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, Nifty flat; Axis Bank dips again, Crompton tanks 6%

The market remained listless in morning trade. The Sensex rose 21.32 points to 29021.46 and the Nifty advanced 5.85 points to 8762.40. The broader markets too are flat in trade.

About 1083 shares have advanced, 808 shares declined, and 200 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

State-run oil & gas explorer ONGC rallied nearly 3 percent as government moves to iron-out the subsidy sharing formula and fast-track ONGC divestment. Oil ministry asked government not to impose any subsidy burden on upstream companies if crude prices stay at or less than USD 60 a barrel.

Sun Pharma climbed over 2 percent followed by HDFC, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel and GAIL with more than 1 percent gain.

However, Axis Bank fell another 3 percent after lossing 5 percent in previous session. Its rivals ICICI Bank and State Bank of India lost further, down 1-1.6 percent. TCS declined 1 percent.

Hero Motocorp shed more than a percent on earnings miss. Revenue in Q3 fell 0.5 percent with margins contracting 100 basis points to 12 percent on higher promotion/branding costs. Goldman Sachs cut FY15-18 EPS by 5-14 percent and target price lowered to Rs 2529.

Crompton Greaves tanked 6 percent on disappointing results, both standalone and consolidated results show year-on-year pressure on the topline and there was continued weakness in subsidiaries. JP Morgan cut FY16/17e earnings by around 11 percent and lowered target price to Rs 195 from Rs 215.

Sensex, Nifty weak; Sesa surges 6%, RIL & ONGC support

03:30pm Market close

The market has ended lower dragged by rate sensitives. The Sensex was down 122.13 points or 0.4 percent at 29000.14. The Nifty slipped 40.85 points at 8756.55. About 1313 shares have advanced, 1553 shares declined, and 257 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank was down 5 percent while Tata Power, Bajaj Auto, M&M and SBI are among laggards.

03:20 pm Gold update

Gold prices today fell by Rs 180 to Rs 28,270 per ten gram at the bullion market, snapping its two-day rising streak, as demand from jewellers and retailers eased at prevailing levels amid a weak global trend. Silver, however, recovered by Rs 450 to Rs 38,450 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Traders said besides fall in demand at existing levels from jewellers and retailers at domestic markets, a weak global trend as investors weighed prospects for higher US interest rates mainly kept pressure on gold prices.

Gold in New York, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, fell 0.72 per cent to USD 1,273.80 an ounce in yesterday's trade. In the national capital, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity plunged by Rs 180 each to Rs 28,270 and Rs 28,070 per ten gram respectively. The precious metal had gained Rs 350 in the previous two trading sessions.

03:05 Result

Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor missed street expectations on bottomline and opearational front but topline was in line during October-December quarter. Net profit jumped 31.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 90.2 crore in Q3FY15 as against expected growth of 38 percent.

Revenue climbed 29 percent to Rs 2,653 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 compared to Rs 2,057.6 crore in same quarter last fiscal, supported by strong volume growth.

Operating profit surged 29.8 percent on yearly basis to Rs 160 crore and margin remained flat 6 percent in the quarter gone by. Analysts had estimated operating profit at Rs 174 crore and margin at 6.5 percent for the quarter.

02:50pm Bullish on Tata Motors

CLSA has a buy rating on Tata Motors citing that it has potential for multiples to improve given that the auto major is entering a strong volume and earnings growth phase. The brokerage has a target price of Rs 740 per share and sees a 60 percent upside at Rs 950 in a two-year’s time once Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) new products have been launched.

CLSA also expects Tata’s earnings growth to accelerate to 29 percent CAGR over FY15-17 and upgrades FY16-17 EPS by 8-22 percent. It is optimistic that JLR’s

margins may sustain at 18-19 percent levels over FY16-17 despite a weaker product and regional mix.

“This, together with multiple new product launches and start of China plant should drive strong profit growth in JLR over the next two years. India business losses should also shrink sharply with commercial vehicle cycle recovery and new passenger vehicle products,” it says in a note.

02:30pm State Bank of Travancore in News

Capital markets regulator Sebi has sought clarification from the merchant banker of State Bank of Travancore on the firm's proposed Rs 485-crore rights issue. Without disclosing the details, Sebi said "clarifications (are) awaited from lead manager" for the proposed rights issue. In rights issue, shares are issued to existing investors based on their holdings at a pre-determined price and ratio.

According to the latest weekly update to the processing status of draft offer documents filed with Sebi, the regulator said clarifications are awaited on the proposed rights issue of State Bank of Travancore as on January 30 this year. The status is updated on a weekly basis by the regulator and the next update of the status, as on February 6, would be uploaded on Sebi's website the next working day.

