Nifty below 8,100 mark; DLF, JSPL top losers

Benchmark indices continue to remain subdued on account of consistent selling in realty, capital goods and metal shares.

At 13:10 PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 126 points at 27,013 and the 50-share Nifty was up 40 points at 8,075.

The main losers on the Sensex are BHEL, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank, all falling between 2-3%.

Jindal Steel & Power and Hindalco have lost between 3.5-4% on the BSE on concerns that the Supreme Court may de-allocate the mines allotted several years ago to both these companies.

The market breadth in BSE remains weak 1,778 shares declining and 939 shares advancing.

******************************
Updated at 11:14

Benchmark indices are trading lower weighed down by realty, capital goods and metal shares. Meanwhile, Asian markets have turned cautious ahead of policy decision in Europe.

At 11:15 AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 127 points at 27,012 and the 50-share Nifty was up 44 points at 8,071.

The broader markets are underperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have slipped by over 1%each.

The market breadth in BSE remains dismal with 1,619 shares declining and 761 shares advancing.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1288.57 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The rupee is trading at 60.48/49, little changed from its Wednesday's close of 60.4850/4950.

ASIAN MARKETS

Asian shares steadied near seven-year highs on Thursday, underpinned by hopes of a ceasefire in Ukraine, though a cautious mood prevailed for now ahead of the European Central Bank's meeting.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.1% after a brief rise to a seven-year high while Japan's Nikkei average shed 0.2% from seven-month highs the previous day.

Global shares rallied on Wednesday as Russian President Vladimir Putin, after speaking to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko by phone, said he believed Kiev and pro-Russian separatists could reach agreement at planned talks in Minsk on Friday.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Realty index has slumped by nearly 5% followed by counters like Consumer Durables, Metal, Capital Goods, Power and Oil & Gas, all falling down between 1-2%. However, BSE Healthcare index has gained by nearly 1%.

The main losers on the Sensex are Hindalco, BHEL, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Tata Motors, GAIL, L&T and ICICI Bank, all declining between 1-4%.

DLF has plunged by over 8% after the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday set aside the Haryana government’s decision to allot 350 acres of land in Wazirabad, Gurgaon, to the country’s largest real estate developer DLF in 2010.

JP Associates has slumped by over 12% at Rs 40.20 after Jaypee Infra Ventures sold over 13 million shares on the National Stock Exchange.

On the gaining side, Cipla, Sun Pharma, HDFC, HUL and ITC have gained between 1-2%.

Among other shares, Marico Kaya Enterprises surged 2.4% to Rs 639 on the BSE after RBI permitted foreign investors to buy up to 40% of the paid-up capital of the company.

Idea Cellular is down over 3% at Rs 166 on talk that US-based private equity investor Providence Equity Partners plans to sell part of its stake in the mobile service provider at a discount to the current market price.