Market Update: Nifty, Sensex in red while midcaps outperform; Airtel top gainer, Bajaj Auto hits 52-week high

Indian benchmark indices started the morning trade on a flat note with the Nifty marginally in the red, down 0.04 percent or 8 points while the Sensex also slipped, down 0.13 percent or 42.69 points. But it was the midcap Index which was again the outperformer, up 1.29 percent led by Jain Irrigation Systems, Jaiprakash Associates, Hindustan Zinc, Mcleod Russel, Petronet LNG, Reliance Capital and Tata Chemicals.

There was no steam in the Bank Nifty either but Federal Bank continued its uptrend since yesterday after the company declared its Q2 numbers. Axis Bank was the other stock which was up 0.78 percent and trading at 524.50 per share.

In the Nifty, the stocks that gained the most were Bharti Airtel which added 1.44 percent followed by Asian Paints, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank. The stocks which were the top gainers in the BSE were BEML and NBCC which jumped over 4 percent each while Indian Hotels and Lakshmi Vilas Bank where up over 3 percent.

The stocks which hit 52-week high in today’s trade on the NSE included Bajaj Auto, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, MphasiS, Vedanta, Bharti Airtel and Bharti Infratel. On the BSE, Avanti Feeds, Bombay Burmah, HCL Technologies, Tata Chemicals and Uflex were some of the few stocks that hit 52-week high.

The CNX IT Index was also outperforming the benchmark indices which added 0.4 percent led by Mindtree and Tata Consultancy Services.

The market breadth was weak in the morning trade with 23 advances as against 27 declines. However, on the BSE, the breadth was strong with 1048 advances as against 869 declines.
VK Sharma of HDFC Securities suggests buying Tata Chemicals 700 Call at around Rs 14, stop loss at Rs 9 and a target of around Rs 25 and also has a buy on Vedanta 340 Call at around Rs 4.50, stop loss at Rs 3 and a target of around Rs 8.