Indian market choppy in early trade

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | May 25 2009 1:23 AM

RTTNews - The Indian market is witnessing a choppy trading on Monday amid weak global cues. Profit taking and short covering ahead of the F&O expiry later this week are also adding to the volatility. However, the broader market is trading firm. The mid-cap index on the BSE is rising 1.71% and the small-cap index is adding a little more than 3%.

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After opening higher at 13,988, the BSE Sensex has pared all its gains and is now trading little changed at 13,893. Meanwhile, the S&P CNX Nifty is trading at 4,228, down 0.25%.

Among the top decliners, ONGC is losing 3.20%, Wipro is declining 1.83%, Infosys is down 1.34%, NTPC is down 1.34% and Reliance Industries is edging down 0.65%. TCS, BHEL, Sun Pharma, ITC, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra are also trading in the red.

On the other hand, Ranbaxy Laboratories is surging up 5.30%, Tata Power is rallying 3.77%, DLF is rising 3.64%, Sterlite is gaining 2.96% and Reliance Communication is adding 2.04%. Jaiprakash Associates, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel and Grasim are also adding more than 1% each.

Sector-wise, IT, oil/gas and banking stocks are trading in negative terrain, while realty, auto, consumer durable and metal stocks are showing notable gains. Meanwhile, defensive FMCG, capital goods, healthcare and public sector stocks are showing modest gains. The market breadth on the BSE is extremely positive, with 1797 advancers compared to 288 stocks that are declining.

Construction firm Era Infra Engineering is surging up 8.17% after it secured an order worth Rs.117.84 crore from Aravali Power Company for developing a permanent township at the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project in Jhajjar, Haryana.

Anil Ambani group company Reliance Infrastructure is up 0.94% after its board decided to issue up to 43 million preferential shares to its founders and other investors to raise about Rs.4, 300 crore ($913 million). Beleaguered IT firm Satyam is rising 3.54% amid reports that it is likely to lay off around 8,000 non-billable employees in the marketing, human resources and administration wings.

Bharti Airtel is gaining 1.75% on saying that it would acquire a 49% stake in MTN and, in turn, MTN and its shareholders would acquire an approximate 36% economic interest in Bharti. Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy is losing nearly 5% after its promoters offloaded around 6 crore shares at Rs.91.60 through the bulk deal route on the BSE.

JSW Steel is adding 1.60% after the company proposed to raise funds through various means, including share sale to institutional buyers. Parsvnath Developers is climbing 8.66% on reports about its fund raising plans through the QIP route.

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