Indian stock markets ended a little changed in thin trade on Friday as investors took a pause before a week of corporate results.
Daily stock trading volume was weak with bond and currency markets closed for a public holiday.
The next key trigger will be January-March results starting next week, said traders, adding that margins were expected to be muted on sluggish global and domestic demand.
The Sensex closed 12 points lower at 24,674 and Nifty advanced 9 points to settle at 7,555.
2:42 p.m.: Mid-cap stocks outperform. The BSE Mid-cap index was up 0.5 per cent and the small-cap index was up 0.56 per cent.
2:15 p.m.: The stock markets moved lower. The Sensex was down 53 points at 24,632 and Nifty slipped 6 points to 7,540.
1:42 p.m.: Sagar Cements shares jumped 20 per cent to hit 52-week high of Rs 530.2 on Friday. The Hyderabad-based company sold 1.98 metric tonnes of cement in the month of March 2016, a 16 per cent year-on-year jump, Sagar Cements said in a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange.(Read)
1:37 p.m.: NTPC was the top Sensex gainers, the stock advanced 3 per cent to Rs 130.30. Lupin, GAIL, M&M, Bajaj Auto, BHEL, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro and State Bank of India were also among the gainers, up 0.44-2.5 per cent each.
1:16 p.m.: Sagar Cements shares jumped 20 per cent to hit 52-week high of Rs 530.2 on Friday after it reported strong cement production and sales for the month of March. In last one month its shares have rallied 45 per cent compared to nearly half a per cent fall in the broader Sensex.
12:56 p.m.: Metal stocks were witnessing buying interest is a dull trading session. The BSE Metal index was up 0.6 per cent; Jindal Steel, Vedanta, Hindalco, NALCO, SAIL and JSW Steel were among gainers.
12:37 p.m.: European markets open higher. Germany's DAX jumps 0.47 per cent, Britain's FTSE100 advances 0.56 per cent and France's CAC40 rises 0.55 per cent.
12:26 p.m.: The market breadth remains positive as 1,289 stocks advance while 895 decline.
12:05 p.m.: Selling in TCS, Infosys, Hero MotoCOrp, HUL, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki were weighing upon the Sensex.
11:51 a.m.: Auto stocks were witnessing buying interest. The BSE Auto index 0.3 per cent; Hero MotoCorp, Amara Raja Batteries, Maruti Suzuki, Motherson Sumi, Tata Motors and Apollo Tyres were among the losers, down 0.3-2.65 per cent each.
11:35 a.m.: The stock markets were trading on a flat note. The Sensex was up 9 points at 24,695 and Nifty was up 11 points at 7,557.
11:30 a.m.: NTPC was the top gainer in the Nifty, up 2.2 per cent to Rs 129.35. Lupin, Hindalco, ACC, Tech Mahindra, Ambuja Cements, UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors DVR and Dr Reddy's Labs were also among the gainers.
11:06 a.m.: Capital goods stocks were witnessing buying. The BSE Capital Goods index advanced 0.86 per cent; Sadbhav Engineering, VA Teach Wabag, Mahindra CIE, Havells India, Sterlite Technologies, BEL and ABB were among the gainers.
11:00 a.m.: Credit Suisse has maintained underperform on BHEL for target price of Rs 100 per share. It expects moderate ordering activity and potentially higher employee costs are a risk. Credit Suisse sees returns on equity (ROE) of 4-8 per cent in long term and says that Q4 result is a relief from Q2/Q3 trends.(Click here for more brokerage calls)
10:47 a.m.: Buying was visible in small-cap shares. The BSE Mall-cap index jumped 0.4 per cent; Om Metals was the top gainer from this space, up 9 per cent to Rs 49. Sanghi Industries, Binani Industries, Heidelberg Cement, A2Z Infra, Mangalam Cement and MIRC Electronics were also among the gainers, up 6-8 per cent each.
