Sensex Ends 16 points Lower Ahead Of US Fed Rate Decision

Sensex erased intraday gains to end in negative territory while Nifty ended below its crucial psychological level of 8,800 ahead of US Federal Reserve interest rate decision which is due later in the day.

The Sensex ended 16 points or 0.06 per cent lower at 28,507 and Nifty ended a point higher at 8,777.

Earlier in the day, Sensex opened on a flat note but jumped over 100 points after global sentiment was lifted after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) overhauled its policy framework and recommitted itself to more policy easing in the coming weeks.

However, cautious investors booked profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate decision which is due later in the day. Meanwhile, the Fed is not expected to raise rates but investors will comb the U.S. central bank's statement for any clues on the timing of the next rate hike.

Back home, from the Nifty basket of shares, 28 ended higher while 23 closed lower.

State Bank of India, ITC, Power Grid, Ambuja Cements, Cipla, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro were among the laggards.

On the other hand, Bharti Infratel, Eicher Motors, Hindalco, Tata Steel and HUL were among gainers in the Nifty.

The broader markets ended on a lacklustre note. The BSE mid-cap index closed 0.07 per cent lower while mid-cap index rose 0.19 per cent.

The overall market breadth was neutral as 1,413 stocks ended higher while 1,314 closed lower.

3:18 p.m.: Stock markets trade on lacklustre note. Sensex slips 13 points to 28,510 and Nifty jumps 2 points to 8,778.

3:04 p.m.: FMCG shares were witnessing selling pressure. BSE FMCG index was 0.54 per cent; ITC, GCPL, Emami, Britannia Industries and Dabur were among laggards in this space.

2:53 p.m.: Market breadth remains marginally positive as 1,407 stocks advance while 1,242 decline.

2:48 p.m.: ICICI Prudential Life Insurance's IPO was oversubscribed 2.97 times till 2:43 p.m on the last day of the offer. 

ICICI Prudential Life's IPO received bids for 39,25,88,064 shares as against the total issue size of 13,23,78,973 shares.

2:32 p.m.: Stock markets edged lower in afternoon deals on the back of selling pressure in banking and FMCG shares. Sensex declined 45 points to 28,478 and Nifty was down 12 points at 8,764. 

2:13 p.m.: PSU banking shares witness selling pressure. The PSU Bank Nifty falls 0.7 per cent; State Bank of India, Andhra Bank, IDBI Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce, PNB and Bank of India were among losers.

1:43 p.m.: Stock markets turn flat gives up most of intraday gains on the back of selling pressure in PSU banking and FMCG shares. Sensex up 38 points or 0.13 per cent at 28,561 and Nifty up 0.16 per cent or 14 points at 8,790.

1:32 p.m.: Shares of companies dealing in business with railways edge higher after announcement of merger of General and Rail Budget. Texmaco was the top gainer from this space, up 6 per cent at Rs 42.20. Stone India, Kernex Microsystems, Titagarh Wagons, Kalindee Rail and Simplex Castings were also among the gainers.

1:29 p.m.: Shares of Financial Technologies (India) fell by over 6 per cent today after CBI arrested the promoter of the firm, Jignesh Shah, for alleged cheating and suppression of facts in getting SEBI extension to MCX-SX to continue as a private stock exchange in violation of norms. 

After a weak opening, shares of the company further lost 6.17 per cent to Rs 78.20 on BSE.

1:19.: Select FMCG stocks were also witnessing selling pressure; The BSE FMCG index was trading on a flat note; Britannia Industries, Emami, Nestle, Godrej Consumer Products and Dabur were among laggards.

1:12 p.m.: Stock markets off day's high. Sensex up 88 points at 28,611 and Nifty up 30 points at 8,806. Heavyweight, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India were among losers.

1:02 p.m.: Select banking stocks were witnessing selling pressure. The Nifty Bank index was up 0.16 per cent; ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Federal Bank were among laggards.

12:37 p.m.: Essel Propack shares surged over 10 per cent to hit fresh 52-week high of Rs 247 on Wednesday after the packaging material manufacturer announced buyout of Essel Deutschland Germany (EDG), which was a joint venture till date. 

Thane-based Essel Propack said that Lamitube Technologies Ltd (LTL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company in Mauritius has agreed to acquire remaining 75.1 per cent stake in EDG, which was till now a joint venture, with LTL as a partner with 24.9 per cent stake.

12:17 p.m.: Infosys, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, ITC and Larsen & Toubro were among the top Sensex movers.

12:11 p.m.: Buying visible across the sectors. Auto, metal, power, IT and capital goods indices advance 0.5-0.8 per cent each.

