Markets maintain winning streak led by RIL; Sensex at 2-month high

Gains were led by index heavyweights RIL, Infosys along with Bharti Airtel.  

Benchmark share indices continued their winning streak for the third straight session on Monday led by Reliance Industries after it posted better-than-expected second quarter earnings.    

The 30-share Sensex ended up 150 points at 27,365 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 37 points at 8,275.   

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.7-0.8%. Market breadth ended strong with 1,565 gainers and 1,157 losers on the BSE.   

"The markets were buoyant largely driven by index heavyweights on a relative basis," said Vaibhav Sanghavi, Managing Director, Ambit Investment Advisors.   

The Indian rupee was trading flat at 64.81 against the dollar today on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters amid sustained foreign fund inflows.   

EARNINGS CORNER   

HCL Technologies, India's fourth-largest software services exporter by revenue, today reported a 3.2% dip in its Q1 net profit at Rs 1,726 crore on a sequential basis.   

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 1,783 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2015. On an annual basis, the net profit was down 7.9%. Analysts on an average had expected a net profit of Rs 1,723 crore. The stock ended up 1.9%.   

Among other companies which will be announcing their quarterly results today are Ultratech Cement, SKS Microfinance and Petronet LNG   

GLOBAL MARKETS   

Asian markets pared early gains to end lower on Monday after China, the world's second largest economy, posted its weakest quarterly economic growth, raising fears of a global growth slowdown.

Japan's Nikkei ended down 0.9% while Shanghai Composite eased 0.1%. However, Hang Seng ended flat with positive bias while Straits Times ended down 0.2%.  

SECTORS & STOCKS 

BSE Healthcare, IT, FMCG, Oil & Gas were the top gainers while Capital Goods, Auto, Bankex and Metal indices were the top losers.  

Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer up 5.6% after the company reported better-than-expected net profit growth at 12% in the second-quarter aided hby higher gross refining margins.

The company’s gross refining margin (GRMs) for the September quarter stood at $10.6 a barrel, against $8.3 a barrel in the year-ago period.  

Infosys ended up 1.7% after the company announced a definitive agreement to acquire Noah Consulting, LLC, for $70 million (approx. Rs 450 crore) in all-cash deal.  

Telecom major Bharti Airtel ended up 4% while pharma major Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma gained over 1.5% each.  

Vedanta was up 0.4% after the group signed an early agreement to invest around Rs8,400 crore to expand and develop its mineral and mining base in Rajasthan.  

Hindustan Unilever ended up 1.1% after the FMCG major turns ex-dividend today for dividend of Rs 6.50 per share for the year ending 31 March 2016 (FY 2016). ITC ended up 0.5%.  

Tata Motors ended down 2% on account of profit booking after gains of nearly 30% during the month so far.  

Among other shares, aviation companies, such as Jet Airways (India) and SpiceJet, have ended up to 10% higher on the BSE after no-frills carrier IndiGo's parent InterGlobe Aviation fixed the price band for its proposed initial public offer (IPO). The company has fixed the price band for its initial share sale at Rs 700-765, through which it could raise up to Rs 3,268 crore.  

Sunil Hitech Engineers ended up nearly 6% after the company said it has been awarded contracts worth Rs 474 crore in the State of Bihar from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Govt of India, on EPC basis.  

Tata Sponge ended down nearly 4% after the company's net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 2015 decreased 75% to Rs 5.7 crore on the back of lower sales compared with Rs 22.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.