Markets in choppy mood, RIL down 3%

The Sensex opened 72 points down this morning, with weak results from the index heavyweight, RIL. Nifty also opened down by 23 points. Both indices have reversed some of their morning losses so far. Meanwhile, the rupee has gained by 8 paise against the US dollar in early morning trades.

Other Asian markets are currently seen trading with marginally gains.

In the sectoral indices, the interest rate-sensitive Bankex is up by 1.49%. Power is the second major index gainer, up by 1%. On the other hand, Oil & Gas has slumped by over 1.77% due to the weak results posted by Reliance Industries. Capital Goods is also seen taking the pressure ahead of L&T's results that are due today.

Among the Sensex stocks, ICICI Bank, Tata Power, Cipla, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Tata Motors, M&M, NTPC and HDFC have all surged by over 1% each. Infosys, Wipro and TCS are also seen up. Stocks like Coal India, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco Industries and Sterlite Industries lost over 1% each. RIL is down by 3% after its results declaration last week. The company's buyback offer has not cheered up the markets.

L&T is due to announce its quarterly results today. In the last quarter results, the company had said that its margins will get affected in the forthcoming quarters due to the weak macroeconomic environment across the globe. Capital Goods stocks will get some clues from L&T's results. Auto major Maruti Suzuki is also seen down by 1% ahead of its results today.

Following the Dec 2011 quarter results, Jet Airways has tanked by over 2%, and United Spirits has also shed more than 5% so far. On the other hand, UltraTech Cement has surged by over 5% after reporting a 93% rise in its net profits for Q3. Godrej Consumer Products has gained over 6% after the company announced that it will sell a 4.9% stake to Singapore-based investment company, Temasek. Torrent Power has also gained 1.26% after its quarterly results announcement.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, is currently positive. Out of the total 2169 stocks, 1363 advanced, 710 declined and 96 remained unchanged.

We expect the markets to remain volatile, with a positive bias. Ahead today, L&T, Sterlite Industries and Maruti Suzuki will announce their results, which will provide guidance to the markets.