Sensex, Nifty off record high; Asian Paints, Ranbaxy rally

Moneycontrol Bureau

12:45pm Market off record high

The market erased some gains in afternoon trade due to profit booking, which indicates that the Nifty may take some more time to surpass 9000-mark.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 35.69 points to 29606.73 after hitting a record high of 29708 while the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 18.70 points to 8929.20.

About 1157 shares have advanced, 1441 shares declined, and 258 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel plunged 2-3 percent followed by L&T, HUL, Tata Steel, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL and Tata Power with 0.8-1.6 percent losses.

However, HDFC, ICICI Bank, TCS, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki and Coal India gained 1-1.5 percent. HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, Infosys, SBI, ONGC and Dr Reddy's Labs advanced 0.5-0.8 percent.

12:25pm Nikkei at 1-month high

Japanese stocks rose to a fresh one-month high today as expectations of strong corporate earnings and a weaker yen boosted investor sentiment.

The Nikkei benchmark gained 0.2 percent to close at 17,795.73, its highest since December 29, after reversing early losses triggered by profit-taking after disappointing US earnings. The average rose 1.7 percent on Tuesday.

Market participants were also buying on expectations that Wall Street shares would recover Tuesday's losses on Wednesday, as US stock futures rebounded during Asian hours.

Sony Corp gained 2.7 percent after sources told Reuters it plans to cut around 1,000 more jobs in its struggling smartphone division.

The broader Topix gained 0.3 percent to 1,429.92, while the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 ticked up 0.1 percent to 12,969.74.

12:00pm Market Check

The market surged in noon trade after a slow start. The frontline indices touched record highs led by real estate, banks, oil and IT stocks. The CNX Midcap outperformed benchmarks, up almost a percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 128.47 points to 29699.51 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 48.25 points to 8958.75.

Asian markets except Shanghai recovered from intraday lows, but the mood is cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve policy outcome today.

Asian Paints topped the buying list on Nifty today, up 3 percent. Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to outperform from neutral and increased the target to Rs 1020 per share. The brokerage also raised its earning estimates by 20 percent a day ahead of the company's third quarter numbers on Thursday.

Tata Motors is among the top Nifty losers on news that the company will seek shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 7,500 crore via rights issue of ordinary and DVR shares. The company is planning to raise funds to meet growth plan and reduce debt.

Ranbaxy Labs traded 1.5 percent higher ahead of it's third quarter earnings today. A CNBC-TV18 poll sees a 12 percent growth in revenues. Overall analysts expect a good quarter led by the drug, Diovan generic (hypertension drug).