Markets turn flat; Nifty reclaims 7,850

Metal stocks were among the top gainer with Hindalco leading the gains on talk of takeover of ABML shares

Markets have turned flat but continue to trade in the negative territory as participants remain wary ahead of the BOJ and US FOMC meet due this week. A depreciating rupee amid weakness in the Asian peers further influenced sentiments.

At 11:40 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 2 points at 25,677 and the Nifty50 was up 8 points at 7,863.

Going ahead, investors will keep a track of the second part of the Budget session which started yesterday. The main focus will be on the developments pertaining to the GST Bill, along with the Bankruptcy Bill, and amendments to the Factories Act.

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Rupee weakened by 12 paise to 66.73 against the greenback at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on sustained demand for the American currency from banks and importers amid lower domestic equities.

Shares of cigarette makers such as ITC, Godfrey Philips and VST Industries are declining and have dropped between 0.5%-15% on reports stating that the government is working on a proposal to completely ban foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector.

Bharat Forge has moved higher by 3% after the company said that it has awarded contract from Boeing for supply of 777X titanium forging.  

Aurobindo Pharma gained 2% after the company said that it has received approval from the USFDA for Amlodipine and Valsartan tablets.

Axis Bank and Maruti Suzuki are trading nearly 0.4% ahead of the Q4 results later today.

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(updated at 10:30 am)
 

Benchmark share indices came off their early lows after gains in metal shares helped offset losses in select index heavyweights.

At 10:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 46 points at 25,633 and the Nifty50 was down 9 points at 7,846.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.2% each. Market breadth improved with 1043 gainers and 756 losers on the BSE.

Among the index heavyweights ICICI Bank was down nearly 2% while ITC was down 0.6%.

Axis Bank and Maruti Suzuki were trading with marginal losses ahead of their fourth quarter earnings.

Hindalco was up over 3% after the company said that Metals X Ltd conditionally intends to increase its offer for Hindalco's subsidiary Aditya Birla Minerals Ltd to one MXL share for every 4.5 shares of ABML plus an additional 8 cents per ABY share in cash. ABML is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Among other shares, ABB has dipped 8% to Rs 1,241 on the BSE in early morning trade after the company said its order inflows during the March quarter (Q1) are 1% lower at Rs 1,830 crore than the year ago. The company received orders worth of Rs 1,856 crore in the first quarter of 2015.
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(Updated at 9:35am)
Markets opened lower, amid weak Asian cues, as traders turned cautious ahead of the policy outcomes from the US Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan this week. Further, expiry of April derivative contracts on Thursday is likely to cap upside gains.

At 9:35am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 108 points at 25,571 and the Nifty50 was down 28 points at 7,827.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap were trading with marginal losses. Market breadth was neutral with 578 losers and 574 gainers on the BSE.

"Short term oscillators have turned over sold, but such indicators in the longer term periodicities do not confirm the same, suggesting that not only would bearish bias prevail, but a volatility could dominate unless convincingly above 7924. Yesterday’s views that major falls are less likely, is maintained today as well, but expect incremental slippage," Geojit BNP Paribas said in a technical note. 

Going ahead, investors will keep a track of the second part of the Budget session which started yesterday. The main focus will be on the developments pertaining to the GST Bill, along with the Bankruptcy Bill, and amendments to the Factories Act.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

ITC was down 1.2% on reports stating that the government is working on a proposal to completely ban foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tobacco sector. Among other cigarette makers, Godfrey Philips India, Golden Tobacco and VST Industries declined 3%-12% each.

Sun Pharma was down nearly 1%. India's largest pharmaceutical company Sun Pharmaceuticals on Monday entered into a public private partnership (PPP) with the Union and Madhya Pradesh governments for a campaign to ensure a malaria-free India.

Axis Bank and Maruti Suzuki were down 0.3%-0.9% each ahead of their fourth quarter earnings later today.

Other Sensex losers include, ICICI Bank and HDFC among others.

Hindalco is the top Sensex gainer up over 2%. The company's arm Aditya Birla Minerals Limited made an announcement regarding its intention to improve its ongoing takeover offer for acquiring shares of ABML under the relevant laws of Australia.

Reliance Industries was trading flat with positive bias after the correction in the previous session post its fourth quarter earnings.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian equities are declining as investors remain cautious ahead of the central bank policy meetings in the United States and Japan later during the week. The  two-day US Fed policy meet will kickstart later in the day.  Also, further slip in the crude oil prices dented sentiments. Japan’s Nikkei, Singapore’s Straits Times, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and  China’s Shanghai Composite have lost between 0.1%-1.3%.

Oil prices slipped after rallying to five-month highs last week, as data indicated to fresh US crude builds.

Stocks on Wall Street ended lower on Monday with energy majors leading the decline amid weak crude oil prices. Further, data released on Monday showed decline in new home sales for March. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 0.2% at 17,977, the S&P 500 eased 0.2% at 2,088 and the Nasdaq settled 0.2% lower at 4,896.