Markets end flat ahead of key economic data

Markets ended flat with a positive bias, amid a range bound trade on Monday, as investors remained cautious ahead of key economic data due for release tomorrow.

The 30- share Sensex ended up 29 points at 20,363after hitting a high of 20,443 and the 50-share Nifty ended up nine points at 6,063 after touching an intra-day high of 6,082.

On Wednesday, February 12, the government will release inflation based on the consumer price index for January and the industrial production for December.

Further, the interim railway budget will be presented by Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge.

In the broader markets, the midcap index gained 0.3% and the smalclap index added 0.1%, almost in line with the BSE benchmark index.

Rupee

The rupee was trading marginally strong due to dollar flows from custodian banks.

At 1655 hrs, the rupee was trading at Rs 62.24 compared with previous close of Rs 62.44 per dollar.

But currency dealers say public sector banks may buy dollars for oil marketing companies (OMCs) later in the day, which will keep rupee under pressure.

Sectors & stocks

On the sectoral front, Power index down over 1% was the top index loser.  Also, Realty, Oil & Gas, Capital Goods, Health Care and FMCG indices closed in the negative territory, down 0.1-0.8%.

Among the ones in the green were IT, Teck, Auto, Consumer Durables, Metal and Bankex indices which added 0.3-0.8%.

Shares of information technology (IT) companies gained after software industry lobby the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said that IT exports to grow by 13-5% in the fiscal year 2014-15. TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were up 0.6-4%.

Tata Motors up nearly 3% was the top gainer among Sensex-30 after reporting a better than expected almost three-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 4,805 crore for the quarter ended December 2013, on back of strong demand, growth in volumes and favourable product mix and geographic mix at Jaguar Land Rover.

Tata Steel, ONGC, Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite and Baja Auto up 0.4-2% were the notable gainers.

From the financial space, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and SBI up 0.2-1% were the prominent gainers.

NTPC, Hindalco, Hero MotoCorp and Reliance Industries down 2% each were the top losers.

Reliance Industries dipped after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that Reliance Industries is charging double for gas from the KG-D6 gas block. Kejriwal alleged that Reliance Industries’ rates for gas price are not based on cost of production and that the company has created an artificial shortage of fuel in the country, added report.

Maruti Suzuki, Dr Reddys Lab, Gail India, Bharti Airtel, BHEL and Sun Pharma down 0.5-1% were the notable losers.

The market breadth was negative on the BSE. 1,369 stocks declined while 1,266 stocks advanced.

Smart moves

Hinduja Global Solutions moved higher by 6% to Rs 611 after reporting more than two-fold jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 54 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013.

Infinite Computer Solutions (India) tanked 17% to Rs 124.45 after reporting 7% quarter-on-quarter (qoq) decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 24 crore for the third quarter, due to fall in operational income.

Deepak Nitrite surged 9% to Rs 357, extending its 6.5% rally in past two trading sessions on BSE, after reporting a strong operational performance for Q3FY14.

Shares of Bharat Forge were up 5% at Rs 367.55 as the company after market hours on Monday announced plans to merge two of its subsidiaries.

Dhanlaxmi Bank dipped 6% to Rs 32.30 after reporting a net loss of Rs 119 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2013, due to higher provisioning for bad loans. The private lender had profit of Rs 4 crore in a year ago quarter.

AstraZeneca Pharma India surged 16% to Rs 854 after reporting a net profit of Rs 1.52 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 (Q3FY14).

Global markets

Asian shares firmed and gold prices hit a three-month high on Tuesday as investors wagered the new head of the U.S. Federal Reserve would navigate her first testimony to Congress without rocking the boat for markets.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen appears before the House Financial Services Committee at 1500 GMT and will likely face questions on the state of the labor market and the future pace of tapering.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.1%, with Hong Kong leading the way by climbing 1.8%.

European markets started on a strong footing with all the major indices, CAC, DAX and FTSE gaining nearly 1% each.