Sensex Ends Only Nominally Positive, Nifty Negative

The Indian markets ended the day on a very interesting note, with the Sensex closing in the green and Nifty closing in the red. After starting the day on a positive note, the indices gradually gave up all their gains. FMCG, Healthcare and Consumer Durables were the only indices that closed higher. while Auto, Realty and Power were the worst performers closing the day lower more than 1%.

The other Asian markets also closed higher, with the Hang Seng, Nikkei and Shanghai ending business on a positive note. The markets gained in the range of 0.3%-1.8%. They reacted positively to Bloomberg reports which said that the Chinese government will boost railway infrastructure investment and forecast that economic growth will pick up in the second half of the year.

The European markets are currently trading in a mixed bag, with CAC and DAX in the green and FTSE trading lower by 0.42%. The rise in European stocks comes amid investor speculation that the US Fed might go ahead with additional stimulus packages to boost growth.

Dow Jones Futures is currently trading up 46 points or 0.36% at 12694, indicating a positive sentiment in the US markets.

Back home, Wipro was the leading index gainer, closed higher by 1.91% at Rs 362.35. Other stocks like Dr Reddy's Labs, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco and Sun Pharma closed higher by over 1% each. HDFC Bank, Hero MotoCorp, SBI, HUL, etc. closed their trades with marginal gains.

On the other hand, Bajaj Auto continued with its weak performance, closing the day 2.43% lower at Rs 1447.15. Other stocks like TCS, M&M, BHEL and Tata Motors closed down by more than 1%. Steel stocks like Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel and Jindal Steel also ended in losses in the range of 0.5%-0.8%. Others like Infosys, RIL, GAIL India and Cipla closed in marginal losses.

Bajaj Fin closed flat up 0.26% at Rs 682.85 after the company announced its Jun 2012 quarter numbers. It has posted a net profit from ordinary activities after tax of Rs 100.20 million for the elapsed quarter as compared to Rs 122.10 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011. The total income has increased from Rs 275.50 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2011 to Rs 275.70 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

Eros International plunged 3.14% to Rs 172.60 after the the company announced a worldwide weekend box office gross of Rs 65 crore for the movie Cocktail.

For tomorrow, investors should watch out for stocks like CRISIL, Bajaj Auto, Honeywell Auto, Sagar Cements, and Shalimar Paints, as these companies are scheduled to announce their Jun 2012 quarter numbers. One could see some volatility in the above mentioned share price in tomorrow’s trade.

The market breadth, which indicates the overall health of the market, was negative. Out of the 3254 stocks traded on the BSE, 1993 declined, 1143 advanced, and 118 remained unchanged.

We expect the markets to continue to remain volatile for tomorrow. Further, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation numbers would be out tomorrow, which could take the markets in either direction.