Nifty hovers around 7,950; financials gains, IT shares weak
ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Coal India and Tata Motors have surged between 2%-6%
 "Nifty hovers around 7,950; financials gains, IT shares weak")
Benchmark indices continue to trade higher amid choppy trades led by financials and auto shares. However, the upmove is capped due to selling among information technology shares and index heavyweight ITC.
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At 12:20 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 100 points to quote at 25,944 and the Nifty has gained 21 points to trade at 7,936. Broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are down marginally.
Top gainers from the Sensex pack are ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Coal India and Tata Motors, all surging between 2%-6%. On the losing side, Wipro, ITC, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp and M&M are down 1&-6%.
Among other shares, VST Industries is up 3% at Rs 1,751 after the company announced robust net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2016.
Shares of Tide Water Oil were up nearly 3% at Rs 6,395 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company announced the acquisition of UK-based Price Thomas Holdings Ltd (PTHL).
Alembic Pharmaceuticals (APL) has move higher by 8% to Rs 616 on the BSE after the company announced that it has formed 60:40 joint venture (JV) with Orbicular to develop & commercialise dermatology products for global markets.
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Updated at 10:30
Markets have trimmed gains with IT major Wipro trading over 6.5% lower after the company reported a flat consolidated net profit at Rs 2,235 crore against average analyst’s estimate of Rs 2,354 crore for the quarter ended March 2016 (Q4FY16).
However, gains in the banking stocks with ICICI Bank up over 6% after recognition of bad loans and the moderation in steel sector stress (to which ICICI Bank has significant exposure) has aid the rally. Also, Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to outperform further lifting the sentiment.
At 10:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 109 points to quote at 25,956 and the Nifty has gained 25 points to trade at 7,939.
STELLAR DEBUT
Equitas Holdings, a leading player in microfinance segment, made a strong debut on the bourses, with the stock opening 32% higher at Rs 145 against its initial public offer (IPO) price of Rs 110 per share on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Among individual stocks, Maruti Suzuki is up over 1% after it plans to add around 323 more dealership outlets including 123 Nexa showrooms, which is catering to premium segment of the passenger car market.
On the flip side, Bharti Airtel is down 1% after the company decided to sell more than 5% stake in its tower arm Bharti Infratel through an open market block deal.
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(updated at 10:30 am)
(updated at 10:30 am)
Markets have started the Thursday session on a firm note mirroring strength in the global peers amid a rally in global crude oil prices. Meanwhile, stock specific action is likely to dictate the street as the fourth quarter earnings continue.
Also, traders are patiently waiting for the European Central Bank (ECB) policy meet later today.
At 9:27 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 207 points to quote at 26,051 and the Nifty has gained 56 points to trade at 7,970. Meanwhile, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are trading higher by 0.5-0.6%.
“Yesterday’s volatile moves having found downsides arrested Nifty near 7,900 attempts to edge higher could be seen again today, as has been the case on most of the last few days. However, even though such prospects put the 8,000-8,076 region into focus, the short term oscillators look less convincing, suggesting that the upside momentum may be losing pace, and could see volatility or tendencies to drop once near 8,076. Alternatively, if such volatile moves fail to slip below 7847, expect the medium term objectives of 8,200-8,300 to remain in play,” according to Geojit BNP Paribas technical note.
GLOBAL MARKETS
After subdued trades in the previous session Asian stocks edged higher on Thursday as global crued oil prices cruised higher on lower-than-expected US crude oil inventory levels and renewed hopes that oil producers might meet once again to reduce production. Japan's benchmark Nikkei was up nearly 2% while Hang Seng edged 1.4% higher and Straits Times was trading with marginal gains. However, Shanghai Composite was trading flat with negative bias.
US stocks edged closer to their record closing highs to end firm on Wednesday buoyed by a rally in crude oil prices and encourging data on US home resales for March which was higher than expected. Further, stock specific action was seen post the first quarter earnings from select corporates. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2% at 18,096, the S&P 500 gained 0.1% at 2,102 and the Nasdaq ended up 0.2% at 4,948.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
According to report by Economic Times, RBI told banks individually that they don't have to provide in the March quarter for outstanding loans to 20 firms, including Jaiprakash Associates and Coastal Energen, out of the 150 it had listed in December. CLICK FOR FULL REPORT
Banks are leading the rally with ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank up between 0.2%-7%. Meanwhile, IndusInd bank ia trading with marginal gains ahead of the quarter earnings.
Wipro has shed 5% on the back of muted fourth quarter earnings. For the quarter ended March, Wipro posted dollar revenue (for the IT services business) of $1,882 million, which was within its guidance range of $1,875-1,912 million. Wipro announced a share buyback of 40 million shares or 1.62 per cent of the shares, amounting to Rs 2,500 crore at Rs 625 a share.
Cipla has renewed its focus on over the counter products five years after it exited the segment. The stock is up nearly 1%.
Tata Steel reached out to 190 potential financial and industrial investors for the sale of its UK business, the company said in a regulatory filing on BSE on Monday. The stock has risen 1.4%.
Equitas Holdings: Equitas will make its stock market debut today. The IPO, which opened from April 5-7, was subscribed 17.24 times at a price band of Rs 109-110 per share.