BSE Sensex ends up 283 points; NTPC, Tata Motors gainers

4:00 pm Market closing: It was yet another solid session for the equity markets. The stocks extended their gains after a good start to the trading week yesterday. The Sensex ends up 282.86 points at 19229.84, and the Nifty adds 86.90 points to close at 5699.30. About 1429 shares have advanced, 894 shares declined, and 156 shares are unchanged.

Both midcap and smallcap surged more than 1 percent each. Banking, auto and healthcare stocks triggered the jump.

3:55 pm Update: Workers at Bajaj Auto's Chakan plant have called off their strike. The management says the workers are not demanding shares in the auto major. The current wage agreement has been scrapped and a new one is being worked on.

3:50 pm Exclusive: Heineken is eyeing a bigger pie of United Breweries . The Dutch giant is looking to expand its footprint across emerging markets and can hike stake in Vijay Mallya's company only if lenders opt to sell their pledged shares.

3:40 pm Gold update: The government squeezes imports of gold, silver and platinum further with customs and excise duty hikes. It hopes to mop up nearly Rs 5,000 crore as north block steps up its fight against the current account deficit.

3:30 pm Brokerages on Tech Mahindra : Post earnings, brokerage houses (on an average) raised earnings per share forecast on the stock to around Rs 120 from Rs 111.

Deutsche Bank has a buy rating on the stock and raised its target price to Rs 1,500. The brokerage house expects the combined entity ( Satyam merged with Tech Mahindra) to deliver dollar revenue compounded annual growth rate of over 14 percent over FY14-16. Its FY14 earnings per share estimate for the merged entity is 127, says Deutsche Bank.

Meanwhile, Citi has maintained neutral rating on the stock and upped target price to Rs 1,340 from Rs 1,120. "We have upgraded FY14-15 expected PAT by around 4-7 percent (buoyed by other income, deferment of wage hikes) and raised multiple slightly (11 times September FY14 expected EPS from 10 times)," Citi report said.

Kotak has add rating on the stock and raised target price to Rs 1,430 from Rs 1,100 earlier. "We raised FY2014-16E consolidated EPS estimate by 22-25 percent, majority of which is rupee driven," Kotak report said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has maintained buy rating on the stock while Credit Suisse upgraded it to outperform from neutral. Former upped target price for the stock to Rs 1,375 from Rs 1,150 while latter raised to Rs 1,500 from Rs 1,040.

However, CLSA has an underperform rating on the stock.

3:20 pm rupee outlook: Nizam Idris, head-EM FX strategy, Macquarie doesn't expect the pressure on the CAD or the rupee to ease soon. He says the pressure on CAD is due to quantitative easing tapering talks.

Idris expects the currency to breach 62 against the US dollar and says the current RBI moves will not help solve structural problems for the rupee. He explains the pressure on the currency is due to two factors- the widening current account deficit (CAD) and the continuous capital outflow from the Indian market. As both these factors are out of RBI's ambit, he highlights the government should bring in robust reforms to rescue the drowning rupee.

The market manages to trade on a strong note as the Sensex is up 271.44 points at 19218.42 and the Nifty gains 86.25 points at 5698.65. About 1426 shares have advanced, 892 shares declined, and 155 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank , HDFC Bank , HDFC, Dr Reddys Labs and Tata Motors rallied 3 percent each.

Hindalco Industries shares lost 2 percent after the world's largest aluminium maker has announced around 12 percent year-on-year jump in profit to Rs 474 crore during June quarter, despite a challenging environment. The bottomline got a boost from higher other income of Rs 428 crore.

03:10pm  The BSE Sensex is up 273.90 points or 1.45 percent at 19220.88, and the NSE Nifty is up 83.80 points or 1.49 percent at 5696.20.

ICICI Bank , HDFC Bank , HDFC, Dr Reddys Labs and Tata Motors rallied 3 percent each.

