Markets remain rangebound; HUL dips 1% ahead of Q2 results

Markets continue to remain range bound dragged down by information technology and auto shares after IT giant TCS Q2 results missed the street expectations. However, the downside is capped due to buying seen in metal and consumer durable shares.

To add to the woes of the investors, Asian peers are showing weakness tracking losses on the Wall Street as the drop in crude prices along with the consumer price data from China which has kept the investors on their toes.

At 11:30 AM, the Sensex is down 19 points at 26,830 and the Nifty has lost 7 points at 8,125.

Among broader markets, BSE Midcap index has slipped by 0.1% and the BSE Smallcap index is trading 0.5% up. The market breadth is positive with 1,382 advances and 903 declines.

Meanwhile, the government is set to announce the wholesale price index (WPI) for the month of September later today.

On the earnings front, FMCG major HUL will reveal its quarterly earnings numbers today. Zee Entertainment Enterprises will also declare its Q2 September 2015 result today.

TCS Q2 EARNINGS

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) , India's largest software-services exporter, reported a 5.8% rise in revenue at Rs 27,165 crore for the quarter ended September 2015. It was Rs 25,668 crore in the previous quarter ended June 2015.

The company has missed market estimates for the fifth straight quarter. Bloomberg estimates had expected revenue to be Rs 27,229 crore. As per IFRS, the net profit rose 6.1% to Rs 6,055 crore as against Rs 5,709 crore in June 2015.

TCS has declared a second interim dividend of Rs 5.50 per share for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016).

Shares of TCS are down by 4%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

Sectorally, BSE Auto and IT indices are down 0.5% each. On the flip side, BSE Metal and Consumer Durable indices are up nearly 1%

FMCG major, HUL will announce its September quarter results today. The stock is down 0.4%

Metal stocks rebounded after losing sheen yesterday on the surge in global commodity prices. Hindalco, Vedanta, Tata Steel are all up between 2.5-4.5% each.

Taro Pharmaceuticals, the US subsidiary Sun Pharmaceuticals, has acquired Canada's Zalicus Pharmaceuticals, a company engaged in the development of a pain management drug. Sun Pharma is up 0.4%

Maruti Suzuki India is eyeing leadership in the premium hatchback segment with the upcoming model Baleno slated to be introduced later this month. Shares of Maruti Suzuki are trading flat.

Other notable losers are Coal India, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, down between 1-1.5% each while the gainers are Infosys, Lupin, SBI, up between 0.8-1.3% each.  

Among other shares, shares of private sector lender DCB Bank have cracked 19% on the BSE after the bank posted 10% drop in the net profit from Rs 41 crore in Q2 FY15 to Rs 37 crore in the Q2 FY16 on the back of higher provisioning and tax expenses.

Shares of Greenply Industries surged 7% on the BSE after the company said its board of directors will will meet on October 28 to consider the proposal of sub-division of equity shares of the company from face value of Rs 5 to face value of Rs 1 each equity share.