Singapore: The markets shed intraday gains and slipped into red on choppy trading after an early surge sparked hopes that the 30-share Sensex may touch the 18,000 mark.
At 2.31 p.m, the |Sensex was down 29.27 points at 17,817.59, while the 50-share Nifty was at 5,397.20, down 15.65%.
RIL trimmed its early gains and slipped 0.9 per cent while ONGC dropped 1.5 per cent.
Most BSE sectoral indices were trading lower but the IT and the FMCG baskets bucked the trend. The Midcap Index slipped 0.25 per cent while the Smallcap Index fell 0.28 per cent.
Earlier in the day, shares of technology heavyeights Wipro, TCS and Infosys rose more than 1 per cent each as the US economy continues to show resilience. TCS shares hit a 52-week high on Thursday. According to foreign brokerage Morgan Stanley, companies have shown a strong profit growth but share prices have not caught up yet.
Credit Suisse has initiated coverage of Indian consumer staple companies such as ITC with "outperform" ratings, saying price-to-earnings premiums are "high", but "far from the peak", while adding earnings growth are "steady.""This is one of the few sectors with steady earnings growth, earnings visibility, and earnings upgrades, which should prevent a derating," Credit Suisse said in initiating coverage of the sector. The NSE's fast moving consumer goods sector index has surged 30 percent so far this year, versus a 17.5 percent gain in the broader NSE index.
At 2.31 p.m, the |Sensex was down 29.27 points at 17,817.59, while the 50-share Nifty was at 5,397.20, down 15.65%.
RIL trimmed its early gains and slipped 0.9 per cent while ONGC dropped 1.5 per cent.
Most BSE sectoral indices were trading lower but the IT and the FMCG baskets bucked the trend. The Midcap Index slipped 0.25 per cent while the Smallcap Index fell 0.28 per cent.
Earlier in the day, shares of technology heavyeights Wipro, TCS and Infosys rose more than 1 per cent each as the US economy continues to show resilience. TCS shares hit a 52-week high on Thursday. According to foreign brokerage Morgan Stanley, companies have shown a strong profit growth but share prices have not caught up yet.
Credit Suisse has initiated coverage of Indian consumer staple companies such as ITC with "outperform" ratings, saying price-to-earnings premiums are "high", but "far from the peak", while adding earnings growth are "steady.""This is one of the few sectors with steady earnings growth, earnings visibility, and earnings upgrades, which should prevent a derating," Credit Suisse said in initiating coverage of the sector. The NSE's fast moving consumer goods sector index has surged 30 percent so far this year, versus a 17.5 percent gain in the broader NSE index.
