Sensex Ends On A Flat Note, Real Estate Shares Outperform

The Sensex and Nifty ended on a flat note in trades today as gains in heavyweights such as HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, TCS and ONGC were offset by losses in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel. Earlier in the day, the Sensex rose over 150 points and Nifty touched high of 9,352.55 but after hitting intraday highs, the Sensex and Nifty came off the highs on account of profit-taking and traded on a flat note for the rest of the session.

The Sensex ended 3 points higher at 29,921.18 and Nifty advanced 10 points to settle at 9,314.

From the Nifty basket of shares, 24 ended higher while 27 closed lower.

Maruti Suzuki was among the top Nifty gainers, the stock closed nearly 3 per cent higher at Rs 6,705 after the carmaker on Monday reported strong sales in the month of April. Indiabulls Housing Finance, ONGC, HDFC, BPCL and Kotak Mahindra Bank were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Tata Motors, Lupin, ACC, Bharti Airtel, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices as mid-cap and small-cap indices rose 0.3 per cent each.

The overall market breadth was negative as 1,517 shares ended lower while 1,352 ended higher on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

3:22 pm: On the sectoral front, capital goods, metal, power, DMCG and healthcare indices trade with a negative bias.

3:02 pm: Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Larsen & Toubro continue to exert pressure on the Sensex.

2:52 pm: The stock markets continue to trade on listless note. Sensex up 9 points at 29,927 and Nifty jumps 8 points to 9,312.

2:45 pm: Shares of Kitex Garments slumped as much as 16.5 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs. 418 after the Kerala-based garment maker post market hours on Friday reported that its net profit in the March quarter fell 40 per cent on a year-on-year basis to Rs. 26.99 crore from Rs. 44.89 crore during the same quarter last year.

Kitex Garments' total income from operations fell 9 per cent to Rs. 156.50 crore from Rs. 172.23 crore in the March quarter of last quarter. Its earnings per share declined to Rs. 5.68 from Rs. 9.45.

2:18 pm: Rajesh Baheti, MD at Crosseas Capital Services, says some PSU banks have rallied a lot and are looking overpriced at current levels.

2:15 pm: Pharma shares such as RPG Lifesciences, Syngene International, Abbott India, Torrent Pharma, Lupin, IPCA Labs, Orchid Pharma and Glaxo Smithkline were among the losers.

1:48 pm: United Spirits, PNC Infra, Tata Teleservices, Amtek Auto, MEP Infra and Shriram Transport Finance were among some of the shares witnessing very high trading volumes on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

1:07 pm: ONGC was the top gainer among the Sensex shares, up 3.25 per cent at Rs 192.35. HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Adani Ports and SEZ, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Bajaj Auto, GAIL India and Mahindra & Mahindra were also among the gainers.

12:57 pm: Real estate shares were outperforming the benchmark indices in noon deals as new rules under RERA or the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act to regulate the real estate sector, protect home buyers and ensure the timely execution of projects with an aim to boost investor confidence and stamp out illegal practices will apply from today. They are applicable to residential and commercial development and make it mandatory for all projects and brokers to be registered with the real estate regulator who will oversee transactions and settle disputes. Only seven states have, however, moved to implement the new rules as yet. BSE Realty index was up 2.15 per cent on the back of buying in Godrej Properties, Sobha Ltd, Indiabulls Real Estate, Prestige Estates, DLF, Omaxe and Unitech.

12:50 pm: The Sensex and Nifty recovered from the low levels to trade on a flat note. The Sensex was down 3 points at 29,915 and Nifty was at 9,307, up 3 points.

12:41 pm: Shares of Kerala-based Federal Bank rose as much as 7.30 per cent to hit fresh 52-week high of Rs. 115.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company reported stellar earnings in the fourth quarter of financial year 2016-17. The private sector lender Federal Bank's net profit went up manifold to Rs. 256.59 crore for the quarter to March as net bad loans shrank. Also, there were significant gains from retail, corporate and wholesale banking verticals. Net profit stood at Rs. 10.26 crore in the January-March quarter of 2015-16. Total income during the period rose to Rs. 2,598.06 crore, from Rs. 2,262.94 crore a year ago, Federal Bank said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

12:00 pm: Kitex Garments was the top loser from the small-cap space, down 13.5 per cent at Rs 432.90 after the company post market hours on Friday reported that its net profit in March quarter fell to Rs 27 crore from Rs 45 crore in the same period last year. Shilpi Cables, Kesoram Industries, Gujarat NRE Coke, Visagar Polytex and Himachal Fibres were also among the losers from this space.

