Markets end higher amid rangebound trade

Markets ended higher on Thursday, amid a range bound trading session, because of short covering in Infosys and buying interest in HDFC Bank after the private bank posted robust June quarter earnings.

Capital Goods shares also supported the upmove.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 128 points at 20,128 mark and the 50-share Nifty ended up 65 points at 6,038 levels. The Sensex and Nifty touched an intra-day high of 20,176 mark and 6,051 levels, respectively.  

GLOBAL MARKETS

Japan's Nikkei share average rose 1.3% to a new eight-week high on Thursday as the dollar traded above 100 yen after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the timing of when the US central bank would begin winding down its stimulus was flexible.   

The benchmark Nikkei gained 193.46 points to 14,808.50, the highest closing level since May 22. The broader Topix added 0.7% to 1,222.01.  

European shares traded mixed. France’s CAC gained 0.2% to 3,879, Germany’s DAX dropped 0.07% to 8,248 while UK’s FTSE rose 0.37% to 6,593.

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INDIAN RUPEE

The rupee led the declines among emerging Asian currencies on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke confirmed market views that the US central bank expects to start tapering monetary stimulus this year.

The rupee fell as investors looked to a planned open market operation sale of 120 billion rupees from the central bank later in the day, in what is a key plank in its efforts to drain liquidity from the financial system to support the currency.

Moody's Investors Service says rupee depreciation will exacerbate inflationary and fiscal pressures, with both factors potentially constraining the country's sovereign rating.

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SECTORS & STOCKS

BSE Realty index surged by nearly 3% followed by counters like Banks, Consumer Durables, PSU, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas, all gaining between 1-2%. Infact, all the major BSE sectoral indices ended in positive zone.

The main gainers on the Sensex were ONGC, HDFC Bank, BHEL, Tata Power, Hindalco, Hero Moto, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Infosys, all surging between 2-4%.

HUL gained by nearly 1%. The company extended its previous day’s 10% surge, on reports that the FTSE and MSCI indices raised their investable weightage on the stock following the completion of the cash open offer by Unilever in the company and updation of foreign ownership information.

Shares of Lupin were up over 2% after hitting an all-time high of Rs 905 in intra-day trades today following a deal in which it will undertaking marketing of MSD's pneumonia prevention vaccine under a different brand name in India.   

On the losing side, TCS ended down by nearly 1% ahead of its results later today. As per consensus brokerage expectations, TCS’ revenues are pegged at Rs 17,575 crore translating into 6.97 per cent sequential growth. Its net profit is seen at Rs 3722 crore, up 3.48 per cent over the March 2013 quarter.

This is in contrast to the net profit de-growth posted by Infosys. The company is likely to post volume growth of 4 per cent with 1 per cent dip in realisations. Thanks to the wage hikes and visa related costs, TCS’ EBITDA margins are likely to be under pressure.

Other notable losers are M&M, Sterlite, NTPC and Bajaj Auto declined between 1-2%.

The market breadth in BSE ended marginally positive with 1,206 shares advancing and 1,110 shares declining.

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SMART MOVERS

Axis Bank surged by nearly 4%. The net profit of the bank rose from Rs 25.5 crore to Rs 43.3 crore.

Shares of Info Edge (India) surged over 10% after the company announced robust earnings for the June quarter.

Igarashi Motors, a subsidiary of Agile Electric, surged over 6% after Blackstone India announced taking over the parent firm along with its unit for Rs 660 crore.

Ajanta Pharma moved higher by 8%, its new high, after the company said it will consider a issue of free shares to its existing shareholders.

Asian Paints moved higher by over 4%, also its lifetime high on BSE, ahead of sub-division of its equity shares in the ratio of 1:10.

Neuland Laboratories was locked in upper circuit for the third straight day, up 10% at Rs 232 on BSE, with no sellers on the counter.

Heritage Foods (India) rallied over 5% after its board approved the issue of bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1, i.e. one share for every equity share held.