10:25 a.m.: Markets gain some momentum with emergence of buying in banking stocks. Sensex up 18 points while Nifty climbs above 7,550. However selling in IT stocks keeping the gains capped.
10:24 a.m. Bank Nifty trading 0.52 per cent higher, giving some support to markets.
10:19 a.m.: IPCA Laboratories shares crashed 14 per cent to their 52-week low on Friday after the drugmaker disclosed that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, would no longer buy the company's anti-malarial treatments.
Pharma analysts expect IPCA Labs to take a Rs 80 to Rs 100 crore hit on account of Global Fund's decision. IPCA Labs earnings per share for 2016-17 financial year could fall by 8-9 per cent, analysts added.(Read)
10:05 a.m.: Banking stocks recover from intraday low levels. The Bank Nifty which slipped into the red was up 0.4 per cent or 64 points at 15,594; Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and Punjab National Bank were among the gainers.
10:02 a.m.: IT stocks were facing the heat of selling pressure. The BSE IT index was the top sectoral loser, down 0.8 per cent; Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Mindtree, KPIT Cummins and Hexaware were among the losers from this space.
9:56 a.m.: Nifty 7,600 strike price call option is the most active options contract on the National Stock Exchange. The premium on the contract fell 8 per cent to Rs 82.60. As many as 1.65 lakh shares were added to the open interest of 3.33 million shares.
9:49 a.m.: The market breadth was positive as 755 stocks were advancing while 623 were declining.
9:37 a.m.: Reliance Communications was the top loser from the mid-cap space, the stock fell 1.5 per cent to Rs 49.45. JP Associates, Bank of India, Mphasis, Divis Labs, Amara Raja Batteries and Container Corp were also among the losers.
9:32 a.m.: Banking, metal, oil & gas, realty, auto, IT and consumer durable stocks witness selling pressure.
9:25 a.m.: The BSE Sensex fell over 50 points and Nifty continued moved below its crucial psychological level of 7,550 in opening deals today on the back of selling pressure in IT and oil & gas stocks amid weak global cues.
The Sensex fell as much as 60 points to hit low of 24,625 and Nifty declined 16 points to hit low of 7,530.
Hero MotoCorp was the top Nifty loser, the stock fell 1.2 per cent to Rs 2,933. Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Ambuja Cements, Bharti Infratel, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, TCS, Wipro, Reliance Industries and Bajaj Auto were also among the laggards.
On the other hand, Tata Power, BHEL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Motors, Lupin, Tech Mahindra and Cipla were among the gainers.
The broader markets were trading on a muted note. The BSE mid-cap index was up 0.2 per cent and the small-cap index jumped 0.06 per cent.
8:10 a.m.: The Sensex and Nifty are set to open on a subdued note in trades today tracking flat trading of Nifty futures on the Singapore Stock Exchange amid weak global cues.
The Nifty futures traded on Singapore Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty traded 0.07 per cent or 5 points higher at 7,571.
Meanwhile, other Asian markets were trading on a weak note after bank shares slumped globally, while the yen soared to a 17-month high against the dollar as investors unwound bets against the yen, calculating that any effort by Japan to drive down the yen would be vigorously opposed by other major economies.
China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.48 per cent, Japan's Nikkei fell 0.44 per cent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.77 per cent.
Overnight, U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday as oil prices slid and worries about the global economy resurfaced, dragging down the dollar against the Japanese yen and causing investors to flee riskier assets.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 174.09 points, or 0.98 per cent, to 17,541.96, the S&P 500 lost 24.75 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 2,041.91 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 72.35 points, or 1.47 per cent, to 4,848.37.
In a major macro-economic development, the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday that the U.S. economy is on a solid course with some hints of inflation so the Federal Reserve is on track for further interest rate hikes.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued to sell Indian shares for third day in a row. On Thursday, the FIIs sold shares worth Rs 294.72 crore and domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 16.06 crore.
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