Markets turn flat as Fed sword lingers

Markets pared losses in the late-afternoon session and traded flat this Wednesday as buying in software makers countered the fall witnessed in the financial space.

Trading was also on a cautious note before US economic growth data and the conclusion of a Federal Reserve policy meeting later today.

At 2:30PM, the 30-share Sensex traded higher 31 points at 19,377 and the 50-share Nifty declined 11 points at 5,742  levels.

BSE-IT index surged on hopes of improved profitability of software exporters after Indian rupee fell to as low as 61.17 to the dollar in early trade and was expected to hit its record low of 61.21 hit on July 8, as month-end dollar demand from importers adding to the pressure.

Meanwhile, Asian shares dropped on looming fear over tapering of the stimulus ahead of today’s Federal Reserve monetary policy.

Japan’s Nikkei declined 1.5% to 13,668, Singapore Straits Times fell 0.2% to 3,237, China’s Shanghai Composite index was up 0.2%  at 1,993 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was tad down 0.03% to 21,883 today.

The European shares also traded lower. France’s CAC dropped 0.01% to 3,986, Germany’s DAX shed 0.01% to 8,270 while UK’s FTSE was up 0.5% to 6,604.

Among the key sectoral indices , FMCG, metal, PSU, realty, bankex, power indices dropped while IT, metal and consumer durable sectors  gained on the BSE.

The gainers included counters such as Wipro rising 4%, Bharti Airtel gained 6.5%, Dr Reddy’s rose 2.5%, Tata Power was up 1.9% respectively on the BSE.

The laggards were NTPC declining 4%, GAIL shed 2.5%, Jindal Steel dropped 2.4% while ICICI Bank was down 2% on the BSE.

The key notable movers included counters such as Bharti Airtel that has surged 6.5% after reporting a consolidated net profit at Rs 689 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2013 (Q1), down 9.6% from year ago, roughly in line with average analyst estimates.

YES Bank has tanked over 14% to Rs 299, also its 52-week low on BSE, on PTI reports that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it is seized of the ongoing boardroom battle at private lender and may make necessary changes in the required norms on appointment of directors on bank boards, if needed.

The broader markets traded lower with mid-caps and small-caps falling nearly 2 per cent on the BSE.
The market breadth was negative. Out of 2,247     stocks traded, 1,490 stocks declined while 617 stocks advanced on the BSE.