Volatility ruled the roost as key benchmark indices slipped into the red and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade after a private survey showed that services activity shrank at the fastest pace in more than four years last month. Weakness in Asian stocks also weighed on sentiment on the domestic bourses. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 41.38 points or 0.21%, off close to 170 points from the day's high and up close to 30 points from the day's low.
Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC fell. Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries also declined. Auto stocks rose on renewed buying, with Tata Motors scaling record high. Realty stocks gained for the third day in a row. Sobha Developers jumped after the company said its new sales rose 6.38% to 1 million square feet in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. Advanta extended Thursday's surge triggered by the company announcing the appointment of Mr. Claudio Torres as Chief Executive Officer of the company with immediate effect.
The market moved into the positive terrain after opening lower. Volatility continued as key benchmark indices recovered after paring initial gains after hitting fresh intraday high in morning trade. The Sensex hit over one-week high. The 50-unit CNX hit 1-1/2-week high. The market slipped into the red and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell below the psychological 20,000 mark after regaining that level in morning trade.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee strengthened against the dollar tracking global dollar weakness. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.44, compared with its close of 61.735/745 on Thursday, 3 October 2013.
At 11:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 41.38 points or 0.21% to 19,860.69. The index fell 68.90 points at the day's low of 19,833.17 in mid-morning trade. The index jumped 132.69 points at the day's high of 20,034.76 in morning trade, its highest level since 24 September 2013.
The CNX Nifty was down 15.80 points or 0.27% to 5,893.90. The index hit a high of 5,949.15 in intraday trade, its highest level since 23 September 2013. The index hit a low of 5,885 in intraday trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive in mid-morning trade. On BSE, 982 shares dropped and 914 shares rose. A total of 107 shares were unchanged.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 17 stocks fell and rest rose. Tata Power Company (down 1.79%), Sesa Sterlite (down 1.83%) and Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.7%), edged lower.
Index heavyweight and cigarette maker ITC fell 0.72%.
Another index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined 0.59%.
Auto stocks rose on renewed buying. Tata Motors rose 4.13% to Rs 359.05 after hitting record high of Rs 364.70 in intraday trade. The company's British luxury car unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Wednesday, 2 October 2013, said it has appointed John Edwards into the role of Managing Director of the newly created Individual Products Division with immediate effect. The new division will be responsible for designing and creating a portfolio of brand extending products, ranging from high value halo vehicles to lifestyle merchandise products. In his new role, John will be responsible for the company's 'Engineered To Order' division, accessories, licensing & merchandise activities, vehicle operations and heritage vehicles across both brands, JLR said in statement.
M&M (up 1.91%), and Ashok Leyland (up 1.99%), gained.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.63%. The company announced during market hours that production fell 0.55% to 92,140 units in September 2013 over September 2012. The company had said on 1 October 2013 its total sales rose 11.7% to 1.04 lakh units in September 2013 over September 2012. Maruti Suzuki's domestic sales rose 1.8% to 90,399 units in September 2013 over September 2012. Exports surged 180.8% to 14,565 units in September 2013 over September 2012.
Realty stocks gained for the third day in a row. DLF (up 0.9%), D B Realty (up 2.65%), HDIL (up 2.05%), and Unitech (up 1.53%) gained.
Sobha Developers jumped 5.5% after the company said its new sales rose 6.38% to 1 million square feet in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. The announcement was made after market hours on Thursday, 3 October 2013.
Sobha Developers said its average price realisation rose 13.07% to Rs 6,304 per square feet in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. Sales value grew 19.89% to Rs 632.30 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012. The company's strategy to diversify into newer markets backed by a consistent launch pipeline has yielded positive results, Sobha said.
Sobha said that the management at the beginning of the fiscal had set a guidance of new sales area of 4.2 msf valued at Rs 2600 crore for the current fiscal (FY 2014). At the end of first half of FY 2014, the company looks poised to achieve the target, having registered new sales area of 1.92 msf valued at Rs 1235 crore, Sobha said in a statement. At the half way mark, despite the existing macroeconomic uncertainties of GDP growth, interest rates and inflation, the company remains hopeful in achieving its guidance for the current fiscal, Sobha added.
Advanta jumped 6.03%, with the stock extending Thursday's rally triggered by the company after trading hours on Tuesday, 1 October 2013, announcing the appointment of Mr. Claudio Torres as Chief Executive Officer of the company with immediate effect. Claudio, an MBA from Tulane University, USA, has rich and varied experience of 23 years in the international agricultural inputs/seeds industry, Advanta said in a statement. Prior to joining Advanta, Claudio was working with Monsanto, managing seed businesses in various leadership roles in several geographies, Advanta said.
Activity at Indian services companies shrank at the fastest pace in more than four years last month, a survey showed on Friday, 4 October 2013. The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, slipped from 47.6 in August to 44.6 in September, its weakest since April 2009. That marked its straight third reading below 50, the threshold between growth and contraction. It showed firms were less optimistic about the future and were cutting staff as new business dries up. Services sector accounts for nearly 60% of India's economy. The PMI's new business index fell to 45 in September from 46.6 in August, the weakest reading since February 2009 and the third month running that demand has declined.
An HSBC Markit manufacturing survey released early this week showed that the factory activity shrank for a second month in September.
Asian stocks fell on Friday, 4 October 2013, as concern grew that the US political impasse could lead to the government defaulting on its debt, sparking a recession. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia fell 0.1% to 0.77%. Markets in mainland China are closed till 7 October 2013 for National Day holidays.
The Bank of Japan kept its monetary policy unchanged on Friday following its meeting, and said in an accompanying statement that the economy is recovering moderately. In terms of the inflation outlook, the central bank noted that consumer prices excluding fresh food is in the range of 0.5% to 1%, and that inflation expectations appear to be rising on the whole. The Bank of Japan has set a 2% inflation target, which it aims to reach by 2015.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 8 points at the opening bell on Friday, 4 October 2013. US stocks dropped on Thursday as investors worried that a budget stalemate in Congress would become entangled with much more critical legislation to raise the federal borrowing limit. The standoff between congressional Democrats and Republicans to pass an emergency funding bill, which has led to a third day of a partial US government shutdown, continued with little sign of progress toward a solution.
The failure of US lawmakers to avert a government shutdown fueled concern they won't be able to agree on raising the nation's $16.7 trillion debt limit later this month. The Treasury Department warned that a federal default could lead to a recession as bad as the 2008 financial crisis or worse. "Not only might the economic consequences of default be profound, those consequences, including high interest rates, reduced investment, higher debt payments and slow economic growth could last for more than a generation," the Treasury said in its report. "In the event that a debt limit impasse were to lead to a default, it could have a catastrophic effect on not just financial markets but also on job creation, consumer spending and economic growth -- with many private-sector analysts believing that it would lead to events of the magnitude of late 2008 or worse, and the result then was a recession more severe than any seen since the Great Depression," the department said.
A report on Thursday showed fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week. Jobless claims rose to 308,000 in the week ended Sept. 28, from a revised 307,000, the Labor Department said. US payrolls data won't be released as scheduled today because of the government shutdown. The department said that an alternative date for the September payrolls report and jobless rate hasn't been scheduled.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) holds a two-day policy meeting on 29-30 October 2013. On 18 September 2013, the Fed surprised economists and investors with its decision to delay scaling back its stimulus amid concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
