Sensex, Nifty end flat; bank, oil & pharma stocks drag

3:30 pm Market close: The market ended flat with oil & gas stocks dragging major indices. The Sensex was up 40.95 points at 29135.88 and the Nifty was up 3.85 points at 8809.35. About 1336 shares advanced, 1584 shares declined and 195 shares were unchanged.

ITC gained 3 percent while TCS, Bharti, HUL and HDFC were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Hero and Axis Bank.

3:10 pm PSU capitalisation: PSU banks will have to raise funds from the capital market to meet capital requirement norms in absence of adequate financial support from the government in the forthcoming Budget, rating agency Moody's said today. For the current fiscal, the government has earmarked Rs 11,200 crore for capital infusion in state-owned banks. Of that the government has said it will soon infuse Rs 6,990 crore in nine banks including SBI, Bank of Baroda (BoB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB).

"Unless the government materially increases the capital allocation to state-owned banks in the next budget, the only way these banks can improve their capital ratios is by accessing equity capital markets," Moody's Investors Service said. The government in the current fiscal has adopted new criteria in which the banks which are more efficient would be rewarded with extra capital so that they can further strengthen their position. The capital infusion has been decided based on the performance of the bank.

3:00 pm Fund raising: Private sector lender Yes Bank today said it will be raising Rs 500 crore through issuance of "green infrastructure bonds", which will be deployed to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

The bank claimed it is the first such issue in the country and the money will be used to fund solar power, wind power, biomass, and small hydel projects. The bond will have a tenor of ten years, it said in a statement, adding the issue has already been launched.

The city-headquartered lender said it had made a commitment to fund 5,000 MW of renewable energy projects during the recent summit organised by the Government and added the proceeds from the issue will be used to fund the same.

2:30 pm New patent: Pharmaceutical firm Suven Life Sciences has been granted one patent each by Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand for its drug used in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. "Secured patents in Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand to one of their New Chemical Entity (NCE) for CNS therapy through new mechanism of action H3 Inverse agonist," the company said in a BSE filing. These patents are valid until 2030, it added.

Neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer's disease, Schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. The granted claims of the patent include the class of selective H3 ligands discovered by Suven and are useful in treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders, the statement said.

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The Sensex is up 128.85 points at 29223.78 and the Nifty is up 31.55 points at 8837.05. About 1287 shares have advanced, 1477 shares declined and 212 shares are unchanged.

M&M, ITC, HDFC, Bharti Airtel and TCS are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Sun Pharma, Hero, Reliance, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

Oil stocks are down as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley may look at re-imposing 5 percent customs duty on crude oil imports to shore up revenues by USD 3 billion and create a level-playing field for domestic producers.

Presently, the government does not levy any import or customs duty on crude oil imports. On the other hand, domestically produced crude oil attracts two percent central sales tax, something which imported oil is exempted from.

Gold extended gains to a third session, bolstered by safe-haven bids amid a softer dollar and jitters ahead of negotiations regarding Greece's future in the euro zone.

Traders were eyeing a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels later on Monday to find common ground with Greece's new government, elected on a pledge to scrap the austerity strictures of Greece's international bailouts.

If the meeting produces no results, there is a concern that Greece will be headed for a credit crunch that would force it out of the euro zone.

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.

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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, Nifty under pressure; Cipla, Maruti gain 2-4%

The market is under pressure as the Sensex is down 82.78 points at 28451.19. The Nifty slips 15.45 points at 8611.95. About 1416 shares have advanced, 1183 shares declined, and 243 shares are unchanged. 

Cipla is up 4 percent while Maruti, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindalco and Hero MotoCorp are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Sesa Sterlite and ITC.

Japan's Nikkei share average ended at its highest level in more than 7.5 years as the weak yen boosted exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp and Sony Corp, while investors awaited the outcome of Greek debt negotiations.

The Nikkei benchmark gained 1.9 percent to 17,979.72, the highest closing level since July 2007.

Meanwhile, global gold demand in 2014 declined marginally by 4 percent to 3,924 tonnes compared to the previous year even though 2013 was an outstanding year where the consumer demand had reached a record high, says the World Gold Council (WGC).

The overall gold demand stood at 4,087.6 tonnes in 2013, according to WGC 'Gold Demand Trend 2014' report. "The year 2014 was a year of stabilisation and innovation in the gold market with annual gold demand down by just 4 percent at 3,924 tonnes after the record-breaking level of buying seen in 2013.

Sensex up 178, Nifty ends at 8627; Axis Bank, Reliance gain

03:30 Market closing

 The market ended in green for second straight day. The Sensex was up 178.35 points at 28533.97, and the Nifty ended up 61.85 points at 8627.40. About 1729 shares have advanced, 1076 shares declined, and 216 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank was up 3 percent while NTPC, Maruti, L&T and RIL were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were ONGC, BHEL, M&M, Cipla and Tata Motors.

03:20 pm Sugar sale

The world's second biggest sugar producer, is considering giving export incentives for 1.4 million tonnes raw sugar, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, as mills started distress sale of the sweetener to pay cane farmers.

