Sensex, Nifty end in red; Tata Motors best performer

After making a positive opening, both Sensex and Nifty gave away their gains and ended on a negative note. 

Sensex closed at 30,301.64 down 64 points or 0.21%, while Nifty 50 closed at 9,369.75  below 17 points or 0.17%. 

Gainers involved Tata Motors at Rs 470.15 a piece up 4.45%, followed by Gail India at Rs 392.90 a piece (3.27%), Adani Ports at Rs 341.55 a piece (2.86%), TCS at Rs 2570 a piece (1.97%) and Hindustan Unilever at Rs 1035.10 a piece (1.47%). 

Losers involved Larsen & Toubro at Rs 1690 a piece (2.93%), followed by Dr Reddy at Rs 2515 a piece (2.45%), Coal India at Rs 262 a piece (2.24%) and M&M at Rs 1302.50 a piece 2.02%. 

Discussing Q-4 results of Century Ply with Sajjan Bhajanka, chairman, Century Ply.

At 1340 hours, Sensex was trading below 23 points or 0.07% at 30,342.50, while Nifty slumped 11 points or 0.11% at 9,375.60. 

On sector-wise performance, telecom, realty and power stocks took most hit over 1% on BSE.

Bharat Forge surpassed analysts estimates by reporting over 25% net profit for its fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017 result. 

The company posted net profit of Rs 207.50 crore, a rise of 25.32% compared to Rs 165.57 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. 

A Bloomberg poll estimated the net profit to be at Rs 162 crore in Q4 for the company. 

Total income increased by 10.67% to Rs 1205.37 crore as against Rs 1089.07 crore a year ago same period. 

Shares of the company rose by Rs 11 or 1.04% on BSE trading at Rs 1054.75 a piece. 

Strides Shasun on Wednesday announced that it has received approval from the USFDA for its memantine hydrochloride tablets USP.

According to IMS data, the US market for memantine tablets is approximatel $60 million. The product will be manufactures at Strides' flagship facility at Bangalore. 

Share price of Strides Shashun touched a 52-week low of Rs 888 per piece on Nifty. At 1208 hours, the stock was trading at Rs 900.90 a piece down 0.73%.

Moody's downgrades China rating to A1 from Aa3, cites slow econominc growth as reason

Bata India shares were trading negative on Sensex despite the company reporting 27% rise in standalone net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017. 

The company posted net profit of Rs 35.93 crore in Q4, higher by 27.32% from Rs 28.22 crore in the corresponding period of the previous years. 

Total income was at Rs 610.18 crore, also rising by 6.36% as against Rs 573.65 crore a year ago same period. 

"The last quarter saw exciting and colorful range for teenage consumers. It was supported by new technology XO Rise' range under Power Sportswear and high impact associations like 'Footwear Partner' for the ongoing fbb colors Femina Miss India 2017 beauty pageant." said Bata India. 

At 1028 hours, shares of Bata India was trading at Rs 521.30 a piece down 1.02% on BSE. 

Indian Rupee was trading at 64.85 lower by 0.078 paisa or 0.12% against US dollar.

Share price of Tata Motors gained by nearly 5% and emerged as a top gainer on Sensex post fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017, result. 

At 9.35 am, Tata Motors was trading at Rs 466 per piece above Rs 16 or 3.53%. 

Other gainers were - Adani Ports at Rs 336.80 per piece up 1.43%, NTPC at Rs 158.50 per piece (1.21%), HDFC at Rs 1527.90 per piece (1.14%), Wipro at Rs 530.95 per piece (1.06%) and TCS at Rs 2541.50 per piece (0.84%). 

Losers on BSE involved Asian Paints (Rs 1089 per piece), Dr Reddy (Rs 2558.45 per piece), Sun Pharma (Rs 608.55 per piece), ITC (Rs 298.80 per piece) and State Bank of India (Rs 288.40 per piece) and Bharti Airtel (Rs 370.50 per piece) trading negative in the range of 0.20% - 0.80%.

Indian markets open in green with Sensex rebounding over 100 points. 

At 9.20 am, Sensex was trading at 30,451.12 above 85.87 points or 0.28%, while Nifty 50 was trading at 9,408.45 higher by 23 points or 0.24%. 

HDFC Securities said, "Indian equity markets may open marginal higher on Wednesday after Wall Street ended in the green in overnight trade and most Asian markets trading in the green. Metals and Auto sectors are expected to trade in positive zone, while Pharma and Oil & Gas sectors are expected to trade in negative zone. Crucial support for Nifty is at 9340 level, while strong immediate resistance is at 9420."

While Motilal Oswal said, "Global cues are stable. China is trading slightly lower on back of rating downgrade. Overall one can expect markets to consolidate in the near term. Better corporate performance will help sustain investment interest."

In pre-market opening, Sensex were trading at 30,468.15 higher by 102.90 points or 0.34%.

Key events to watch: 

Major companies that will be presenting their fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017 result are - Adani Ports, Bharat Forge, Jubilant Industries and Lupin. 

Stocks in focus are:

Pharma stocks: Investors are caution of Indian pharma stocks after when a Credit Suisse report de-rated this sector by 10% over the last one-year. On Tuesday, Nifty Pharma index dropped nearly 3.12% to hit a 52-week low of 9,528.95 in intra-day trade.

Tata Motors: On Tuesday, Tata Motors Ltd reported a nearly 17% drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 4,336.3 crore for fourth quarter ended March 31, 2017, as against net profit which stood at Rs 5,211.49 crore in Q4 FY16. Revenue was also down 2.9% at Rs 77,272 crore in Q4 from Rs 79,549 crore posted during the corresponding period of the previous year.

The company also said that it has reduced its managerial workforce by up to 1,500 people domestically as part of an organisational restructuring exercise.

Jindal Steel: The company's net loss narrowed to Rs 49.51 crore in Q4, compared to net loss of Rs 484 crore a year ago same period. Net sales stood at Rs 6,760 crore, increasing by 33% year-on-year (YoY). 

JSW Energy: In a BSE filing on Tuesday, the company said it has received Environment ministry's approval to blend domestic coal at power plants. JSW Energy will substitute 50% of imported coal with domestic supplies at 2 power plants that run on imported coal.

Gaile India: The company said it plans to market about 9 million tonnes of  LNG in financial year 2017-18 and while 9.5 million tonnes by FY19. This would be higher compared to present marketing target of 8.5 million tonnes achieved in the year-ago period. 

JB Chemicals: In its Q4FY17, the company reported a net profit of Rs 42.15 crore, which was down by 17% year-on-year (YoY). It also said on Tuesday that the board has approved share buy back of up to 1.25 million equity shares at Rs 400 a piece. 

Indian markets may open between flat and negative amid weak global cues. 

On Tuesday, the Sensex ended  at 30,365, down 205 points, while the broader Nifty 50 settled at 9,386, down 52 points.

The broader market under performed the benchmark indices with S&P BSE Mid cap and the S&P BSE Small cap indices dipped over 1% each. NSE cash turnover was at Rs. 28, 050 crore.