Markets continue to trade weak; Tata Motors dips 2%

Tata Motors was the top Sensex loser along with index heavyweights ITC and Infosys

Markets extended losses in noon trades as investors booked profits at higher levels with Tata Motors leading the decline after gains in the previous six sessions.

At 1:15pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 62 points at 27,217 and the Nifty50 was down 23 points at 8,346. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices pared early losses and were trading with marginal gains. Market breadth turned positive with 1270 gainers and 1240 losers on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday inducted 19 new ministers into the Council of Ministers. Environment minister Prakash Javadekar, who was at the minister of state level, was elevated to Cabinet minister rank while others have been sworn in as ministers of state.

The Indian rupee depreciated against the US dollar and was quoting 10 paise higher at 67.41 compared to its previous close.

STOCKS

ITC extended losses after the stock has been quoting as ex-bonus. The board had approved bonus issue in the ratio of one share for every two held.

L&T was down 0.5% after the stock gained in the previous sessions following the annoucement of an IPO by its subsidiary L&T Infotech from July 11.

Tata Motors which had gained on the back of robust JLR sales in the previous session was down nearly 2%

SBI was also down 0.5%. The PSU banking major sold 5% stake in National Stock Exchange for a consideration of Rs 911.25 crore.

ICICI Bank was the top Sensex gainer up over 1% amid reports that the private lender has sold part of Essar Steel loans to Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company.

Adani Ports extended gains and was up nearly 1%. The board approved exploring the acquisition of TM Harbour Services Private Limited which is engaged solely in providing Tug Services to The Dhamra Port Company Ltd. (DPCL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.

Auto major M&M was trading with marginal gains on reports of upgrade by a domestic brokerage.

Telecom majors such as Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were down over 1% each. Reports suggest that telecom companies are likely to spend around Rs 1 lakh crore towards acquiring spectrum in the upcoming auctions.

UltraTech Cement pared early gains while JP Associates zoomed 27%. UltraTech Cement  announced that its board has approved the acquisition of the Jaypee Group’s cement plants at an enterprise value of Rs 16,189 crore.

Among other shares, Ashok Leyland has dipped 5% to Rs 93.30 in intra-day trade, extending its Monday 2% decline on the BSE, after the company reported single digit growth in total sales for the second straight month.