Nifty holds 8,700; ITC falls 3% post Q3 results

Benchmark indices have trimmed gains post the announcement of FMCG major ITC’s Q3 earnings.

Diversified group ITC today reported a Q3 net profit of Rs 2,635 crore compared to Rs 2,385 crore in the year-ago period, an uptick of 10.5%.

The agri revenue dropped to Rs 1598 crore from Rs 1786 crore in the year-ago quarter. The paper and packaging business revenue also dipped to Rs 1199 crore from Rs 1257 crore. The stocks is down over 3.5%.

At 13:00 PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 66 points at 28,851 and the 50-share Nifty was up 14 points at 8,709.

The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down 0.2-0.3%.

Market breadth has weakened with 1,624 losers and 1,089 gainers on the BSE.

Further, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities to the tune of Rs 1,276 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

The rupee trimmed its initial gains, but was still quoting up by 7 paise to 61.62 against the US currency in late morning deals today on bouts of dollar selling by banks and exporters.

Among global markets, Asian shares hit a six-week high and the euro stayed under pressure on Wednesday as investors counted on the European Central Bank to unveil a stimulus drive, while the yen jumped after the Bank of Japan left policy unchanged.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.3%, with shares in India and New Zealand hitting record highs.

Japan's Nikkei bucked the trend by slipping 0.5% and the yen gained 0.9# to 117.76 to the dollar after the BOJ did not expand its stimulus.

Back home, BSE Consumer Durables index has surged by almost 2% followed by counters like Capital Goods, Telecom, Banks, IT and Healthcare, all gaining between 0.1-1%. However, BSE Metal and FMCG indices are down 1% each.

The main gainers on the Sensex are Bharti Airtel, HDFC, SBI, HUL and L&T.

On the losing side, ITC is the top Sensex loser, down over 3.5% post the announcement of Q3 earnings.

Profit booking was seen in metal shares after sharp gains on Tuesday after China reported better-than-expected economic growth in the fourth quarter. Sesa Sterlite eased 3%, Tata Steel lost 1.7% and Hindalco was down 2%.

Banking shares mainly public sector undertakings (PSU) are in demand with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) CNX PSU Bank index hits fresh 52-week high today.

State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Union Bank of India, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and IDBI Bank are up 2-5% on NSE.

Bank of Baroda (up 5% at Rs 1,139) and SBI (up 3% at Rs 328) touched their fresh 52-week highs.