Sensex ends up 290pts, Nifty above 8800; SBI, M&M gain 5-8%

3:30 pm Market closing

The market ended with some hefty gains boosted by banks, auto and pharma stocks. The Sensex ended up 289.83 points or 1 percent at 29094.93 and the Nifty was up 93.95 points or 1 percent at 8805.50. About 1450 shares advanced, 1436 shares declined and 198 shares were unchanged.

SBI surged 8 percent while M&M was up 5 percent. TCS, Coal India and Wipro are other gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, BHEL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

03:00 pm Earnings: Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) third quarter losses widened to Rs 3,285 crore from Rs 961.5 crore in the year-ago period due to higher inventory loss.

Net sales of the state-run oil marketing company declined to Rs 1.07 lakh crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1.17 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Oil retailer IOC says gross refining margin for April-December period was negative USD 2.66 a barrel (against USD 4.97 a barrel in the year-ago period) mainly on account of inventory valuation loss of Rs 15,017 crore during the period.

02:50pm Germany GDP growth

Germany grew by a much stronger than expected 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, with domestic demand lifting Europe's largest economy out of its mid-year lull to take growth for the whole year to 1.6 percent and raise hopes of a strong 2015.

Quarterly GDP beat not only the consensus forecast for 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll, but also all individual estimates. The overall growth rate for 2014 overshot the Statistics Office's January estimate of 1.5 percent.

Unadjusted data showed the economy grew by 1.6 percent on the year in the fourth quarter, also far exceeding the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for 1.0 percent growth. Third-quarter data growth was confirmed at a previously reported 0.1 percent, reports Reuters.

02:30pm Sun Pharma gains ahead of Q3 nos

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will announce its third quarter earnings on Saturday. According to a  poll, net profit of the drug maker may rise 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,638 crore during October-December quarter, impacted by lower operating performance.

Revenue is seen climbing 13.1 percent to Rs 4,879 crore in December quarter from Rs 4,312 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

During the quarter, its US subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical Industries had reported a 28.7 percent growth in bottomline and 11.3 percent growth in revenue.

Hence, analysts expect US business growth to be similar to second quarter (largely led by Taro) at 13-15 percent Y-o-Y. However, ex-US revenue may be weak as drugs such as Doxycycline could continue recording a decline. In Q2FY15, US Business was up 14.8 percent Y-o-Y to USD 481 million.

Domestic sales growth, however, is expected to be maintained at around 19-20 percent in Q3. In previous quarter (Q2), domestic formulations were steady with a growth 21 percent at Rs 1,154 crore Y-o-Y (constituted 23 percent of sales).

02:00pm Market Check

The market continued to trade sharply higher with the Sensex rising 304.68 points or 1.06 percent to 29109.78 and the Nifty climbing 98.80 points or 1.13 percent to 8810.35. The broader markets gained too; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

About 1424 shares have advanced, 1344 shares declined, and 196 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities is bullish on the market going into the Budget, saying sectors like infrastructure, banks & financials and urban consumption will be key beneficiaries.

Big boy SBI surged 7 percent after posting a stellar set of earnings in the third quarter. Asset quality remained stable as fresh slippages and restructuring came in lower than Q2 for India's largest public sector bank.

Another strong set of earnings came in from Mahindra & Mahindra. The stock traded 4 percent higher after its third quarter earnings beat estimates. An exceptional gain of Rs 300 crore aided profit.

State-run oil retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation has turned profitable with the third quarter net profit at Rs 551 crore against loss of Rs 1,089 crore in same quarter last fiscal. Higher other income and lower finance cost boosted profitability. The stock gained 2.5 percent.

Global cues were strong today as most Asian markets posted gains. Europe too opened in the green extending yesterday's rally. Brent crude held above USD 59 a barrel, up almost 2 percent this week so far.

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 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.

Nifty drifts below 8950, Sensex flat; HDFC rises 3%

1:45 pm Defaulter? Jaiprakash Power Ventures said it was likely to default on payments for convertible bonds worth USD 200 million due on February 13 this year, as it could not generate enough revenue from its operations. Jaiprakash, which has been weighed down by debts and a sharp downturn in the performance of the Indian power sector, said in a statement on Wednesday the company was confident of its ability to pay its dues under the bonds by March 31, 2016.

1:30 pm Result: Aban Offshore beat street expectations by reporting a 62 percent growth (year-on-year in consolidated net profit at Rs 130 crore. Good operational performance due to decline in expenses pushed the bottomline higher.

Profit was expected at Rs 85 crore on revenue of Rs 992 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled.

Consolidated total income of the offshore drilling services provider (to oil companies) grew 1 percent to Rs 1,003 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 from Rs 994.3 crore in same quarter of last fiscal.

Total expenses slipped 1 percent on yearly basis to Rs 669.78 crore during the quarter due to lower cost of materials consumed, rental charges for machinery and insurance cost.

Don't miss: Why is Maruti at record high post Q3 nos missing estimates?

The market started to skid after the Nifty almost touching 9000-level. The 50-share index is up 15.10 points at 8925.60 ahead of Jan F&O series expiry tomorrow. The Sensex is up 42.56 points at 29613.60. About 1073 shares have advanced, 1583 shares declined, and 254 shares are unchanged.

HDFC is up 3 percent followed by Maruti, ICICI Bank, Coal India and SBI. Among the losers are Bharti, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel and Tata Power.

Analysts say traders are cautious because of the Fed's first two-day policy meeting of the year that concludes tonight, and policymakers will likely restate their "patient" approach to raising rates, while also voicing faith that the economy will continue improving.

The Federal Reserve is expected to signal it remains on track to begin raising interest rates later this year, as the central bank shows confidence that low inflation and rising risks from abroad have yet to derail the US economic recovery.