Markets wind up gloomy session in green; L&T major supporter

The Indian markets emerged from a gloomy session of the opening bell and shut shop with smart gains. The Sensex rose 111 points higher while the Nifty gained 33 points in today's trade. Major Headlines of the day: L&T Q2 net profit jumps 42% TCS up over 2% on strong Q2 earnings Coromandel Intl Q2 consolidated net profit down by 16% HDFC Q2FY13 results in line, strong traction in retail loans Bank of Baroda Q2 net profit up by 12% Indian Indices: The markets began first trading session of the week on a negative note owing to weak global cues. The Sensex opened below the 18,700 mark and the Nifty below 5700 on the back of weak global cues and selling pressure. Equities were trading in red till the mid-morning session. After the initial fall, the Indian markets showed a smart recovery in the mid-morning trade due to buying in majority of the sectors and support from Index heavyweight. Adding further, L&T posted decent earnings for the quarter ended September 2012 and acted as a major contributor for today's pullback. The BSE Sensex and Nifty recouped most of its losses led by strong buying in CG, HC, Bankex, Technology, oil & gas, power and realty. Heavyweight supporters were ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, RIL, L&T, TCS, Bharti Airtel and M&M. The recovery in the Indian equities came despite of a steep fall across the Asian markets and a weak opening of the European markets. Movement of the Indian indices for the day: The Indian markets started off today's trade in the red zone for the second consecutive session due to lack of local and global cues. Black clouds gathered on Dalal Street during the opening bell as the equities witnessed gloomy trading sessions. The key indices hit their intraday low levels at 18,600.88 in the morning session. Markets took a breather as frontline Indian equity benchmarks staged a spirited comeback in the mid-morning trade led by strong buying across the board. The Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a reversal trend due strong earnings from blue chip companies such as Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consultancy Services which lifted the market sentiment. However, movement throughout the day was quite choppy ahead of the F&O expiry, as the benchmark indices traded in narrow range. Indian rupee, which fell 2% in previous two sessions, too gained 29 paise to 53.54 against the US dollar. At the end of the day, key indices closed higher on the BSE with Sensex gaining more than 100 points on the first day of the week. The Indian markets emerged from a gloomy session of the opening bell and shut shop with smart gains. The Sensex ended at 18,793, up by 111.13 points while Nifty closed at 5717.15, up by 32.90 points. Earnings: 1. Larsen & Toubro advanced 2.17% to end at Rs1,668.20 after reporting a growth of 42.5% yoy in its net profit of Rs1,137 crore for the quarter ended September 2012, helped by an exceptional gain. The company managed to beat street expectations on every count. 2. HDFC reported 19% rise in its Q2 net profit at Rs1151 crore versus Rs971 crore reported in the Q2 of previous fiscal. The stock closed 0.21% lower in trade today. Following are the stocks/ sectors which were in news today: 1. Kingfisher Airlines hit 5% lower circuit after the Directorate General of Civial Aviation suspended company’s flying licence on Saturday. 2. Amara Raja Batteries declined over 5%, on concerns that the auto parts and equipment makers may disappoint the market by reporting lower net profit like its peer Exide Industries reported for the quarter ended September 2012. 3. TCS advanced 2.26% to close at Rs1,319.50 after reporting a better-than-expected 49% year-on-year (yoy) growth in net profit at Rs3,434 crore for the second quarter ended September 2012 driven by growth across geographies and businesses. Market sentiment: The market breadth stood in favor of declines. Of the 2976 stocks traded on the BSE, 1405 (47.21%) rose, 1446 (48.59%) fell and 125 (4.20%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening: Among the 13 sectoral indices, eight sectors closed in the green zone while remaining five sectors closed in the red zone. Top Gainers: BSE CG up by 1.30%, BSE HC rose by 1.07%, BSE Bankex rose by 1.00%. Top Losers: BSE FMCG down by 0.51%, BSE CD fell by 0.46%, BSE Auto declined by 0.18%. Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- Emami surged by 6.37%, JP Power rose by 5.64% and Adani Ports up by 3.94%. Top three losers were- Exide Industries fell by 3.94%, Coromandel down by 2.55% and TTK Prestige declined by 2.45%. Global signals: World stock markets were mixed on Monday as traders unnerved by last week's disappointing U.S. corporate earnings results waited for another round today. The glum results from Wall Street giants Microsoft, General Electric and McDonald's took traders by surprise which led investors in Asia and Europe see little reason to go against the flow. Japan's Nikkei average edged up on Monday to mark its sixth straight day of gains as a softer yen and expectations of easing from the Bank of Japan outweighed the latest disappointing U.S. earnings. European stocks pared early losses and turned slightly positive today, as renewed expectations that Spain was moving closer to seeking a bailout eclipsed worries over corporate results. The euro edged higher as an election victory for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in his home region was seen as clearing one obstacle to Madrid seeking international aid. US stock index futures poised for a slightly higher opening at the Wall Street on Monday.