Sensex, Nifty end almost flat; falling rupee a concern

Benchmark indices have ended the session on a flat note amid volatility as pharma shares gained amid the slide in the rupee while the rally in the banking shares on the hopes of a rate-cut by the central bank on the back of easing consumer price inflation and growth in industrial production also aided the sentiment.

However, the upside was capped as the monsoon session of the Parliament came to an end without the passage of any key legislation coupled with the depreciation of rupee.

The 30 share Sensex ended at 27,550 levels, up by 37 points while the 50-share Nifty ended at 8,356 levels, up by 6 points.

The broader markets, however, showed a divergent trend with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ending at 0.2% and 0.8% respectively.

The health of the market was strongly negative with 1,837 declines against 1,011 advances.

Rupee

The slide in the rupee post the devaluation of yuan continued even in today’s trades.

The Indian rupee breached 65/dollar for the first time today since September 2013. The currency was quoting at 65.08, depreciating by 31 paise.

Economic update

The consumer inflation for the month of July eased out to 3.78%.

The sharp decline in the CPI from 5.4% for the month of June has raised hopes of a rate-cut by the central bank.

The industrial output accelerated to 3.8% in June from 2.7% in the previous month.

The monsoon session of the Parliament was a complete washout and the key legislations including the passage of the goods and services tax (GST) bill, which will now have to see the winter session for it to be passed.

Stocks in focus

Sectorally, BSE Healthcare and Bankex indices were among the gainers with leads of 0.7% each while BSE Metal index was the biggest loser with losses of 2.7%.

Banking shares saw a renewed buying interest on the hopes of a rate-cut by the central bank post the easing of macro-economic data.

Axis Bank, SBI, HDFC Bank gained between 1-1.5% each. Pharma space also rallied on the hopes of gains in the export revenues on the back of weakening rupee.

Lupin, Cipla, Sun Pharma all surged between 1.4-2.7% each on the Sensex. Metal stocks continue to lose their sheen post the devaluation of yuan.

Hindalco, Tata Steel, Vedanta slipped between 5-10% each. Coal India's consolidated net profit fell 6.66% to Rs 3764.35 crore on 4.93% fall in total income to Rs 20965.20 crore for FY16 Q1 year-on-year.

However, the stock ended with 1.5% gains. ONGC posted its Q1 results for FY16.

The net profit increased by 14% to Rs. 5,460 crore. The revenues for the state run oil explorer was at Rs.22,825 crore, which was a rise of 4.5% year-on-year.

The stock ended flat with 0.2% gains. Nestle India shined today after the Bombay High Court set aside the ban on Maggi noodles set by food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

 The stock ended with 3% gains. Among other shares, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries , Bharti Airtel and ITC dropped between 0.1-3.4% each on the Sensex.