Markets end flat

Wed, 21 Oct Closing

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The Indian Indices began the day's proceedings on a flat note and the morning session saw them inching upwards. However, profit booking was witnessed during the final hour of trade, leading to the markets closing the day on a flat note. BSE-Sensex closed lower by 19 points, while NSE-Nifty closed lower by 10 points. The S&P BSE Midcap and S&P BSE Smallcap indices ended with losses of 0.2% and 0.4% respectively. Losses were largely seen in realty, capital goods and healthcare sector.

Asian markets finished mixed as of the most recent closing prices. The Nikkei 225 gained 1.91%, while the Shanghai Composite led the Hang Seng lower. They fell 3.06% and 0.38% respectively. European markets are also mixed. The DAX is up 0.38%, while the FTSE 100 gains 0.17%. The CAC 40 is off 0.12%. The rupee was trading weak at 65.15 against the US$ in the afternoon session.

According to a leading financial daily, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has entered into a global alliance partnership with Tableau Software, a global leader in rapid-fire, easy-to-use business analytics software. Reportedly, this partnership will enable customers to quickly and cost-effectively implement and integrate rapid analytics and visualize multi-structured data in forms of patterns, trends and visual insights to drive better real-time decision making. In addition to building accelerators, solution frameworks and reusable assets, TCS will focus on developing large scale delivery capabilities, using Tableau's new innovative features that address the needs of agility and flexibility. The combination of Tableau's software with TCS' business solutions enables customers to unlock the power of big data. The scrip of TCS closed on a positive note (up 0.3%) on the BSE.

Tata Consultancy Services has announced its financial results for 2QFY16. The company has reported a 5.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) increase in its consolidated sales and a 6.5% QoQ increase in its consolidated net profit in 2QFY16. Here is our analysis of the results. (Subscription Required)

Buying activity was witnessed across majority of the automobile stocks with Exide Industries and Bajaj Auto leading the gains. Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has reduced stake in commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland by 2%. LIC which had 7.31% stake earlier has brought down its shareholding in the company to 5.30% by selling 57.1 m shares in the open market between November 4, 2014, and October 16, 2015. The scrip of Ashok Leyland finished the trading day on a disappointing note (down 0.2 %) on the BSE.

Radhika Pandit, our auto sector analyst, recently wrote an article in the premium edition of the '5 Minute WrapUp' highlighting how automobile stocks have fared since the start of 2015. The article gives a detailed analysis of the auto stocks that have outperformed and underperformed the Indian benchmark.