Mumbai: Benchmark Sensex remained range-bound in choppy trade on Thursday, ending a shade lower at 31,137.59 as investors preferred to stay light amid disappointing growth numbers. The 30-share index shed 8.21 points, or 0.03%, to end at 31,137.59 after shuttling between 31,213.12 and 31,062.02.
The NSE Nifty too finished 5.15 points, or 0.05% down at 9,616.10 after slipping below the 9,600-mark to touch a low of 9,589.90. India’s economic growth slowed to 7.1% in 2016- 17, the year in which 87% of the currency was demonetised, despite a very good showing by the agricultural sector. “Markets expect the next quarter to be very good,” said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services. “It will be a big surprise if RBI cuts rates now,” he added. “RBI will take some more time as they are also concerned about inflation and how much further the note-ban impact will continue.”
3.30pm: BSE Sensex closed lower by 8 points, or 0.03%, to 31,138, while the Nifty 50 fell 5 points, or 0.05%, to 9,616.
3.02pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 14 point, or 0.04%, to 31,160 points, while the Nifty 50 falls 9 points, or 0.10%, to 9,612 points. PSU stocks fall. BSE oil and gas index is down by 1.71%. Indian Oil falls by 4.13%, Gail is down by 1.96%, ONGC is down by 1.98% and Hindustan Petroleum falls by 1.51%.
2.37pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 1 point, or 0%, to 31,146 points, while the Nifty 50 falls 5 points, or 0.06%, to 9,616 points.
2.25pm: The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks rise. The Nifty FMCG index trades higher by 1.59%. The index opened at 25,857.35 points on NSE while it swung between the high and low of 26,267.90 and 25,790.60 points, respectively. The Hindustan Unilever (HUL) shares trade higher by 3.03%, Britannia shares are up by 2.13%, and Tata Global are higher by 2.01%.
2.10pm: Stocks of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) fall on NSE. The Nifty CPSE index is down by 1.38% in Thursday’s midday trade. ONGC falls by 1.92%, Indian Oil declines by 2.74%, Power Finance Corporation (PFC) falls by 2.66%, while Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd (RECL) shares fall by 2.2%.
2.00pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 18 points, or 0.06%, to 31,164, while the Nifty 50 falls 1 point, or 0.01%, to 9,620.
1.20pm: BSE Sensex trades lower by 33 points, or 0.11%, to 31,113, while the Nifty 50 falls 17 points, or 0.17%, to 9,605. Tata Steel and ICICI Bank are the top losers with their scrips lower by 1.78% and 1.59%, respectively.
1.15pm: BSE Small caps outperform the BSE mid caps, while the BSE mid caps outpace the BSE large caps. The BSE small cap index rises 0.81% to trade at 15,201.92 points. The BSE mid cap index is higher by 0.39% to trade at 14,682.53 points. The BSE large cap index trades lower by 0.14% to trade at 31,100.68 points.
12.35pm: BSE Sensex trades lower by 76 points, or 0.24%, to 31,070, while the Nifty 50 falls 25 points, or 0.26%, to 9,596.
11.56am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 6 points, or 0.02%, to 31,152, while the Nifty 50 falls 9 points, or 0.10%, to 9,612.
11.20am: The FMCG stocks soar. The BSE FMCG index is up by 1.27% at 10,235 points. The Radico Khaitan stock is higher by 4.34%, Kwality Ltd is up by 4.3%, whereas Dalmia Bharat Sugar and Industries shares are higher by 3.85%. BSE Sensex trades higher by 17 points, or 0.05%, to 31,163, while the Nifty 50 falls 1 points, or 0.29%, to 8,106
10.15am: BSE Sensex trades lower by 9 points, or 0.03%, to 31,137, while the Nifty 50 falls 7 points, or 0.08%, to 9,614.
10.00am: Pharma stocks trade higher for the third consecutive session. Aurobindo Pharma shares are up 5.1%, Divi’s Laboratories Ltd shares rise 4.6%, Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd shares rise 3.7%, Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd shares rise 4%, Ipca Laboratories Ltd shares rise 3.3%, Marksans Pharma shares rise 3%, Strides Shasun shares rise 2.7%, Cipla Ltd shares rise 2.5%, Cadia Healthcare shares rise 2.3%, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals shares rise 2.2%, and Wockhardt shares rise 2.1%.
9.45am: Aegis Logistics Ltd rose 2% to Rs 215 after the company said Itochu agreed to buy stake in its arm.
9.30am: BSE Sensex trades lower by 22 points, or 0.07%, to 31,123, while the Nifty 50 falls 7 points, or 0.07%, to 9,614.
9.28am: Reliance Communications Ltd shares rose 5.3% to Rs21.05. According to NSE Block deal data, Capital Research & Management sold 18 million shares on Wednesday.
9.25am: ICICI Bank Ltd shares fell 0.8% to Rs323.85. BlackRock Emerging Markets Fund on Thursday picked up about 3.54 crore shares of private sector lender ICICI Bank for an estimated Rs1,155 crore through an open market transaction, according to bulk deal data available with NSE.
9.23am: Pfizer Ltd rose 7% to Rs1,780 after the company said it has entered into a pact with AstraZeneca AB, Sweden to acquire the Neksium brand in India for Rs75 crore to expand presence in gastrointestinal therapy segment.
9.21am: Bharti Infratel Ltd rose 2.4% to Rs376.70 after Bloomberg reported that the company is sounding out banks about financing a potential offer for a majority stake in Indus Towers. The company, backed by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, is exploring debt fundraising as it weighs a bid for the combined 53% stake in Indus Towers owned by Vodafone Group Plc and Idea Cellular Ltd. A deal could value their holding in closely held Indus Towers at around $8 billion
9.20am: The 10-year bond yield was trading at 6.652% compared to its previous close of 6.662%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.15am: The rupee opened at 64.48 a dollar. At 9.15am, the rupee was trading at 64.49, up 0.03% from its Wednesday’s close of 64.51.
9.10am: Asian currencies were trading mixed. China renminbi was up 0.4%, China offshore 0.2%, Taiwan dollar 0.14%, Indonesian rupiah 0.14%, Taiwan dollar 0.13% and Philippines peso rose 0.1%. However, Malaysian ringgit was down 0.24%, Thai baht 0.17%, Japanese yen 0.14%, Singapore dollar 0.08% and South Korean won 0.05%.
9.00am: US markets closed with moderate losses. S&P 500 at 2,411 is down 0.05% on selling in shares of financial services companies. Tracking the cues, Asian markets also opened lower.
With inputs from Reuters