Markets extend losses on weak Asian cues; Nifty around 6,050

Drug major Cipla down by almost 6% due to dismal third quarter earnings performance

Weak Asian cues have caused the benchmark indices to extend their losses on Thursday morning.

At 10:25 hours, the 30-share Sensex was down by 90.19 points at 20,358.30, while the Nifty-50 was down by 0.55% to 6,050.

The broader market indices declined relatively less compared to the benchmark, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap losing 0.34% and and 0.35% respectively, compared to the 0.51% drop in the Sensex.

Market breadth was negative, with 657 advances, 1004 declines, and 90 scrips remaining unchanged.

At 62.30, the rupee showed significant depreciation compared to its previous close of 62.09, breaking its upward trend against the dollar on capital outflows a strong American currency.

Drug major Cipla was down by 5.57% as it reported a 16.5% fall in its Q3 net profit to Rs 284 crore. Although its consolidated revenues were up 22% year-on-year to Rs 2,581 crore on the back of a strong exports performance, rising costs severly impacted profitability.

Among other shares, Eicher Motors has gained by 8.5% at Rs 4,795 after reporting 118% year-on-year (yoy) growth in standalone net profit at Rs 74 crore for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q4), on back of higher sales. The auto maker had profit of Rs 34 crore in the same quarter year ago.

ITI has surged by more than 10% to Rs 16.54 on back of heavy volumes on the bourses after the government approved its Rs 4,157 crore plan for revival of the state-owned company.

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Last updated at 9:35

Benchmark indices pared their opening gains and were marginally down on Thursday morning, with drug major Cipla declining by my more than 4% due to dismal performance in its third quarter earnings.

At 9:35 hours, the 30-share Sensex was down by 12.18 points at 20,436.31, while the Nifty-50 was down by 0.15% to 6,074.75.

The broader market indices were slight above the benchmark, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap gaining by 0.01% and and 0.03% respectively, compared to the 0.04% loss in the Sensex.

Market breadth was positive, with 535 advances, 363 declines, and 33 scrips remaining unchanged.

At 62.13, the rupee had depreciated compared to its previous close of 62.09, breaking its upward trend against the dollar on capital outflows a strong American currency.

Asian markets remained cautios on Thursday, after positive trade data from China eased concerns over the global economy and helped take some of the sting off the recent emerging markets turmoil. The new Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's reassurance on U.S. monetary policy and economic outlooks also appear to have done enough for now to underpin risk appetite. While Singapore's Strait Times was up 0.33% to 3,045.49, Nikkei-225 was down by 1.36% to 14,601.61.

Earlier, the S&P 500 closed flat on Wednesday, with a four-day rally in the index just barely coming to an end after Procter & Gamble cut its outlook, though some positive earnings limited the decline and eased concerns that valuations had become stretched. The Nasdaq rose for a fifth straight session while the Dow felt the pressure from P&G and ended the day slightly lower.

The S&P 500 gained 3.9% over the past four sessions, its best four-day performance in 13 months. The move put it about 1.6% below its record closing high of 1,848.38 set on January 15. European markets had also closed in the green, with benchmark indices gaining between 0.04-0.64% each.

Sector and Stocks

Sectorally, BSE Realty was the main gainer with 0.77%, while Bakex, Capital Goods,  Power, Auto, IT, FMCG, and Healthcare also making modest gains between 0.05-0.6% each. Oil and Gas was the major loser, down by more than 0.5% to 8,395.61.

Drug major Cipla was down by 3% as it reported 16.5% fall in its Q3 net profit to Rs 284 crore. Although its consolidated revenues were up 22% year-on-year to Rs 2,581 crore on the back of a strong exports performance, higher costs dented profitability.

Coal India declined by almost 1.5% as it reported a loss for Q3 after market close on Wednsesday. Offtake decline, lower e-auction realisation, and an increase in production cost, had an impact on the performance, leading to an 11.4% drop in consolidated net profit at Rs 3,894 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2013, compared to Rs 4,395 crore in the corresoponding period last year. The company's Ebitda and profits, however, were better than estimates by 6% and 2% respectively

The government's 10% share sale in Engineers India Ltd (EIL) garnered bids for 2.83 times the shares on offer on the final day on Wednesday, raking in Rs 500 crore to the exchequer. Bids for over 95.2 million shares were received, accounting for 2.83 times the shares on offer, showed data on the National Stock Exchange.

Among other shares, HT Media was down by almost 1% as it reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 67.02 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 53.61 crore in the same period last fiscal, HT Media said in a filing to the BSE.

Liquor firm Radico Khaitan was up by more than 1% as it posted a 17.08% rise in net profit at Rs 21.52 crore for the third quarter ended December 31. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 18.38 crore during the same period of previous fiscal.

State-run Hindustan Copper (HCL) was modesztly up by 0.24% as it reported a 9% dip in its net profit for the October-December quarter at Rs 69 crore, mainly on account of increased expenses. The Kolkata-based firm had clocked a net profit of Rs 76 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.