Market Commentary and Intraday News

Indian Markets Subdued In Early Trade

321 days ago

(RTTNews) - Indian shares are little changed with a negative bias on Wednesday, tracking mixed Asian cues after data showed China's manufacturing sector expanded at its slowest pace in eight months in July.

South Korea's exports fell by nearly 9 percent in July from a year earlier and hopes for new stimulus measures faded, prompting investors to adopt a cautious approach ahead of central bank meetings. Meanwhile, the government yesterday announced a key cabinet reshuffle with Home Minister P. Chidambaram named as the new Finance Minister.

IT, baking, metal and oil/gas stocks are among the prominent decliners, while healthcare, power and realty stocks are gaining ground. The benchmark Sensex is currently down 29 points or 0.17 percent at 17,208, while the broader Nifty index is down 6 points or 0.12 percent at 5,223.

Second-line stocks are posting modest gains and the market breadth is extremely positive, with about two shares gaining ground for every share that declined on the BSE.

Automakers are trading mixed as they unveil monthly vehicle sales data for July. Maruti Suzuki is down 0.3 percent, Mahindra & Mahindra is losing half a percent and Hero MotoCorp is declining 0.7 percent, while Tata Motors is gaining 0.6 percent.

Cement maker Ambuja Cement is up 1.7 percent, while ACC is down 0.3 percent on going ex-dividend. Bhushan Steel is declining 0.8 percent after reporting a marginal decline in quarterly net profit. Coal India is tumbling 3.3 percent on reports it has agreed to revise the penalty clause under the fuel supply agreements.

Godrej Properties is gaining 1.8 percent after announcing a new redevelopment project in Mumbai. Cipla is climbing 5.4 percent after posting stellar net profit growth in the June quarter. Jaiprakash Associates is rising 0.9 percent after reporting a 25 percent fall in quarterly net profit in line with estimates.

Shoppers Stop is little changed on disappointing earnings. Natco is up 0.8 percent despite reports of a patent war with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Karur Vysya Bank is adding half a percent after logging in a 25 percent rise in first-quarter net profit.

Indian shares rose modestly to hit 1-1/2-week highs on Tuesday, with renewed foreign capital inflows underpinning sentiment. Stocks reversed early losses after the Reserve Bank of India kept key policy rates steady, as expected, but cut the statutory liquidity ratio to 23 percent from 24 percent earlier. The benchmark BSE Sensex ended the session up 93 points or 0.54 percent at 17,236, while the broader Nifty index rose by 29 points or 0.56 percent to 5,229.

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