Nifty closes above 7900 for 1st time; HDFC Bank, SBI lead

Equity benchmarks ended at new closing high on Friday with the 50-share NSE Nifty seeing the 7900-mark (at close) for the first time in history, though it was another consolidation day.

The Sensex rose 59.44 points to 26419.55 while the Nifty climbed 22.10 points to close at 7913.20 after hitting day's high of 26508.27 and 7929.05 (record high), respectively.

Experts believe the upside (gradually) may continue in short term through there may be some intermittent correction and consolidation. They expect the Nifty to touch 8100-8200 levels in short term on hopes of some developments during PM's visit to US and Japan.

Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Shares & Securities believes the market can continue to rally in September on the back of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US and Japan, which is likely to garner a lot of interest from corporate houses and also the PM is expected to invite a lot of interest into India and in Indian corporates.

For the week, the Sensex rallied 1.2 percent and Nifty gained 1.6 percent, especially after the Modi's speech on Independence Day that more focused on increasing manufacturing activities, making India exporter than importer, encouraging entrepreneurs etc.

The much awaited outcome of central bankers' two-day meeting at Jackson Hole will be announced tonight. Experts expect some hint on rate hike in the US by Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen.

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India has announced a new framework to meet the overnight cash requirement of banks. It has not changed the amount of money it is making available to banks but is lending it in many tranches. Also, the apex bank will, for the first time, auction government cash balances.

The Indian rupee appreciated by 20 paise to 60.47 a dollar.

On the stocks action, HDFC Bank saw late surge, up 1.8 percent. Source-based reports (after market hours) indicated that the bank sent fresh petition to government for raising FII investment limit to 74 percent. It is learnt that the bank in petition reiterated that HDFC's stake in bank ( 16.33 percent stake as of June 2014 ) is not foreign while government officials said foreign investment in HDFC Bank is already above 74 percent. However, HDFC fell 2 percent.

PSU banks gained strength again today with the Bank Nifty rising a percent to end at record closing high of 15819.15. State-owned lenders State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda gained 2 percent each followed by Axis Bank with 0.9 percent while ICICI Bank declined 0.4 percent on profit booking.

Technology sector was the major gainer among sectoral indices with the BSE IT index rising 1.6 percent. Shares of Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies rallied 1-3 percent.

Aluminium major Hindalco Industries jumped over 2 percent whereas Coal India, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Hindustan Unilever and Dr Reddy's Labs lost 0.5-2 percent.

Hero Motocorp declined a percent as two-wheeler major expects industry-labour issues to heighten in Manesar belt.

Sun Pharma (down 0.1 percent) and Ranbaxy Labs (up 0.6 percent) recovered in last couple of hours of trade after Sun Pharma's shareholders approved its merger with Ranbaxy. Stocks were trading weak on a possible Rs 242 crore penalty imposed by the US Department of Justice.

In the broader space, sugar stocks saw huge buying interest after sugar import duty increased to 25 percent from 15 percent . Bajaj Hindusthan, Dwarikesh Sugar, Sakthi Sugars, Triveni Engineering and Shree Renuka Sugars gained 3-8 percent.

About 1479 shares advanced while 1539 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

03:30 pm Market closing
The market ended on a historic high. The Sensex is up 59.44 points at 26419.55 and the Nifty up 28.85 points or 0.37% at 7919.95. About 1478 shares advanced, 1538 shares declined and 119 shares are unchanged. SBI, HDFC Bank were up 2 percent. Hindalco, Infosys and Wipro were up 1 percent.

Among the losers were HDFC, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Labs.

03:00pm Arvind ties up with US-based GAP Inc
American clothing retailer Gap will enter India next year in partnership with textile company Arvind Lifestyle Brand and open 40 outlets across the country as part of its global expansion strategy.

The brand plans to open about 40 franchise-operated Gap stores in India, the company said in a statement.

The first two Gap outlets are expected to open in Mumbai and Delhi by next year, starting with Gap's Summer 2015 collection for adults, kids and babies.

Describing India as an "important next step" in its global expansion strategy, the San Francisco-based company will enter the emerging Asian economy through franchise-operated Gap brand stores in partnership with Arvind Lifestyle Brand, a subsidiary of Arvind Limited.

"India is an emerging, vibrant market and an important next step in our global expansion strategy," said Steve Sunnucks, Global President of Gap.

"More than half of India's population is under 25 and they are actively embracing fashion in today's retail environment," Vice President of Gap Global Franchise Ismail Seyis said.

