Volatile market end marginally higher; ITC in focus

Indian equities remained highly volatile throughout the day and closed today's trading session in the green zone. The Sensex inched 39 pts higher and the Nifty rose 17 pts in trade today Major Headlines: ITC Q4 net profit up 19%; beats estimate Sun TV Network Q4 net profit up 12% Motherson Sumi FY13 net profit up 48% Events for Monday (May 20, 2013): Results: Coal India, Divi's Laboratories, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise, IFCI, Adani Enterprises, Shriram City Union Finance Indian Indices: The Indian markets traded mixed with benchmark indices moving in a narrow range today. The equities remained highly volatile throughout the day and closed today's trading session in the green zone.Markets ended flat on the last trading day of the week. The S&P BSESensex traded comfortably above 20,250, while NSE Nifty shut shop over 6,180. The Sensex closed 39 points higher while the Nifty rose 17 points in today’s trade. Movement of the Indian indices for the day The Indian markets started the last trading session of the week in the green zone. It was a completely dull session for the Indian equity benchmarks due to lack of local and global cues. The key indices kept oscillating on both sides of the equator. Sectors like Power, CG, Realty, Banking, PSU, IT and Auto led some support to the market, while the CD, HC, Metal, Oil & Gas, FMCG and Teck added pressure. The major S&P BSE Sensex gainers were ICICI Bank, L&T, Infosys, TCS, NTPC, BHEL and ONGC. Markets staged smart recovery in late afternoon session after a range-bound day of trades this Friday on back of buying witnessed in rate-sensitive sectors such as banks, real-estate among others. The Indian equity benchmarks continued to struggle for direction throughout the day. The Sensex and the Nifty virtually remain unchanged from the previous close. Adding further, ratings agency Standard & Poor's affirmed India's sovereign rating at 'BBB-minus' with a 'negative' outlook, reiterating there was a one-in-three chances of a ratings downgrade over the next 12 months. The S&P BSE Sensex wrapped trade at 20,286.12, up by 38.79 points while the NSE Nifty rose 17.40 points to settle at 6187.30. Following are the stocks/sectors which were in news today: 1. Shares in JM Financial rose 13.38% after the company said on Thursday former Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit is buying a stake in the Indian financial services company. 2. Sun TV Network reports 12% rise in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2013 at Rs177.50. Shares of Sun TV Network closed 3.17% lower in trade today. 3. Motherson Sumi Systems FY2013 net profit rises by 48.06% for the year ended March 31, 2013. The stock fell by 4.11% in today’s trade. 4. ITC posted 19.42% rise in net profit at Rs1,927.98 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2013. Shares of ITC closed 0.62% lower in trade today. Market sentiment The market breadth stood in favor of declines. Of the 2499 stockstraded on the BSE, 1112 (44.50%) rose, 1245 (49.82%) fell and 142 (5.68%) stocks remained unchanged. Sectoral & stock screening Among the 13 sectoral indices, seven sectors closed in the green zone while remaining six sectors closed in the red zone. Top Gainers- BSE Power up by 3.08%, BSE CG rose by 2.95%, BSE Realty surged by 2.02%. Top Losers: BSE CD slipped by 0.72%, BSE HC fell by 0.39% and BSE Metal declined by 0.33%. Among 'A' group stocks, top three gainers were- ABB rose by 21.01%, Crompton Greaves up by 9.13% and Siemens surged by 8.99%. Top three losers were- Motherson Sumi Systems declined by 4.11%, Colgate-Palmolive (India) down by 3.56% and Sun TV Network fell by 3.17%. Global signals: Japanese shares slipped and Asian equities were broadly steady on Friday (May 17, 2013) after a US Federal Reserve official said the central bank may begin to taper its asset buying this summer, lending support to the dollar. European shares briefly turned flat around mid-session trade on Friday, with traders saying that earlier losses attracted a wave of buyers keen to take advantage of cheaper levels, and with autos boosted by car sales data. US stock index futures poised for a higher opening at the Wall Street on Friday.