Markets off day's high, Sensex drops 100 points; banks fall

Top losers from the Sensex pack are Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M, Dr Reddy's Labs and Infosys

Benchmark indices have come off day’s high and are trading lower weighed down by IT and banking shares. However, the downside is limited due to buying demand among oil & gas shares.

By 14:05 pm, the benchmark S&P Sensex was trading at 28,127 levels down 94 points and the Nifty50 index dipped 27 points at 8,717 levels. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 0.4% each.

Top losers from the Sensex pack are Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, M&M, Dr Reddy’s Labs and Infosys, all dropping over 1%. Among gainers, GAIL, RIL, HUL, ONGC and HDFC have risen between 1%-4%.

Among other shares, Goa Carbon has rallied 16% to Rs 136, also its 52-week high on the BSE, after the company reported a net profit of Rs 4.62 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17).

***************************
Updated at 12 PM

Key benchmark indices hovered in a small range in mid-morning trade. At 11:57 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 66 points or 0.2% at 28,286. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 27 points or 0.3% at 8,767. Positive Asian stocks boosted sentiment on domestic bourses. The Sensex rose 105.75 points or 0.37% at the day's high of 28,326.73 in morning trade.

The barometer index rose 17.11 points or 0.06% at the day's low of 28,238.09 at onset of the day's trading session. The Nifty rose 30.85 points or 0.35% at the day's high of 8,774.80 in morning trade. The index lost 2.60 points or 0.03% at the day's low of 8,741.35 at onset of the day's trading session.

In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks rose as a healthy US economic report and rising oil prices overnight bolstered investor optimism. Markets in mainland China were closed for a weeklong holiday. US stocks rose yesterday, 5 October 2016 on positive economic data.

Activity at US service companies expanded in September at the fastest pace in nearly a year, according to a private report. The Institute for Supply Management's services index jumped to 57.1 last month, its highest since October last year, adding to evidence that the world's biggest economy is strengthening and raising expectations the Federal Reserve will soon raise rates from ultralow levels.

Closer home, the broad market depicted strength. There were almost two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,617 shares gained and 842 shares fell. A total of 114 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.61%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.62%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Pharma shares rose. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.34%), Lupin (up 0.26%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.7%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.45%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.33%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 2.49%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.77%), Cipla (up 0.2%) and Wockhardt (up 0.41%) rose. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.29%) and Strides Shasun (down 0.41%) fell.

Yes Bank lost 1.23% on reports that Sebi has found reasons enough to launch adjudication proceedings against the bank over its abortive $1 billion qualified institutional placement.

Realty stocks edged higher. Oberoi Realty (up 3.07%), D B Realty (up 6.83%), Sobha (up 3.93%), Godrej Properties (up 1.02%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (up 0.18%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 0.9%), Unitech (up 0.17%), and Parsvnath Developers (up 0.07%) rose. DLF (down 0.47%) and Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.42%) fell.

Grasim Industries was up 2.2% at Rs 1,009 on the BSE in an intra-day trade after the stock turned ex-stock split in the ratio of 5:1 on Thursday.