Dullness continues; Nifty shy of 5400

Today's major news

Chambal Fertilisers & Chemicals’ Q1 net profit up 16% yoy; the stock ends 1.52% up

BASF India’s Q1 net profit at Rs48.9 crore; the stock closes 0.42% higher

Technofab Engineering’s surges on debut; the stock ends 23.19% higher



Global signals

European stocks turned positive on Friday (July 16, 2010)as British Petroleum gains. FTSE 100 traded 1.05% higher at 5256.

All the major Asian indices closed in the negative territory except Straits Times and Jakarta Composite. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.86% owing to appreciation of yen against dollar.

The US stock index futures point out a flat opening at the Wall Street on Friday. The investors will keep an eye on the data of June Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Real Earnings. The investors’ focus will be on the key company results of Bank of America, Citigroup, General Electric and Mattel.

Indian indices

The Indian markets witnessed listless session for the second straight day. The better then expected Q1 results of India's biggest software exporter, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), lifted the information technology stocks, which led to some momentum in the markets. The supportive European indices also added some support, which helped the domestic bourses to close the day with modest gains.

Tracking muted global cues, the Sensex opened merely two points higher at 17911. The Sensex soon tuned negative and touched the day’s low of 17892 in the early trades. The index continued to trade in a narrow range throughout the morning session. In the afternoon session, the index gradually started to move northward as the European markets opened strong and the rise in the information technology stocks. The Sensex touched the day’s high of 17980 towards fag end.

At closing, the Sensex shut at 17956, 46 points higher, while the Nifty closed 15 points higher at 5394.

Market Outlook: The global events to watch out are quarterly results of Citigroup and Bank of America, as well as economic bellwether General Electric. On the economy front, we have University of Michigan Confidence Index and June CPI data for US.

Market sentiment

The market breadth was constructive as advancing stocks outdid the declining ones. Of the 3,040 shares traded on the BSE, 1,604 shares advanced whereas 1,310 shares declined. Hundred and twenty-six shares remained unchanged

Sectoral & stock screening

Information technology (IT) stocks did well for the day, with BSE IT up by 1.85%. BSE TECk was the second gainer, advanced by 1.56%. On the other hand, BSE Oil & Gas was the top loser, down by 0.37%. BSE Metal, BSE Power and BSE Auto fell marginally.

In ‘A’ group stocks, the top-3 gainers were - Tulip Telecom up by 6.52%, TCS that surged by 6.16% on strong Q1 numbers and Godrej Industries that rose by 5.20%

The top-3 losers - Ackruti City declined by 2.20%, Mahindra & Mahindra fell by 2.06% and IDBI Bank shed 1.73%. .

Viewing volumes

Industrial finance company - IFCI was the most actively traded with over 1.18 crore shares changing hands on the BSE, followed by India's second largest realty developer - Unitech (0.26 crore shares), wind turbine major - Suzlon Energy (0.26 crore shares), Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) firm - Reliance Natural Resources (0.18 crore shares) and iron ore mining firm - Sesa Goa (0.16 crore shares).