Markets in consolidation mode; IT shares firm

Markets continued to consolidate in noon trades after investors turned cautious and booked profits on worries over lower-than-projected monsoon rains.

At 12:55PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 60 points at 25,520 and the 50-share Nifty was down 21 points at 7,634.

India Meteorological Department (IMD), the government’s official weather forecaster on Monday said it expected monsoon rainfall this year to be 93 per cent of the 50-year average since 1950 (called long-period average, or LPA), against the 95 per cent it had projected earlier — both levels are considered sub-normal.

The Indian rupee also weakened against the US dollar after domestic markets took a breather today after sharp gains in the previous sessions. The rupee is trading at 59.25 compared to its previous close of 59.20.

Asian markets were trading mixed. The Nikkei ended down 0.9% while Straits Times was trading 0.3% lower. Shanghai Composite was trading 0.8% higher while Hang Seng was up over 1%.

The BSE Realty index was the top loser down 3% followed by Capital Goods, Bankex, Oil and Gas and Metal indices.

Oil shares which had gained sharply on talk of hike in gas prices witnessed profit taking. Reliance Ind was down 0.9% and ONGC eased 2% contributing the most to the Sensex losses.

Larsen & Toubro which had gained on talk of upgrade in railway infrastructure including high speed trains was also down 1%.

Other Sensex losers include, SBI, L&T, Axis Bank, Tata Steel , Sesa Sterlite and ICICI Bank.

Meanwhile, IT shares firmed up tracking weakness in the rupee. Infosys, Wipro and TCS were up 1-2.6% each.

In the defensive space, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddys Labs and Cipla were up 1.5 -2.0% each.


Among other shares, Amtek India has surged nearly 20% to Rs 101, also its 52-week high, on back of heavy volumes on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Shares in auto parts and equipment maker have rallied 41% in past three trading sessions from Rs 71.75 on June 5, after Cresta Fund sold part of its holding through open market.

The broader market was trading with marginal losses. The BSE Mid-cap index was down 0.4% and Small-cap Index was down 0.02%.

Market breadth was positive with 1,481 gainers and 1,390 losers on the BSE.