Rupee to retreat from 1-wk low; shares watched

The rupee should pull back on Wednesday from the one-week low reached in the previous session, supported by expectations for foreign fund inflows and the dollar's losses overseas.

* Asian shares were higher, but gains were capped by a cut to Spain's sovereign credit rating from Moody's Investors Service that kept investors' risk appetite in check.

* At 0230 GMT, the MSCI index of Asian stocks ex-Japan was up 0.7% while the Nifty India stock futures traded in Singapore were 0.3% higher, suggesting a higher start to the local market.

* The rupee is affected by foreign fund flows into and out of the domestic sharemarket which will be watched for cues during the day.

* Traders forecast the rupee to open around 49.15 per dollar and move in a 49.10 to 49.40 range. It had ended 0.7% weaker on Tuesday at 49.29/30, after dropping to 49.36, its weakest since Oct. 12.

* The euro inched lower on Wednesday after Moody's cut Spain's government debt rating by two notches, giving up some gains made on a report that France and Germany have reached a deal to bolster the euro zone's bailout fund.

* The euro was trading at USD 1.3763, compared with USD 1.3699 when the rupee closed on Tuesday. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was at 77.023 points, sharply below 77.314 on Tuesday.

Sensex opens with 150 pts gap up

The BSE Sensex bounced back with 150 points gap up following positive global cues, reacting to good US economic data. Rescue fund announcement from France and Germany too improved the market sentiment. The 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 150.03 points to 16898.32 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 45 points to 5083.10.

Hero Motocorp jumped 5% on strong numbers; company reported a rise of 19.4% in Q2 net profit of Rs 604 crore. Its net sales jumped 28% to Rs 5,784 crore (YoY).

JSPL gained 2% post second quarter results. HCL Tech and TCS, which lost 8% yesterday post results, gained 1-2% in early trade.

Buying was also seen in SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, DLF, Sterlite, Sesa Goa, Coal India, Hindalco, BHEL, L&T, Jaiprakash Associates and Tata Motors.

However, HUL and ITC were marginally lower.

The CNX Midcap moved up 52 points to 7,099. About four shares gained for every share falling on National Stock Exchange.

New listing:

Flexituff International was trading at Rs 155.70 as against issue price of Rs 155 a share. 

Taksheel Solutions rose 3% to Rs 154 as against issue price of Rs 150 a share.

Ahead of numbers: Zee News gained 4% and Crompton Greaves rose 2%.

Results reaction: Petronet LNG was up 1.5% and Patni rallied 2%.

Kingfisher Airlines surged 4% and Jubilant Foodworks rose 2%.

Chambal Fertiliers fell 2.5% as company called off demerger of shipping biz.

Global cues

Asian markets were trading higher. Hang Seng rose 1.5%. Nikkei, Shanghai and Straits Times moved up 0.3-0.55%. Kospi and Taiwan were flat.

SEBI order against Sahara to refund money

The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has upheld the SEBI order against Sahara to refund money to investors in the companies optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCD) scheme.

The SAT has ordered Sahara to repay within six-weeks, reports CNBC-TV18.

The issue relates to SEBI's finding in November, 2010 indicting two Sahara Group firms — Sahara India Real Estate Corporation now known as Sahara Commodity Services Corporation Ltd and Sahara Housing Investment Corporation — for raising funds from the public through OFCD scheme without conforming to prudent disclosure and other investor protection norms, which govern such public issues.

The Sahara entities had raised nearly Rs 24,029 crore via the OFCD scheme.

The SAT had also earlier observed that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has wider powers under the SEBI Act to issue directions to even unlisted firms to protect interest of investors in the securities market.

The observation came in response to a Sahara Group argument that the jurisdiction to regulate an unlisted public company lies with the Central government and not with SEBI.

Nifty, Europe crash 2%, BSE IT sinks 3.5%

Sell-off across globe continues unabated following a statement by German authorities yesterday that a resolution to euro zone debt crisis may not come quickly. Mirroring global sentiments, the BSE Sensexfell 323 points to 16,701.7 and the NSE Nifty crashed 96 points to 5,022.

European markets fell 1.5-2% in the opening trade. Richard Gibbs, global head of Macquarie Securities believes that more clarity on the situation (measures to solve European debt crisis) will come only on November 4 at the Cannes meet.

In context of global markets, Gibbs believes that volatility will remain high till the year-end and capital preservation will be foremost thought on everyone’s minds. “Policy resolution is vital to reduce global market volatility,” he adds.

Back home, the BSE IT Index tumbled over 3.5%. Realty, Metal, Bank, Auto and Capital Goods indices were down 2-3%.

The fall in technology players like TCS and HCL Tech post their quarterly numbers, was neck-to-neck; both plunged nearly 8%. Wipro was down 3.7% and Infosys down 1.4%.

