Sensex falls 400 pts, Nifty breaks 8550; DRL, Bajaj Auto up

03:30 pm Market close

The market fall for seven consecutive day. The Nifty ended below 8550-level, down 134.70 points or 1.6 percent at 8526.35. The Sensex was down 490.52 points or 1.7 percent at 28227.39.

L&T lost 8 percent post disappointing December quarter results. Tata Steel was down 6 percent.

03:10 pm Results

Larsen and Toubro (L&T) disappointed street on Monday with the third quarter profit falling 14.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,060 crore on standalone basis.

Profit was expected at Rs 1,255 crore on revenue of Rs 15,973 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled.

Net sales grew 4.2 percent to Rs 14,995 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 14,388 crore in same quarter last year.

02:55 pm Nibbling India

Global investors are showing strong interest in India with more inquiries for investment portfolios, a Singapore-based top corporate official has said.

"We have multiple conversations with pension funds, insurance companies, private banks and family offices of the rich people with trust-type of investment outfits," said the UTI International CEO Praveen Jagwani. Jagwani sees investors' interest further improving as the Indian economic growth picks up and the rupee stabilises.

UTI International has USD 2.15 billion worth of assets under its management, a significant built-up as its Singapore business started seven years ago. "We are educating global investors about opportunities in India," he said, underlining UTI's ongoing engagement with global investors. "Our role as an international business of UTI is completely aligned with that of the Indian government." UTI is 74 percent owned by state-owned Enterprises.

02:35pm Corporation Bank in News

Corporation Bank's third quarter net profit climbed 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 147 crore, largely driven by lower provisions.

Net interest income of the public sector lender rose 2.7 percent to Rs 1,029 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1,002 crore in same quarter last year. However, other income (non-interest income) declined 3 percent to Rs 328.3 crore and operating profit fell 2.3 percent to Rs 726.5 crore during the same period.

Provisions for bad loans dropped 21.8 percent year-on-year (up 24.2 percent sequentially) to Rs 646 crore during the quarter with provision coverage ratio at 52.47 percent as on December 31, 2014.

Capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III norms) stood at 11.26 percent in the quarter gone by, declined compared to 11.28 percent in previous quarter and 11.89 percent in the year-ago period.

Asset quality weakened as gross non-performing assets (NPA) climbed 180 basis points on yearly basis (up 63 bps sequentially) to 4.88 percent during October-December quarter. Net NPA rose 112 bps Y-o-Y (up 35 bps Q-o-Q) to 3.27 percent during the same period.

02:00pm Market Check

The market remained under pressure in afternoon trade as exit polls have indicated Aam Aadmi Party could make a dramatic comeback in Delhi. This could be the first election defeat for the BJP after coming into power in May 2014.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 425.82 points or 1.48 percent to 28292.09 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 105.45 points or 1.22 percent to 8555.60. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped 0.8 percent each.

Nearly two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
 

Sandeep Bhatia of Kotak Institutional Equities told that the market correction ahead will be led by earnings miss, not elections. There are still no signs of pick up in capex cycle, he says.

The market sentiment today is also hit by weak earnings from Tata Steel, GAIL and midcaps like Apollo Tyres and J&K Bank.

Cipla, GAIL, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Sesa Sterlite fell 3-5 percent. L&T extended losses, down 3.5 percent ahead of Q3 earnings.

The rupee plunged past 62 a dollar due to fresh demand for the dollar from importers, falling 50 paise to 62.19 a dollar.

Global markets are also under pressure today. European markets like Germany, Britain, France fell almost 1-1.5 percent as Greece and Russia problems persisted while the crisis in Ukraine escalated without a peace deal. In Asia, Hang Seng closed down 160 points. 

Sensex, Nifty continue to slide; infra, auto & metal bleed

1:45 pm Divestment: The success of Coal India offer-for-sale (OFS) that helped government garner close to Rs 26,000 crore by divesting 10 percent share is a positive and the government may have another two-three divestments before the end of this fiscal, says C Jayaram, Joint MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank .

 Speaking to from the sidelines of the three-day Kotak Conference, Jayaram says broadly, market sentiment remains positive and a possible victory of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi elections is unlikely to cause much uproar in the market.

1:30 pm Upgrade: Shares of Wockhardt rose 5 percent intraday after Citi upgraded the stock to buy from sell. The brokerage has also revised its target price to Rs 1880 per share following firm December quarter results.

Citi has even increased its FY16-17 core EPS by 2/10 percent based on progress on regulatory front and stated that resolution of 483s at Morton Grove is positive. It also adds that risk-reward looks reasonable for Wockhardt.

Meanwhile, last week Macquarie also had upgraded Wockhardt to outperform from neutral with a revised one-year target of Rs 1700 (from Rs 410) per share.

