Europe spells gloom, equites end weaker; Maruti climbs

3.30 p.m: Indian markets end the day nearly one percent lower, with BSE Sensex closing at 16,751, down 182 points, while NSE Nifty settled at 5,032, down 52 points.

Among the stocks in the news were GTL, which has been reported to be given a breather by its lender, which approved its corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process. GTL closed the day at Rs 68, up 7.2 percent.

Maruti Suzuki shot up as there was a growing buzz that Volkswagen is open to making a hostile bid for Suzuki. The stock closed 2.6 percent higher at Rs 1,138.

ABB’s management went on record saying its margin is under pressure as customers hold back their spending decision. The stock was trading 1.8 percent lower at Rs 815. This news did not help capital goods stocks, which were hammered throughout the day. The index closed lower 2.2 percent and was the biggest loser for the day.

Power and banking stocks too contributed to the market fall, with both the indices tripping by over 1.2 percent.

Meanwhile, Europe continues to fall with banking stocks taking a big hit. European stocks were trading nearly 3 percent lower, thanks to a 6 percent drop in banking stocks.

Rupee dropped by over one percent on account of the ongoing Euro crisis while gold was trading higher as investors moved to safer assets.

2 p.m: Weak European markets continue to add pressure on their Indian peers. The western markets have continued their slide with some of the trading almost 3 percent below Friday’s close. Markets in Greece have fallen the most, by nearly 3.5 percent, led by a sharp fall in most of their banks.

Indian markets are trading lower by over a percent, with BSE Sensex tanking 183 points at 16,750 and NSE Nifty down 52 points at 5,033.

Capital goods stocks have been worst hit, led by BHEL, with their index falling 1.63 percent, followed by the banking index, which is down 1.23 percent.

Cement stocks have seen some momentum, especially ACC, after the companies announced an increase in cement prices.

Meanwhile, Citi has upgraded SAIL to ‘Buy’ as the company has fallen substantially to make it a value buy. Citi has, however, cut the profit estimates of SAIL by 16 percent. SAIL trades 1 percent lower at Rs 108.

GTL has shot up after it let out that its corporate debt restructuring (CDR) is making progress. The stock trades higher by 11.72 percent at Rs 71.

1 p.m: As expected, European markets have opened weak, led by a fall in banking stocks. The markets are down by over 2 percent while some of the frontline banking stocks like Llyods, Societe Generale and Barclays were all trading 6 percent lower than their Friday closing levels.

Indian markets, however, have recovered from their lows, with BSE Sensex trading at 16,793, still lower by 140 points. NSE Nifty is trading 41 points lower at 5,041.

In company news, Sun Pharma has lost its bid against Sanofi of France for its generic version of Eloxatin, a colon cancer-treating drug. Sun Pharma’s shares are trading 1.85 percent lower at Rs 477, sharply below their high of Rs 497 that it hit in the opening hour.

Indian banks continue to move lower, with the banking index falling by over 1 percent. Public sector company BHEL touched a new year-low after the government announced the company’s divestment will be done ahead of ONGC.

12 p.m: Indian markets touch a new intra-day low as European stock futures point to a weak opening. Futures market indicate that European spot markets are likely to open over 2 percent lower. Euro zone worries have led to a fall in the rupee, which drifted lower by 1 percent.

BSE Sensex trades 166 points lower at 16,767 while NSE Nifty is down by 56 points at 5,028.

RBS maintains its ‘Buy’ rating on Wipro after meeting its management.

TCS, meanwhile, announced that it has been selected by Deutsche Bank for a major transformation initiative. The news barely had an impact on the share price, which rose marginally on announcement of the news, but slipped later, in line with the market.

Larsen & Toubro announced that it has received an order worth Rs 1,015 crore, but there is hardly any impact on the stock price, which trades near the low of the day at Rs 1,570, down by over 2.23 percent.

DQ Entertainment (International) said it is likely to announce two multi-million dollar licensing deals in October for broadcasting, merchandising and publishing. The deals are expected to be announced at the Cannes film festival.The stock trades over 1 percent higher at Rs 36.

ICICI Bank and Axis Bank are the main losers among banking stocks on account of their exposure to European markets.

11 a.m: Markets continue to move in a narrow range waiting for cues from European markets.

BSE Sensex trades at 16,808, lower by 125 points while NSE Nifty is down by 31 points at 5,052.

DLF continues to tumble among frontline stocks on the news of fresh fines coming its way.

Jyoti Structure moved higher by over 3 percent on the news of the company receiving an order worth Rs 328 crore from Power Grid Corporation. Sun TV has seen a spurt in volume, which has pushed the stock up by over 3.25 percent to Rs 305.

Meanwhile, sugar prices in international markets have crashed on account of a bumper crop in Brazil. Sugar in global markets has fallen 6.7 percent. This has led to a sharp fall in prices of sugar companies, which have touched a 2-year low. Bajaj Hindusthan and Dhampur Sugar are now at new 2-year lows.

10.00 a.m: Indian markets continued to remain subdued, with BSE Sensex trading 100 points lower at 16,831 while NSE Nifty trades at 5,047, down 36 points.

Volatility is expected to increase as European markets open after European finance ministers’ meeting in Poland failed to break new ground. Euro was trading one percent lower as markets price in the likelihood of a Greece default.

DLF continues to be the biggest loser among the frontline stocks on news of CCI imposing fresh fines on the company.

Financial Technologies continued its upward move, much like Friday. The stock trades higher at Rs 881, up 2.5 percent.

Alfa Laval moved up by 14.77 percent to Rs 2,265 on the company announcing a de-listing plan.

Among the stocks that continue to touch new yearly highs are Eros Media and Max India. SRS, which made its debut on the markets with an IPO price of Rs 58, now moves at Rs 29, half its issue price.

9.30 a.m: As expected, Indian markets opened lower with BSE Sensex trading at 16,792, down 141 points, while NSE Nifty trades at 5,046, down 38 points.

Real Estate company DLF is the biggest loser among the top traded companies, plunging 2.6 percent to Rs 203.60.

All banking stocks are in the red, with Axis Bank falling the most, down 1.71 percent at Rs 1,114. SBI is 1.64 percent lower at Rs 1,913.

GVK Power trades 5 percent higher on announcement of its acquisition of the Australian company**, Hancock Coal & Infra**.

Delta Corp has seen an increase in volume after it announced late on Friday its sale of a property in Kenya to the United Nations.

Maruti moved higher by 0.87 percent as the company announced commencement of its operations at Manesar.

9.00 a.m: Indian markets are expected to open weak, in line with other Asian markets. The weekend meeting of European finance ministers made little progress in solving the region’s debt problems and re-ignited concerns of a debt default. US Futures trade lower by 1.4 percent while Hang Seng is down 2.4 percent and Shanghai 1.4 percent.

Among the stocks that are likely to see some action due to the news flow is Lloyds Steel that is to be acquired by Shree Global Tradefin, and GVK Power , which is acquiring Hancock Coal & Infra in Australia.

SBI and other public sector banks can see some movement on account of the finance secretary’s statement that the government is committed to funds infusion in public sector banks and will maintain its 58 percent shareholding and 8 percent tier 1 capital.

Jet Airways will see higher volume as it has raised fuel surcharge by Rs 200.