Sensex, Nifty end with losses in muhurat trading; RBL Bank, ICICI Prudential, SpiceJet, Ashok Leyland gain

Stock markets began special Diwali (muhurat) trading on the first day of Samvat 2073 but ended with losses. The BSE Sensex closed 11 points lower at 27,930 while the NSE Nifty ended at 8,626, down 12 points, though the 30-scrip index opened with a 125-point gain at 28,066.

Lupin bucked the trend and was the top Sensex gainer to end 1.85 percent higher at Rs 1,517.90. NSE Nifty losers included Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Tata Motors and HDFC while Nifty gainers included Lupin and Tech Mahindra. 

Non-index shares that gained on the BSE included RBL Bank (4.42 percent at Rs 391.10), Advanced Enzyme (4.91 percent at Rs 2,230) and Narayana Hrudayalaya, or NH(3.85 percent at Rs 356).

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance gained 1.36 percent to end at Rs 312.80, still below the issue price of Rs 334. Ashok Leyland ended 1.22 percent higher at Rs 91.35; the company will be declaring its September quarter results on November 8, 2016.

SpiceJet gained 1.87 percent to close at Rs 73.70. 

State Bank of India will be declaring its Q2 results on November 11, 2016.

7.02pm IST: Top BSE gainers include RBL Bank, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, Advanced Enzymes and Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH).

6.58pm IST: RBL Bank is among the top gainers, up more than 6 percent at Rs 397.30. Other shares that hit the primary market with IPOs also trade in the green.

6.45pm IST: ICICI Prudential gains 1.33 percent at Rs 312.70; SpiceJet up 0.69 percent at Rs 72.85, HDFC twins trade lower.

6.38pm IST: Sensex at 27,985, up 44 points; NSE Nifty trading 8 points higher at 8,646. On NSE, 32 advances and 19 declines. 

6.35pm IST: Benchmark indices give up initial gains, trade lower. 

6.30pm IST: Sensex, Nifty rise around 0.40 percent; top gainers are Cipla, Lupin, Tata Steel, Wipro and Infosys.

6.20pm IST: The action on the markets is all set to begin in about 10 minutes. Investors would be watching all the recos by brokerages.

5.05pm IST: Over the past few days, some stocks have been newsmakers (other than Tata Group). One of them is the GMR Group for its bid for a new airport in Greece, winning $270 million compensation for cancellation of Male airport by Maldives government. Besides, car makers such as Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) can also see brisk buying on the back of higher volume sales this Dhanteras.

5.00pm IST: Here are some of the top picks by brokerages Angel Broking, DynamicLevels and Geojit BNP Paribas.

*CMP at around 2.45 pm on Wednesday (October 26).

**Share price as of October 20.

It is important to mention here that the recommendations were made on Tuesday (October 25) by Geojit BNP Paribas and on Monday (October 24) by Angel Broking. Therefore, the current market price (CMP) as reckoned by them is different from the CMP shown in the above chart.

4.45pm IST: The Tata Group is having a not-so-happy Diwali this year. The latest development to hit the $125 billion (market capitalisation as of October 6, 2016) seems to be in fresh trouble as the union finance ministry's enforcement directorate (ED) has decided to look at the allegations made by Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons.

 One of the many allegations made by Mistry is a Rs 22 crore "fraud" committed by AirAsia, the low-cost aviation company with which the Tatas have a joint venture.

"Board members are also aware that in the case of AirAsia, ethical concerns have been raised with respect to certain transactions as well as the overall prevailing culture within the organisation. A recent forensic investigation revealed fraudulent transactions of Rs 22 crore involving non-existent parties in India and Singapore," Mistry had alleged in his letter addressed to Tata Sons board of directors.

3.00pm IST: Religare's top picks include Kotak Mahindra Bank, with a target price of Rs 890.

With the special 'Muhurat' trading session scheduled on 30th October, here are a few stock suggestions: https://t.co/lqKy2hpiI6 pic.twitter.com/INrYBEmZkL

— Religare Online (@religareonline) October 30, 2016

2.25pm IST: Top picks by Edelweiss Securities include private sector lender ICICI Bank and Cromption Greaves Consumer Electricals.

"ICICI is India's second largest bank and largest private bank and will be the biggest beneficiary of buoyant economic outlook, pick up in corporate credit, continued retail credit growth, given its extensive reach and client relationships. Around 44 percent of its deposits comprise low-cost current account and savings account (CASA) deposits, which collectively enable the bank to contain its deposit costs and generate best in class NIMS of 3.3 percent," the brokerage says in a note. 

The stock had closed at Rs 277 on Friday, down 2.41 percent from its previous close.

Samvat 2073 muhurat trading on stock exchanges will start in a few hours from now. The one-hour, traditional trading session will be keenly watched by investors for possible cues. Last year's muhurat trading saw the 30-scrip Sensex gain 124 points to close at 25,866 while the broader, 50-scrip NSE Nifty ended 42 points higher at 7,825.

The bullish mood this year is most evident in two sectors — civil aviation and automobiles — while gold has largely been a dampener. Gold prices actually fell Rs 110 on Dhanteras (Friday, October 28) but gained Rs 160 the next day to close at Rs 30,750 per 10 gm.

Sentiments are upbeat in the automobile sector this year, with Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) reporting higher sales this Dhanteras. The two carmakers claim to have sold 45,000 cars this year, marking a double-digit growth over last year.

The consistent growth in volume sales for the carmakers is being attributed to a good monsoon this year and higher disposable income in the hands of Central government employees as a result of the partial recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission.

A PTI report quoted an MSIL executive as saying that at 30,000 cars this Dhanteras, the company has sold 20 percent more as compared to last year's Dhanteras sales.

A Hyundai Motor executive told the agency that it sold 15,163 cars this Dhanteras, marking a growth of significant growth over last year. 

"This Dhanteras, the customers have done heightened purchases with deliveries of 15,153 Hyundai cars, a growth of 26 percent over last year," Rakesh Srivastava, HMIL Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, told PTI.

The civil aviation sector has also posted growth of around 20 percent over the past few months, driven by falling ticket prices that in turn have been made possible due to falling fuel aviation (ATF) prices.

Stocks to watch out for on Sunday would be MSIL, SpiceJet, Indigo-owner Interglobe Aviation, ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Mahindra, HDFC Bank, HDFC, SBI and others, though it would be anybody's guess as to what will happen during the trading hours.