NEW DELHI: The S&P BSE Sensex pared gains and was trading in a range after reclaiming its crucial psychological level of 25,000 in morning trade on Monday, led by gains in L&T, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Lupin, and Bharti Airtel.
The Nifty50 reclaimed its crucial psychological level of 7,600 briefly before paring some gains weighed down by losses in oil & gas, metal, auto, and consumer durable stocks.
Shares of L&T climbed over 3 per cent in trade after Q3 results. Meanwhile, shares of Aurobindo pharma cracked up to 5 per cent. Lupin was trading higher by 2 per cent.
The broader market outperformed the benchmark indices with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices trading higher by 0.35 and 0.25 per cent, respectively. The market breadth remained strong with seven of every ten BSE stocks trading in the green.
Rupee opened higher by 3 paise and was trading at 67.75 against the US dollar. The domestic currency had closed at 67.78 on Friday.
European sh ares traded mixed. The German DAX was down 0.28 per cent while the French CAC40 traded lower by 0.23 per cent. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was up 0.15 per cent. Britain's FTSE100 index was flat in trade.
Most other Asian markets were mixed in trade. Japan's Nikkei ended higher by 1.98 per cent while the South Korean Kospi was up 0.67 per cent at close. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 0.45 per cent while mainland China's CSI 300 index slipped 1.53 per cent at close.
Markets @ 2:00
Sensex 24,870, down 1 point, Nifty 7,565, up 2 points
Top Gainers:
ADANI PORTS & SEZ (3.57%), CIPLA (2.75%), ASIAN PAINTS (2.17%), BHARTI AIRTEL (1.69%), L&T (1.54%)
Top Losers:
ICICI BANK (3.98%), SBI(3.31%), MARUTI SUZUKI (3.01%), AXIS BANK (2.66%), HIND. UNILEVER (1.78%)
WHAT TOP EXPERTS ARE SAYING:
See aviation sector picking up post April: S andip Sabharwal
Avoid commodity companies in 2016 on back of high volatility in prices: Edelweiss Securities
Any optimism may be short-lived till China's 13th 5-year plan: Mizuho Bank
Here is a list of top twenty stocks that are in focus today:
L&T Ltd: Larsen & Toubro reported a 19 per cent increase in consolidated net profit for the third quarter, thanks to improved execution of projects in its overseas business, even as it trimmed order inflow guidance as expected.
EIH Ltd: Hotel major EIH, which owns and operates hotels and resorts under the Oberoi and Trident brands, will close its luxury property Oberoi, New Delhi for renovation, starting April 1st. The company also reported a standalone net profit of Rs 47.36 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015, up by 8.5% compared to same period last year.
Wockhardt Ltd: Th e US Food and Drug Administration's inspection at Indian drug maker Wockhardt's plant at Shendra earlier this month found a series of violations, including lack of controls to ensure that only authorised personnel could make changes to records and a bag of unaccounted shredded documents in a laboratory.
Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company Ltd: The company at its board meeting today approved raising of up to Rs 6,700 crore in different slots by issuing non-convertible debentures.
Dewan Housing Finance Ltd: DHFL, which owns 74 per cent in DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance (DPLI), is in advanced talks for selling 23 per cent stake to its US-based partner Prudential Financial.
Engineers India Ltd: The government's 10 per cent stake sale in Engineer's India on Friday got subscribed by 2.54 times and fetched about Rs 637 crore with both retail and institutional investors bid aggressively.
Godfrey Phill ips India Ltd: Tobacco major Godfrey Phillips India said its board has approved the move to seek the service of a merchant banker for any potential restructuring of its various businesses.
Jyoti Structures Ltd: Kalpataru Power Transmission (KPTL) and the Amin Group are interested in buying into Mumbai-based Jyoti Structures after lenders decided to convert R307.6 crore worth of loans into equity last December, said a media report.
Grasim Industries Ltd: The company reported a net profit of Rs 650 crore for the December quarter, up 95 per cent from Rs 334 crore in the year-ago period, helped by better operational performance.
Marico Ltd: The company posted 24% increase in net profit to Rs198 crore during the third quarter ended December even as sales grew 7% at Rs 1556 crore.
Thermax Ltd: Energy and environment company Thermax posted operating revenues of Rs 1039 crore in Q3FY16, a dr op of 8% as compared to Rs 1125 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Profit after tax was down 11% at Rs 68 crore as compared to Rs 76 crore in the third quarter last year.
