Sensex turns choppy after rallying over 200 points; top 10 stocks in focus

NEW DELHI: After reclaiming its psychological level of 29,000, the S&P BSE Sensex came under intense selling pressure and plunged as much as 344 points in trade on Friday, led by losses in HDFC bank, L&T, Axis Bank, ITC and RIL.

Tracking the momentum, the 50-share Nifty index also came under pressure and slipped below its crucial psychological support level of 8,700; weighed by losses in auto, banks, capital goods and FMCG stocks
Insurance stocks pared gains after rallying up to 7%. Max India had surged as much as 6.7% after Rajya Sabha members yesterday approved the Insurance Bill to allow 49 per cent FDI in the insurance sector.

Markets @ 11:38: Sensex @ 28,625.15; down 305.26 points. Nifty at 8,687.75; down 88.25 points.

Top losers on Sensex: AXIS BANK (-2.4%), BAJAJ AUTO (-2.2%), BHEL (-2.0%), GAIL (-1.8%), SUN PHARMA (-1.7%)
Markets @ 10:30 - Sensex down 114 points at 28,816.36. Nifty at 8,734.55; down 41.4 points

Top gainers on Sensex: HDFC (1.2%), ICICI BANK (0.9%), NTPC (0.2%), ONGC (0.1%), CIPLA (0.1%)

Top losers: AXIS BANK (-2.0%), HINDALCO (-1.7%), SUN PHARMA (-1.5%), BAJAJ AUTO (-1.4%), BHEL (-1.2)
Here is a list of ten stocks which are likely to remain in focus today:

Max India, Bajaj Finserv, Exide Industries, Reliance Capital: In a major relief to the NDA government, the Congress extended its support to pass the long- pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday even as a number of Opposition parties staged a walkout.

DLF Ltd: Blackstone Group is in advanced talks to buy a stake of about 40% in DLF's Cybercity in Gurgaon, a business district with 10.37 million square feet of office space, a deal that would make the US private equity giant the single largest owner of commercial property in the country.

NTPC Ltd: State-owned power generator NTPC will borrow around Rs 15,000 crore in the fiscal year starting April, company's Director (Finance) Kulamani Biswal said on Thursday.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd: The pharma major received approval for generic Salmecort MDI inhaler used for management of asthma and pulmonary disease from Russia's Ministry of Health.

Gujarat State Fertilisers Company Limited: GSFC has secured the approval of central government for increasing production of neem-coated urea to 100 per cent from the current 35 per cent, a top official said on Thursday.

Natco Pharma Ltd: The pharma major has received approval from the national drug regulator for generic sofosbuvir tablets that are used to treat hepatitis C.

HSIL Ltd: The company's board of directors fixed the issue price at 400 a share for the qualified institutional placement. This is much lower than the current market price of 444 and the floor price of 412.53.