Don't miss: CLSA says crude risky, remains sell on GAIL; stock falls 6% 

The market is still under pressure dragged mostly by metals, auto and infra stocks. The Sensex is down 287.96 points or 1 percent at 28429.95. The Nifty is down 80.65 points at 8580.40. About 915 shares have advanced, 1664 shares declined, and 208 shares are unchanged. 

ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs and Axis Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, Tata Steel, Cipla, Bharti Airtel and Sesa Sterlite.

Japan's Nikkei share average edged up as the yen weakened against the dollar after strong US jobs data, but gains were limited as weak Chinese trade numbers capped risk appetite.

The Nikkei ended up 0.4 percent at 17,711.93, but off an intraday high of 17,799.49, the highest since Jan. 30.

The broader Topix added 0.6 percent to 1,424.92, and the JPX-Nikkei Index 400 gained 0.5 percent to 12,916.95. Analysts said that while some investors took heart from the weakening yen after the US data, others were concerned that liquidity may shrink in the global market if the US Federal Reserve increases rates too soon.

Sensex falls 300 pts, Nifty below 8600; banks, L&T fall

10:30am Market Expert

The big challenge for the market near term is the weakness in corporate earnings, says Sandeep Bhatia, ED & Head of Sales, Kotak Institutional Equities.

In an interview Bhatia says market correction near term will be driven by concerns over earnings growth and not so much by election results.

He expects a pre-Budget rally, but does not see the market giving more than 10-12 percent returns over the next couple of quarters.

Bhatia is not expecting any major tax incentives from the government in this Budget, given the weak fiscal situation.

He says the government needs to do something quickly to stimulate growth as the capex cycle is still showing no signs of recovery.

10:00am Market ChecK

The market fell more than 1 percent in morning trade on fall in rupee post exit polls indicated that BJP may not get majority in Delhi elections. Banks, capital goods, auto and metals drag.

The Sensex dropped 338.46 points to 28379.45 and the Nifty fell 101.40 points to 8559.65. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined nearly a percent.

More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ITC, Tata Motors, M&M and Hero Motocorp were down 1.5-2.5 percent. Larsen & Toubro dropped 2 percent ahead of Q3 earnings today. A poll expects muted earnings during the quarter with profit rising 1.1 percent and hydrocarbon business reporting losses.

Tata Power and Reliance Infrastructure lost 3-4.5 percent as AAP promised in its manifesto to reduce electricity bills by 50 percent.

Tata Steel shed 3 percent after their Indian and South East Asian operations had a weak quarter though European operationally showed improvement. Deutsche Bank maintains buy rating but cut FY15/16 earnings by 31 percent/24 percent and target price by 29 percent to Rs 480/share as India EBITDA per tonne is the lowest in 23 quarters and the steel price overhang persisted.

GAIL lost more than 4 percent as inventory losses weighed on Q3 earnings but siliver lining was that there was no subsidy paid in Q3. CLSA says GAIL is a conviction sell in Asian utility space with a target of Rs 360 as it is trading 35 percent above historical average PE and building USD 90 a barrel on Brent crude price.

Appollo Tyres tanked 15 percent as the stock reacted to weak earnings as its revenue fell 13 percent to Rs 3,104.8 crore while profit dropped 45 percent at Rs 184.2 crore. Results were also impacted by one time provision of Rs 79 crore on account of retrenchment expenses for South African business.

Sensex, Nifty in red; oil & metals drag, IT stocks gain

03:30 Market close

The market ended at lower level. Nifty ends at 8711.70 (down 12 points), after sinking below 8700 intraday. The Sensex is down 32.14 points at 28850.97. About 1025 shares have advanced, 1889 shares declined and 229 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power was down 8 percent, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL, ONGC and M&M were losers in the Sensex.

03:00 pm Market in red

The Sensex is down 27.78 points at 28855.33 and the Nifty down 8.65 points or 0.10% at 8715.05. About 1081 shares have advanced, 1789 shares declined and 226 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power tanks over 7 percent, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco and ICICI Bank are major losers in the Sensex. Only IT stocks are up with gainers like TCS, Wipro and Infosys. HDFC and Coal India are other gainers in the Sensex.

02:45pm Market Update

The market trimmed gains on profit booking at higher levels. The Sensex gained 230.24 points at 29113.35 and the Nifty rose 69.70 points to 8793.40.

About 1254 shares have advanced, 1572 shares declined, and 236 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:30pm Petronet LNG falls

Petronet LNG disappointed street with the third quarter net profit falling 38.2 percent sequentially (up 20 percent year-on-year) to Rs 162.4 crore.

A poll had expected profit of Rs 227.9 crore on revenue of Rs 11,058 crore for the quarter.

Total income from operations grew 2 percent (up 19 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 11,198 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 10,980 crore in pervious quarter.