02:45pm NHC Foods in demand
Shares of NHC Foods recouped losses of the previous session, rising 6.5 percent on joint venture with online food and grocery store.

The company has entered into a joint venture with BigBasket.com, India's largest online food and grocery store for the launch of its branded range of spices - Saaz, said the company in its filing.

The venture has begun with the Mumbai city and now plans to introduce Saaz in Hyderabad and Banaglore," it added.

NHC Foods is engaged in the procurement and processing of whole and ground spices, animal feeds, oil seeds and food grains.

"With the online grocery market being largely untapped, the company estimates that it will enhance its existing consumer base thus resulting in monthly sales growth of around 10 percent by end of this financial year," said NHC Foods.

02:25pm Maruti in focus
RC Bhargava, the former CEO and current chairman of Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker, said demand will pick up only when the economy picks up pace.

On the brighter side, he expects growth to go beyond 7 percent mark in 18 months. "Things are looking more optimistic this festive season," he adds.

Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki says demand is coming back, but it is mostly deferred demand. He says the company plans to launch light commercial vehicle, or LCV, by next calendar year.

Exclaiming his delight with diesel price deregulation, Bhargava says it has given the company clarity on product mix. He adds that the company has benefited from the revival of demand in the petrol car segment.

Maruti Suzuki also has a major presence in rural India. According to Bhargava, the rural market is immune to issues such as inflation.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks as well as benchmarks continued to see marginal gains. The Sensex rose 69.70 points to 26429.81 and the Nifty gained 23.40 points at 7914.50; both are heading towards positive close for the week.

About 1386 shares have advanced, 1514 shares declined, and 112 shares are unchanged.

Mahesh Nandurkar, CLSA says the brokerage continues to believe in the domestic recovery story. ''Some initial data points on 4-wheeler and cement demand growth improvement and encouraging performance of the state owned banks fortifies our confidence,'' he adds.

Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies topped the buying list in the Nifty, up 3.66 percent and 3 percent, respectively followed by Hindalco Industries, State Bank of India, PNB, Infosys, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank with 1-2.6 percent.

However, HDFC, Coal India, BPCL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel and NTPC declined 1-2 percent.

Among midcaps, BASF, Finolex Industries, Manappuram Finance, Jyothy Labs and Shree Renuka Sugars rallied 5-16 percent whereas Bhushan Steel, Sobha Developer, Cyient, Edelweiss Financial and GMR Infrastructure lost 3-5 percent.

1:55 pm Bullish talks: The sentiment surrounding the real estate sector is slowly returning and is much better than a quarter ago, but it is yet to translate into sales, says Ashok Tyagi, group CEO, DLF. Tyagi's views come on the back of reports that claim realty prices in northern India- Gurgaon and National Capital Region (NCR) have fallen and absorption is lower than 2008 levels.

However, one can rule out developers giving any discounts in an attempt to lure buyers. ''Companies will now experiment with ticket sizes and various payment plans like 40-60 or 30-70,'' he adds. On the road ahead, Tyagi says the company is doing all it can in order to get all the clearances for Mall of India. The mall's construction was stopped as the project falls within 10 km of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, considered to be an eco sensitive area.

On the road ahead, Tyagi says the company is doing all it can in order to get all the clearances for Mall of India. The mall's construction was stopped as the project falls within 10 km of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary, considered to be an eco sensitive area.

1:30 pm Interview: Force Motors ' promoters- the Firodias- now hold 60 percent of the company, says chairman and managing director Abhay Firodia. The promoters bought 9 percent stake fom Bajaj Holdings, that just recently exited the joint venture.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Firodia says he expects the company's light commercial vehicles and tractors to see a strong growth in the current year. The company has a capex plan of Rs 200 crore this year, which Firodia adds will be raised internally.
 
"I think tractors is a small part, at the moment it is roughly about 15 percent of our turnover. Basically it is all automotive where we are making working vehicles. There is some business coming out of sale of engines," he said.

The market has become choppy after hitting record high. The Sensex is up 48.79 points at 26408.90 and the Nifty is up 11.95 points at 7903.05. About 1332 shares have advanced, 1423 shares declined, and 124 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco and SBI are still top gainers, followed by Infosys, TCS and HDFC Bank. Coal India, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs and Bajaj Auto are among laggards.

Oil & gas stocks continue to be in focus on hopes of a market-driven diesel prices. ONGC management says that market-driven diesel prices will be a big positive, expecting a further reduction in under recoveries going forward.

