Sensex rallies 127 pts, closes in on 28K; Nifty50 tops 8,560

NEW DELHI: The S&P BSE Sensex gained over 120 points in afternoon trade tracking strong cues from European markets. ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki, GAIL, Power Grid Corporation, and State Bank of India led the gains in the 30-share pack.

The NSE's Nifty50 was trading above its crucial level of 8,550 led by gains in PSU Banks, auto, private banks, and FMCG stocks. In fact, barring pharma, all its sectors were trading in the green.

At 12:18 pm:
Top gainers: MARUTI SUZUKI (1.73%), GAIL (1.68%), TATA MOTORS (1.45%), ASIAN PAINTS (1.21%), SBI (1.19%)

Top losers: ONGC (1.98%), M&M (1.39%), SUN PHARMA (0.93%), DR. REDDYS LAB (0.74%), CIPLA (0.71%)

At 09:20 am: The 30-share index was trading at 27,805, down 10 points or 0.03 per cent. It touched a high of 27,866.11 and a low of 27,763.15 in morning trade.

The Nifty50 was trading at 8,512 down 5 points or 0.04 per cent. It touched a high of 8,517.75 and a low of 8,500.70 in the first 30 minutes of trade.

Pre-market: Domestic equity indices are likely to open on a cautious note in the wake of flat closing in the US markets in overnight trade. All eyes would be on TCS’ June quarter earnings. Data on wholesale price inflation will also influence sentiment on Dalal Street.

TCS may report 4.3% growth in Q1 dollar revenue: The largest IT outsourcing firm by sales, TCS, is expected to report 4.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) drop in net profit at Rs 6,065 crore in June quarter, compared with Rs 6,342 crore reported for the year-ago period.

According to estimates of analysts polled by ET Now, the IT major is likely to deliver 3.04 per cent QoQ growth in revenues at Rs 29,350 crore for the quarter. Dollar revenue is seen to be rising 4.1 per cent to $4,381 million during the quarter under review.

Cues from Singapore weak: At 07:45 am, Nifty50 futures were trading 3 points down at 8.514 on the Singapore Stock Exchange, indicating a flat opening for the domestic market. “What you have seen is a liquidity-driven rally. But ultimately, if you are investing in the market, you are buying stocks, and that is why you start looking at fundamentals. If the fundamentals do not catch up, surely we are setting up stage for a correction,” said Nitin Raheja, Co-Founder, AQF Advisors.

Technical charts exhibit positive trend: Some experts said the Nifty50 is likely to touch the 8,700 level in the short term.

“Technically, the market still remains in an uptrend with bullish patterns on both the daily and weekly candles. We remain upbeat at the current juncture and would maintain a long outlook with short term targets above 8,700,” said Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder & Director, Zerodha.

Select companies to report Q1 earnings: Other than TCS, a handful of companies such as Muthoot Finance, Can Fin Homes and IT firm Cyient will report their quarterly earnings during the session. A total of 48 BSE-listed companies are scheduled to announce their June quarter results during the week.
Infosys and Reliance Industries will disclose their numbers on Friday. LIC Housing Finance, Masket and NIIT Technologies would also report earnings during the week.

MFs on a selling spree: Data showed the FPIs were net buyers of stocks to the tune of Rs 291 crore on Wednesday. Domestic institutions, on the other hand, sold equities to the tune of Rs 655 crore.

Asian markets stay mixed: Most Asian markets were trading mixed this morning. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei was trading 0.35 per cent higher at 16,288, while China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.28 per cent to 3,052. Other Asian indices, including South Korea’s Kospi (down 0.22 per cent) and Taiwan’s TWSE (up 0.01 per cent), were trading weaker.

US stocks at record high levels: The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.9 points, or 0.13 per cent, to settle at 18,371.57. The S&P 500 advanced 0.27 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 2,152.41. The Nasdaq Composite gained 17.09 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 5,005.73.

Crude oil bounces back from a 4% fall: Crude prices bounced back slightly after tumbling more than 4 per cent on Wednesday, erasing most of the previous session's gain, as a run of bearish US inventory data heightened concerns about a global glut. Brent crude was up 37 cents at $46.63 a barrel. On Wednesday, it fell $2.21, or 4.6 per cent, to $46.26 a barrel.