Rangebound markets end lower

FMCG, IT and auto stocks weigh

Markets ended today's rangebound session on a weak note. The Sensex provisionally closed at 18,712, down 82 points and the Nifty slipped 26 points to end at 5,691.
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(Updated at 1430 hours)

Markets have extending losses in the late noon deals on the back of selling pressure visible in the auto, FMCG anmd IT stocks. The Sensex is down 72 points at 18,720 and the 50-share Nifty has slipped 25 points to 5,691. The markets for the most part of the day were suck in a tight range with Nifty moving in a range of 40 points and the Sensex moved in a range of 120 points.

Meanwhile, most of the Asian markets ended on a subdued note with the corporate reporting season getting underway in the region, as investors stayed cautious after global shares faltered overnight on weak earning reports and outlook. Hang Seng advanced 146 points to close at 21,697, Nikkei jumped 3 points to end at 9,014 and Straits Times advanced 16 points to close at 3,050. While, Shanghai Composite and Seoul Composite closed flat with a negative bias.

The European markets were trading on a weak note after a mixed bag of corporate updates kept investors cautious. CC40 index was down 20 points at 3,463, DAX slipped 66 points to 7,261 and the FTSE 100 was down 43 points at 5,840.

Back home, Hero MotoCorp is the top Sensex loser. The stocks has slipped 2% to Rs 1,794 ahead of July-September earnings due later in the day.

For the second quarter, analysts on average expect the Hero MotoCorp’s net profit to decline 26% at Rs 448 crore, while revenue is seen down 12% at Rs 5,109 crore due to slowdown in domestic two-wheelers demand over the past few months.

Heavyweights such as ITC, Hindalco, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, ONGC, Tata Steel, TCS, Bajaj Auto and BHEL are also trading weaker by 0.4-1.6% each.

On the other hand, Larsen & Toubro continues to shine post the second quarter result announcement. The stocks has advanced 2% to Rs 1,699 after it beat analysts’ expectations with 17 per cent year-on-year sales growth and a 42 per cent rise in net profit in the quarter ended September. The stock reacted sharply to the result on Monday and hit a 52-week high of Rs 1,673.80. It closed the day at Rs 1,668.20.

Coal India, ICICI Bank, HUL, Cipla, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy's Labs are among the notable gainers.

The BSE consumer durables index is the top sectoral loser, down 1% at 7,232. FMCVG, auto, IT, metal, power, oil & gas and bankex indices are also down 0.2-0.9% each. While, capital goods, healthcare, realty and PSU indices are among the gainers.

Shares of mid-and-small sized real estate companies have rallied on the bourses by up to 20% after reporting a stellar performance for the quarter ended September.

Peninsula Land, Kolte-Patil Developers, Brigade Enterprises, Ganesh Housing Corporation, Purvankara Projects, Ansal Housing and Construction, Ansal Properties and Orbit Corporation are trading higher by 7-20% compared to less than 1% rise in realty index at 1236 hours.

Pioneer Distilleries has locked in 5% lower circuit at Rs 45.65 for the second day in a row after United Spirits, the promoter of the company has fixed a floor price of Rs 38 per equity share for the sale shares, a well below the current market price.

L&T Finance Holdings (LTFH) has surged 5% to Rs 56.55, in an otherwise subdued market after the company announced 100% acquisition of FamilyCredit Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of France’s Société Générale Consumer Finance for Rs 120 crore.

The broader markets are trading marginally lower. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices are down 0.1% each.

The overall breadth is negative as 1,440 stocks are declining while 1,240 are advancing.