Mkts southbound; Nifty back above 2800, power charges up

The benchmark indices have shown some recovery from the lows of the day but are still witnessing selling pressure. Power stocks have turned into green, after CERC has raised Return on Equity for power units to 15.5% versus 14%; 15.5% RoE will be applicable from 2009-2014.

CERC also said return on equity for projects completed on schedule stood at 16%. NTPC, Power Grid, Tata Power, Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Power gained 1.5-12%. BSE Power Index rose 1.5%.

Metal, banking, auto, telecom, realty, oil & gas, capital goods and technology stocks are still under pressure. Midcap and small cap indices also recovered from lows of the day.

The Sensex went down 209 points to 9,119 and the Nifty lost 44 points to 2,802, at 2:58 hours IST. BSE Midcap and Small cap indices slipped marginally.

Market breadth is in favour declines; about 1107 shares have advanced while 1437 shares declined. Nearly 400 shares are unchanged.

BSE Metal, Bankex, Auto, TECK, Realty, Oil & Gas and Capital Goods indices lost 2-3%.

Markets @ 2:03 pm ; Mkts reel under pressure; Bharti, RIL, banking drag

The markets are trading sharply lower, as selling continues in banking, metal, realty, auto, telecom, oil & gas exploration, capital goods and power stocks followed by midcap and small cap stocks. There is a bit of recovery in the benchmark indices due to ONGC, though it lost 1%.

The Sensex is hovering around 9100 level, went down 232 points to 9,096 and the Nifty lost 66 points to 2,780, at 2:03 hours IST. BSE Midcap and Small Cap indices felll 0.4-0.9%.

Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HDFC, ICICI Bank, SBI, BHEl, SAIL, NTPC, Reliance Communication, ONGC, HDFC Bank, DLF and L&T are dragging the markets lower.

Market breadth is weak; about 1011 shares have advanced while 1503 shares declined. Nearly 428 shares are unchanged.

Polaris Software Lab surged 26%, after its good set of numbers in Q3. The company's Q3 net profit was up at Rs 37.2 crore versus Rs 34.4 crore and revenues were up at Rs 372.5 crore versus Rs 351.1 crore, QoQ.

Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) plunged over 7%, as the company posted net loss of Rs 285.4 crore in Q3 versus net profit of Rs 346.6 crore. Its inventory loss was of Rs 1062 crore and its Q3 GRM was negative at USD 2.77 per barrel.

On the global front, Asian markets ended on a weak note. Hang Seng and Taiwan plunged 2.8%. Nikkei and Kospi fell over 2%. Straits Times and Jakarta lost 1.6-1.8%. However, Shanghai gained 0.37%.

European markets are flat. FTSE went up 17 points to 4,126. CAC and DAX gained 10 points each at 2,999 and 4,326, respectively.

Markets @ 12:52 pm : Mkts sell-off; metal, banking, telecom, CG, RIL, ONGC dip

The benchmark indices are reeling under selling pressure following negative cues from Asian markets. Metal, banking, realty, auto, telecom, oil & gas exploration, capital goods, and power are leading this fall. Midcap and smallcap stocks are also showing a similar trend.

The Sensex tumbled 266 points to 9,063 and the Nifty fell 78 points to 2,768, at 12:52 hours IST. BSE Midcap Index slipped 1% and Small Cap index lost 0.6%.

Market breadth is in favour of declines; about 1015 shares have advanced while 1477 shares declined. Nearly 450 shares are unchanged.

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys, ITC, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, NTPC and HDFC are draggers. However, oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC gained 1-2.5%.

Tata Steel Thailand unit reported loss of USD 65 million. The stock went down 5.4%.

Among the midcap stocks, MindTree, Educomp Solutions, Tanla Solutions, Usha Martin, Pantaloon Retail fell 5.6-7.7% while United Breweries, TV 18, Fortis Health, Bilcare and Bajaj Finserv gained 4-4.7%.

In the small cap space, Surana Ind, Empire Ind, AP Paper Mills, Everonn Systems and Piramal Glass plunged 6.5-10% while Suashish Diamon, Jolly Boards, Kiri Dyes Chem, Sanwaria Agro and Sahara One surged 7-10.7%.

Asian markets have recovered a bit from their lows; Hang Seng, Kospi, Taiwan, Nikkei and Straits Times markets fell 1.8-2.8%. However, Shanghai rose 0.3%.

Markets @ 11:41 am : Mkts plunge; HDFC, Bharti, R-Comm, Sterlite top losers

Continuous sell-off in banking, metal, realty, oil & gas, telecom, auto, power and capital goods, is putting pressure on the benchmark indices. Hang Seng, Nikkei, Taiwan, Kospi, Straits Times and Jakarta markets fell 2-3.3%. Shanghai lost just 0.4%.

Globally, Amitabh Chakraborty of Religare Securities feels the rally that started in December, where money was flowing into equities is gradually fizzling out. He feels markets are awaiting the results of the actions, such as bailout, stimulus packages, etc., taken globally