Markets pare gains to end flat; auto, IT gain, aviation stocks fall

The 30-share Sensex ended up 27 points at 25,868 after hitting a high of 26,059 and 50-share Nifty ended up 14 points at 7,857.

Indian equities erased early gains to end flat amid profit taking in late trades even as gas distributors gained the most while consumer discretionary shares led by autos gained on hopes that the pay hike proposed in the seventh pay commission may boost demand.

The 30-share Sensex ended up 27 points at 25,868 after hitting a high of 26,059 and 50-share Nifty ended up 14 points at 7,857.

"The hike in the seventh pay commission is definitely positive. However, the incremental impact is unlikely to be as significant as that of the sixth pay commission. Give that the sixth pay commision increments were delayed and included arrears as well.

The overall financial implications as percentage of GDP is also lower that of the sixth pay commission," said Tirthankar Patnaik, Chief Strategist, Mizuho Bank. Gas stocks flared up on talk that that RasGas has agreed to modify long-term contract with Petronet LNG. GAIL (India) was the top performer in both the Sensex and Nifty rising 10% to end at Rs 350.

"We upgrade our rating to BUY and revise our target to Rs380 (Rs320 earlier). The positive outcome on renegotiation of long term RasGas contract with a reset in RLNG pricing mechanism would result in near reduction in gas prices by USD5-6/MMBTU.

This would immensely benefit GAIL’s petchem business and hence the positive stance and it also abates concerns on take-pay liability from RasGas contract," Centrum Broking said in note.

Among other gas distributors, Petronet LNG surged 6.8%, Gujarat Gas jumped 6% and Indraprastha Gas ended nearly 4% higher.

Among consumer discretionary stocks, auto majors Maruti and M&M ended nearly 2% higher, while in the consumer durables segment Voltas and Whirpool were the top gainers. IT exporters gained on hopes of new orders on the back of US economy picking up pace. Infosys, TCS and Wipro ended up 2% higher.

Cochin Shipyard Ltd (CSL), which recently got the government's nod for an initial public offer (IPO), is planning to raise around Rs 600-700 crore through the stake sale.

The government has approved 10% stake sale in Cochin Shipyard -- along with Coal India -- as part of restarting its disinvestment programme that had been put on hold in a weak market.

Among others, Shares of select non-A group stocks such as RPG Life Sciences, SpiceJet, OnMobile Global, Sasken Communication, Intellect Design Arena, Kinetic Engineering, Bombay Rayon Fashions, Manugraph India, Radico Khaitan and Simplex Castings have touched their respective 52-week highs and rallied by up to 20% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today.

Shares of Punj Lloyd ended with marginal gains after the company said that it has received two rural electrification contracts worth Rs 483 crore from NTPC. Shares of RPP Infra Projects ended up 2% on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said it has recceived orders worth Rs 25.6 crore from the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).