Markets trim gains; Mid-,small-caps underperform

At 2:45 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 31 points at 24,254 and the Nifty50 climbed 13 points at 7,375

Markets have trimmed gains in the late trades weighed down healthcare shares with Lupin leading the losses after reports stated that the US government has made it mandatory for all active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to be manufactured locally. The brader market is uderperforming the larger peers with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices losing nearly 1% each.

At 2:45 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 31 points at 24,254 and the Nifty50 climbed 13 points at 7,375.

_________________
(updatd at 2:45 pm)



Markets are trading higher led by strong buying in oil exploration companies after a sharp rebound in the crude oil prices. Meanwhile, value buying in the battered bluechips amid positive global cues boosted the rally.

At 12:53 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 263 points at 24,486 and the Nifty50 climbed 86 points at 7,448.

BUZZING STOCKS

Oil exploration majors are trading higher after international crude oil prices soared 30% from its 12-year low. Cairn India, ONGC and Oil India gained up 6%.

Tata Motors has gained 2% after CLSA maintained 'buy' call on Tata Motors. However, it has cut target price to Rs 460/share.

Bajaj Auto is trading with marginal gains ahead of its December quarter earnings.  Meanwhile, Arvind fell 2% ahead of its quarter earnings today and Tata Steel is trading flat ahead of the results toady.

Sunteck Realty has climbed 35 after KKR and Co. Lp decided to invest around Rs.150 crore to fund its upcoming luxury residential projects in Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex.

Lakshmi Machine Works is up 3% after the company posted 41.8% increase in its net profit in the December quarter to Rs.63.49 crore compared with Rs.44.78 crore a year ago.

Pfizer has gained 25 after the net profit jumped 120% in the December quarter toRs.40.34 crore compared with Rs.18.37 crore a year ago.

________________________

(updated at 10;40 am)

Markets trimmed early gains as investors booked profits at higher levels after they rallied on rebound in global crude oil prices.

At 10:40am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 92 points at 24,316 and the Nifty50 was up 34 points at 7,396.

In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.2%-0.3% each. Market breadth was firm with 1,250 gainers and 701 losers on the BSE.

Further, foreign funds remained sellers on Wednesday to the tune of Rs 357 crore while domestic institutions also sold equities worth Rs 145 crore, asper provisionl stock exchange data.

The Indian rupee was trading 25 paise higher at 67.83 to the US dollar compared to its previous tracking weakness in the dollar and sales by banks and exporters.


SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Capital Goods continued to be the top gainer among the sectoral indices. Healthcare index was the sole loser down 1.4%.

Among oil and gas shares, Reliance Industries, ONGC and Cairn India were up 0.8%-5.9% each. Other Sensex gainers include L&T, HDFC Bank and HDFC among others.

Pharma shares which had gained in the previous sessions witnessed profit taking at higher levels. Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, Cipla and Sun Pharma were down 0.5%-4.3% each.

Tata Steel was down 1.8% while Bajaj Auto was trading flat with negative bias ahead of their December 2015 quarter earnings later today.

Among other shares, Hexaware Technologies surged 9% to Rs 244 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported 14% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 99.4 crore for the quarter ended December 2015 compared with Rs 87.3 crore in the same quarter last year.

Shares of Wockhardt have dipped to its 52-week low at Rs 1,063, down 7% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in early morning trade in otherwise firm market. Wockhardt said that US FDA has made 9 observations for which appropriate reply would be submitted to inspecting authority in due course.
__________________________
(updated at 9:30am)
Markets opened higher tracking their Asian peers. Rebound in global crude oil prices also aided sentiment. Further, a weak US services data dampened hopes of a further rate hike by the Federal Reserve in the near future helping a rally on Wall Street.

At 9:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 210 points at 24,433 and the Nifty50 was up 67 points at 7,428.

"Technically, Nifty is forming a good support at 7340 odd levels indicates relief sign. As long as Nifty hold 7340-7370 levels we may witness a bounce back rally towards 7440/7500. For Intraday, Nifty has an immediate support at 7340 whereas resistance is placed at 7440," Nirmal Bang Research said in a note.

CRUDE OIL

US crude oil futures were trading higher at $32.68 per barrel, up 40 cents from the previous session while Brent crude was trading at $35.47 per barrel up 43 cents from the previous close.

 

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares bounced back in today’s trade after a weak US services data dampened hopes of a further rate hike by the Federal Reserve in the near future which in turn hammered the dollar and spurred a rise in the oil prices. Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite have gained between 1%-1.5%. However, Japan’s Nikkei has lost 0.7% as yen strengthened against the dollar and Straits Times was up 0.7%.

US stocks ended higher on Wednesday tracking rebound in global crude oil prices. The Dow Jones industrial average ended up 1.1% while the S&P 500 gained 0.5% and the Nasdaq ended down 0.3%.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Capital Goods index was the top gainer followed by Auto, Metal and Bankex among others. Of the 30 Sensex stocks only two stocks were trading lower.

Oil shares were the top gainers tracking rebound in global crude oil prices. RIL, ONGC and Cairn India were up 1%-4% each,

Index heavyweights such as Infosys, HDFC and ITC also led the gains on the Sensex up 0.7%-1.2% each.

Other gainers include, HDFC Bank and L&T among others.

Tata Steel was down nearly 1% while Bajaj Auto was trading flat ahead of their third quarter earnings later today.