Sensex, Nifty Updates: Equity indices Sensex and Nifty turned postive on Thursday, accounting the reverse in SGX Nifty that traded 100 points higher. With the start of March quarterly earnings' season, BSE Sensex gained 200 points higher to 30,566 and NSE Nifty rose 66 points to 8,998. Sectorally, gains in FMCG, realty, media, metal and IT were capped by losses in banking, finance, auto and pharma sectors. Traders said markets will continue taking cues from the worldwide trend. Investor sentiments also remained fragile amid the start of a poor quarterly earnings season with weak results from Wipro, indicating significant financial damage from the impact of coronavirus outbreak.

Here's a look at the updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today:

11.50 AM: Hero Motocorp drops almost 4%

Hero Motocorp shares were among the top losers today, after Morgan Stanley lowered FY20 EPS for the auto major by 7.8% as it built in the actual March sales numbers. The brokeage said that FY21 and FY22 EPS changes are less than 1%.

Hero Motocorp shares touched an intraday low of Rs 1,753.2, falling 3.93% on BSE today.

11.40 AM: JSW Energy rises 3%

Share price of JSW Energy climbed 3% to the intraday high of Rs 41.85 on BSE after the company said Brickwork Ratings India Pvt. Ltd (Brickwork) has reaffirmed its ratings of 'BWR A1+' on Commercial Papers of the company.

11.30 AM : Market climbs higher

Sensex and Nifty turned postive on Thursday, accounting the reverse in SGX Nifty that traded 100 points higher. With the start of March quarterly earnings' season, BSE Sensex gained 200 points higher to 30,566 and NSE Nifty rose 66 points to 8,998.

11: 20 AM Care Ratings up 6%

Care Ratings share price rose to an intraday high of Rs 441.75, rising 6.2% on BSE after the company announced that it has appointed Ajay Mahajan as the MD & CEO of the company for 5 years commencing from April 15,2020.

11.10 AM L&T climbs over 4%

Larsen and Toubro shares climbed 4.08% to an intraday high of Rs 915.8 on BSE after the company announced that its heavy engineering arm has won contracts in the range of Rs 1,000-2,500 cr.

11.00 AM: Motherson Suni rises over 7%

Motherson Sumi share prcie today touched an intraday high of Rs 76, rising 6.74% on BSE after the company said its board has approved raising of capital up to Rs 500 cr through NCDs.

10: 50 AM: IMF says,' Asia's economic growth this year will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years'

Markets turned negative after Reuters reported that IMF said in a report note on Thursday that Asia's economic growth this year will grind to a halt for the first time in 60 years, as the coronavirus crisis takes an "unprecedented" toll on the region's service sector and major export destinations.

"Policymakers must offer targeted support to households and firms hardest-hit by travel bans, social distancing policies and other measures aimed at containing the pandemic," said Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.

"These are highly uncertain and challenging times for the global economy. The Asia-Pacific region is no exception. The impact of the coronavirus on the region will be severe, across the board, and unprecedented," he added.

10.40 AM: US dollar today

The US dollar index, rose by 0.46% to 99.91.

10.30 AM: Rupee slips to record low of 76.82

Rupee, the currency benchmark opened at all-time low of 76.80 and slipped further to record low of 76.82 today. Rupee ended at day's low of 76.45 per dollar on Wednesday.

Rupee vs Dollar: Rupee drops 36 paise to all time low of 76.80 per dollar

10.25 AM: Oil today

Brent crude futures rose 1.66% to USD 28.15 per barrel today.

10.20 AM : Market Update

Equity indices Sensex and Nifty turned flat with positive bias on Thursday, accounting the reverse in SGX Nifty that traded 20 points higher. With the start of March quarterly earnings' season, BSE Sensex fell 250 points lower to 30,120 and NSE Nifty dropped 40 points to 8,889. Sectorally, gains in FMCG, realty, media, metal and IT were capped by losses in banking, finance, auto and pharma sectors.

10.10 AM: IT stocks tank

IT stocks fell in today's trade after Wipro posted weak earnings figures for the March quarter. The BSE IT index was the worst hit, falling over 2%.

TECh Mahindra, and Infosys were falling over 3%, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) shares that fell 3.3% lower to the low of Rs 1,691, as the IT major is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings later in the day.

10.00 AM: Gainers and losers

On the Sensex pack, Infosys, Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Axis Bank were maong the top losers. On the other hand, L&T, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and ONGC were among the gainers

9.50 AM: Sectors mixed today

Sectorally, gains in FMCG, realty, media, metal and IT were capped by losses in banking, finance, auto and pharma sectors.

9.40 AM Wipro drops 6% post Q4 result

Wipro share price opened with a loss of 6.03% today and later fell 6.03% to an intraday low of Rs 175.3 on BSE after the IT major reported weak Q4 earning figures yesterday.

On the YOY basis, Wipro reported a 6% decline in profit at Rs 2,345.20 crore in March 2020 from Rs 2,493.90 crore in the same quarter last year. Revenue was up 4.7% at Rs 15,711 crore from Rs 15,006 crore in the year-ago period. Wipro has decided not to give revenue guidance for the June quarter due to uncertainties.

Wipro share price falls 6% on weak Q4 earnings, suspension of revenue guidance

9.30AM: MCX Gold turns red after hitting lifetime high

After hitting fresh lifetime highs today at 46,783 per 10 gm, gold MCX futures for May month reversed trend and dropped 167 points lower to 46,529 per 10 gm. Gold closed yesterday at 46,696 per 10 gm. 

