Sensex rangebound; Nifty Bank under pressure, Axis drags
11:40 am Mega merger:India’s state-run ONGC will take control of HPCL as part of the government’s plan to create an integrated public sector oil entity, the Economic Times daily reported today citing top government officials.
India plans to create a giant oil company by combining state-owned firms, finance minister Arun Jaitley said in the budget speech earlier this month as the world’s third largest oil consumer looks to better compete with global majors in acquiring foreign assets.
“It is a very big decision. A cabinet note will soon be moved. The government of India will transfer its majority shareholding (of 51.11 percent in HPCL) to ONGC, which will then become the holding company of HPCL,” the paper wrote citing one of the officials.
11:20 am Market Expert: The market is witnessing strong inflows from domestic as well as foreign investors and will continue to trend higher, Gautam Trivedi, MD and CEO of Religare Capital, said. “Inflows have been so strong that the earnings have taken a backseat when it comes to deciding the movement in the market.”
The market is likely to correct if BJP loses state elections in Uttar Pradesh, he said, adding that the quantum of any such correction will depend on the nature of the loss. Nevertheless, even such a correction should be bought into, he said.
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11:00 am Market Check
The market continued to be rangebound in morning, with the Nifty gyrating in 30-point range after reclaiming 8950 in opening. Banks, FMCG, infra, auto and telecom stocks were under pressure while on the other side, Reliance Industries and Infosys were supporting the market.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 7.25 points at 28900.22 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 14.90 points to 8924.60 while the broader markets moderately outperformed on positive breadth.
About 1222 shares advanced against 1098 declining shares on the BSE.
Reliance Industries retained its top position in the buying list among Sensex & Nifty stocks, up more than 5 percent after Morgan Stanley raised target price on the stock to Rs 1,506 from Rs 1,280 as it feels energy earnings should exceed market expectations.
Bank Nifty fell nearly a percent as bank stocks were under pressure. Axis Bank was biggest loser Bank Nifty stocks, down 2.77 percent followed by Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, PNB, SBI, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank.
