Sensex, Nifty consolidate; Midcap outperforms; ITC dips

10:50 am Market Update:
Benchmark indices erased early gains, weighed by ITC and HDFC Group stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 43.70 points at 28617.88 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 8.80 points to 8870.40.

About 1339 shares advanced against 910 declining shares on the BSE.

10:47 am FII View: Markus Rosgen of Citi says Asia investors more focused on downside than upside risk.

During a week of discussions with investors in Asia, the overwhelming mood was caution, with the emphasis on what could go wrong as opposed to what could propel markets higher, he says.

The irony is that the performance and positioning data suggest the average portfolio would benefit rather than be hurt by market downside, he feels.

President Trump, a US border tax, the USD, China and Europe featured prominently in discussions, Rosgen says.

10:20 am Motilal on Ambuja: While Ambuja Cements’ growth potential remains muted due to its limited expansion, Motilal Oswal believes better utilisation headroom in the fastergrowing regions (north and east) should offer some resilience.

Company’s core strengths are intact, and its presence in the north and west markets could lead to meaningful realization improvement, it feels.

The brokerge house raised EPS estimates for CY17/CY18 by 6 percent to factor in better profitability.

It has maintained buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 277 (implying 16 percent upside) after Q4 earnings.

Also read – Buy, sell, hold: 6 stocks likely to see lot of action today

10:00 am Market Check

Benchmark indices remained in positive terrain, with the Nifty eyeing 8900 amid consolidation in morning. The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising half a percent each.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 9.96 points to 28671.54 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 9.50 points at 8888.70. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Tata Motors and Tata Steel were top gainers among Sensex, up 1.6 percent each after Natarajan Chandrasekaran has taken a responsibility of Tata Sons by becoming a chairman of the Group. TCS also gained a bit after rising 4 percent in previous session due to share buyback.

Infosys retained upside in morning, up 0.7 percent on hopes of share buyback from the company. Reliance Industries gained 0.7 percent ahead of Reliance Jio’s press conference later today.

Asian Paints, L&T, Axis Bank, SBI and ONGC were other gainers while ITC, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Maruti and Cipla were under pressure.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries, the parent company of Reliance Jio, owns Network 18 that publishes