Sensex provisionally off 0.27%; breadth turns negative

Key benchmark indices slipped into the red to hit fresh intraday lows in late trade as index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) weakened. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was provisionally down 47.36 points or 0.27%, off about 170 points from the day's high and up close to 5 points from the day's low. The market breadth turned negative from positive in late trade. FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) scaled record high after strong Q4 results. Bharti Airtel gained after the company said its consolidated EBITDA margin was sustained at a robust level of 33.3% in Q4 March 2012, benefitting from scale and cost efficiencies. Capital goods stocks declined. Tata Motors declined on poor sales in April 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose after strong sales in April 2012. Maruti Suzuki India fell on reporting flat growth of sales in April 2012. Hero MotoCorp reversed intraday gains on profit booking after reporting good Q4 results. Bajaj Auto fell after company reported muted sales growth in April 2012. IT stocks were mostly higher on positive economic data in US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. The market edged higher in early trade to hit its highest level in more than one-week. The market trimmed gains in morning trade. The market regained strength in mid-morning trade. The market trimmed gains to hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The market regained positive zone after slipping onto the red to hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The market slipped into the red to hit fresh intraday low in late trade. As per provisional figures, the BSE Sensex was down 47.36 points or 0.27% to 17,271.45. The index fell 53.33 points at the day's low of 17,265.48 in late trade. The index jumped 113.52 points at the day's high of 17,432.33 in early trade, its highest level since 23 April 2012. The S&P CNX Nifty was down 17.60 points or 0.34% to 5,230.55, as per provisional figures. The Nifty hit a high of 5,279.60 in intraday trade, its highest level since 23 April 2012. The index hit a low of 5,226.45 in intraday trade. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive in late trade. On BSE, 1,472 shares declined and 1,316 shares rose. A total of 144 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 fell while the rest rose. Tata Power Company, Coal India and NTPC shed by between 1.75% to 2.82%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.23% to Rs 743.45, off the day's high of Rs 750.90. RIL on 20 April 2012 reported 21.2% fall in net profit to Rs 4236 crore on 16.7% growth in turnover to Rs 87833 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The company reported GRM (gross refining margin), the difference between the price of petroleum products and crude oil, of $7.6 per barrel in Q4 March 2012 compared with GRM of $6.8 per barrel in Q3 December 2011 and $9.2 per barrel in Q4 March 2011. FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 2.02% to Rs 424.75 after the company said on Tuesday, 1 May 2012, its net profit rose 20.63% to Rs 686.61 crore on 16.05% rise in total income to Rs 5835.86 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The stock hit record high of Rs 433.90 today. Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL commented: "Our performance through the year has been consistent, with broad based growth ahead of the market, driven by a relentless focus on innovation and in-market execution. In a year of competitive intensity and high volatility, a sharp focus on cost management helped the business to continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities while delivering an improvement in margins". Bharti Airtel rose 2.42%. The company said during market hours today that its consolidated net profit fell 28.19% to Rs 1006 crore on 15% growth in total revenue to Rs 18729 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Revenue growth in Q4 was fuelled by increased customer additions and strong minutes growth in India. Despite a national strike for 9 days in Nigeria, Africa revenues continued its growth trend. Consolidated EBITDA margin was sustained at a robust level of 33.3%, benefitting from scale and cost efficiencies, Bharti Airtel said. The company said the bottom line was adversely impacted by higher costs on account of 3G license fee amortisation (Rs 106 crore), 3G interest costs (Rs 84 crore), forex fluctuation losses (Rs 132 crore) and tax provisions (Rs 198 crore). In a statement, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said: "I am pleased that the year has ended with the company's customer base crossing 250 million across twenty countries, the twentieth country being Rwanda. Our launch of 4G LTE, the first in India, is testimony to our commitment to the broadband agenda. The recent regulatory developments in India will have significant implications on the future of telephony and broadband, as well as India's global competitiveness. The entire industry looks to the Government for a fair, transparent and sustainable telecom regime". IT stocks were mostly higher on positive economic data in US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. India's second largest software services exporter by revenue, Infosys gained 0.04%. The stock had witnessed selling pressure recently on reports the company is under scrutiny from US authorities for likely errors in employer eligibility documents of its staff. Infosys has issued a weaker-than-expected revenue growth outlook for the current fiscal year. India's largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 1.3%, with the stock extending Monday's 3.49% gains. The company said during trading hours on Monday that Letshego Holdings (LHL), a leading consumer lending company