On Gold's near term outlook Anuj Gupta-DVP-Commodities & Currencies Research, Angel Broking said,"We are expecting this rally may continue and Gold may test Rs 49,000 to Rs 50,000 on MCX  and in the international market, it may test $1780 to $1800 soon."

9.20 AM: Market open lower

Equity indices Sensex and Nifty opened on a negative note on Thursday, accounting the sharp decline in global markets amid the start of March quarterly earnings' season. BSE Sensex fell 250 points lower to 30,120 and NSE Nifty dropped 40 points to 8,889.

According to experts, prevailing uncertain market conditions amid the rising cases of the virus and extension of the lockdown period have caused volatility and led to the downfall of broader markets on a global scale.

9.10 AM: Pre-open session

Equity indices Sensex and Nifty pre-opened on a negative note on Thursday, accounting the sharp decline in global markets amid the start of March quarterly earnings' season. BSE Sensex fell 250 points lower to 30,125 and NSE Nifty dropped 90 points to 8,834. SGX Nifty traded 50 points lower at 8,873 level, indicating a tepid start in domestic grounds today.

9.00 AM Outlook for market by experts

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said,"We reiterate our cautious view on Indian markets and suggest not to go overboard during this recovery move. Domestic factors such as sharp surge in the coronavirus cases and extension of the lockdown will continue to weigh on the investor sentiment ahead. The earnings season begins today. However, we believe that more than the earnings announcement, the outlook given by the management would hold significant importance for the participants."

Ruchit Jain (Equity Technical Analyst, Angel Broking) said, "During the mid-week holiday, our government announced extension of the ongoing lock down period. However, market participants had anticipated such move in advance and hence, it was already factored in due to which we did not see any impact at opening. However, as mentioned in our yesterday's report, the immediate resistance of the index was seen around 9320 which is the 38.2 percent retracement of the recent correction. Nifty almost rallied towards that resistance (made high of 9261) and then witnessed profit booking during later part of the day."

8.55 AM March quarterly release: major cue for market trend

With the start of earning season worldwide, investors will be keenly watching the company wise performance since the outbreak and the financial damage  from the same.

Earnings season in India has also started with IT major Wipro reporting a 5.3% sequential fall in its consolidated profit at Rs 2,326.1 crore for the quarter ended March 2020. The company announced Q4 results after market hours today.

"With the earnings season starting, management commentary about the impact of Covid-19 on their respective businesses, will be in focus. IT companies will officially kick off the earnings season and investors will be keen on how the virus spread has impacted their services and the locations in which those services are offered," Vinod Nair added.

Wall Street closed in red over dismal economic data and poor  start of the quarterly earnings' season. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.86%, the S&P 500 lost  2.20% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.44%. Tracking bearish trend from overseas, Asian markets also opened lower today, with Nikkie dropping over 1.5% and SGX Nifty, Kospi, Hang Seng trading 0.70% lower. Taiwan was marginally red, while Shanghai was flat with positive bias. European indices closed 3% lower yesterday.

8.45 AM: Market cues

Domestic investors remained fragile turned red amid concerns over the economic damage from of COVID-19 induced nationwide lockdown. Traders said investors have already factored in the chances of extension and the domestic market will continue taking cues from the worldwide trend.

8.40 AM:Trade deficit data

India's trade deficit narrowed to $9.8 billion in March from $11 billion a year-ago. Exports and imports fell by 34.6%, 28.7%, on a yearly basis.

8.35 AM: FII/DII action on Wednesday

On a net basis, FIIs bought Rs 1,358.66 crore equities, while DII's offloaded Rs 1,097.86 crore

8.30 AM: Stocks to watch today on April 16

TCS, Wipro, IPCA Labs, JSW Energy, Bajaj Auto, Care Ratings, Man Industries India among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Thursday's trading session

Stocks in news: TCS, Wipro, IPCA Labs, JSW Energy and more

8.20 AM: Market expectations

Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty are likely to open on a negative note on Thursday, backed by weak global cues. SGX Nifty traded 50 points lower at 8,873 level, indicating a tepid start in domestic grounds today. Globally markets turned red amid concerns over the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country and the economic fallout of the nationwide lockdown.

8.15 AM: WPI inflation figures

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation eased for the third month in a row in March 2020 to 1 per cent, lowest in the past four months and a four-year low for the full financial year 2019/20.

WPI inflation eases to 4-year low at 1% in FY20

8.10 AM : Coronavirus toll

According to experts, prevailing uncertain market conditions amid the rising cases of the virus and extension of the lockdown period have caused volatility and led to the downfall of broader markets on a global scale. There 20.83 lakh confirmed cases worldwide and almost 1.35 lakh deaths from the coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. India has recorded a total of 12,370 cases, 442 deaths and 1,508 recoveries.

8.05 AM: Rupee closing

Rupee, the local unit ended at day's low of 76.45 per dollar on Wednesday

8.00 AM: Closing bell

Benchmarks Sensex and Nifty erased early gains and closed bearish by the afternoon session on Wednesday, in line with global trend. Extending decline for the second straight session, BSE Sensex closed 310 points lower at 30,379 and NSE Nifty 50 ended 68 points lower to 8,925. Sectorally, gains in realty, FMCG, IT were capped by losses in banking indices.

Sensex ends 310 points lower, Nifty at 8,925; Kotak Bank, Hero MotoCorp top losers