Nifty ends below 8,800 ahead of Rail Budget

Benchmark indices shed early gains to end on a flat note with bank shares leading the decline as caution prevailed ahead of the expiry of February derivative contracts while concerns over Railway Budget and Union Budget kept risk-appetite subdued.  
 
The 30-share Sensex and the 50-share Nifty ended flat at the mark of 29,008 and 8,767 respectively.
 
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap index and Smallcap indices, down 0.2% and 0.4% each performed worse than the front-liners. Market breadth in BSE ended negative with 1,663 declines against 1,223 advances.    

The F&O segment witnessed activity ahead of this expiry tomorrow as Nifty cooled off despite a gap-up opening leaving traders confused if they should roll their long positions in response to yellen's announcement. According to market experts, Nifty rolls are about 55% at T-1 and are expected to be about 70% by expiry tomorrow.

"The equity markets upheld prevailing consolidation bias on Wednesday amid excessive intraday volatility and closed flat in the end. Initially, benchmarks opened on strong note, following positive global cues but profit taking in the later half eliminated all the gains. Meanwhile, traders were remained busy as stocks were moving in both direction due to rollover and unwinding of positions ahead of F&O expiry," said Jayant Manglik, President-retail distribution, Religare Securities.

"The next three sessions starting from Thursday i.e. 26th Feb,2015,  would set the roadmap for the markets so extra caution is advised at current levels. We reiterate our preference for defensive counters, keeping in mind their recent performance and upcoming events," he adds.

After global rating agency S&P, its peer Moody's too emphasised today the need of financial and fiscal reforms before India's credit rating can be upgraded. The agency said times of both accelerating and decelerating growth, India's wide fiscal deficits, poor infrastructure and regulatory complexity have combined to create a mismatch between domestic demand and supply, contributing to inflation and current-account pressures.
 
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the cash market to the tune of Rs 697 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. They also remained net buyers in futures and options segment to the tune of Rs.815 crore.

 
Buzzing Stocks
 
5 of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE ended in green. BSE IT index, up 0.4% was the top gainer followed by BSE FMCG, Oil & Gas and Realty indices gaining around 0.3% each. BSE Healthcare index, down 1% was the top loser followed by BSE Capital Goods index, and Bankex down 0.7% each.  
 
Bank stocks led the losses in today’s session though housing finance major, HDFC gained around 3%.  HDFC Bank, ended down 1.6%, ICICI Bank, down 0.7% and SBI and Axis Bank lost 0.3% each.
 
Infosys gained 1.4%. According to media reports, one more senior executive of SAP is joining Infosys.  Quoting unnamed sources, the report said that SAP’s chief technology officer for security, Gordon Muehl, is leaving the company to take an executive role at Infosys.

 
Tata Motors gained around 0.3%. According to media reports, the company is developing its own quadricycle with a new petrol engine under ‘project bavo.’ Also, Ratan Tata, former chairman of Tata Sons, has confirmed Jaguar Land Rover plans to have a production plant in North America even as executives of the UK-based brand scout for a suitable location.
 
Pharma stocks ended mixed with Sun Pharma and Dr Reddys Lab losing around 2% each while Cipla gained around 0.1%.
 
A rebound in crude prices has lifted oil stocks. RIL gained 0.3% and ONGC ended up 0.8%. ONGC has fixed March 25, 2015 as the Record Date for the purpose of payment of 2nd Interim Dividend.

 
Coal India gained 0.4%. The company board has decided to withdraw from International Coal Ventures Limited which is a  a Joint Venture Company set up at  the initiative of Ministry of Steel, Government of India to secure metallurgical coal and thermal coal assets in overseas territories with SAIL, CIL, RINL, NMDC and NTPC as the promoter companies. NTPC ended down 0.4%.
 
Tata Steel shed around 2.3%. Tata Steel Thailand PCL, the Thai unit of India's Tata Steel Group, said on Wednesday it expected to post a net loss for the fiscal year ending March 2015, hit by falling steel prices and weak demand.

 
TCS declined around 1.4%. TCS has been recognised as a Leader in Life Sciences IT Outsourcing in Europe by leading advisory and research firm Everest Group, according to company's release to BSE.
 
Among other shares, Dalmia Bharat ended higher by 4% after the company said it has increased stake in OCL India, one of the largest cement entities in Eastern India with plants in Orissa and West Bengal.