Nifty ends at new high of 6,589 in range-bound session
3:32 p.m. Nifty ends at new high of 6,589, Sensex falls 12 points to 22,042 (provisional)
3:17 p.m. Rajesh Baheti, MD of Crosseas Capital Services, expects the April series to very quiet. Even if a stable government is elected, there is no magic wand for economic recovery, he says.
3:05 p.m. Stock alert: In capital goods space, ABB and Siemens have hit new 52 week highs today. Rahul Shah of Motilal Oswal Securities, says order books of capital goods are improving.
2:45 p.m. Tyre stocks are on a roll. In the past one year, CEAT surged 395 per cent, Apollo Tyres advanced 93.4 per cent and JK Tyre rose 89.7 per cent.
Lower input prices and higher participation in midcap stocks helped the tyre shares, says Rahul Shah, VP of Equity Advisory Group at Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd.
2:20 p.m. Stock alert: Shriram Transport gained as much as 8.7 per cent today on expectations of a recovery in the commercial vehicle market. Crisil says it is expecting a bottoming out of the CV cycle and modest recovery in 2HFY15.
1:45 p.m. Stock market live: Sensex turns flat, buoyed by higher opening in European markets. Power, capital goods and consumer durable stocks led the gains. (Track markets)
Sensex up 2 points at 22,057 while Nifty is up 6 points at 6,589. Though markets remain range-bound, Sensex and Nifty hit fresh peaks of 22,079.96 and 6,595.45 respectively. Overseas investors have helped underpin gains, buying shares worth Rs 1,465 crore on Monday, with net purchases in shares reaching $2.27 billion so far this month, according to regulatory data.
1:15: Dealers check
Traders expect Nifty to be range bound and midcap stocks to outperform. They see continued institutional buying in tyre shares. L&T continues to see interest from HNI investors, they say.
12:45 p.m. Tyre stocks have outperformed today on softening of rubber prices. Apollo Tyres is up 6.9 per cent while Ceat and Tube Investments were up over 3 per cent
12:15 p.m. HCL Tech promoter entity sells worth 6.3 million shares worth nearly Rs 895 crore in block deal, shares down 0.7% at Rs 1,404
11:45 a.m. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava says though the Nifty is trading flat but banking stocks are outperforming which, he says, may help to maintain the uptrend. He maintains Nifty target at 6700-6800.
Sarvendra Srivastava's stock bets
Buy Engineers India with target of Rs 218 and stop-loss of Rs 202.4
But Asian Paints with target of Rs 550 and stop-loss of Rs 517.4
Buy CEAT with target of Rs 465 and stop-loss of Rs 442.4
11:30 a.m. Markets trade flat with downward bias. Sensex down 26 points to 22,029 while Nifty is off 4 points to 6,579.
11:00 a.m. Rohit Srivastava, fund manager at Sharekhan, says 6620 is an important hurdle for Nifty. He expects to see a lot of volatility in the next one month and cyclicals to underperform. He says that he would look to buy defensives like ITC and HUL.
10:40 a.m. Market update: Sensex down 29 points at 22,026 while Nifty is off 2 points at 6,581. ONGC and Reliance Industries were down 2.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. (Track markets)
10:30 a.m. Commenting on the Election Commission calling for a deferment of gas price hike, DK Sarraf, CMD of ONGC, said that even if the decision on the matter falls on the new government, "I think that the new government will not defer the price hike."
Meanwhile oil minister Veerappa Moily said the government will consult Solicitor General on the issue.
10:05 a.m. Stock alert: Shares of Jaiprakash Associates is up 1.5 per cent to Rs 49.75 after the company yesterday agreed to sell its 74 per cent stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd for Rs 690 crore, as the group seeks to cut its growing debts.
(See: Jaiprakash Associates to sell Bokaro cement unit to Dalmia Cement)
10.00 a.m. Shares of gas distributor Indraprastha Gas gained 0.9 per cent, while Gujarat Gas was up 2.6 per cent after the Election Commission asked the government to defer a planned hike in gas prices due to start on April 1.
(See: Gas distributors gain on possible price hike delay)
09.48 a.m. Markets off day's low. Barring energy and IT stocks, most other sectors are trading higher. Banking stocks up 0.5 per cent, while metals rise 0.7 per cent. Defensives such as FMCG and healthcare gain. (Track markets)
09.30 a.m. Meanwhile, rupee has climbed to over 7 month-high amid strong foreign flows. (Read the full story here)
09.15 a.m. Sensex, Nifty open lower by 0.5 per cent. Reliance Industries down by 3.4 per cent. ONGC shares fall over 4 per cent (Read why)
09.00 a.m. Rupee opens higher at 60.55 as against Monday's close of 60.78 per dollar.
08.40 a.m. Market outlook: Sarvendra Srivastava says markets have hit yet another all-time high and the Nifty is on course to hit 6,700 to 6,800 levels.
Sarvendra's top picks,
1) Tata Steel: Buy with a target of 390 and a stop loss of 349.4.
2) Kotak Bank: Buy with a target of 820 and a stop loss of 744.4.
3) Bajaj Auto: Buy with a target of 2150 and a stop loss of 1984.
08.35 a.m. Stocks in focus today, 1) Reliance Industries, ONGC: The Election Commission of India has asked the government to defer a hike in gas prices due to start April 1. Many brokerages had upgraded their earnings estimates for Reliance and ONGC after the price hike announcement last year. (Read)
2) Jaiprakash Associates will sell 74 per cent stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement, its joint venture with state-run SAIL, to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) for Rs. 690 crore. (Read the full story)
08.30 a.m. Indian markets are likely to open flat with a negative bias according to futures trade on the Singapore Exchange. The SGX Nifty traded 10.50 points or 0.16 per cent lower at 6,598.
08.15 a.m. Asian shares were in a defensive mode on Tuesday after Wall Street fell overnight. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dipped 0.1 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.5 per cent. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite Index led the losses with a fall of 1.2 per cent to five-week low.
Concerns over Ukraine and soft US manufacturing were cited as possible catalyst, though market players noted the selling could also reflect unwinding of positions ahead of the quarter-end. The survey on US manufacturing by financial data firm Markit also showed US manufacturing activity slowed in March.
08.00 a.m. The BSE Sensex and Nifty jumped nearly 1.5 per cent on Monday to record highs, surpassing their previous all-time highs hit just last week. The Nifty ended 1.36 per cent higher after marking a lifetime high of 6,591.50, while the benchmark Sensex finished 1.38 per cent up after touching a record high of 22,074.34, surpassing their previous milestones hit on March 18.
Banks led the gains on optimism about a recovery in the domestic economy tipped to be growing at its lowest pace in a decade, and bets the Reserve Bank of India would keep interest rates on hold for now at its policy review on April 1.
The prospect that the general elections due to conclude by May will usher in a new government led by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is also aiding the gains, given market perceptions that the party has a more business-friendly stance.
Foreign investors have been particularly heavy buyers during the rally, with net purchases of $1.6 billion of shares so far this month.