Sensex reclaims 29000, Bank Nifty surges; auto & pharma up

1:50 pm ITC shopping: FMCG major ITC has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to acquire its brands, 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower', in India. This acquisition will be ITC's first purchase in the personal care segment. "The company entered into asset purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson Ltd, India & Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd, Singapore yesterday for purchase of 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' trademarks and other intellectual property, respectively, primarily for use in India," ITC said in a BSE filing.

Savlon is an antiseptic brand while Shower To Shower is a personal care product brand. These agreements are subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory permissions as may be necessary, it added. During the third quarter ended December 2014, ITC reported 10.47 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,635 crore as against a net profit of Rs 2,385.34 crore in corresponding quarter a year earlier.

1:30 pm Result poll: M&M will announce its third quarter earnings on Friday. Consolidated net profit is expected to decline 39 percent year-on-year to Rs 615 crore, according to a poll. Consolidated numbers include Mahindra Vehicle Manufactures numbers as well. Total income of the utility vehicle maker is seen falling 13 percent to Rs 8,900 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 10,241.6 crore in same quarter last year, dented by lower sales volumes.

Don't miss: Coal India up; analysts bet on high e-auction volume in Q4

The market continues to surge as the Sensex is up 207.54 points at 29012.64. The Nifty is up 67.75 points at 8779.30.  About 1391 shares have advanced, 1209 shares declined, and 200 shares are unchanged. 

SBI, M&M, TCS, Sun Pharma and Wipro are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL, GAIL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, retreating from a 7.5-year closing high the previous day as investors took profits from gainers such as Fanuc Corp, but buying in cyclical stocks exposed to consumer demand limited the losses.

A ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine also eased tensions in the market. The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 17,913.36, retreating from 17,979.72 marked on Thursday, the highest closing level since July 2007. For the week, the Nikkei gained 1.5 percent.

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 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.

Record high opening: Nifty races towards 9000, Sensex firm

9:50 am Market outlook: The market is technically overbought and unlikely to rise much in the near term, feels Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities. He compares the ongoing rally with the frenzied bull market of 2007-08, and says the recovery in corporate earnings has already been discounted.

In an interview  Dutt says the market still looks from a medium term perspective, but the government needs to address the issues being faced by small and medium sized companies.

He expects liquidity flows to be strong, but the supply of share offerings is expected to cap market gains.

Dutt is bullish on financial services and banking stocks, and is betting on capital goods and EPC (engineering procurement and construction) companies to play the domestic recovery.

9:40 am Buzzing: Shares of HCL Tech surged 11 percent, hitting record high at Rs 1834 per share intraday after it posted stellar December quarter earnings.

The fourth largest software services exporter in India, surpassed street expectations on every parameter by reporting 2.3 percent sequential growth in profit after tax at Rs 1,915 crore. Profit was expected at Rs 1,770 crore on revenue of Rs 8,950 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled.

Revenue grew 6.3 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 9,283 crore and dollar revenue rose 4 percent to USD 1.49 billion during October-December quarter (as against expected dollar revenue of USD 1.477 billion).

9:30 am Brokerages on OFS: Brokerages are mixed on Coal India with Edelweiss upgrading it to buy with a target price of Rs 442 per share. It feels that volumes push and government’s sharp focus on doubling CIL’s production by FY20 will bring cheer to the stock. Edelweiss also says that saving from low diesel prices to aid margin expansion as every Rs 1/litre drop in fuel cost saves Rs 100 crore for Coal India.

Nomura has a buy rating with a target of Rs 443 per share. "As has historically been the case, we believe Coal India may well consider declaring an interim dividend next month. As investors who buy stocks in the upcoming OFS would be allocated shares on February 2/3, prospects of an imminent interim dividend may well act as a sweetener,” Nomura says.

However, JP Morgan is underweight on the stock with a price target of Rs 325 per share as given the stake sale there is less room for a repeat of last year’s dividend. “There is no explicit dividend policy in place and hence predicting dividend is difficult. However, the combination of a stake sale and potentially lower dividends should result in the stock being under pressure,” it says in a note.

Don't miss: Asia rallies as oil gets a reprieve; earnings in focus

It is a record high opening as the Nifty approaches 9000-mark on first day of February F&O series. The 50-share index is up 44.20 points at 8996.55. The Sensex is up 140.11 points at 29821.88, and the Nifty About 497 shares have advanced, 115 shares declined, and 151 shares are unchanged.

Coal India is down 4 percent as its offer-for-sale opens today. Bharti Airtel, HDFC, Tata Motors, SBI and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee has opened at 61.79 per dollar, up 7 paise compared to previous day's closing value of 61.86 a dollar.

Pramit Brahmbhatt, Veracity says continuation of FII inflows coupled with some profit booking in local equities may impact the rupee in trade today. He expects USD-INR to trade in the range of 61.40-62.40/USD.

US markets bounced back from a two-day rout, led by a reverse in the price of crude and strong job market data. European markets closed mixed on Thursday, with a sharp decline in Shell shares hitting the UK's FTSE 100 index and Asian markets were trading higher in morning trade on a positive US handover.

In commodities, Nymex Crude held steady around USD 44 dollars per barrel as US jobless data signaled further strength in economy. Brent crude was trading around USD 49. Gold edged higher after falling more than 2 percent to a two-week low overnight on concern over a looming increase in US interest rates. More information please visit this site www.shristocktips.com

Nifty struggles below 8900; HDFC Bank, Lupin, RIL support

The market remained under pressure in morning trade following weakness in global markets post Fed meet and ahead of big offer for sale of Coal India on Friday. Banking & financials, metals, telecom and select technology stocks dragged the market while Reliance Industries, HDFC and L&T supported the market.

The Sensex fell 150.68 points to 29408.50 while the Nifty lost 42.45 points to 8871.85 ahead of expiry of January derivative contracts today. However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising marginally.

Yogesh Radke, head of quantitative research at Edelweiss Securities is of the view that with rights issues, offer for sale, divestments, fund raising in the pipeline, there could be large supply in the market, so one needs to be a bit cautious at present and unwind long leverage positions.

The leverage positions in the Futures market have gone as high as Rs 1 lakh crore, he adds.

In an interview he says, although the India story is still intact, the Nifty is likely to consolidate or correct around 4 percent and see levels of 8600-8500. According to him 9000 levels would act as strong resistance.

Coal India dropped nearly 4 percent ahead of stake sale by the government tomorrow. HDFC, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Bharti Airtel and Mahindra & Mahindra declined 1.4-2.4 percent.

However, HDFC Bank and Lupin gained more than a percent on CCEA clearance for foreign investment in company. Reliance Industries climbed over a percent followed by L&T, HUL, Wipro and Hero Motocorp with 0.3-0.9 percent upside.

Dr Reddy's Labs gained 0.4 percent ahead of Q3 earnings. According to a poll, profit is expected to fall 13.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 534.3 crore.

AI pilot assaults engineer at Chennai Airport

Reports said an argument broke out between the pilot of the aircraft and the concerned engineer after the flight was reportedly delayed for between four and four-and-a-half hours.

It is being said that the assault took place following arguments with about 25 to 30 passengers who reportedly wanted the Paris leg of the flight to take off later than its original scheduled time from Delhi because of the delay in take off from Chennai.

As of now, no reason is being given as to why the pilot assaulted the engineer.

At the time of the filing of this report, tension was prevailing at the airport.