Sensex flat with negative bias; HUL, ITC, RIL fall

Indian equities are trading flat with negative bias in early trade onThursday. At 10.24 am, the Sensex was trading down 20.25 points or 0.11% at 18,485.13 with 12 components falling. Meanwhile, the Nifty was trading lower by 7.35 points or 0.13% at 5,612.35 with 23 components falling.

The 30-share benchmark index, BSE Sensex opened flat with a decline of 17.48 points or 0.09% at 18,487.90, while the broad based NSE Nifty started with a fall of 9.85 points or 0.18%, at 5,609.85.

Sensex Movers

ITC contributed fall of 21.44 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Hindustan Unilever (17.12 points), Reliance Industries (16.72 points), Infosys (6.47 points) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (5.5 points).

However, Tata Motors contributed rise of 18.18 points in the Sensex. It was followed by Wipro (8.08 points), Larsen & Toubro (4.78 points), Bharti Airtel (4 points) and Maruti Suzuki India (2.95 points).

Biggest gainers in the 30-share index were Wipro (3.34%), Tata Motors (3.14%), Cipla (1.61%), Maruti Suzuki India (1.28%), Hero Motocorp (1.10%), and Bharti Airtel (0.97%).

On the other hand, Hindustan Unilever (2.46%), ITC (1.17%), G A I L (India) (1.06%), Reliance Industries (1.01%), Jindal Steel & Power (0.88%), and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (0.80%) were the biggest losers in the Sensex.

Mid & Small-cap Space

The BSE Mid and small caps outperformed their larger counterparts gaining 0.48% and 0.53% respectively. The major gainers in the BSE Midcap were Alstom India (3.02%), A B G Shipyard (1.01%), Amara Raja Batteries (0.84%), Aban Offshore (0.74%) and Allahabad Bank (0.07%).The major gainers in the BSE Smallcap were Trident (2.16%), Aarti Industries (1.46%), A2Z Maintenance & Engineering Services (1.11%), Styrolution ABS (India) (0.89%) and Aanjaneya Lifecare (0.28%).

Sectors in Limelight

The Consumer Durables index was at 7,191.44, up by 253.74 points or by 3.66%. The major gainers were C.Mahendra Exports (1.96%), Whirlpool Of India (1.73%), Blue Star (1.26%), Bajaj Electricals (0.9%) and Gitanjali Gems (0.02%).

The Auto index was at 10,433.44, up by 126.18 points or by 1.22%. The major gainers were Maruti Suzuki India (1.28%), Exide Industries (1.2%), Hero Motocorp (1.1%), Bajaj Auto (0.88%) and Bosch (0.56%).

The Realty index was at 1,785.58, up by 13.96 points or by 0.79%. The major gainers were Godrej Properties (1.76%), D B Realty (1.58%), Indiabulls Real Estate (1.05%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (0.42%) and D L F (0.07%).

On the other hand, the FMCG index was at 5,632.47, down by 54.83 points or by 0.96%. The major losers were Hindustan Unilever (2.46%), I T C (1.17%), Godrej Consumer Products (0.79%) and Colgate-Palmolive (India) (0.21%).

Market Breadth

Market breadth was positive with 1,191 advances against 706 declines.

Value and Volume Toppers

United Spirits topped the value chart on the BSE with a turnover of Rs. 196.90 million. It was followed by Sobha Developers (Rs. 177.56 million), State Bank Of India (Rs. 163.25 million) and Britannia Industries (Rs. 155.02 million).

The volume chart was led by Kingfisher Airlines with trades of over 6.02 million shares. It was followed by Pudumjee Pulp & Paper Mills (2.48 million), TV18 Broadcast (1.33 million) and Spicejet (0.96 million).