Hindalco Industries shares lost 2 percent after the world's largest aluminium maker has announced around 12 percent year-on-year jump in profit to Rs 474 crore during June quarter, despite a challenging environment. The bottomline got a boost from higher other income of Rs 428 crore.

02:48pm Equity benchmarks gained more than one percent in afternoon trade with the Nifty inching towards 5700 level, aided by financials, auto, healthcare and technology stocks.

The Sensex is up 258.40 points at 19205.38, and the Nifty is up 81.40 points at 5693.80.

Ranbaxy Labs shares topped the buying list, rising more than 7 percent followed by Axis Bank with more than 6 percent gains.

Financials, which beaten down quite badly last week, are strong today. Top private sector lender ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rallied around 2.5 percent while their rival State Bank of India rebounded with 0.4 percent gains.

Housing finance major HDFC surged over 2 percent, while software services exporter Infosys jumped 2.4 percent as rupee held 61 level against the dollar.

Auto stocks too are on buyers' radar with the Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp gaining 2-3 percent. Mahindra and Mahindra trimmed gains to 1.8 percent from 3.5 percent post Q1 earnings.

2:00 pm Market outlook: There has been a sharp reversal of FII flows in August so far. June and July saw sharp outflows, while August is seeing net inflows, says Tushar Mahajan, Head of listed Futures & Options - India, Nomura. On the F&O side, people are building long positions on the Futures side and the Nifty is likely to see support at 5470-5480 levels, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview .

Mahajan sees no signs of Bank Nifty bottoming at current levels. "I don't see any rush for foreigners or even domestic investors to cut down their short positions. Neither results nor price behaviour have been encouraging for banks," he added.

He feels that private sector banks are better placed than public sector lenders.

1:50 pm Earnings: Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported a higher-than-expected 29 percent growth year-on-year in its net profit of Rs 938 crore during April-June quarter, largely driven by other income and tractor business.

Total income from operations rose lower-than-expected 7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 10,022 crore in the first quarter.

Revenues from farm equipment segment jumped to Rs 3,899.52 crore from Rs 3,078.29 crore Y-o-Y, but auto segment's sales fell to Rs 6,120.54 crore from Rs 6,278.65 crore during the same quarter.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 16 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,287 crore while operating profit margin increased 100 bps to 12.8 percent during the quarter, which too were lower-than-forecast of Rs 1,326 crore and 13 percent, respectively.

Other income surged 2.7 times to Rs 164.2 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 60 crore reported in a year ago period, which included dividend received from subsidiaries.

1:40 pm Boardroom: In an interview to CNBC-TV18 , Isaac George, CFO, GVK said that quarterly run rate of power segment losses is around Rs 50 crore. "Two of the company's power plants have not been operational since March," he said.

However, the firm's airport division recorded margins at 30.8 percent which is sustainable going ahead, he added. The firm is looking to retire debt by raising equity in airport vertical.

"Expect Deoli-Kota Project to be  commissioned by February 2014," he said.

The market is gaining ground in afternoon trade, led by banks, auto and realty stocks. The Sensex gains 207.15 points at 19154.13 while the Nifty is up 61.35 points or at 5673.75. About 1292 shares have advanced, 811 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged.

The Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey indicates fund managers' exposure to emerging markets is the lowest in 12 years

In earnings corner, Hindalco is the top Nifty loser ahead of its numbers after it's 100 percent subsidiary Novelis, missed April-June expectations.

NTPC , GAIL , Bajaj Auto and HDFC Bank are top gainers in the Sensex.

12:55pm Market Expert
There has been a sharp reversal of FII flows in August so far. June and July saw sharp outflows, while August is seeing net inflows, says Tushar Mahajan, Head of listed Futures & Options - India, Nomura. On the F&O side, people are building long positions on the Futures side and the Nifty is likely to see support at 5470-5480 levels, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Mahajan sees no signs of Bank Nifty bottoming at current levels. "I don't see any rush for foreigners or even domestic investors to cut down their short positions. Neither results nor price behaviour have been encouraging for banks," he added.

He feels that private sector banks are better placed than public sector lenders.

