Mid-market commentary July 19

With not much strength on the upside since last couple of sessions, Indian markets opened on a flat note and stayed in consolidation. Hindustan Unilever that continued to tumble post the quarterly results has dragged the FMCG sector and thereby the benchmark indices.

Apart from Nifty and Sensex even the broader markets are trading on an absolute flat note. Market breadth thereby remains flat with 1150 advances and 1162 declines.

Apart from FMCG which is down nearly by 1 per cent, IT remains marginally down by 0.2 per cent. IT sector saw weakness with fall in Mindtree by 6.7 per cent. The company told media that next quarter results may remain muted ahead of hike in salary expenses to employees. On the contrary Pharma remains positive with 0.6 per cent upside pulled by Lupin and Sun Pharma gaining 1 per cent each.

Nifty top gainers: ICICI Bank has grabbed the top position in Nifty50 with 2 per cent upside. IDEA has recovered from previous day’s sharp fall and has gained 1.7 per cent. Telecom operators have been under pressure and have announced  considerable price cuts ahead of Reliance Jio’s launch. TATAMTRDVR, BPCL and ONGC follow with 1.2 per cent gains each.

Nifty top losers: Apart from HUL, other losers are M&M and banks like IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank and HDFC Bank falling in the range of 1 to 1.5 per cent.

Ashoka Buildcon:  The company’s subsidiary Ashoka Concessions Limited has submitted a bid for National Highway Authority of India’s four laning of Kharar to Ludhiana project. The bid project cost is quoted at Rs 1600 crores.

Jaiprakash Power Ventures: JSW Energy has acquired Bina thermal power generation plant from JP Associates’ power arm Jaiprakash Power Ventures. Both Jaiprakash Associates and Jaiprakash Power Ventures traded higher with 5 per cent gains.

Dabur: Accroding to media reports the company has acquired South Africa based cosmetics company Discaria Trading Pty., through its wholly owned subsidiary Dabur International. The stock tumbled 2 per cent plus in morning trade.

Wirpo: Like all other IT companies, Wipro too may post disappointing results which will be released on July 19. The stock is range bound for now but may turn volatile in coming sessions.

Idea Cellular: Idea Cellular stands as one of the highest gainers after a sharp fall in the previous session. The company has slashed rates of its 3G and 4G internet services for customers using large data packs ahead of threat from launch of Reliance’s Jio.