PVR Ltd: Multiplex operator PVR Ltd reported 5.29 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 29.88 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015, due to a sharp increase in tax expenses.
Unichem Laboratories Ltd: Drug firm Unichem Laboratories has received approval from the US health regulator to market alfuzosin hydrochloride extended-release tablets, used in treating prostatic hyperlasia, in the American market.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd: Hyderabad-based Dr. Reddy's Laboratories On Friday announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its new drug application (NDA) of ZEMBRACE injection, a drug-device combination intended for the treatment of an acute migraine.
Den Netw orks Ltd: Cable television services firm Den Networks reported narrowing of net loss to Rs 48.37 crore for third quarter ended on December 31, 2015.
Jagran Prakashan Ltd: The publisher of leading Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, reported 40.05 percent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 93.29 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015, driven mainly by growth in advertisement revenue.
Pidilite Industries Ltd: Adhesives and industrial chemicals manufacturer Pidilite Industries reported 49.34 per cent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 185.72 crore for the third quarter ended December 31.
JSW Steel Ltd: JSW Steel reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 923 crore for the December quarter, hit by impairment charges of Rs 2,121 crore. The Sajjan Jindal-led company had clocked a net profit of Rs 329 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.
V-Guard Industries Ltd: T he company reported an over two-fold jump in its standalone net profit at Rs 21.48 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015.
Tata Teleservices Ltd: TTSL is in discussions with 4G operators to add high-speed 4G services in its bouquet of enterprise offerings, according to a top executive of the company.
Blue Star Ltd: Air-conditioner maker Blue Star, which recently forayed into air coolers, is targeting sales of about Rs 150 crore in the next three years from the segment.
Kellton Tech Solutions Ltd: IT services company Kellton Tech Solutions has reported an over two-fold rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 10.12 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2015.
MARKETS THROUGH THE DAY:
Markets @ 1:00
Sensex 24,883, up 12 points, Nifty 7,574, up 10 points
Top Gainers:
ADANI PORTS & SEZ (3.15%), CIPLA (3.03%), ASIAN PAINTS (2.03%), L&T (1.98%), BHARTI AIRTEL (1.45%)
Top Losers:
ICICI BANK (3.91%), SBI(3.17%), MARUTI SUZUKI(3.02%), AXIS BANK (2.24%), HIND. UNILEVER (1.38)
Markets @ 11:00
Sensex 24,959, up 88 points, Nifty 7,590, up 26 points
Top Gainers:
L&T (4.95%), CIPLA (2.94%), ADANI PORTS & SEZ (2.49%), WIPRO (1.99%), ASIAN PAINTS (1.95%)
Top Losers:
ICICI BANK (2.63%), MARUTI SUZUKI (1.76%), SBI (1.64%), HERO MOTOCORP (1.28%), COAL INDIA (1.22%)
Markets @ 10:00
Sensex 24,902, up 32 points, Nifty 7,577, up 14 points
Top Gainers:
L&T (3.63%), CIPLA (2.44%), ADANI PORTS & SEZ (2.30%), LUPIN LTD (2.21%), WIPRO (2.03%)
Top Losers:
ICICI BANK (3.41%), COAL INDIA (1.98%), HERO MOTOCORP (1.90%), GAIL (1.59%), ONGC (1.35%)
Markets @ 9:20
The 30-share index was trading at 24,850, down 20 points or 0.08 per cent. It touched a high of 25002.32 and a low of 24,849.37 in morning trade.
The Nifty50 was at 7,560 down 2.6 points or 0.03 per cent. It touched a high of 7,592.35 and a low of 7,557.95 in the first 30 minutes of trade.
The S&P BSE Midcap Index was up 0.20 per cent and BSE S&P Smallcap Index was trading 0.43 per cent higher.
L&T (up 3 per cent), Lupin (up 1.5 per cent), Cipla (up 1.3 per cent), Bharti Airtel (up 1.4 per cent), and Sun Pharma (up 1.1 per cent), were the major Sensex gainers.
ICICI Bank (down 2 per cent), GAIL India (down 1.8 per cent), ONGC (down 1.6 per cent), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.5 per cent), and SBI (down 1 per cent), were the major Sensex gainers.
