.

TCS (-2.15%), Infosys Technologies (-1.49%), Bharti Airtel (-1.43%), ICICI Bank (-1.30%) and Sterlite Industries (-1.27%) were amongst the Sensex losers.

Gainers included Sun Pharmaceuticals (1.61%), Reliance Industries (1.26%), Maruti Suzuki (1.03%), ONGC (0.70%) and NTPC (0.59%).

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1765 advances and 766 declines.

News Source : Sensex lacklustre; Pharma, Oil & Gas up

BSE Sensex rises 1 pct; Reliance, autos gain

The BSE Sensex (^BSESN) rose 1 percent on Wednesday after data reinforced signs of an economic recovery, but trading was choppy as investors took profits ahead of an updated budget next week.

Gains were led by Reliance Industries (RELIANCE.NS) after the energy giant said it could not sign a deal to sell gas at below state-set prices to a former group firm without the government's approval.

Auto shares climbed after top car maker Maruti Suzuki, leading utility vehicles producer Mahindra & Mahindra and motorcycle maker Hero Honda Motors all reported double-digit sales growth in June.

Hindalco Industries (HINDALC0.NS) fell 3.5 percent to 83.40 rupees after the top aluminium producer posted a 78 percent slump in 2008/09 consolidated profit.

Manufacturing activity expanded for a third straight month in June, albeit at a slightly slower pace, reflecting strong local demand, data showed on Wednesday.

Still, investors only took trading positions as they awaited policy direction from the budget on Monday, traders said.

"There has already been a good run-up in the market, and people are going for safe positions so they can deal with any unexpected negativity," said Tejas Doshi, head of research at Sushil Finance.

The 30-share BSE index rose 1.05 percent, or 151.63 points, to 14,645.47 points, with 25 components closing higher. It slipped nearly 1 percent in the afternoon before pulling back.

The benchmark had rallied by almost half during April-June in their best quarterly gain in 17 years, but investors are wary their expectations on the budget may be too high.

"The volumes are strong, but people are taking more daily positions. Future direction should only be known after the budget measures," said K.K. Mital, chief executive for portfolio management services at Globe Capital Market.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is likely to announce plans to sell shares in some state run firms to help fund rural and social programmes, but the cash-strapped government could expand the budget deficit and its market borrowing.

Reliance Industries, which has the heaviest weight in the main index, rose 1.7 percent to 2,057.35 rupees after its statement late on Tuesday on the gas deal eased concerns its profits could be affected.

Financial stocks rose in anticipation of budget moves to help attract more investments in the sector.

Top lender State Bank of India (SBIN.NS) firmed 2.2 percent to 1,779.80 rupees, ICICI Bank (ICICIBANK.NS) gained 1 percent to 729.25 rupees and HDFC Bank added 0.7 percent to 1,502 rupees.

Mahindra & Mahindra rallied 3.2 percent to 714.35 rupees after its June sales rose 19 percent, while Maruti gained 0.4 percent to 1,070.15 rupees as its sales climbed 23 percent.

Top vehicles maker Tata Motors (TATAMOTORS.BO), expected to report monthly numbers later Wednesday, was up 2.8 percent at 299.30 rupees.

Consumer goods maker Hindustan Unilever closed up 2.1 percent at 272.70 rupees, after hitting a 52-week high of 275.20 as investors bet strong local demand would boost revenues.

In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers in the ratio of 1.06:1, on above-average volume of 373.5 million shares.

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India Shares End Slightly Higher; Reliance Industries Leads

MUMBAI (Dow Jones)--Buying in metals, coupled with a near 3% rise in the nation's most valued company, Reliance Industries, offset selling in technology and select blue chips as Indian shares ended slightly higher Monday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index, or Sensex, added 0.1%, or 21.10 points, to close at 14,785.74 after trading between 14,685.45 and 14,955.55.

Dow Jones technical analysis tips the 30-stock Sensex, which rose 1.7% last week, to trade in a 14,200-15,700 range this week.

On the National Stock Exchange, the 50-stock S&P CNX Nifty index rose 0.4%, or 15.45 points, to 4,390.95.

"After the Sensex's recent 7.4% fall from the peak on 10 June 2009, we believe that the Indian market is now fairly valued on an overall basis," Nomura analysts Prabhat Awasthi, Nipun Prem and Sanjay Kadam wrote in a note.

"An improvement in the macro outlook, a possible roadmap to fiscal consolidation and an extremely accommodating liquidity environment mean that risk to the downside would be limited," they said, setting a 12-month target of 16,400 for the Sensex.

Total traded volume on the Bombay Stock Exchange was INR60.54 billion, compared with Friday's INR55.13 billion. Gainers outnumbered decliners 1,686 to 964, while 73 stocks were unchanged.

Investors hunted for bargains in metals after their underperformance last week. Sterlite Industries surged 5.7%, the most on the Sensex, to INR646.70, Tata Steel jumped 2.4% to INR397.15, while Hindalco also ended up 1.3% to INR87.80.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries, which has a 15.2% weight on the Sensex, rose 2.8% to end at INR2,084.95, after underperforming with a 0.5% gain last week.

DLF, up 3.2% to INR338 and Oil & Natural Gas Corp, up 2.6% at INR1,068.05, were among the other Sensex gainers.

However, Tata Motors ended as the biggest percentage loser on the Sensex, plummeting 7.8% to INR313.75 as analysts raised concerns over the company's financial health after it late Friday reported a consolidated net loss of INR25.05 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries lost 3.5% to end at INR1,100.35, adding to its 12.2% loss Friday.

The company Saturday withdrew its sales guidance for the current fiscal year, following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's seizure of drugs made by its U.S. unit, Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, last week.

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