Mumbai: The BSE Sensex fell on Tuesday, led by Ambuja Cement after its weaker-than-expected quarterly results raised concerns about corporate results, although losses were capped as some auto makers rallied after posting jumps in April sales.
Analysts said they expect indices to trade range-bound as companies continue to report results, though the overall outlook remains hopeful about an economic recovery. A business survey on Tuesday showed that manufacturing activity in the country expanded for a fourth consecutive month in April, helped by stronger growth in new orders although rises in output and employment slowed.
“Markets are in a consolidation mode as the corporate earnings season unfold,” said Rakesh Tarway, head of research, Reliance Securities Ltd. “Till the end of the earnings season, we can only expect to see a day-to-day sector-based or stock-based impact on the indexes based on the earnings performance.”
Ambuja Cements fell as much as 4.21% after its quarterly profit missed estimates, becoming the main drag on the NSE index. Shares of most Indian auto makers, however, rose after they reported a jump in April vehicle sales on Monday. Maruti Suzuki gained as much as 2.53% to a record high of Rs6,690, while Eicher Motors rose 2.61% to a record high of Rs26,747.90. Oil refiners also rose on hikes in petrol and diesel prices. Bharat Petroleum Corp. gained as much as 2.75%, Hindustan Petroleum Corp. rose as much as 2.40%, while Indian Oil Corp. climbed as much as 1.87%.
12.25pm: BSE Sensex trades lower by 33 points, or 0.11%, to 29,885, while the Nifty 50 falls 4 points, or 0.05%, to 9,300.
Also Read: Maruti Suzuki crosses Rs2 trillion in market cap
11.43am: BSE Sensex trades lower by 55 points, or 0.18%, to 29,864, while the Nifty 50 falls 21 points, or 0.22%, to 9,283.
11.20am: Ashok Leyland Ltd shares fall 2.4% to Rs 83.40 after the company reported 30% decline in its total sales for April month to 7083 units from 10182 units a year ago.
11.00am: Realty stocks trade higher. Sobha Ltd rose 8%, Godrej Properties Ltd 5.1%, Indiabulls Real Estate 1.6%, Prestige Estate 1.2%, DLF Ltd 1.2%.
10.40am: Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd shares rise 12% to Rs 9.30 after Tata Power said it will acquire 11.82 crore shares of the company for Rs 790 crore. The stock surged over 30% in last two sessions.
10.16am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 121 points, or 0.40%, to 30,039, while the Nifty 50 rises 41points, or 0.44%, to 9,345.
10.10am: Future Enterprises Ltd shares rise 7% to Rs 32.75 after Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani said he plans to launch an IPO of Future Supply Chain Solutions this year.
10.05am: Ambuja Cements Ltd shares fall 3.07% to Rs238.40 after the company reported weaker then estimated earnings. The company reported net profit of Rs247 crore in March quarter against Bloomberg analyst estimates of Rs254 crore.
10.00am: Infosys Ltd shares rise 0.5% to Rs923.40. The Indian IT-outsourcing firm intends to open four new “innovation hubs” across the US to drive research into AI and other emerging technologies.
9.50am: Kitex Garments Ltd shares fall 12% to Rs442.20 after the company reported 39.9% decline in its March quarter net profit to Rs26.99 crore against Rs44.90 crore a year ago.
9.45am: Tata Motors Ltd shares fall 1% to Rs453.25 after the company reported 21% decline in its total sales to 30,972 units in April against 39,389 units a year ago.
9.40am: Reliance Industries Ltd shares fall 1% to Rs1,385.70. UBS Global Research expects Reliance Jio to win a lower revenue market share in the next three years than it earlier thought. Jio’s share of revenues will be 5.7% in 2017-18 and will gradually increase to 9.8% by 2019-20, it said in a 27 April report.
9.35am: Banking stocks trade higher. DCB Bank Ltd rose 7%, Federal Bank 6.8%, Karnataka Bank 4%, Corporation Bank 4%, Oriental Bank of Commerce 3.4%, Uco Bank 2.8%, Indian Overseas Bank 2.2%, Punjab National Bank 2%, Dena Bank 2%, Union Bank of India 1.8%, Syndicate Bank 1.5%.
9.30am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 126 points, or 0.42%, to 30,045, while the Nifty 50 rises 37 points, or 0.40%, to 9,342.
9.28am: Maruti Suzuki India Ltd shares rise 1.8% to Rs6,642.20 after its domestic sales rose 23.4% to 144,492 units in April over the year-ago period. The performance was led by robust growth across all segments. Sales of entry-level cars rose 21.9%, compact cars 39.1%, and mid-size and utility vehicles 23.2% and 28.6%, respectively, over the same month a year ago.
9.27am: Eicher Motors Ltd share rise 1.7% to Rs 26,452.05 after the company said its sales rose 25% in April to 60,142 units against 48,197 units a year ago. Sales of motorcycles with engine capacity up to 350 cc saw sales of 56,349 vehicles, up by 30% versus 43,259 units sold in April 2016.
9.25am: Uttam Galva Steels Ltd shares rise 8.3% to Rs33.35 after the company said it reported a net profit of Rs138.89 crore in March quarter against net loss of Rs671.47 crore a year ago.
9.20am: JSW Energy Ltd shares fall 4.6% to Rs64 after the company reported 91.9% decline in its net profit to Rs24 crore in March quarter against Rs296 crore a year ago.
9.15am: The rupee opened at 64.14 a dollar and touched a high of 64.12. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.15 a dollar, up 0.15% from its Friday’s close of 64.25. On Monday, markets were closed due to World Labour Day.
9.10am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.966% compared to its previous close of 6.963%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.00am: Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.83%, Taiwan dollar 0.75%, Malaysian ringgit 0.31%, Singapore dollar 0.19%, Thai baht 0.15%, Indonesian rupiah 0.12% and Philippines peso 0.06%.
8.50am: In the US markets, Nasdaq closed at a record high helped by gains in shares of Apple Inc. S&P 500 at 2,388 points is slightly up 0.17%, as investors digested economic reports. In Asia, Japanese markets gained in morning trade.
With inputs from Reuters