Sensex falls 200 points, Nifty below 7,850; auto shares skid

Benchmark indices continue to trade lower tracking weakness among global peers after strong US inflation numbers and Federal Reserve comments raised fear of rate hike.

At 11:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 233 points to trade at 25,541 and the Nifty50 is down 69 points to quote at 7,822. Broader markets are outperforming- BSE Midcap index has dipped 0.4% while the Smallcap index is marginally up.

"Nearest support for the market is visible at 7,880 mark. Below this level the next level of support comes at 7,780. This 7,780 mark is important from the medium term point of view and only a move below this the trend is likely to change. On the upside key resistance is at 7,940-8,000 level. Market seems struggling to move past this level over last couple of trading session. On the flip side if it ultimately manages to move above this level bears are likely to be trapped and a big move up is likely. In daily chart market is trading above its 50 Day moving average and momentum indicators are still in bullish territory. In combination the medium term trend for the market still bullish," adds Rohit Gadia, Founder & CEO, CapitalVia Global Research.  

Top losers from the Sensex pack are Maruti Suzuki, BHEL, Hero Moro, Bajaj Auto and Asian Paints, all slumping between 2%-3%.

United Kingdom-based vehicle testing agency Global NCAP on Tuesday awarded zero star safety rating for the Renault Kwid, Maruti Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Mahindra Scorpio and Hyundai Eon following a crash test.

Shares of all three listed associate banks of State Bank of India (SBI) have gained by up to 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as media report suggests that SBI may merge its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself.

Among the individual stocks, State Bank of Travancore rallied 5% to Rs 420, followed by State Bank of Mysore (4% at Rs 442) and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (up 3% at Rs 526) on the BSE.  All these banks ended higher in the range of 4%-13% on Wednesday.

OCL India has rallied 15% to Rs 603, its 52-week high on the BSE, after the company reported a more than doubled net profit at Rs 134 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2016 (Q4FY16), due to higher realization and other income

Tata Metaliks is locked in the upper circuit for a second straight day, up 20% at Rs 168, also its 52-week high on the BSE, after the company announced on Tuesday the withdrawal of the scheme of amalgamation of the company and its subsidiary Tata Metaliks DI Pipes with Tata Steel.

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Updated at 10:45 am

Markets have opened the day on a weak note mirroring slip in the Asian peers as investors remain wary after strong US inflation numbers and Federal Reserve comments raised hopes of the central bank hiking rates later this year.

At 10:45 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is down 224 points to trade at 25,550 and the Nifty50 is down 65 points to quote at 7,825.

Reports stating that State Bank of India (SBI) may merge its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself to emerge as a financial behemoth, with assets worth Rs 37 lakh crore ($550 billion) will be on the investors radar. 

Also, participants will watch out for the earnings from PSU banks, FMCG and pharma stocks along with movement of rupee and crude oil prices coupled with progress of monsoons.

“Upside attempts were challenged by the 7,939 region on anticipated lines, and the fall back that has ensued is likely to search for buying interest near the 7,890 vicinity. A directional move is less anticipated today on either side, but the potential for continuation of uptrend would be alive, if consolidation in the next couple of days is limited to the 7,870-7,780 band” said Geojit BNP Paribas in a technical note.

Among the key companies, JSW Steel, PNB, Tata Communications, Crompton, Corporation Bank, Dalmia Bharat, PTC India, Torrent Power, Prabhat Dairy, Balkrishna Industries, Indian Hotels, Jk Lakshmi Cement, Majesco, Deccan Gold Mines, Digjam, IFB Industries, Indo Rama Synthetics, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Orbit Corp, Orient Green Power, Ratnamani Metals & Tubes, Ruchira Papers, Saint-Gobain Sekurit, Shaily Engineering, Skipper, Talbros Engineering, Universal Cables, Vinyl Chemicals (India) and Wanbury are due to slate the results today.

Asian markets are mixed with Nikkei up 0.69% after Japan's GDP grew at an annualised 1.7% in the first quarter of 2016 vs. an estimate of 0.3% rise while Shanghai is down 1.06%. The U.S. markets closed lower after comments from Fed officials on prospects of a rate hike in June meeting and ahead of FOMC April minutes today.

Oil prices were trading near 2016 highs on Wednesday, as supply disruptions and output cuts continued to tighten the market, although traders cautioned that high global crude inventories were still weighing on markets. 

STOCK TRENDS

State Bank of India (SBI) may merge its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself to emerge as a financial behemoth, with assets worth Rs 37 lakh crore ($550 billion). SBI is trading with marginal losses.

Shares of all three listed associate banks of State Bank of India (SBI) have gained by up to 5% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) as media report suggests that SBI may merge its five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) with itself.  Among the individual stocks, State Bank of Travancore rallied 5% to Rs 420, followed by State Bank of Mysore (4% at Rs 442) and State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (up 3% at Rs 526) on the BSE.  All these banks ended higher in the range of 4%-13% on Wednesday.

Hindustan Unilever has received Competition Commission of India's nod to sell its rice export business to Delhi-based LT Foods. HUL is down 0.4% while LT Foods has gained over 2%.

HDFC has decided raise Rs 1,500 crore by issuing debentures on a private placement basis. The stock is down 0.5%.

Sebi has sought clarification from the merchant banker of L&T Infotech, an arm of L&T, regarding the company's proposed initial public offering. L&T is trading 0.4% lower.

The Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat) on Tuesday set aside the Rs 1,773-crore penalty imposed on Coal India by the Competition Commission of India (CCI). Coal India is flat.

Tata Steel, the country's largest steel producer, has recalled its plan sent to the Bombay High Court for a merger of Tata Metaliks and Tata Metaliks DI Pipes with itself. The stock is trading with modest losses.

Syndicate Bank on Tuesday reported fourth quarter losses of Rs 2,158.17 crore after it wrote off Rs 882.64 crore because of a major fraud at three of its branches in Jaipur in the past four years. Reacting to the same, the stock has shed over 2%.

Petronet LNG (PLL), India’s largest state-owned natural gas importer, on Tuesday posted a 20 per cent decline in net profit in the quarter ended March (Q4), on account of reversal of tax expenses that had jacked up profit in the corresponding quarter in financial year 2014-15. Shares of the company have lost over 0.5%.

Ashok Leyland has received patent for an invention related to lightweight composite articles suitable for making structures for use in automobile industry, aerospace industry and for domestic panels.However, the stock is down 0.35.

Consumer goods major GSK Consumer Health care has slumped over 4% after it posted Rs 181 crore net profit during the quarter ended March 31, compared to Rs 197 crore during the same quarter last year.

In an attempt to lure flyers and push up sales, no-frills airlines have slashed fares in advance purchase offers.

SpiceJet is offering one-way fares between Rs 511 and Rs 2,111 (excluding taxes) on domestic and international routes, respectively, in a three-day anniversary sale till Thursday, IndiGo, too, has dropped one-way fares to around Rs 800 on routes such as  Jammu-Srinagar, Srinagar-Chandigarh and Rs 924 for Goa-Mumbai and Rs 1,050 for Ahmedabad-Mumbai. IndiGo's discounted tickets are valid for travel between July 4 - September 30.

Aviation shares are trading mixed. SpiceJet is up 0.4% while IndiGo and Jet Airways have lost up to 0.5%.

Tata Group firm Voltas has gained over 2% on reporting a 51.43% increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 180.71 crore for the March quarter on account of improvement in order execution by projects business.