11:50 am: Market breadth turns negative on the BSE as 1,426 shares decline while 1,139 shares advance.

11:39 am: Kotak has maintained its buy call on Federal Bank for target price of Rs 120 per share. Click here for more brokerage calls

11:29 am: Markets continue to trade with a negative bias. Sensex down 85 points at 29,833 and Nifty falls 25 points to 9,279. Broader markets also face the heat of selling pressure, the BSE mid-cap index was down 0.35 per cent while the small-cap index slips 0.18 per cent.

11:17 am: Ambuja Cements falls 3.53 per cent to Rs 237.20 after company post the market hours on Friday reported profit of Rs 247 crore in the quarter ended March 31 against estimate of Rs 262 crore. Meanwhile, CLSA has maintained its 'sell' call on Ambuja Cements for target price of Rs 220 per share.

10:50 am: Sensex and Nifty fell in the late morning trades on the back of weakness in banking, capital goods, healthcare and metal stocks. The Sensex was down 44 points at 29,874 and Nifty fell 12 points to 9,292.

10:44 am: The stock markets turned flat in the late morning trades on the back of weakness in heavyweights such as Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and Larsen and Toubro. The Sensex was up 36 points or 0.12 per cent at 29,955 and Nifty was at 9,316, up 12 points or 0.12 per cent.

10:32 am: Shares of Bharat Financial Inclusion formerly known as SKS Microfinance fell as much as 4.42 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs 768.10 after the the company reported loss of Rs 235 crore in March quarter compared with profit of Rs 85.2 crore during the same period last year. Net interest income came in at Rs 164 crore compared.

10:16 am: On the secoral front, real estate shares  were among the top performers in trades so far. The BSE Realty index rallied as much as 2.53 per cent on the back of gains in Sobha Ltd, Indiabulls Real Estate, Godrej Properties, DLF and Prestige Estates. Oil & gas, consumer durables and metal shares were also witnessing good buying interest.

10:12 am: Market expert Rakesh Arora says that investors should avoid smaller PSU banks which have run up a lot and stick to larger ones. He says even if the problem of non-performing loans is resolved, it will be tough for small PSU banks to cope up on the technological front.

10:01 am: Broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap index rose 0.62 per cent and the small-cap index jumped 0.65 per cent compared with a gain of 0.45 per cent in the Sensex. From the mid-cap space, Tata Global Beverages was the top gainer, up 4.31 per cent at Rs 159.60. Canara Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Oberoi Realty, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Central Bank, Mphasis and Adani Enterprises were also among the gainers.

9:45 am: Shares of India's biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki jumped as much as 2.5 per cent to hit fresh all-time high of Rs. 6,690 after the company on Monday reported a total domestic passenger vehicle sales growth of 23.1 per cent on an annual basis led by a robust sales of utility vehicle and compact models such as Vitara Brezza, Baleno, DZIRE, Dzire Tour, Ertiga and S-Cross.

In the month of April, Maruti Suzuki's total sales grew 19.5 per cent to 1,51,215 units from 1,26,569 units sold in the same month last year, Maruti Suzuki said in a press release.

9:20 am: From the Nifty basket of shares, 35 were advancing while 16 were among the losers. Indiabulls Housing Finance, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Bharat Petroleum, Hero MotoCorp, Asian Paints and HDFC were among the gainers. On the other hand, ACC, Ambuja Cements, Tata Motors, UmtraTecvh Cement, Reliance Industries, Cipla and Bharti Airtel were among the laggards.

9:15 am: Sensex rises 134 points to 30,052.73 and Nifty surges 37 points to 9,341.85.

9:09 am: Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors will be in focus today after Maruti Suzuki on Monday reported an annual sales growth of 23 per cent while Tata Motors reported a decline in sales of 21 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

9:08 am: Sensex rises 101.40 points to 30,019.80 and Nifty jumps 37.50 points to 9,341.55 in pre-opening session.

9:02 am: The foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 1,150 crore while domestic institutional investors bought shares worth Rs Rs 1,684 crore on Friday.

9:00 am: The Indian rupee opened higher at 64.18 per dollar against Friday's close of 64.24 per dollar.