Nifty hovers around 8,350; TCS up 2%, Axis Bank dips 2%

Markets have trimmed early gains and are trading in a tight range with positive bias.

By 9:55AM, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 57 points at 27,515 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 15 points at 8,357.

The gainers on the Sensex are TCS, Infosys, Hindalco, L&T and ONCG.

On the losing side, Axis Bank, Hero Moto, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Sun Pharma and ITC have slipped between 1-2%.


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Updated at 9:30

Markets have rebounded in trades today, after losses in the previous seven straight sessions, led by renewed buying in IT, capital goods and bank shares.

Markets witnessed sharp fall yesterday with Indices ending at their lowest closing levels since January 14, 2015 amid emerging geo-political crisis in the Middle East.

By 9:29AM, the 30-share Sensex was higher by 129.31 points at 27,586.89 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 36.80 points at 8,378.95.

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up nearly 1%. Market breadth is strong with 882 gainers and 346 losers on the BSE.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 521.23 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 687.09 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Major US stock indices extended losses for the fourth straight session on Thursday despite a recovery from intra-day lows as the emerging tensions in the Middle East dampened investor sentiment.

Meanwhile, the US Labour Department said that the jobless claims declined 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000 for the week ended March 21.

Further, market said its flash Purchasing Managers' Index for the services sector grew 58.6 in March, the highest in six months.

The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 40 points at 17,768.23 while weakness in biotechnology stocks weighed on the tech-laden Nasdaq which ended 13 points lower at 4,863.36 and the broader S&P 500 ended down 5 points at 2,056.

Asian stocks crawled higher on Friday as upbeat US economic data helped revive some risk appetite lost following air strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, while the dollar rebounded.

Crude oil prices were slightly lower on the dollar's bounce after surging overnight on the escalating conflict in Yemen.

Japan's Nikkei was flat after a loss of 1.4% the previous day, although South Korean and Australian shares rose slightly.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Capital Goods, IT and TECk indices are up over 1%. Banks, Consumer Durables and Realty counters are trading higher by almost 1% each. However, Auto and Oil & Gas sectors are trading in negative zone.

The top gainers on the Sensex are Infosys, L&T, Hindalco, SBI, ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank.

IT shares are in focus after reports suggest that global IT major Accenture has raised its revenue growth forecast for the current year.  Infosys, TCS and Wipro have gained between 1-2%.

Offshore Infosys employees would get an average pay rise of around 6.5 per cent this year, while high performers could get as much as nine per cent, according to sources.

Telecom shares have extended gains following the end of the spectrum auction. Idea Cellular has gained after the firm won back crucial 900MHz spectrum across 9 service areas which contribute 73% to the revenue.

Further, Idea Cellular and YES Bank will replace DLF and Jindal Steel & Power as constituents in the 50-unit CNX Nifty index today.  YES Bank and Idea Cellular have gained over 3%.

IRB Infrastructure has risen nearly 1% after the committee approved the issue and allotment of 19.08 million equity shares to eligible qualified institutional buyers at the issue price of Rs. 230.54 per equity share.