Sensex, Nifty close flat; Reliance up for 4th straight day

03:30pm Market Closing: The market has seen consolidation on Friday after rising for last five consecutive sessions on short covering. The Sensex fell 5.83 points to 28879.38 and the Nifty gained 2.05 points at 8780.35.

However, the broader markets remained favourite for buyers as the BSE Midcap gained 0.4 percent and Smallcap rallied 1.1 percent. About 1641 shares have advanced, 1181 shares declined, and 173 shares are unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 1 percent today, continuing upmove for the fourth consecutive session. The stock rallied 10 percent in four days.

Shares of Idea Cellular, Sesa Sterlite, NMDC, IDFC, SBI and Dr Reddy's Labs supported the market, up 1-4.5 percent. However, Cipla, Hindalco, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Lupin and Tech Mahindra fell 1-3 percent.

03:00pm Nitin Fire Protection in demand: Nitin Fire Protection received approval from Underwriter's Laboratory in the US for emergency lights for fire safety protection. The market size for this product in the US is USD 250 million. Speaking, Rahul Shah, executive director of the firm, said the company has been growing at 20-25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since last three-four years and is hopeful of continuing that momentum for a couple of more years.

The company is currently enjoying 15-20 percent margins in the domestic market. It is looking to penetrate the US market with this new approval.

02:45pm Market Expert: Despite there being a "slight disconnect" between valuations and fundamentals, the sheer flow of money towards Indian markets may lift them from current levels and take the Nifty closer to 9,000, believes Sandeep S Shenoy of Pioneer Investcorp.

Shenoy said the market has paused in recent times but capital flows will remain steady. "This leg of the rally will likely be led by healthcare," he said.

02:30pm Aurobindo Pharma in focus: Aurobindo Pharma has divested stake in its Australian subsidiary to Eris Pharma for an undisclosed amount to focus on the US, European and emerging markets.

The unit was not contributing any profit to APL. "Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL) has divested its step-down subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma (Australia) Pty Ltd, to Eris Pharma Australia Pty Ltd," Aurobindo Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.

APL will continue to manufacture and supply products to Eris Pharma for Australian and New Zealand markets over the next few years, it added.

"This divestment is in line with APL's strategy of focusing on the US, the EU and key emerging markets. This subsidiary was not contributing any profit to Aurobindo," the company said.

Aurobindo Pharma currently exports its products to over 125 countries.

02:00pm Market Check

The market remained rangebound in afternoon trade, heading to snap the five-day winning streak on profit booking. The Sensex dropped 46.39 points to 28838.82 and the Nifty shed 17.30 points to 8761.

The broader markets continued to outperform with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. About 1581 shares have advanced, 1108 shares declined, and 175 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

In the midcap space, KEC International, Century Textiles, V-Guard Industries and Sobha gained 8-15 percent while smallcap stocks like Indian Metals, Century Enka, Claris Life, Sagar Cement and Pricol jumped 13-20 percent. For more information please visit this site www.appsmine.org