Sebi said it might issue observations on State Bank of Travancore document within 30 days from the date of receipt of satisfactory reply from the lead merchant bankers to the clarification or additional information sought from them.

The regulator had received the draft offer documents on January 5 this year through its lead manager BOB Capital Markets. The bank proposed to issue equity shares for an aggregate amount up to Rs 485 crore on rights basis to its shareholders, as per a draft letter filed by the lending body with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). State Bank of Travancore is a subsidiary of the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI), reports PTI.

02:00pm Market Check

The market saw sharp recovery in late trade post morning slump. The Sensex got back above the 29000 level led by oil & gas, FMCG and telecom stocks. However, weak earnings from Punjab National Bank and an absence of rate cut from the RBI dampened overall market sentiment today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 60.16 points to 29062.11 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 17.50 points to 8779.90. About 1298 shares have advanced, 1464 shares declined, and 246 shares are unchanged.

Gautam Trivedi of Religare Capital Markets says he expects a rate cut post the Budget. The street is very cautious on banks as Q4 could be worse than Q3. Expectations are high from the Union Budget, he adds.

PNB topped the selling list on Nifty, down more than 7 percent after reporting very weak Q3 earnings. Asset quality worsened with gross NPAs close to 6 percent against 5.65 percent last quarter. Management expects pain on asset quality to continue for another two quarters.

The Reserve Bank of India kept key rates unchanged today but cut SLR by 50 basis points to 21.5 percent. Governor Raghuram Rajan says more data is awaited for further action on the rates front. More information please visit this site www.shristocktips.com  

Sensex, Nifty under pressure; Reliance, ONGC, Bharti up

1:55 pm SEBI: Capital markets regulator Sebi has sought clarification from the merchant banker of State Bank of Travancore on the firm's proposed Rs 485-crore rights issue. Without disclosing the details, Sebi said "clarifications (are) awaited from lead manager" for the proposed rights issue. In rights issue, shares are issued to existing investors based on their holdings at a pre-determined price and ratio.

According to the latest weekly update to the processing status of draft offer documents filed with Sebi, the regulator said clarifications are awaited on the proposed rights issue of State Bank of Travancore as on January 30 this year. The status is updated on a weekly basis by the regulator and the next update of the status, as on February 6, would be uploaded on Sebi's website the next working day. Sebi said it might issue observations on State Bank of Travancore document within 30 days from the date of receipt of satisfactory reply from the lead merchant bankers to the clarification or additional information sought from them.

1:40 pm Market outlook: The government needs to move faster on the divestment process, as institutional investors are concerned about the government’s approach to the fiscal deficit, feels Gautam Trivedi, MD & CEO, Religare Capital. In an interview, Trivedi says market is having high expectations from the Railway Budget as well as Union Budget. On the positive side, he says foreign investor interest remains strong even as domestic institutions have been booking profits. He expects corporate earnings to grow 10-15 percent this year. Trivedi is cautious on banks, particularly state-owned banks, as he feels the fourth quarter numbers could be even worse than the third quarter ones. HDFC Bank is his top pick in the banking space.

1:30 pm Result: NHPC disappointed street on Tuesday by reporting a 30.6 percent decline (year-on-year) in profit at Rs 180 crore due to higher interest cost.

Profit was expected at Rs 300 crore on revenue of Rs 1,378 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts.

Net sales of the state-run hydro power generation company grew 3.9 percent to Rs 1,167 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1,123.4 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Operating profit declined 10.1 percent on yearly basis to Rs 561 crore and margin slipped 740 basis points to 48.1 percent in the quarter gone by. Analysts had expected operating profit at Rs 757 crore and margin at 54.9 percent for the quarter.

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The market continues to be under pressure. The Sensex is down 173.79 points or 0.6 percent at 28948.48, and the Nifty is down 54.40 points or 0.6 percent at 8743.00. About 1156 shares have advanced, 1450 shares declined, and 259 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, Reliance, Tata Motors, ONGC and Bharti are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, M&M, HDFC and SBI.

Signalling strong demand for government bonds, overseas investors have put in bids worth Rs 813 crore, oversubscribing a Rs 310 crore auction for debt securities by more than two times.

The auction was held at 'nse-ebid' platform for allocation of investment limits in government debt securities worth Rs 310 crore (USD 50.2 million). The auction attracted bids for Rs 813 crore (USD 131.64 million), as per the bourse.

At the end of two-hour auction last evening, as many as 43 bids were made in the auction, of which 21 were declared successful. The debt auction quotas give overseas investors the right to invest in debt up to the limit purchased.

Foreign investors have so far put in over Rs 23,000 crore in the debt market in 2015. The equity market has also seen similar trends with overseas fund inflows of more than Rs 18,244 crore since the beginning of the year.