Nifty hovering near 8,830; HDFC, Infosys,TCS gain over 1%

Benchmark indices have trimmed some of the losses but are still trading on a weak note. Gains in select index heavyweights like HDFC and Infosys have helped to limit losses in banks and FMCG shares.
 
At 1:10 PM, the 30-share Sensex was down 88 points at 29,232 and the 50-share Nifty was down 40 points at 8,828.  
 
In the broader market, both the BSE Midcap index, down 0.1% and Smallcap index trading flat are moving largely in-line with the front-liners. Market breadth in BSE is negative with 1,488 declines against 1,147 advances.     
 

Foreign institutional investors remain net sellers in equities after they bought equities worth Rs2,187.96 crore on Wednesday, as per the provisional stock exchange data.

 
Buzzing Stocks
 
6 of the 12 sectoral indices of BSE are in green. BSE IT index, up 0.8% is the top gainer followed by BSE Consumer Durables and BSE Realty indices, up 0.6% each.  BSE FMCG index and Bankex, down over 1% are biggest losers.
 
IT stocks are trading mixed in today’s session. Infosys has gained around 1.5%, TCS is up, 1.1% while Wipro has shed around 1.2%. Infosys today announced a multi-year, multimillion dollar partnership with ABN AMRO, to provide IT services for the bank's operations.
 
Housing finance major, HDFC has gained around 1.3% while bank stocks are under pressure on prfit-booking. ICICI Bank has lost around 2%, Axis Bank is down 1.3%, SBI is down 1% and HDFC Bank is down 0.3%.  Yesterday, Axis Bank raised Senior Notes in international market worth $55 million under the Medium Term Note (MTN) Programme through its Hong Kong branch. A senior note is a debt security or bond that takes precedence over other unsecured notes and is thus relatively secure as it must be repaid in the event of bankruptcy while a a debt security or bond that usually matures in five to 10 years is called MTN.

 
Hindalco Industries is up by 0.8% after it won the Gare Palma coal mine in Chhattisgarh by outbidding companies like BALCO, Sesa Sterlite, Ambuja Cements, which were also vying for the same block.
 
Hero Motocorp is up by 0.2% after the BML Munjal-led Hero Group divested 7 million equity shares in the company following which the Hero Group will hold a stake of over 36% in the company. As per company press release, the group will use the proceeds to fund new growth avenues available through the government's "Make in India" initiative.
 
ITC has lost around 1.4% breaking its over 5% rally of past three days following the acquisition of the trademarks for 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' in India from Johnson & Johnson for an undisclosed amount.

 
 
ONGC is down 0.2%. ONGC has entered into an MoU with Super Wave Technology, a company incorporated by Society for Innovation and Development, Indian Institute of Science,  for researching alternative technology for hydraulic fracturing.
 
RIL, down 0.9%, Tata Motors down, 0.8%, Tata Power down 2.7% and Bajaj Auto down 0.8% are other major losers.