Sensex, Nifty edge lower; MMTC soars 20%; Linde India dives 14%; IT stocks drag

Domestic benchmark indices remained range-bound during Thursday's trading session and settled little changed for the day. The muted earnings from IT major Tata Consultancy Services weighed on the market sentiments and pulled other IT blue-chips lower, despite the positive global cues.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex shed 64.66 points, or 0.10 per cent, to end the session at 66,408.39. NSE's Nifty50 fell 17.35 points, or 0.09 per cent, to end the day at 19,794. Broader markets outperformed the headline peers as BSE midcap and smallcap indices settled about half-a-per cent up each. Fear gauge India VIX eased more than 3 per cent to 10.62-mark.

Markets ended marginally lower in a sluggish trading session as frontline IT stocks led the fall after a lower-than-expected TCS results dampened the sentiment and fuelled a major sell-off. The lacklustre trend with a negative bias was seen despite optimism across the global equities, said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities.

"Technically, after a muted opening benchmark Nifty witnessed a range bound activity near the 20-day SMA and has formed a small candlestick formation. For traders, 19750-19700 would be key support levels while 19850-19900 would act as important resistance areas," he said.

On a sectoral front, the Nifty media index gained more than 3 per cent , while the NIfty oil & gas index also rose over a per cent. The Nifty metal and auto indices also posted decent gains for the day, Among the losers, the Nifty IT index declined about 2 per cent, while the NIfty PSU bank and realty indices also settled in red.

Markets oscillated in a range and ended almost unchanged, taking a breather after the recent bounce. After the flat start, Nifty hovered in a narrow band till the end and finally settled at 19794 levels, said Ajit Mishra, SVP - Technical Research at Religare Broking.

"We reiterate our mildly bullish view on the index and suggest continuing with a buy on dips approach till Nifty holds 19,500. However, traders should maintain extra caution on stock selection as volatility remains high during the earnings season. Besides, mixed global cues could also add to the choppiness," he said.

In the Nifty50 pack, Infosys and Tech Mahindra tumbled 3 per cent each. Apollo Hospital Enterprises, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies and LTIMindTree declined 2 per cent each. UPL, Cipla, Bajaj Finance and Wipro were the other key laggards in the blue-chip pack.

Among the gainers, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Coal India and Maruti Suzuki India gained about 2 per cent each for the day. Power Grid, Grasim and Bajaj Auto added more than a per cent each for the day. JSW Steel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra and HDFC Life Insurance were the other key gainers in the Index.

"The underwhelming result of the IT major and its lacklustre near-term prospects exerted downward pressure on the IT sector. Global trend was positive attributable to the favourable UK GDP figures and anticipation of a moderation in US CPI inflation, which may influence the FED's future actions, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

A total of 3,792 shares were traded on BSE on Thursday, of which 2,169 settled with gains. 1,500 stocks ended the session with cuts while 123 shares remained unchanged. During the day, 349 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 147 shares tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, MMTC shares surged about 20 per cent, while Linde India gained about 14 per cent for the day. Shiva Cement gained more than 13 per cent, while IFCI and Network18 Media Investments rose 12 per cent each. MTNL was up 12 per cent, while Omaxe and GHCL Textiles hit upper circuits of 10 per cent each.

Among the losers, Laxmi Organic Industries tumbled about 6 per cent, while Arihant Capital Markets, Sasken Technologies, Music Broadcast, TD Power Systems, Sastasundar Ventures and Timex Group India declined 4 per cent each for the day.

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