Sensex, Nifty decline around 1%; ITC, HDFC plunge 2-3%

At 1 PM, BSE Sensex was at 27,720 levels, down by 237 points or 0.85% and the NSE was below 8,400 mark

Benchmark indices continue their downfall and are trading near day’s lows amid heavy selling pressure among FMCG, metal, capital goods and financial shares.

At 1 PM, BSE Sensex was at 27,720 levels, down by 237 points or 0.85% and the NSE was below its crucial psychological mark of 8400 and was trading at 8397 levels, down by 60 points or 0.7%

The broader markets are, however, outperforming the larger peers with BSE Midcap index up by 0.11% while the BSE Smallcap index is down by 0.04%. The market breadth is negative, with 1051 advances versus 1330 declines on the BSE.

The markets are likely to be volatile this week due to the impending F&O expiry on Thursday and the next batch of quarterly results.

On the results front, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Transport Corporation of India and Bombay Dyeing are likely to announce their results today.

Rupee:

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange, the rupee is trading 13 paise weaker at Rs 63.65 levels against the greenback on account of the strengthening of the US dollar against the global currencies.

Sectors and Stocks:

The weakness in the markets is largely on the back of selling in the FMCG, Metals and Capital Goods stocks.

ITC, the FMCG heavyweight is leading the decline. Shares of ITC have dipped nearly 3% to Rs 319 on the NSE after the company reported a lower-than-expected 3.7% year on year (yoy) growth in its net profit at Rs 2,361 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 (Q4) due to muted growth in cigarette business and decline in agri segment.

Shares of HDFC have dropped more than 2% on the Sensex on account of profit-booking after the stock rallied significantly last week.

From the metal pack, Jindal Steel has dropped 2.3% while Vedanta, Coal India, and Tata Steel have shed 1.1-2% each on the BSE Sensex.

Other notable losers include  BHEL, HUL, Tata Power, Bajaj Auto, L&T and Cipla.

On the gaining side, Bharti Airtel has posted 2.5% gains and is top Sensex gainer. ONGC and M&M have managed to log gains of 0.9-1.5% each in an otherwise weak market.

Smart Movers:

Rolta India has slipped 6% to Rs 117 after the company said that its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 (Q3) more than halved at Rs 36.01 crore over the previous quarter due to lower operational revenues.

Lupin has registered gains after the stock exchange said that drug-maker will replace private sector electricity producer Tata Power on the benchmark Sensex from June 22.  Shares of Lupin were trading higher by 2% to Rs 1,773 on the BSE.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation has rallied 16% to Rs 104 on the BSE after reporting over seven-fold jump in net profit at Rs 365 crore for the quarter ended March 2015 (Q4), due to higher gross refining margins (GRMs).