The BSE Sensex is up 206.39 points or 1.09 percent at 19153.37, and the Nifty is up 60.20 points or 1.07 percent at 5672.60.

Brokerages' views
Cipla shares gained another 2 percent today despite Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to underweight from equal-weight and cut price target to Rs 386 a share from Rs 414/share. The brokerage house expects FY14-15 EPS CAGR of 7 percent as against 28 percent over FY12-13.

Tech Mahindra gained more than 4 percent. Deutsche Bank has a buy rating on the stock post Q1 earnings. The brokerage house raised its target price to Rs 1500 and expects the combined entity ( Satyam merged with Tech Mahindra) to deliver dollar revenue compounded annual growth rate of over 14 percent over FY14-16. Its FY14 earnings per share estimate for the merged entity is 127.

12:40pm Buzzers
DLF shares rallied nearly 4 percent as revenues were higher-than-estimates on strong gross sales booking of Crest and net debt declined 6 percent sequentially.

Hindalco is the top Nifty loser ahead of its Q1 numbers. It's 100 percent subsidiary Novelis missed April-June quarter earnings expectations by 3-4 percent.

Wockhardt jumped 5% on a media report that the company is likely to get USFDA relief for its Waluj facility.

Muthoot Finance shares gained 8 percent as the company filed draft paper with SEBI to raise around Rs 300 crore through non-convertible debentures.

12:10pm The market extended gains in late morning trade with the equity benchmarks rising 0.8 percent, aided by technology, auto, pharma and private financials.

The Sensex is up 153.26 points at 19100.24, and the Nifty is up 47.60 points at 5660 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose over 0.7 percent.

However, the Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey indicates fund managers' exposure to emerging markets is the lowest in 12 years .

Indian rupee fell further on sustained dollar buying by PSU banks. However, foreign investors and exporters are seen supplying small amounts of dollars.

The domestic currency fell 8 paise to 61.36 against the US dollar.

Mahindra and Mahindra gained 3.5% as CNBC-TV18 estimates indicate that it may post over 9 percent revenue growth led by 7 percent volume increase.

Meanwhile, Tata Steel shares rose 0.5 percent ahead of earnings. It may report loss on a consolidated basis due to forex losses.

Country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank gained 1.3-1.9 percent while their rival SBI slipped 0.4 percent.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries surged 1.6 percent whereas FMCG major ITC shares declined 0.7 percent.

Infosys , Bharti Airtel , Bajaj Auto , Wipro, NTPC, Cipla and Hero MotoCorp rallied 2-3 percent.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 1136 to 711 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Globally, Nikkei gained over 2.5 percent after the yen weakened as a report showed machinery orders beat estimates and amid a report that prime minister Shinzo Abe is considering a corporate-tax cut. Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted gained one percent while Shanghai is flat-to-negative after previous day's big move.

11:55 am Subbarao speaks: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief Duvvuri Subbarao said on Tuesday that "perhaps" there was a need to reduce the reserves that banks have to set aside via the cash reserve or the statutory liquidity ratios, reports Reuters.

The cash reserve ratio, or the amount of cash lenders must deposit with the Reserve Bank of India, stands at a record low of 4 percent. Meanwhile, the statutory liquidity ratio, which includes securities such as government bonds, stands at 23 percent.

11:45 am Rupee: The rupee slumped to near a record low on Tuesday on doubts about the government's latest plan to narrow the current account deficit, deepening concerns about the economy and fears of more foreign capital outflows, reports Reuters.

India's finance minister announced a slew of measures on Monday in a bid to relieve some of the grinding pressure on the currency, focusing on curbing imports and raising money abroad.

The aim is to narrow the current account deficit to 3.7 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ending in March 2014, down from a record 4.8 percent in the previous fiscal year.

11:35 am Rate cut? With IIP contracting for the second month in June, India Inc today demanded a cut in interest rates to revive demand and to fast-track implementation of large projects to boost economic growth, reports PTI.
 
Industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) figures for June are indeed a matter of concern and clearly indicate that supply side bottlenecks and weak consumer demand are weighing down on industrial growth.
 
"The continuous de-growth in manufacturing will impact the employment scenario and manufacturing can be revived by stimulating demand, lowering the interest rates and expediting investment projects," Ficci president Naina Lal Kidwai said.

11:25 am FII outlook: Disappointing macros, free falling rupee and bleak chances of economic recovery are making it difficult for overseas investors to continue to bet their chips on India. But Gautam Chhaochharia, Head of India Research, UBS doesn't see money getting away from India . He expects the Nifty to hover in the trading range of 5,250-6,100 for now.

Public sector giant State Bank of India ( SBI ) is the biggest proxy for Indian macros, so one should not expect SBI to see recovery for at least two quarters, he added. SBI's Q1 profits slipped 14 percent on higher provisioning.

Like most experts, he also advises investors to hide in IT sector and expects good earnings growth from it given the fall in Indian currency. :Rupee's fall will make Indian IT companies more competitive and help them to gain market share," he said. He feels that the US Immigration Bill will not be a big hurdle for technology companies.

11:15 am Loser: Hindalco is down around 4 percent on the BSE ahead of announcing its first quarter results. Analysts feel the result is expected to be impacted by weaker LME realisations and lower production.

Profit after tax of the World's largest aluminium rolling company may fall by 22.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 330 crore while sales are likely to be flat at Rs 5,973 crore in June quarter from Rs 5,964 crore in a year ago period, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

The market managed a firm footing led by capital goods, IT, auto and pharma stocks. The Sensex is up 126.47 points at 19073.45, and the Nifty is up 35.70 points at 5648.10.

About 998 shares have advanced, 614 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

M&M, Wipro , NTPC , Bajaj Auto , BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex.

Meanwhile in the Asian market, Nikkei gained over a 1 percent after the yen weakened as a report showed machinery orders beat estimates and amid a report Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is considering a corporate-tax cut. Hangseng, Taiwan is up around 1 percent while China is soft after yesterday's big move.

Dollar gains a bit, with dollar index at 81.4. Yen weakens to 97.4. Euro moves towards 1.33.

In commodities, Brent is at USD 109 on supply disruption at Libya. Gold also moves higher due to inflows into gold- backed exchange traded funds, and on data showing heavy consumption by China.

Rupee opened lower on global dollar strength and falls further on sustained dollar buying by PSU banks for Indian improters. However, foreign investors and exporters are seen supplying small amounts of dollars.

Bonds dive further after yesterday's cash management bill auction and ahead of today's auction which has drained liquidity and pushed up call rates. Sentiment is hurt by the seemingly indefinite nature of the tight liquidity policy.

10:45am Buzzers
Tech Mahindra surged 4 percent after reporting operational results in-line with forecast and profit after tax strong due to higher other income. Brokerages increase their target price on the stock post earnings. Credit Suisse upgraded to outperform from neutral rating and increased target price to Rs 1500 from Rs 1040.

Wockhardt rose 5 percent on a media report that the USFDA recently inspected wockhardt's other two units. Seems like the company has not received any observations or warning letter so far from the FDA after the inspection and it is likely to receive approval for shifting products from Waluj to these facilities.

Titan Industries declined nearly two percent on reports that import duty on gold may be hiked by 2 percent. However, Titan told CNBC-TV18 that this may not make a dent in gold imports.

10:10am The market recouped early losses with the Sensex gaining nearly 100 points on account of buying in auto, technology, power and healthcare stocks.

The BSE Sensex is up 93.63 points at 19040.61, and the NSE Nifty is up 24.75 points at 5637.15. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also gained 0.6 percent each.

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

Mahindra & Mahindra shares gained 3 percent ahead of first quarter earnings. Standalone profit after tax of the company may rise by 20 percent year-on-year to Rs 870 crore and revenues may increase 9.5 percent to Rs 10,264 crore in June quarter.

