Nifty goes way below 5100

The market was not seeing any signs of a recovery though European markets bounced back after initial sell-off. The 30-share BSE Sensex shed 241 points to 16,818 and the 50-share NSE Nifty lost 72 points to 5,064.

Selling pressure was seen in technology and financial stocks. TCS and Infosys plunged 4% each. Meanwhile HDFC, SBI and HDFC Bank lost 3% each.

Shares of India's largest commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors were butchered after disappointing quarterly numbers. Even foreign market research firm CLSA downgraded the stock to underperform. The stock fell nearly 6%.

Heavyweights Reliance Industries and NTPC too were down nearly 0.7%.

However, Hero Motocorp turned big gainer on Nifty, with rising 2.6%. JSPL, Cairn, GAIL, M&M and Power Grid were up 1-2%. ONGC moved up close to 1%.

About 542 shares advanced as against 743 shares declined on National Stock Exchange.

Nifty listless despite strong global cues

Indian equity benchmarks remained fence-sitters, unable to cash in on strong global cues. Every attempt to buy was counter by profit-booking, rendering the market rangebound. The 30-share BSESensex was trading at 17,173, up 42.5 points and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 13 points to 5,174.

However, European markets like CAC, DAX and FTSE were trading 2-2.5% higher. Nasdaq futures gained 44 points and Dow Jones went up 104 points.

In the largecap space, HDFC, NTPC, Coal India, Reliance Industries, Hindalco, Reliance Infra, HDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Capital and Reliance Communications rallied 1-3%.

However, Tata Power plunged over 4% despite strong Q1 results on consolidated basis. Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and HCL Tech slipped 1-3%.

Midcaps like Tata Communications, Page Industries, Jain Irrigation, Cox & Kings and Blue Dart shot up 6-8%. However, Hotel Leela, Financial Tech, Apollo Tyres, Persistent and Jubilant Foodworks fell 4-5%.

Sensex rebounds

Equity benchmarks bounced back in afternoon trade reacting to strong European cues. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 2-3% in the opening trade. These markets had fallen anywhere between 3 and 5% yesterday on rumours that France may be on the way to lose its prized top AAA credit rating.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 59 points to 17,189 and the 50-share NSE Nifty went up 17 points to 5,178.

Heavyweights like Reliance Industries, HDFC, NTPC and ITC gained 1.5-3%. Kotak Mahindra Bank surged nearly 4%.

Among other largecaps, Sterlite, Sun Pharma, Reliance Communications, Ambuja, Reliance Infrastructure, Hindalco and Reliance Capital were up 1-2%.

Asian stocks not cheap despite

Asian markets dropped on Thursday, with the Nikkei down 1.6%, following another sell-off on Wall Street. Major benchmarks in the region are now near bear market territory, marked by a decline of 20% or more. Despite those drops, experts are warning against rushing in to bargain hunt.

"Whether it's (price-to-earnings) or price-to-book value, Asian stocks are actually quite far from the recessionary values," says Kelvin Tay, Chief Investment Strategist for Singapore at UBS Wealth Management.

Tay says that on a price-to-book basis, Asian stocks normally bottom out at 1.3 times, whereas they currently trade at 1.8 times.

"So, is it really dirt cheap? Answer is no," Tay says. "It's just that, at this point in time, no one's going to go into the market to actually bargain hunt, I think it's too early anyway."

Eros International Q1 cons net up

Eros International has reported a rise of 39.4% (YoY) in profits for the first quarter of FY12. During the period, consolidated net profit of the company increased to Rs 21.6 crore as against Rs 15.5 crore in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Consolidated net sales jumped 21.4% to Rs 153 crore from Rs 126 crore year-on-year.

Total expenditure went up 22% to Rs 125.3 crore from Rs 102.9 crore during the same period.

EBITDA shot up 24% to Rs 29.8 crore in the quarter ended June 2011 as against Rs 24 crore in same quarter the previous year.

Other income increased to Rs 8.4 crore from Rs 0.3 crore.