Market hovers near day's low ; robust deals continue

Banks lead: ICICI Bank up over 6% , HDFC Bank is up 4%

Markets continue to hover near their day's lows after coming off its peak scaled in early trades. Investors booked profits at higher levels after stocks surged in morning session trades as exit polls in the assembly elections indicated that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could win 3 out of 5 states poised to declare assembly poll results on December 8.

At 2.32 PM, the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 257 points at 20,966 and the 50-share Nifty was up 82 points at 6,243.

The partially convertible Indian rupee jumped to a five-week high against the dollar adding to the positive sentiment today. The rupee rose to as high as 61.67 against the dollar compared with yesterday's close of Rs 62.36. It is currently trading at 61.73-a-dollar.

Banking shares have rallied on the bourses with most of the frontline stocks trading higher in the range of 3-6% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after the rupee rose to a five-week high against dollar.

The NSE banking share index Bank Nifty was the largest gainer, up 4.5% compared to 1.2% rise in the benchmark CNX Nifty at 1435 hours.

The BSE Bankex was the top gainer among the sectoral indices up over 4% followed by capital goods, realty, power, oil and gas, metal and auto indices all up 1-3.2% each. Defensive sectors witnessed profit taking with FMCG, IT and Healthcare indices among the top losers.

In Asia, key stock indices were trading lower ahead of the US jobs data due on Friday while Japanese shares ended lower as investors turned cautious and booked profits after sharp gains recently. Nikkei ended down 1.5% at 15,177. Among others in the region, Hang Seng, Shanghai Composite and Straits Times were down 0.1-1.%.

In the financial space, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC and SBI were up 2-6.4% each. Among other stocks which contributed the most to the Sensex gains include, Reliance, L&T, Maruti Suzuki and ONGC.

Bharti Airtel was up over 1% after the company said that its wholly-owned subsidiary - Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) B.V. - has priced euro 750 million 4% Guaranteed Senior Notes due 2018.

Among other shares, Strides Arcolab has tanked over 12% to Rs 864 after the pharmaceutical company said it has completed sale of its Agila Specialties Division to Mylan Inc. for a total consideration of up to $1.75 billion.

In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were trading up 0.5% each.

Market breadth was positive with 1,227 gainers and 959 losers on the BSE.

Shares of defensive sectors companies like information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) are trading lower by up to 4% in otherwise strong market. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) IT, Healthcare and FMCG index are down by nearly 1% compared to 1.4% rise in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex at 1310 hours.

TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra from IT sector, ITC, Dabur India and Colgate Palmolive from FMCG pack and Sun Pharmaceuticals, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Lupin and Ranbaxy Laboratories from healthcare index are down 1-2%.

Shares in Pfizer and Wyeth has plunged more than 15% each after both these stocks turned ex-dividend today.

Pfizer has tanked as much as 24% or Rs 406 to Rs 1,305, while Wyeth dipped 16.3% or Rs 162 to Rs 831 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSe)