Markets end lower on Bihar verdict; Nifty holds 7,900

Pharma shares were the top losers along with private banking majors while auto shares were the top gainers.

Markets rebounded from their day's lows but failed to end in positive terrain as the Bihar Assembly polls verdict raised concerns that the process of further reforms could take a back Earlier, markets had slumped in early trades after the ruling NDA lost to the Grand Alliance in the Bihar Assembly polls.

The 30-share Sensex ended down 144 points at 26,121 after hitting an intra-day low of 25,657 and the 50-share Nifty ended down 39 points at 7,915 after touching an intra-day low of 7,772.

"The impact of the Bihar Assembly polls verdict is seen only for the short term. However, the long-term picture for India as an economy is positive," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, Managing Director, Ambit Investment Advisors.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ended up 0.4-0.8% each.

Market breadth ended positive with 1,483 gainers and 1,133 losers on the BSE.

The Indian rupee was trading lower by 61 paise at 66.36 against the US dollar amid robust demand for the US currency from importers and banks while the weakness in domestic equities also dampened sentiment.

SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Realty index was the top loser down 2.2% followed by Healthcare, Bankex, Capital Goods and Power indices.

Sun Pharma was the top Sensex loser down nearly 6% after the company reported a 46% year on year (YoY) dip in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,107 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2015 (Q2) due to lower sales growth, volatile currency movements and supply constraints.

The drug maker had posted a net profit of Rs 2,050 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories ended down 3.4%, extending its Friday’s 15% fall on the BSE, after the company has received a warning letter issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), relating to its three plants Srikakulam, and Miryalaguda, Telegana along with the oncology formulation business at Duvvada. Among other pharma shares, Cipla slipped 1.6%.

Among the private banking majors HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank ended down 1.7% each. IT majors also witnessed profit booking after recent gains.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro were down 0.4-2% each. Capital goods majors also ended lower with L&T and BHEL down 1.4-3.9% each.

Larsen & Toubro has entered into an in-principle agreement with Adani Kattupalli Ports for strategic sale of Kattupalli Port in Tamil Nadu. Acquisition cost was not disclosed.

Tata Motors gained 3.9% in an otherwise weak market after Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover launched a new 4.5 billion pounds cost-cutting plan to offset rising emissions cost and the slowdown in China.

Among other shares, Tata Power ended up 1% after the company today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 247.31 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, on increase in revenue.

Eveready Industries ended up 3.7% on the BSE after the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought more than one percentage point stake in the company through open market.

Essar Oil gained over 10% on reports that the capital market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) gave more time to the promoter to finalise the delisting offer.