Tata Motors wiped out all yesterday's gains, losing 5%. Heavyweights Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI and L&T tumbled 2-3%. ONGC too turned red, falling over 1%.

Metal stocks like Hindalco, Tata Steel, SAIL, JSPL and Sterlite dropped 2.5-4.5%.

However, Coal India continued to attract buyers, rising 1.8%. NTPC, Hero Motocorp, BPCL, GAIL, Power Grid and Tata Power were other gainers with moderate gains.

The broader indices were down 1% and about four shares declined for every share gaining.

At 11:42 hours IST : Sensex sheds 300 pts; TCS, HCL Tech fall over 7%

The BSE Sensex shed nearly 300 points led by fall in heavyweights like TCS, Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank and L&T. Weak global cues dented investors' sentiment today post German Finance Minister said European governments will not resolve the crisis at the EU meeting scheduled for October 23. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 88 points to 5,030 and the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 295 points to 16,729.

Meanwhile, Asian markets like Nikkei, Straits Times, Taiwan, Kospi and Shanghai were down 1.4-1.9%. Hang Seng slipped further - was down nearly 4%.

It is a very bad market for trading and volatility will continue to remain at elevated levels, reiterated Sandeep Bhatia, executive director and head of sales, Kotak Institutional Equities. “This is not a trending market where one can make easy money,” he said.

TCS and HCL Tech were not showing any sign of recovery, both falling over 7.5% post their second quarter numbers. Wipro and Infosys fell 3% and 1.4%, respectively.

Major largecaps like Reliance Industries, SBI, ICICI Bank and L&T plunged 2-3%. ADAG stocks like Reliance Power, Reliance Communications and Reliance Infrastructure dropped 3%.

Metal space was getting hammered quite sharply - Sterlite and Hindalco crashed 4% each. Tata Steel, SAIL and JSPL slipped 2.5%.

However, Coal India, NTPC, GAIL, Hero Motocorp, BPCL and Sun Pharma were only gainers on Nifty.

About four shares slipped for every share rising on National Stock Exchange.

Nifty slips over 1.5%; metals, banks, tech nosedive

Equity benchmarks slipped more than 1.5% led by a fall in technology, telecom, financial, capital goods and metal stocks. Asian markets have remained under pressure, falling between 1.5% and 3% post downward move in US markets. The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 16,752.55, down 272.5 points. Meanwhile, the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 83 points to 5,035.15 led by fall in 40 stocks.

TCS and HCL Tech turned biggest losers post their numbers for the July-September quarter; both crashed 7% each. Wipro was down 3% and Infosys fell 1%.

Heavyweight Reliance Industries dropped another 2% today and L&T dipped 2.5%. From the financial space, ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank were down 2-3%; HDFC Bank slipped just 0.8%.

From the telecom space, Bharti Airtel declined 1.7% and Reliance Communications plunged 3%.

Tata Motors was witnessing profit booking after yesterday's 4.5% rally, falling 3.6%. However, Hero Motocorp and Maruti gained over 0.5%.

Metals and mining space too were on sellers' radar - Sterlite, JSPL, Tata Steel, Hindalco and SAIL tumbled 2-4%. However, Coal India gained nearly 2% as company solved bonus issue with workers.

Cong downplays Anna factor in Hisar by-poll

Hisar by-poll have been strike one to Team Anna in its battle against the UPA, at least that's what they would like to believe. With the Congress candidate losing his deposit in the crucial by-poll Anna and company are now turning more aggressive. Observing a 'maun vrat', Anna Hazare wrote a blog post the verdict.

In an ominous warning, Anna said, "If the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session, then I will campaign against the Congress in five states."

In the crucial stages of campaigning in Hisar, core group members of Team Anna like Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi had appealed to the people to vote against the Congress. The Congress itself though doesn't see to much of an Anna factor in these polls.

Congress Spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary said, "There is no Anna factor. We will look into what's gone wrong."

Underestimating Team Anna could well turn out to be a big mistake for the Congress. It's Hisar today, Team Anna is now threatening to take its battle to other parts of the country.

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said, "We will take our message to other places." To everyone's surprise, INLD's Ajay Chautala written off by many, gave a scare to Kuldeep Bishnoi. But the real story was the Congress' candidate Jai Prakash, who lost his deposit, got votes less than 1.5 lakhs, less than half the votes individually polled by Bishnoi and Chutala.

Kuldeep Bishnoi (42) got 3,55,941 votes, Ajay Chautala (50) was second with 3,49,618 while Jai Prakash could manage only 1,49,785 votes.

Anna already announced that he will go to all election bound states including UP, if Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in Winter Session of Parliament. UPA's managers will have to do some quick thinking to control Team Anna.