 "Global cues keep markets under pressure; Nifty holds 8,200")
Markets continued to trade weak in noon trades, amid weak global cues, with pharma major Lupin and mortgage lender HDFC leading the decline.
At 12:50pm, the 30-share Sensex was down 107 points at 27,255 while the Nifty was down 31 points at 8,230.
The broader market outperformed the benchmarks with both the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices trading with marginal gains. Market breadth was weak with 1,312 losers and 1,056 gainers on the BSE.
"Traders are having a cautious approach ahead of the F&O expiry on Thursday and the two-day FOMC meet which starts later today. Further, stock specific action will be seen post the earnings announcement," says Alex Mathews, Head of Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
The rupee was trading marginally lower at 64.97 against the US currency amid dollar demand from importers.
Meanwhile, InterGlobe Aviation which operates IndiGo airline will hit the capital markets today to raise Rs 3,018 crore through its initial public offering. The operator of the profitable no-frills carrier IndiGo has set a price band for the public offer at Rs 700 - 765. On Monday, IndiGo raised Rs 832 crore from 43 anchor investors, ahead of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) of equity.
EARNINGS CORNER
Axis Bank, Lupin, Vedanta, and Maruti Suzuki are the Sensex companies that are set to announce their quarterly earnings later in the day. Among other companies, Dish TV, TVS Motor, and Tata Communications would also unveil their set of numbers today.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian markets were trading lower with shares in China and Japan losing the most. The benchmark Nikkei ended down 0.9% while Shanghai Composite was down 1.3% and Hang Seng eased 0.5% while Straits Times eased 0.6%.
European shares were down in early trades on Tuesday. The CAC-40, DAx and FTSE-100 were down 0.5-0.9% each.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE Consumer Durables, Capital Goods, Metal, Oil & Gas indices were the top losers among others.
Pharma major Lupin was down 2.8% ahead of its September quarter earnings later today.
Other losers include, ONGC, ICICI Bank and ITC among others.
Vedanta was down nearly 2% while Axis Bank was trading with marginal gains ahead of their September quarter earnings.
HDFC was down 2.8%. HDFC has become the first Indian company to receive an in-principle board approval to raise rupee-denominated bonds abroad, also called masala bonds. On Monday, the company’s board approved raising up to $750 million through this route. The stock is however, down nearly 3% on account of profit booking post its Q2 results.
Maruti Suzuki was up 0.9%. The company has launched a premium hatchback, the Baleno, on Monday. It is priced at Rs 4.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), pitting it directly against the reigning segment leader, the Hyundai Elite i20. Baleno will be exclusively sold through NEXA, the company’s premium dealership. Also, the largest car maker in the country is set to announce its quarterly results later in the day.
Bharti Airtel was marginally down. India’s largest telecom operator, on Monday reported a 10.1% rise in net profit for the September quarter to Rs 1,523 crore, owing to a surge in data consumption and a one-time exceptional gain of Rs 660 crore from the sale of African tower assets. On a consolidated basis, it had recorded a profit of Rs 1,383 crore for the year-ago period.
Among other shares, NIIT Technologies has moved higher by 7% to Rs 593, also its new high on the BSE, after the company said it has signed a long term strategic agreement with Dubai based airline flydubai.
