BSE Sensex closes 134.09 points down at 28,370.84, NSE Nifty below 8,600; Lupin stocks down 5.23% on BSE

In a volatile market, the bechmark BSE Sensex slipped 134.09 points to close at 28,370.84. NSE Nifty on the other hand dropped below 8,600 and close 43.70 points down at 8,589.80.

Lupin emerged top loser of the day. On BSE, Lupin Ltd closed 5.23 per cent down, while on NSE, it traded 5.25 per cent down.

Indian markets after sporting a strong rally in previous session, went through choppiness on Thursday. Benchmarks that made a positive start of the day turned cautious in the very first hour of trade after touching their intraday high.

There were intermittent profit taking that kept the major indices moving in and out of the red zone, however there was sudden slump around noon that dragged the benchmarks below their crucial psychological levels of 28500 (Sensex) and 8600 (Nifty) with Rajya Sabha once again getting adjourned today.

The upper house had not transacted any business for the second successive day on Wednesday as treasury.

Traders were concerned with fear of the Reserve Bank keeping the interest rates on hold in the next month’s monetary policy meet given the acceleration in June headline CPI inflation and increase in core CPI for the third consecutive month.

The choppy trade of markets was also contributed by some high profile earnings, with investors booking profit where expectations were not met, while indulging in hefty buying in companies which outperformed.

Bajaj Auto’s first quarter profit surpassed street expectations, boosted by other income but the topline and operating profit missed forecast. The company’s profit grew by 37.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,015 crore. But there was sharp drop in the average realization per vehicle, implying that the product mix of the company may have turned poorer.

Lupin too was one of the major laggard of the day, falling over 5% after the drugmaker missed Q1 street estimates, reporting a net profit of Rs 525 crore on sales of Rs 3,074 crore in the June quarter. Back on street, the broader markets too remained cautious and made a mixed closing, profit booking in IT, tech and banking along with metal stocks dragged the markets lower.

Reliance Industries which surged 1.5 per cent to hit its fresh 52-week high in intraday trade ahead of its earnings announcements tomorrow, too turned lower by the end. In other scrip specific action Sun TV surged by over 7% after the Madras High Court issued an interim order allowing Sun Group to participate in the Phase-III auction process of FM radio.

The BSE Sensex ended at 28363.45, down by 141.48 points or 0.50% after trading in a range of 28315.37 and 28578.33. There were 13 stocks on gainers side against 17 stocks on the losers side on the index. (Provisional)

The broader indices made a mixed closing; the BSE Mid cap index was down by 0.15%, while Small cap index ended higher by 0.50%.(Provisional)

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Consumer Durables up by 1.54%, Oil & Gas up by 0.54%, Auto up by 0.52%, INFRA up by 0.38%, Realty up by 0.37%, while TECK down by 0.91%, IT down by 0.81%, Bankex down by 0.75%, Capital Goods down by 0.64%, Metal down by 0.54% were the losing indices on BSE.(Provisional)

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Motors up by 3.08%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 1.82%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.29%, Maruti Suzuki up by 1.14% and NTPC up by 0.77%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 5.27%, Bajaj Auto down by 4.74%, Tata Steel down by 3.66%, TCS down by 1.67% and Bharti Airtel down by 1.56% were the top losers.

The top gainers on Nifty were Cairn India up by 6.08%, Tata Motors up by 3.32%, Dr. Reddys Lab up by 2.01%, Mahindra & Mahindra up by 1.32% and Maruti Suzuki up by 0.82%. On the flip side, Lupin down by 5.26%, Bajaj Auto down by 5.18%, Tata Steel down by 3.85%, Zee Entertainment down by 2.86% and Tech Mahindra down by 2.00% were the top losers.