 "Nifty slips below 7,000 as Rail Budget begins; Rail stocks drop")
Markets have sipped further with Sensex trading below the crucial 23,000 mark weighed down by losses in Index heavyweights.
Meanwhile, a sharp decline is seen in the capital goods space with BHEL and L&T down 2% each.
At 1:20 pm, the Sensex has fallen 95 points to trade at 22,994 and the Nifty cracks 37 points to quote at 6,981
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(updated at 1pm)
Markets extended losses in noon trades on Thursday with rail related stocks in focus after the Railway Minister started presentation of the the Rail Budget 2016-17.
At 1pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 64 points at 23,025 and the Nifty50 was down 31 points at 6,989.
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Meanwhile, a sharp decline is seen in the capital goods space with BHEL and L&T down 2% each.
At 1:20 pm, the Sensex has fallen 95 points to trade at 22,994 and the Nifty cracks 37 points to quote at 6,981
____________
(updated at 1pm)
Markets extended losses in noon trades on Thursday with rail related stocks in focus after the Railway Minister started presentation of the the Rail Budget 2016-17.
At 1pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 64 points at 23,025 and the Nifty50 was down 31 points at 6,989.
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Stocks of companies related to railway are trading in a volatile manner. Hind Rectifiers, Kalindee Rail, Texmaco Rail, Stone India, Simplex Castings KernexMicrosystems Titagarh Wagons have eased between 2%-5%. Stocks of cement companies are trading mixed. ACC is down 2%, Ultratech Cement is flat while Ambuja Cement is down 0.6%, JK Cement dips 5%
Read more from our special coverage on "MARKETS"
Shares of Logistic companies are trading positive: Container Corporation of India up 0.4%, Gateway Distripacks up 1%, Allcargo Logistics up 1%, Gati up 0.7% and Timken up 2%.
Shares of railway-related technology firms are trading mixed. MIC Electronics up 3%, Zicom Electronic up 5% and Stone India down 2%. Zicom Electronic gains on Rail Budget proposal for CCTV set up for surveillance
Also Read
(Updated 12;05PM)
Markets continue to trade in a range-bound manner as participants keenly wait for the Railway Budget 2016 due to be announced later in the day. Also, caution prevails at D- Street as today is the expiry of the February derivative series.
At 12:05 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 26 points at 23,063 and Nifty50 was down 17 points at 7,001. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were trading flat.
STOCK IN FOCUS AHEAD OF RAIL BUDGET 2016
Stocks of companies related to railway are trading in a volatile manner. Hind Rectifiers, Kalindee Rail, Texmaco Rail, Stone India and Simplex Castings have dropped 2%-7%. On the flip side, Kernex Microsystems Titagarh Wagons and BEML have gained between 0.5%-2%.
Stocks of cement companies are trading mixed. Acc (down 1.5%), Ultratech Cement (up 0.2%) , Ambuja Cement (0.3%), JK Cement (down 2%), Shree Cement (up 0.2%).
Largely the shares of steel companies are trading positive with JSW Steel, Tata Steel, SAIL trading between 0.1%-1%. However, JSPL has bucked the trend and has dipped by 2%.
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(updated at 12:05 am)
Markets continued to trade in a narrow range ahead of the expiry of February derivative contracts later today while the Rail Budget will be presented in the parliament.
At 10:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 23 points at 23,112 and Nifty50 was up 1 points at 7,020 after briefly slipping below 7,000 at 6,997.80.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were trading flat. Market breadth was firm with 925 gainers and 797 losers on the BSE.
"The US markets ended positive on Wednesday crude oil rebounded. On the economic front, the US Flash Services PMI data showed that it fell TO 49.2 IN February from 53.2 IN January. Nifty has resistance at 7,030 above 7056, 7085 and 7115 while support is seen at 7,000 below 6.974 and 6,948," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services said in a note.
Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in equities to the tune of Rs 731 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
The rupee was trading marginally higher at 68.52 to the US dollar in early trades.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE Metal, FMCG and Healthcare indices were among the top gainers. BSE Oil & Gas and Power indices were among the top losers.
ONGC was up 1% after global crude oil prices recovered.
Infosys was down 0.5%. Reports suggest that the tenure of its chief executive officer and managing director Vishal Sikka will be extended by two years apart from revising his annual compensation significantly.
Reliance Industries was down 0.7% after global crude oil prices staged a recovery.
Tata Motors gained nearly 1% after the auto major sold more LCVs than M&M, the nearest competitor, consecutively in December and January. M&M was also up 1%.
ITC pared early losses and was up 0.5%. The stock continues to witness selling pressure on worries over excise duty hike on cigarettes in the forthcoming Budget.
Pharma shares were also among the top gainers with Sun Pharma and Lupin up 1.5%-2% each.
HDFC Bank and HDFC staged a recovery on renewed buying interest at lower levels after losses in the previous sessions. HDFC which hit a 52-week low in early trades was up 0.8% while HDFC Bank was up 0.5%.
Among other shares, Dishman Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals rallied 11% to Rs 340 on the BSE after the board recommended a 1:1 bonus share subject to shareholders’ approval.
Sequent Scientific surged 6% to Rs 168 on the BSE in an otherwise subdued market after the stock turned ex-stock split today in the ratio of 1:5.
