Mumbai: The BSE Sensex closed flat on Tuesday, 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 3% to a record high of Rs6,730, 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%.
3.30pm: BSE Sensex closes higher by 2.78 points, or 0.01%, to 29,921.1, while the Nifty 50 closes 9.75 points, or 0.10%, to 9,313.80.
2.17pm: BSE Sensex trades lower by 1 point, or 0%, to 29,917, while the Nifty 50 falls 0.45 point, or 0, to 9,304.
1.20pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 35 points, or 0.12%, to 29,953, while the Nifty 50 rises 16 points, or 0.17%, to 9,320.
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