"The ministry's views is that we should give subsidy for 1.4 million tonnes...the paper has been circulated for a cabinet meeting," Paswan told. Without any government incentive, Indian sugar is uncompetitive in world markets well supplied by low-cost producers Brazil and Thailand.

Subsidies of Rs 3,300 a tonne helped exports of raw sugar last year and government sources said last month India was considering a rise in the subsidy to Rs 4,000 this year.

03:00pm Interview

IT services firm Cognizant has guided to a 16 percent growth for calendar year 2015 and believes its forecast is fair since it is seeing increased traction in all its businesses.

The company is also eyeing 19 percent growth for fiscal FY15 led by higher spending in healthcare. The forecast is higher than Nasscom’s projection of 12-14 percent growth exports for FY16. The Nasdaq-listed IT company has crossed the USD 10 billion revenue mark. 

Speaking Malcolm Frank said it will continue to focus on growth and surpassing its peers has been a natural by product. Cognizant bases its upbeat guidance on strong demand environment across services, that too after factoring in higher Visa costs. The company does not think US will pass its Immigration Bill in next two years.

02:45pm Ricoh India locked at 20% upper circuit

Ricoh India has turned profitable during October-December quarter with net at Rs 10.6 crore as against loss of Rs 0.2 crore in the year-ago period. The bottomline was supported by strong revenue growth and higher other income.

Net sales of the leading office automation company shot up 80.3 percent to Rs 409 crore in Q3FY15 from Rs 226.8 crore in same quarter last year.

Goods business increased 115.6 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 289.8 crore with EBIT loss at Rs 5.5 crore (against loss of Rs 8.5 crore in Q3FY14). Services segment reported a 29 percent growth at Rs 119.3 crore with EBIT rising 64.6 percent at Rs 34.4 crore in the quarter gone by.

02:30pm Syndicate Bank in News

State owned Syndicate Bank has registered a decline of around 20 percent in net profit for the third quarter ended December 2014 at Rs 304.99 crore. Bank's net profit in the corresponding October-December quarter of previous fiscal stood at Rs 379.76 crore.

Total income has increased from Rs 5,011.28 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 to Rs 5,921.58 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2014," it said in a filing to the BSE.

The net interest margin, a gauge of profitability, fell to 2.25 percent during Q3-FY15, from 2.76 per cent in Q3-FY14.

On the asset front, gross non performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans increased to 3.6 percent of gross advances, from 2.8 percent in the year ago period. Net NPAs were at 2.38 percent of net advances in the third quarter of 2014-15, up from 1.66 percent during the same period a year earlier.

02:00pm Market Check

It's a steady day of trade on Dalal Street. The market gained for the second consecutive day led by banking stocks. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 1.3 percent each.

The Sensex advanced 208.90 points to 28564.52 and the Nifty climbed 72.05 points to 8637.60. About 1603 shares have advanced, 1060 shares declined, and 224 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Ajay Srivastava of Dimensions Consulting expects the market to rise in the run-up to the Budget. He says FIIs are mainly betting on largecaps and banking names. He remains cautious on PSU banks as he sees another deep correction if NPAs rise.

Global markets traded mixed. Investors are cautious ahead of a meeting of eurogroup finance ministers in Brussels to discuss a solution to the Greek debt crisis.

The rupee traded marginally higher today tracking strength in equities. The 10-year benchmark yield is rangebound ahead of retail inflation data due tomorrow.

TCS is confident of beating NASSCOM's 12-14 percent growth guidance for FY16. Natarajan 

Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD that the company is seeing growth across markets, adding government's push for digital India will aid revenues.

Jindal Steel topped the buying list on Nifty, up 8 percent followed by L&T, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries, Maruti and NTPC with 2-3 percent gains. 

Sensex firm, Nifty holds 8600; ICICI Bank, L&T, TCS lead

The market remained firm in morning trade as the Sensex rose 141.61 points to 28497.23 and the Nifty climbed 44.85 points to 8610.40. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

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

Shares of ICICI Bank, L&T, HDFC, Axis Bank, SBI, Maruti, Dr Reddy's Labs, NTPC and Coal India gained 1-2 percent while Tata Motors, ONGC, M&M, Bharti Airtel, Sesa Sterlite, Cipla and BHEL were down over 1 percent.

TCS traded above its 200 DMA, up 1.5 percent as Natarajan Chandrasekaran, CEO & MD that the company is confident of beating the 12-14 percent NASSCOM guidance put out for FY16 and will be able to beat the 13.1 percent guidance for FY15 as well.

Sun Pharma remained in focus after Taro reported good numbers with net sales up 11.3 percent to USD 237.7 million, margins expanded 380 basis points to 67 percent while net income up 23 percent at USD 142.5 million in Q3.

NBCC gained 4 percent after it secured project management and consultancy business orders amounting to Rs 231.40 crore from Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.

Fortis Healthcare surged 20 percent after 1.8 percent equity changed hands in 5 blocks on NSE and BSE.

NALCO rallied 5 percent on good Q3 numbers with margins expanding to 27.6 percent versus 12.4 percent and profit up 171 percent at Rs 354.5 crore. CIMB uppped target price to Rs 78 from Rs 72 earlier.