DLF shares gained nearly 5 percent on higher-than-expected revenues and fall in debt during April-June quarter.

Technology stocks are on buyers' radar as the domestic currency is moving towards a record low of 61.81 against the dollar. Indian rupee fell 27 paise to 61.55 per dollar. Infosys , TCS and Wipro shares gained between 1.4 percent and 2.7 percent.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL continued their upmove, rising 1-2 percent.

Sun Pharma shares rallied another 2 percent on top of previous day's 7 percent gains post Q1 earnings.

FMCG and metals stocks are under pressure on profit booking. Hindalco Industries declined 3 percent and Tata Steel lost 1.2 percent ahead of Q1 earnings today.

10:00 am Gainer: Muthoot Finance has filed the draft prospectus with Sebi for the public issuance of secured non-convertible debentures of up to Rs 300 crore. The stock is up 6 percent on the BSE.

9:50 am Buzzing: Oil India surges 3 percent as news reports suggest that the company is planning to raise USD 900 million to finance the purchase of Videocon's 10% stake in Mozambique's offshore block. However, ONGC is yet to firm up its funding plans. Remember, Oil and ONGC Videsh are together acquiring Videocon's stake for almost USD 2.50 billion.

9:40 am Earnings poll: Utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) is up 3 percent on the BSE ahead of April-June quarter earnings expected today. Analysts on an average expect standalone profit after tax to rise by 20 percent year-on-year to Rs 870 crore, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

Revenues may increase 9.5 percent to Rs 10,264 crore in June quarter from Rs 9,367.3 crore in a year ago period, driven by 7 percent volume increase and increase in average realisations.

9:30 am Rupee outlook: Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank believes the impact of measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India , in order to curb rupee volatility, will come in gradually. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says the rupee will be hovering around 61-62 levels against the dollar.

However, Raina is not ruling out a steeper fall to 63 against the greenback.

"Most of the tapering expectations of the US have been factored in the current pricing so we may slip a bit from these levels, 62-63/USD is a possibility but I think majorly it should hover around 61-62/USD levels for the time being," adds Raina.

9:20 am Earnings impact:  DLF gains around 5 percent on the BSE. India's largest realty firm reported 38 percent fall in the consolidated net profit at Rs 181.19 crore for quarter ended June on higher expenses.

Profit stood at Rs 292.79 crore in the year-ago period. However, income from operation increased by 5 percent to Rs 2,314.08 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal compared with Rs 2,197.71 crore in the corresponding period of last fiscal.

DLF's net profit fell in the first quarter of this fiscal mainly due to 20 percent increase in the total expenses to Rs 1,576.71 crore from Rs 1,309.26 crore in the year-ago period.

''Although profit is lower than the year-ago period, it has jumped sharply from a loss of Rs 4 crore loss in fourth quarter of last fiscal,'' DLF Group CFO Ashok Tyagi told PTI.

The market has opened in the negative zone. The Sensex is down 56.91 points at 18890.07, and the Nifty loses 12.15 points at 5600.25. About 162 shares have advanced, 129 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged.

The Indian rupee opened lower at 61.37 per dollar versus 61.27 yesterday. It is currently at 61.56 per dollar.

Arvind Narayanan, DBS Bank said, "The rupee is likely to strengthen marginally on the announcements made by the Finance Minister. While these measures will help the rupee in the short-term, long-term issues will exert pressure on the rupee. The range for the day is seen between 60.80-61.20/USD."

The euro slipped to sub 1.33 levels to the dollar. The dollar index was at 81.50. The dollar yen stays around 96 levels.

On the global economic data front, the US government posted a USD 98 billion budget deficit in July.

In key data to watch out for in the US today, retail sales are seen coming in at 0.3 percent for the month of July. Export prices are seen rising to 0.2 percent while import prices may rise to 0.9 percent.

Greece's second-quarter growth came in better-than-expected, with a contraction of 4.6 percent year-on-year.

Brent crude rose to USD 109 per barrel. From precious metals space, gold continued to trade around USD 1330 an ounce.