12:05 p.m.: Broader markets in-line with benchmark indices. The BSE Mid-cap index rises 0.45 per cent; United Breweries Ltd was the top gainer from the mid-cap space, up 2.7 per cent at Rs 898. Indian Hotels, Bajaj Finserv, Shriram City Union Finance, Oberoi Realty, M&M Financial Services and Yes Bank were also among the gainers.

11:52 a.m.: Shares of NBCC gained as much as 3 per cent on Wednesday after the state-owned company bagged orders worth Rs 440 crore from ESIC, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India. 

Under this order, NBCC will construct 100-bed hospitals at Haridwar and Dehradun, and a 300-bed hospital at Indore.

11:23 a.m.: Jay Thakkar of Sharekhan recommends sell on Axis Bank for target price of Rs 555 with stop loss at Rs 615.

10:56 a.m.: Stock markets trade firmly higher, Sensex advances 136 points to 28,659 and Nifty rises 41 points to 8,817.

10:47 a.m.: Monsanto India shares surged over 6 per cent to an intraday high of Rs 2,539 on Wednesday, following German pharma and chemical major Bayer Group's announcement about a mandatory open offer to buy up to 26 per cent additional stake in Monsanto India for over Rs 1,100 crore. 

Bayer's open offer for Monsanto India comes in the backdrop of its $66 billion deal to acquire US biotech major Monsanto, which is the parent of Monsanto India. (Read)

10:44 a.m.: Market breadth remains positive as 1,475 stocks were advancing while 635 were declining.

10:01 a.m.: Auto stocks recover from intraday low levels. The BSE Auto index was up 0.4 per cent; Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, Eicher Motors, Bharat Forge and M&M were among the gainers.

9:57 a.m.: Buying visible across the board. Banking, power, realty, capital goods, metal and oil & gas indices jump 0.35-1 per cent each.

9:47 a.m.: Sensex rises over 100 points to 28,640 and Nifty moves above 8,800 after Bank of Japan announces fresh stimulus. The Bank of Japan has offered 800 billion yen at fixed rate and has maintained its policy rate at -0.1 per cent.

9:27 a.m.: Sensex and Nifty opened on a flat note in trade today ahead of Bank of Japan's policy meet outcome.

The Sensex jumped 28 points to 28,551 and Nifty advanced 10 points to 8,785.

Analysts say that investors were cautious ahead of the crucial verdict from Bank of Japan and US Federal Reserve today and advised investors to avoid taking large trading positions in view of the key global events today.

"Presently, investors are expecting US Federal Reserve to keep its policy rates unchanged, whereas BoJ (Bank of Japan) is expected to provide more stimulus measures to support its falling economy. We advise traders to remain hedged and maintain caution, while long term investors should use correction to accumulate quality companies," said Jayant Manglik of Religare Securities. 

Meanwhile, in opening deals, select banking, healthcare, realty, capital goods and capital goods stocks were witnessing buying interest. While, selling pressure was seen in auto stocks.

From the Nifty basket of shares, 32 were advancing while 19 were declining.

Bharti Infratel was the top Nifty gainer, up 2 per cent at Rs 363. BPCL, Hindalco, Adani Ports, Aurobindo Pharma, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.

On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, UltraTech Cement and Coal India were among laggards.

The broader markets were seen outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.3 per cent and Small-cap index jumped 0.5 per cent.

9.00 a.m.: Rupee opens higher at 66.99 per dollar against Tuesday's close of 67.01. 

8.40 a.m.: Indian equity markets are likely to open flat, tracking cautious trade across the globe ahead of the crucial verdict from Bank of Japan and US Federal Reserve today. The Nifty futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX) were up 2 points at 8,804.50. 

Analysts advised investors to avoid taking large trading positions in view of the key global events today. 

"Presently, investors are expecting US Federal Reserve to keep its policy rates unchanged, whereas BoJ (Bank of Japan) is expected to provide more stimulus measures to support its falling economy. We advise traders to remain hedged and maintain caution, while long term investors should use correction to accumulate quality companies," said Jayant Manglik of Religare Securities. 

On Tuesday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers of Indian equities, which is likely to weigh on sentiments. FIIs sold cash shares worth Rs 1,147 crore, while domestic investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 778 crore. 

Among individual stocks, Monsanto India shares will in focus today as Bayer Group announced a mandatory offer to buy back up to 26 per cent additional stake in Monsanto India for over Rs 1,100 crore. Bayer will acquire up to 44.88 lakh shares at a price of Rs 2,481.60 per share. 

Meanwhile Asian shares edged lower ahead of Bank of Japan's verdict on further stimulus. Hang Seng was down 0.1 per cent, Kospi added 0.09 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei traded 0.49 per cent lower. 

Overnight, US indices ended flat as healthcare gains countered declines in energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 9.79 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 18,129.96, the S&P 500 gained 0.64 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 2,139.76 and the Nasdaq Composite added 6.33 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 5,241.35.

(With inputs from Reuters)