Mumbai: Shares recovered on Thursday after declining for seven straight sessions, but overall sentiment was muted ahead of the expiry of derivative contracts later in the day and as the rupee continued to weaken against the dollar. Expectations of further rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, tensions over North Korea, rising crude prices and worries of widening fiscal deficit on increased government spending to boost a slowing economy dented sentiment.
“For a day or two, because of F&O expiry, some pullback is possible. But the short term (trend) looks down due to bigger problems like dollar appreciation and rising crude prices, while lower exports and possibility of higher fiscal deficit are also adding to the pressure, said Sumit Pokharna, Deputy Vice President at Kotak Securities. Here are the latest updates from the markets:
■ 12.52pm: BSE Sensex was trading little changed at 31,156, down 3.77 points, or 0.01%, while the Nifty 50 inched down 12 point, or 0.13%, to 9,723.
■ 12.50pm: Reliance Infrastructure Ltd said that Life Insurance Corp cut 2.27% stake in the company to 7.45% between 1 April 1 to 20 September. Reliance Infra shares were up 0.75% to Rs466.30.
■ 11.57am: BSE Sensex gained 77 points, or 0.25%, to 31,237, while the Nifty 50 inched up 11 point, or 0.11%, to 9,746. The midcap index was up 0.84% and the smallcap rose 0.76%.
■ 11.55am: Among the sectoral indices, the BSE realty index rose 0.98% followed by healthcare 0.92% and basic materials 0.85%. The oil and gas index lost most and was down 0.58%.
■ 11.03am: BSE Sensex rose 46 points, or 0.15%, to 31,206, while the Nifty 50 inched up 4 point, or 0.04%, to 9,734.
■ 11.00am: Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories said it has received an establishment information report from the US Food and Drug Administration for its Srikakulam plant in Andhra Pradesh. The company’s shares were top gainers on BSE and trading at 2.95% up at Rs2375.50.
■ 10.55am: Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd surged 13% to Rs 25.10 after the company said in a notice to BSE that it has signed exclusive distribution partnership with Patanjali Ayurved Ltd for entire range of Patanjali edible oil in large packs.
■ 10.42am: BSE Sensex gained 77 points, or 0.25%, to 31,237, while the Nifty 50 edged up 8 point, or 0.08%, to 9,743.50.
■ 10.35am: Deep Industries Ltd rose 2.2% to Rs 220.25 after the company said it got order worth Rs 2.20 crore from ONGC.
■ 10.30: Cyient Ltd rose 4% to Rs 505 after Amansa Holdings Pvt Ltd, Birla Sun Life, Government Pension Fund Global, DSP Blackrock Small and Mid Cap Fund and Birla Sun Life Pure Value Fund bought stake in the company.
■ 10.08am: BSE Sensex rose by 66 points, or 0.21%, to 31,226, while the Nifty 50 edged up 1 point, or 0.01%, to 9,736.
■ 10.05am: IT stocks erased all the gains and was trading lower after CNBC TV reported that US govt may review IT outsourcing contacts given to foreign companies. US government already stopped giving fresh contracts to foreign IT companies.
TCS fell 0.6%, Wipro Ltd 0.5%, Infosys Ltd 0.2%, Tech Mahindra Ltd 0.2%, HCL Technologies Ltd 1.1%.
■ 10.00am: BSE Sensex opened lower by 62 points, or 0.20%, to 31,098, while the Nifty 50 fell 40 points, or 0.41%, to 9,696.
■ 9.55am: Hindustan Petroleum Corp ltd fell 4% to Rs 399.60 after Brokerage firm Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to Neutral from Outperform and lowered its price target to Rs 440 a share from Rs 500 a share.
■ 9.50am: Ashiana Housing Ltd rose 3% to Rs 167 after the company said in a notice to BSE that it will develop housing project in Pune.
■ 9.35am: BSE Sensex opened lower by 62 points, or 0.20%, to 31,098, while the Nifty 50 fell 40 points, or 0.41%, to 9,696.
■ 9.25am: Oil marketing companies trading lower. Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd fell 3%, Indian Oil Corp Ltd 2.8%, Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd 1.5%.
■ 9.20am: Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Ltd fell 1.4% to Rs 167.90. According to PTI report, the government plans to sell stake in ONGC oilfields to private firms.
■ 9.17am: IT stocks trading higher after Rupee weakened to fresh six month low. TCS Ltd rose 0.7%, Infosys Ltd 0.6%, Wipro Ltd 0.3%, Tech Mahindra Ltd 1.6%, HCL Technologies Ltd rose 0.6%
■ 9.15am: The Indian rupee opened at 65.79 and touched a low of 65.89—a level last seen on 14 March. At 9.15am, rupee was trading at 65.86 against the dollar, down 0.22% from its Wednesday’s close of 65.71.
■ 9.13am: The 10-year bond yield was at 6.682%, compared to its previous close of 6.667%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
■ 9.10am: Indonesian rupiah was down 0.81%, South Korean won 0.64%, Taiwan dollar 0.47%, Thai Baht 0.34%, Philippines peso 0.23%, Singapore dollar 0.17%, Malaysian ringgit 0.15%, China Offshore 0.13%, China renminbi 0.11%. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 93.522, up 0.17% from its previous close of 93.36.
With inputs from Reuters