based in Botswana, has selected the TCS BaNCS suite as the core banking system for its greenfield venture into retail banking in Africa. The integrated core banking solution will process loans and deposits across seven countries in Africa -- Botswana, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique. The TCS stock had surged recently after the management issued a positive future outlook at the time of announcement of Q4 results on 23 April 2012. TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said that the company is well prepared to achieve balanced growth across the industries and markets it operates in, given its holistic portfolio of services which are now achieving significant scale across markets. TCS reported 3.3% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 2895 crore on 0.4% growth in revenue at Rs 13259 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q3 December 2011. Net profit rose 15% to Rs 10413 crore on 31% growth in revenue at Rs 48894 crore in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012) over the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). HCL Technologies rose 0.98% after the company said during market hours today that BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, has signed an engineering and R&D services (ERS) engagement with HCL Technologies. (HCL). BD also officially inaugurated its first R&D facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu today, 2 May 2012. This facility is a significant milestone for BD in its efforts to expand its R&D into Asia, and demonstrates its strong relationship with HCL, which began in 2007, HCL said. The new facility is part of BD's efforts to accelerate R&D innovation to develop new products and markets, achieve time-to-market advantage for its products and enhance operational efficiencies. This facility will be directly managed by BD Singapore. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro fell 0.36%, with the stock reversing initial gains. The company announced after market hours on Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire Promax Applications Group (PAG), a leading player in trade promotion planning, management, and optimization solutions space for a total purchase consideration of AUD 35 million. "Analytics is a key growth driver of Wipro's growth strategy. The acquisition of Promax Applications Group will strengthen Wipro's positioning and capability in management, analytics & optimization of trade promotions, and further extends our leadership in analytics and information management services. Combining PAG's deep industry expertise with Wipro's proven experience in delivering end-to-end large business solutions to global clients, will enable our clients to maximize the ROI of Trade Promotion spends", said K.R Sanjiv, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Analytics and Information Management, Wipro. The Wipro stock has been under selling pressure recently after the company's management projected flat IT services revenue in Q1 June 2012 at the time of announcement of Q4 March 2012 results on 25 April 2012. The company has projected a between 1.04% fall to 0.91% growth in revenue from IT services business at $1.52 billion to $1.55 billion in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. Wipro's consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 8% to Rs 1481 crore on 19% growth in total revenue to Rs 9869 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Meanwhile, the rupee edged lower at 52.95 against the dollar from Monday's close of 52.73/74 as oil importers' demand offsets positive stocks. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services last week said that it had revised the rating outlooks on Infosys, TCS and Wipro to negative from stable. At the same time, it affirmed 'BBB+' long-term corporate credit ratings on these entities. The outlook revisions follow a similar action on the sovereign credit rating on India. India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 3.2% on reporting flat growth in sales in April 2012. The company announced on Tuesday its total sales rose 3.4% to 1,00,415 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Domestic sales rose 3.6% to Rs 90,255 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Exports rose 1.5% to 10,160 units in April 2012 over April 2011 The stock had declined 1.95% on Monday after company said on Saturday, 28 April 2012, its net profit fell 3.03% to Rs 639.84 crore on 18.79% rise in total income to Rs 12023.86 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. While adverse currency movements made a significant impact during Q4, the company was able to largely offset it through localization and internal cost control, Maruti said. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.82% after the company announced a 27% rise in its auto sales to 40,719 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Speaking on the performance, Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said, "We are happy to have achieved a growth of 27% during the first month of the new financial year. We are particularly encouraged by the success of all our brands, especially Bolero, which figures in the top 10 selling passenger vehicles in India. Going forward, we will continue to work towards maintaining this growth momentum". Mahindra & Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES), a part of the U.S. $14.4 billion Mahindra Group, maintained its leadership position in the tractor industry in April 2012. Domestic sales fell 9.53% to 16,049 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Total tractor sales (domestic + exports) in April 2012 stood at 16,797 units, as against 18,530 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month of April 2012 stood at 748 units. India's largest commercial vehicle makers by sales Tata Motors declined 3.71% after the company said its total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles fell by 7% to 60,086 units in April 2012 over April 2011. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for April 2012 were at 57,305 units, lower by 5% over 60,125 units sold in April last year. Bajaj Auto fell 1.79% after company reported flat sales in April 2012. The company said during market hours today that its total sales rose 4% to 3.81 lakh units in April 2012 over April 2011. The company's exports rose 7% to a record 1.69 lakh units in April 2012 over April 2011. India's largest motorcycle maker by sales Hero MotoCorp fell 0.89% to Rs 2215, off a record high of Rs 2,278.50 hit earlier in the day. The company said at the fag end of the trading session today that its net profit rose 20.33% to Rs 603.59 crore on 12.22% growth in total income to Rs 6139.90 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The company said it has raised prices of most of its products by Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per unit with immediate effect, in order to partially offset rising input costs. TVS Motor Company rose 1.22% after company reported 4% growth in total sales to 1,74,455 units in April 2012 over April 2011. India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bhel fell 0.47%, with the stock extending Monday's 1.94% losses triggered by reports Rajasthan state government has scrapped tenders worth Rs 12000 crore that were bagged by the company without specifying any particular reason. The stock had hit 52-week low of Rs 222 on Monday, 30 April 2012. Among other capital goods stocks, BEML, L&T, ABB, Siemens and Thermax shed by between 0.92% to 1.64%. Shares of cable service providers rose after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued an order to allow Multi-System Operators (MSOs) to charge a carriage fee from broadcasters. Hathway Cable and Datacom, Den Networks and Wire and Wireless India (WWIL) rose by between 2.12% to 19.23%. According to TRAI's new norm, MSOs will have to offer a minimum of 100 free to air channels for Rs 100 as part of the basic service tier. Though the revenue share is based on mutual negotiations but in case of disagreements MSOs will get 65% of the revenues while the balance will be shared by local cable operator. The pace of growth in India's factory sector inched up in April, supported by bulging order books, but slower output growth and increasing price pressures dampened sentiment, a business survey showed on Wednesday. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, rose to 54.9 in April from 54.7 in March. The index has remained above the 50-mark that divides growth from contraction for more than three years. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 479.53 crore on Monday, 30 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. India's exports in March fell for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis as demand weakened in the United States and Europe, further clouding the outlook for the country's balance of payments. Exports fell 5.7% to $28.7 billion in March 2012 over March 2011. Imports rose 24.3% to $42.6 billion in March. Investors are closely watching India Inc's Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) earnings. Focus is on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook. Bank of Baroda unveils Q4 results on Friday, 4 May 2012. Grasim Industries announces FY 2012 results on Saturday, 5 May 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012. Hindalco and Asian Paints unveil Q4 results on 8 May 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank announces FY 2012 results on 8 May 2012. Punjab National Bank and Ranbaxy Laboratories unveil quarterly results on 9 May 2012. NTPC announces FY 2012 results on 10 May 2012. Cipla announces Q4 results on the same day. Dr Reddy's Laboratories announces FY 2012 results on 11 May 2012. Bajaj Auto announces FY 2012 results on 17 May 2012. BPCL unveils FY 2012 results on 25 May 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) unveils FY 2012 results on 30 May 2012. Most European shares rose on Wednesday after a surprisingly strong reading for the US manufacturing sector. Key benchmark indices in France and Germany were up 0.27% and 0.81% respectively. UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.48%. Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday as gains on Wall Street and an improved reading of China manufacturing activity in an official survey underpinned sentiment. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea rose by between 0.56% to 2.31%. Data out on Tuesday showed the Chinese manufacturing sector steadily improving in April, rising for a fifth straight month. Separately, HSBC also released its own manufacturing survey results for April, which also showed an improvement, although the index still remained in contraction territory. Also helping Chinese stocks was news that the China Securities and Exchange Commission and the mainland stock markets would lower costs for stock transactions, while requirements for initial public offerings would be tightened, and unqualified firms would be forced to delist. Japanese financial markets will be closed for public holidays on Thursday and Friday. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 13 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 2 May 2012. US factory activity grew in April at the strongest rate in 10 months, with the Institute for Supply Management's index rising to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, beating forecasts. ISM's gauge of employment also rose to its highest level since last June, coming ahead of the government's nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday, which is forecast to show the economy added 170,000 jobs in April.