Markets slip in red; Infy, TCS down over 1%

Markets have slipped in the negative territory owing to weakness in technology majors.At 3 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex has lost 76 points to trade at 25,590 while the CNX Nifty has shed 20 points to trade at  7,652.

 

Broader markets are in line with the large counterparts. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have slipped by 0.5%, each.

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(updated at 3 PM)
Markets have recovered during late noon trades after select index heavy weights have pared their losses. Fresh buying in Oil and Gas majors, financials and Index heavyweight ITC have contributed the most to the rise on the Sensex.

 

At 14.30 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex has gained 84 points to trade at 25,750 while the CNX Nifty has climbed  26 points to trade at  7,698.

 

Broader markets are underperforming the large counterparts. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have slipped by 0.1% and 0.04%, each.

 

Across the Globe:

 

Asian shares barring Nikkei retreated while investors flocked to safe haven assets such as bonds and gold on Thursday, spooked by a Russian troop build-up on the border with Ukraine and tit-for-tat economic sanctions between the West and Moscow.

 

Sentiment soured further in Asia after the Australian dollar, seen as a barometer of risk appetite, sank after Australia's unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly to a 12-year high, sparking talk of an interest rate cut there.

 

Japan's Nikkei gained 0.4%. However, Hang Seng dipped 0.5%, Straits Times slipped 0.3% and Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6%.

 

European shares were also trading weak as investors turned cautious on concerns over the emerging tensions between Ukraine and Russia. The CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were down 0.2-0.4% each.

 

Rupee:

 

The rupee is trading stronger at 61.30/31 versus its Wednesday's close of 61.4950/5050, tracking the dollar's losses versus major currencies. The index of the dollar against six majors is down 0.04%. The pair is seen in 61.10 to 61.60 range during the session. Asian currencies are trading mixed compared with the dollar.

 

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 364 crore during this month so far, as per stock exchange data.

 

Sectors and Stocks:

 

On the sectoral front, barring BSE IT top losing index down over 0.8% and Teck index, all sestoral indices are trading in green. Oil and Gas index is leading the rally up 1% followed by FMCG, Metal, Realty, Capital goods and Consumer Durables indices. BSE Healthcare index is trading flat. Bankex is up 0.7%.

 

Cigarette maker and Index heavyweight ITC is up 1%. 

 

Oil and Gas majors RIL and ONGC are up 1.5% and 0.5% each.

 

Fresh buying is visible in the financial space. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI are up between 0.4-1%. HDFC is marginally in green.

 

The metal pack barring Hindalco is trading in the positive territory. Tata Steel and Coal India have gained over 1.5%.

 

The Auto shares are trading mixed. M&M is up 1.2%, Hero Motocorp has gained 0.5%. In contrast, Tata Motors is down 0.5% and Baja Auto is marginally in red.

 

The capital goods have surged during the late noon trades. L&T and BHEL have climbed 0.5% and 1%, respectively.

 

Dr Reddy’s lab, Cipla and Wipro  are some of the prominent names in green.

 

 On the losing end, the shares of information technology (IT) companies are trading  lower by up to 8%, after global IT giant Cognizant scaled down its annual revenue growth estimate citing weakness at certain clients and long sales cycles for certain large deals.

 

The US-headquartered company said it expected its annual revenue growth for FY14 (Cognizant follows a January-December financial year) to be at least 14%, against the earlier estimate of 16.5%. TCS and Infosys  are lower by 1%, each.

 

Drug maker Sun Pharma has lost 0.5% during the late noon trades. 

 

HUL, GAIL and Bharti Airtel are some of the prominent names in red among the others.

 

Among other shares, Stocks of companies associated with the railways have rallied by up to 11% in early morning deals on the bourses after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday cleared the proposal to allow 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in railway infrastructure.

 

Shares of wagon maker Texmaco Rail and Engineering has rallied 11% to 101 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

Kalindee Rail Nirman (Rs 96.65), Titagarh Wagons (Rs 245.55), Hind Rectifiers (Rs 47.80) and Kernex Microsystems (Rs 56.15) have frozen at upper circuit of 5%, while BEML was up 4% at Rs 715 on BSE.

 

Pricol dipped 8% to Rs 44 on the BSE after the company's net profit in the June quarter sharply declined by 86% to Rs 6 crore. The company had recorded profit of Rs 44 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

 

State-run United India Insurance has reported an increase of 8.54 per cent in its profit- after-tax at Rs 228.76 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014. The Chennai-based company had reported a profit of Rs 210.76 crore during the same period last year.

 

The market breadth is weak on the BSE with 1,461 shares declining and 1319 shares advancing.