Operating profit fell 34.2 percent quarter-on-quarter (down 3 percent year-on-year) to Rs 341 crore and margin declined 170 basis points to 3 percent in the quarter gone by. Analysts had estimated operating profit at Rs 475.2 crore and margin at 4.3 percent for the quarter.

02:00pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks gained more than a percent higher in afternoon trade, aided by further upside in banking & financials, technology and FMCG stocks. The Sensex jumped 367.77 points to 29250.88 and the Nifty rallied 98.80 points to 8822.50.

However, the broader markets remained flat. About 1320 shares have advanced, 1412 shares declined, and 241 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Samir Arora of Helios Capital says FIIs are excited about India, but most of them are still stocking to the quality names. They are still not upbeat on companies that are potential turnaround stories.

Looking at possibilities on the economy in terms of monetary stimulus and fiscal stimulus, financial sector stocks will still do well, and within that space, private sector banks will outperform, feels Samir Arora of Helios Capital.

Among banking & financials, HDFC toppped the buying list on Sensex, up 4.6 percent. Axis Bank and State Bank of India rallied 1-3 percent while rival ICICI Bank recouped all its losses.

HDFC Bank gained 2 percent as it kicked off a Rs 10,000 crore share sale, with a Rs 1,500 crore QIP book launched last night. Sources say the QIP book saw very strong response, was subscribed over 7 times. The bank is also looking to raise Rs 7,500-8,000 crore via ADR issue.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro climbed 3-3.6 percent after Cognizant positively surprised the street with a revenue growth of 6.2 percent Q-o-Q and provided an encouraging guidance of 19 percent for this year. CLSA says guidance should improve investor confidence on CY15 demand health for Indian IT companies.

Bharti Airtel rebounded after seeing a loss of 1 percent. The company delivered a tepid set of Q3 numbers as Africa performance continued to drag. CLSA downgraded Africa's FY15-18 EBITDA by 11-13 percent.

In key earnings, Tata Motors gained 1.4 percent ahead of its third quarter earnings today. A expects revenues to come in 3.5 percent higher while profits are likely to remain flat at Rs 4,846 crore on a consolidated basis.

However, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Power, Cipla, GAIL, Hindalco and BHEL were down 1-4 percent. 

Sensex up over 250 pts, Nifty at 8800; banks, IT, FMCG gain

1:45 pm Subsidy share: The Oil Ministry proposed a new subsidy sharing proposal by which upstream companies ONGC and Oil India would not make any contributions towards subsidy burden if crude prices are at or below USD 60 per barrel. The companies, however, take upon 85 percent of the burden if crude ranged between USD 60 and 100 and 90 percent if oil stays above USD 100.

In an interview Sudhir Vasudeva, former chairman and managing director, ONGC says the government should instead fix the price at USD 65 vis-a-vis 60 per barrel.

1:30 pm Downgrades: Shares of KEC International slumped over 12 percent intraday after it posted disappointing December quarter results. Its consolidated total income fell 6.7 percent to Rs 2053 crore while EBITDA was down 26.2 percent at Rs 104.6 crore.

Sales was driven by strong cable sales offset by weaker transmission and distribution (T&D) and railways revenue. The company was expected to report a recovery in Q3 EBITDA margins. However, during the quarter, its net profit was up at Rs 66.4 crore from Rs 19.2 crore year-on-year.

Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from overweight and lowered target price by 40 percent to Rs 73 from Rs 121 per share. It warns that there is a limited visibility of a margin turnaround post the deterioration in margins from Q2 while exposure to the Middle East and international business is a concern.

1:20 pm Market check: The market has started to rally with boosts from bank, IT and FMCG stocks. The Sensex is up 257.75 points or 0.9 percent at 29140.86 and the Nifty is up 76.85 points or 0.9 percent at 8800.About 1306 shares have advanced, 1342 shares declined, and 243 shares are unchanged.

Don't miss: Macquarie upgrades Wockhardt, ups target to Rs 1700 post Q3

It is a good day of consolidation as the Sensex is up 126.33 points at 29009.44. The Nifty is up 36.75 points at 8760.45. About 1273 shares have advanced, 1342 shares declined, and 230 shares are unchanged.

Wipro is up 3 percent while HDFC, Axis Bank, Infosys and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Metals & oil stocks drag. Among the losers are Tata Power, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, M&M and Hindalco.

Oil markets edged lower after big losses in the previous session as record high oil inventories in the United States had cut short a four-day rally.Prices had gained in early trade on optimism that steps by China's central bank to pour fresh liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy by lowering banks' reserve requirements would spur demand for energy.

Oil markets remain highly volatile, with US crude losing 9 percent on Wednesday in one of its biggest routs ever. In the previous four sessions, prices had rallied almost 19 percent from their lowest in nearly six years.

