If the Nifty closes below 6,010, the current uptrend will be under threat
 

The market erased most of its gains, but settled marginally in the positive, after engineering major L&T’s quarterly number failed to meet market estimates. If the Nifty closes below 6,010, the current uptrend will be under threat. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) reported a lower volume of 44.78 crore shares and advance-decline ratio of 582:764.

The Indian market opened on a subdued note on concerns about quarterly results from corporates and the movement of the rupee against the dollar. On the other hand, markets in Asia were firm in morning trade as Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s victory in Sunday’s upper house elections improved prospects for more monetary stimulus.

The Nifty opened 19 points lower at 6,010 and the Sensex started the day at 20,097, down 53 points from its previous close. The benchmarks touched their intraday lows in initial trade with the Nifty falling to 6,004 and the Sensex slipping to 20,066.

Meanwhile, the rupee fell by nine paise to 59.44 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on higher demand for the greenback from importers amid a weak opening in local equities.

Gains in auto, banking and realty sectors saw the benchmarks emerge into the positive terrain in the first hour itself. The market continued to gain momentum in morning trade on support from technology, IT and auto sectors.

The indices hit their intraday highs in noon trade with the Nifty touching 6,064 and the Sensex rising to 20,265. The market remained firm in subsequent trade.

However, lower-than-estimated quarterly earnings from engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) dragged the indices near their previous closing levels in late trade.

L&T’s first quarter net profit fell 12.5% year-on-year to Rs756 crore. Net sales increased 5% to Rs12,555 crore in June quarter from Rs11,955 crore y-o-y.

The market closed marginally higher on disappointing results from L&T. The Nifty added three points (0.04%) to 6,032 and the Sensex rose nine points (0.05%) to settle at 20,159.

The broader indices settled mixed with the BSE Mid-cap index rising 0.04% and the BSE Small-cap index falling 0.32%.

BSE Auto (up 1.06%); BSE Bankex (up 0.98%); BSE IT (up 0.73%) and BSE TECk (up 0.71%) were the sectoral gainers today. The top losers were BSE Capital Goods (down 5.57%); BSE Oil & Gas (down 1.65%); BSE Power (down 0.91%); BSE PSU (down 0.62%) and BSE Realty (down 0.53%).

Out of the 30 stocks on the Sensex, 19 stocks settled higher. The main gainers were HDFC (up 3.17%); Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.75%); Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.63%); Bharti Airtel (up 1.65%) and ICICI Bank (up 1.64%). The main losers were L&T (down 7.46%); BHEL (down 7.05%); Tata Steel (down 2.95%); ONGC (down 2.85%) and Reliance Industries (down 1.59%).

The top two A Group gainers on the BSE were—GMR Infrastructure (up 7.52%) and Century Textiles & Industries (up 7.11%).

The top two A Group losers on the BSE were—Wockhardt (down 9.12%) and L&T (down 7.46%).

The top two B Group gainers on the BSE were—Assam Company India (up 20%) and Baba Arts (up 19.27%).

The top two B Group losers on the BSE were—Gufic Biosciences (down 19.86%) and Sreeleathers (down 15.77%).

Of the 50 stocks on the Nifty, 24 ended in the in the green. The major gainers were HDFC (up 3.42%); IndusInd Bank (up 2.84%); Sun Pharma (up 2.72%); M&M (up 2.59%) and Bank of Baroda (up 2.57%). The key losers were L&T (down 7.60%); BHEL (down 6.97%); Ambuja Cement Co (down 4.49%); ONGC (down 3.31%) and Tata Steel (down 3.24%).

The Asian pack closed mostly higher on Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in Sunday’s upper house elections. Meanwhile, the People’s Bank of China on 19^th July scrapped the floor on the rates banks can charge customers while keeping a cap on deposit rates.

The Shanghai Composite gained 0.61%; the Hang Seng rose 0.25%; the Nikkei 225 advanced 0.47%; the Straits Times climbed 0.66%; the Seoul Composite gained 0.48% and the Taiwan Weighted settled 0.54% higher. On the other hand, the Jakarta Composite dropped 0.96% and the KLSE Composite ended flat with a negative bias.

At the time of writing, two of the three key European markets were trading with minor gains and the US stock futures were marginally in the positive.

Back home, foreign institutional investors were net buyers of shares amounting to Rs252.26 crore on Friday while domestic institutional investors were net sellers of stocks totalling Rs229.10 crore.

Mobile VAS company OnMobile Global today said it has closed the deal to acquire US-based Livewire Mobile for $17.8 million, a move aimed to increase its mobile entertainment portfolio in North America. The deal (worth about Rs106 crore) will help OnMobile gain a stronger foothold in the North American market, which is considered a high music consuming market with high average revenue per unit (ARPU). The stock declined 2.07% to Rs28.40 on the NSE.

Country’s largest private firm in the sector, Great Eastern Shipping today said it will add a very large gas carrier to its fleet, taking the number of vessels to 29. The 1994 built vessel is expected to join the company’s fleet in 2015, it said. The stock fell 0.32% to close at Rs214.70 on the NSE.

Indian pharma major’s US-based subsidiary Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc has received final approval from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its Metformin Hydrochloride extended release tablets in strengths of 500 mg and 1000 mg, Lupin said in a statement. Metformin HCl ER tablets are indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The stock fell 0.91% to settle at Rs891 on the NSE.