Markets turn positive; Sun Pharma up 1.6%

The top gainers on the Sensex are HUL, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and M&M up between 1.3-2% each

Markets have recovered from early morning losses led by the gains in index heavyweights such as ITC, Reliance Industries and healthcare shares.

At 10 AM, the Sensex was at 28,273, up 93 points while Nifty was at 8,555 up 26 points.

The top gainers on the Sensex are HUL, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and M&M up between 1.3-2% each.

-----------------------------------------------------
(updated 9:40 AM)

Markets have extended the losses from the previous session owing to the weakness in the global markets.

At 9:40 AM, the Sensex was at 28,114, down by 67 points and Nifty was at 8,510, down 19 by points.

The broader markets are outperforming their larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up by 0.1% each. The market breadth is  positive with 638 advances against 455 declines on the BSE.

Markets had witnessed a late sell-off on Tuesday, with the BSE Sensex losing more than 200 points and Nifty slipping below the 8,600 mark. The stellar rally in Infosys could not offset the losses as the profit warning by Sun Pharma, higher bad loans reported by HDFC Bank and lower-than-estimated earnings by Hindustan Unilever dragged the markets lower.

Meanwhile, the monsoon session of the Parliament, which began on a stormy note on Tuesday, would be closely watched by the investors as the government is looking to pass the key bills including the controversial Land Acquisition Bill as well as the GST bill.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee has opened at 63.58 against the US dollar, weaker by 7 paise.

RESULTS CALENDAR

Bajaj Finserv, Ceat, JSW Energy, KPIT, Network 18, PVR and SKS Micro Finance are likely to unveil their numbers during the day.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian markets have opened weak with Japan's Nikkei down more than a percent due to the contiinuing fall in commodity prices. The Hang Seng, Taiwan, Kospi and SET indices have shed about 1% in early trades.

Overnight, the Dow Jones had shed 181 points, or 1% to 17,919 and Nasdaq Composite had dropped 10 points, or 0.2% to 5,208. Stocks had also closed lower in Europe, with the Dax off more than 1% as investors focused on earnings. Italy was down 1% and Spain was down 0.8%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE IT, Bankex and FMCG indices are down between 0.3-0.7% each while BSE Healthcare index has advanced 0.5%.  

Infosys has lost 2.25% on the Sensex on account of profit-booking. The stock had soared over 11% on Tuesday after the company posted Q1 results that beat the street’s expectations.

Divergent trend is seen in Sun Pharma as the stock has gained 2% on account of value buying. The stock had tanked nearly 15% on Tuesday after the drug major had issued a profit warning.

HUL has also witnessed value buying post its disappointing Q1 results. The stock is up 1.5% Bharti Airtel is seeing profit booking after the company gained around 5% in yesterday’s trades after the telecom major reportedly was in talks with Orange to sell African units. The stock has lost 0.6%

The metal pack seems to be under selling pressure. Shares of Vedanta and Tata Steel are down 1.9% and 1.6% respectively.

Bajaj Auto has registered gains of 2.1% ahead of its Q1 results that are due tomorrow.

Other notable gainers are Reliance Industries, ONGC, Wipro, up between 0.4-1% while the notable losers are HDFC Bank, BHEL, Axis Bank, down between 0.4-0.8%

Among other stocks, JSW Energy is down 2.2%, PVR up nearly 1%, CEat is up 2% ahead of their Q1 results.