Sensex, Nifty consolidate; HUL up 2%, ONGC falls 2%

The market is consolidating with the Nifty hovering around 8750 levels. IT stocks support while banks continue to weigh. The Nifty is up 27.50 points at 8751.20 and the Sensex is up 115.24 points at 28998.35. About 1237 shares have advanced, 1028 shares declined, and 197 shares are unchanged.

Wipro, Axis Bank, HUL and Infosys are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata Power, ONGC, GAIL, M&M and Sesa Sterlite.

Globally, Asian markets are mixed. China is higher as the People's Bank of China reduced the reserve requirement by 50 bps, the first cut in 2 years. However, volatility in oil prices and worries about Greek debt after the European Central Bank banned the use of Greek government bonds as collateral weighs.

Nifty ends below 8750, Sensex loses 117 pts; BHEL, SBI fall

03:30 Market close

The market ended in red. The Sensex is down 117.03 points at 28883.11 and the Nifty slipped 32.85 points at 8723.70. About 1332 shares have advanced, 1573 shares declined, and 236 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank was down over 4 percent while BHEL, SBI, L&T and TCS were down 2-4 percent. On the gaining side were Hindalco, Tata Power, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite and Coal India.

03:15 pm Brokerages on TVS Motor

Shares of TVS Motor rallied 4 percent intraday though it missed street expectations on bottomline and operational front but topline was in line during October-December quarter. The two-wheeler maker’s net profit jumped 31.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 90.2 crore in Q3FY15 as against expected growth of 38 percent.

Brokerages remain bullish on the stock and suggest buying. Goldman Sachs reiterates buy rating with a target of Rs 345 per share. It reasons that Q3 margins were impacted by provisioning of Rs 16 crore pending government’s clarification on possible restriction on input VAT credit and the management is confident of 14-14.5 percent market share in Q4 (13.6 percent in Q3).

Macquarie maintains outperform rating with a target price of Rs 340 per share and expects it to register a 54 percent EPS CAGR over FY14-17E. It feels TVS Motor is well placed, given its high exposure to fast-growing segments like scooters (25 percent of revenues), premium motorcycles (11 percent), and exports (21 percent), along with a strong launch pipeline.

03:00 pm Result

Tata Power has turned profitable with consolidated net at Rs 198 crore during October-December quarter aganist loss of Rs 74.91 crore in the year-ago period.

The profit beat street expectations supported by forex gain while topline was in line. Profit was expected at Rs 134 crore for the quarter. Net sales increased 1.2 percent to Rs 8,806.6 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 from Rs 8,700 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

"Power business grew 9.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 6,545.7 crore with EBIT rising 5 percent but coal revenue fell 18 percent to Rs 2,104 crore with EBIT surging 17.4 times in Q3FY15," said the company in its filing.

02:30pm Raghuram Rajan says

Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said that inflation was still a concern but added the deflationary global environment gave the central bank some elbow room with monetary policy.

"We still have concerns about inflation. Given the deflationary environment elsewhere, it's actually easier for us because we are not fighting inflation in an environment where inflation is picking up elsewhere," Rajan said in a conference call with analysts.

"So I think we are still in conventional monetary policy territory."

The comments come a day after the central bank held interest rates steady at 7.75 percent, leaving its next move probably until after the government presents its annual budget at the end of this month, reports Reuters.

02:00pm Market Check

The market remained lacklustre in afternoon trade as the Sensex hovered around 29000 level. HDFC twins, metals, healthcare and PSU oil stocks gained while banks, capital goods and auto stocks were under pressure.

The Sensex rose 7.09 points to 29007.23 and the Nifty fell 0.60 points to 8755.95. About 1372 shares have advanced, 1410 shares declined, and 239 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

There have been too many earnings disappointments for the December quarter, leading some investors to question if the India story has been hyped, says Manishi Raychaudhuri, MD and Asian Equity Strategist at BNP Securities.

In an interview says the Indian economy had already bottomed out four quarters ago and that growth prospects look much better compared to other economies. Falling commodity prices is one of the key cushions for the Indian economy, says Raychaudhuri.

ONGC was among the top gainers on the Nifty today, up 3 percent. The government is moving to iron out the subsidy sharing formula and fast track the ONGC divestment. Sources say, the oil ministry asked the government not to impose any subsidy burden on upstream companies if crude prices stayed at or less than USD 60 per barrel.

Cairn India gained 4 percent today in addition to 4 percent rally in previous session post 19 percent jump in crude oil prices in last 4 sessions. Canara Bank and Wockhardt rallied 3 percent and 7.5 percent post good third quarter earnings.

Global markets were a mixed bag today. Asian markets like Japan gained almost 2 percent while European markets like Germany fell 0.5 percent. In commodities, crude prices dropped around 2 percent after 4-day rally.