Globally, Asian and European markets trade cautious as investors await important cues on interest rate action by central bankers at the Jackson Hole meet.

01:00pm RBI to conduct more frequent term repos
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would conduct more frequent term repos but retained the overall borrowing limit for lenders, in a bid to make borrowing more flexible without injecting additional liquidity into markets.

The RBI said it would conduct 14-day term repo auctions four times during a two-weekly reporting cycle, or every Tuesday and Friday, from Sept. 5.

The central bank will also conduct 3 to 4-day term repo auctions but only from Sept. 5 to 12.

To further manage liquidity conditions starting next month, the RBI said it could also auction overnight variable rate repos, while saying it could also choose to sell part of the government's cash balances.

Although the intent was to provide more flexible borrowing options for lenders, the impact on bond markets was muted because the RBI continued to cap the total amount lenders can borrow via term repos to 0.75 percent of lenders' deposits, reports RBI.

12:45pm Market Check
The market halved gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 47.14 points to 26407.25 and the Nifty advancing 9.85 points to 7900.95 as investors are waiting for the outcome of two-day meeting of central bankers at Jackson Hole.

About 1357 shares have advanced, 1366 shares declined, and 106 shares are unchanged.

12:25pm Gammon Infra on buyers' radar
Shares of Gammon Infrastructure Projects are locked at 5 percent upper circuit after the promoter decided to sell entire stake in the company to its other subsidiary.

Gammon India, the promoter company, said the board of directors of the company has approved sale of 5,28,000,000 equity shares (representing 71.93 percent stake) held by the company in its subsidiary Gammon Infrastructure Projects to its another subsidiary Gammon Power. The transaction is subject to all the necessary approvals.

The board of Gammon India also approved convening of an extra ordinary general meeting of the members of the company on September 20, 2014 to transact the same business.

12:00pm Equity benchmarks maintained early gains with the Sensex rising 119.93 points to 26480.04 and the Nifty advancing 32.35 points to 7923.45 aided by banks and technology stocks.

About 1386 shares have advanced, 1216 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

Top lender State Bank of India and aluminium major Hindalco Industries rallied 2.5-3 percent followed by Infosys, HDFC Bank, TCS, Tata Motors, Larsen and Toubro, Axis Bank, Sesa Sterlite and GAIL India with 1 percent.

However, HDFC, ITC, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, HUL, Bajaj Auto, BHEL and Hero Motocorp fell 0.4-1.5 percent.
 
Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini, Dwarikesh Sugar, Dhampur Sugar, Shree Renuka Sugars, Simbhaoli Sugar and Triveni Engineering rallied 4-6 percent after the government raised sugar import duty to 25 percent from 15 percent.

ISMA said import duty hike will lead to lower losses for producers. Domestic ex-mill price will see some correction in Near-term, it added.

11:45 am  Sweet spot: In a bid to provide relief to the sugar industry, the government on Friday decided to increase import duty on the sweetener from 15 percent to 25 percent. The industry which owes Rs 15,000 crore to sugarcane growers, has been demanding an increase of 40 percent.

At a high level meet in June headed by Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan, it was decided to raise sugar import duty to 40 percent from the existing 15 percent and provide export subsidy of Rs 3,300 per tonne till September this year.

11:30 pm Market outlook: Traders have been buying on every correction and renewed support from domestic institutions is helping the market climb, feels Dipen Sheth of HDFC Securities. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Sheth says inflation could moderate going forward, though the food component of it could still be tricky.

He is bullish on oil marketing companies because of falling crude oil prices, and expects under-recoveries to reduce going forward.

He prefers BPCL and IOC over HPCL. He is positive on cement companies and is advising investors to bet on midcap companies in the sector. Orient Cement and Sanghi Industries are among his preferred stocks in the cement space.

The market is still celebrating with new record highs. The Sensex is up 124.22 points or at 26484.33 and the Nifty is up 33.65 points at 7924.75. About 1403 shares have advanced, 1071 shares declined, and 80 shares are unchanged.

SBI is up 3 percent while Hindalco is up over 2 percent, followed by ONGC, Axis Bank and M&M.  Other losers are Sun Pharma, HDFC, Coal India, Dr Reddy's Labs and Bajaj Auto.

Asian shares are also strong after upbeat US data sparked a record close on Wall Street.

Brent was trading below USD 103 a barrel on Friday, heading for a second weekly loss as easing geopolitical risks and higher global oil supply pressured prices.

US crude production has reached the highest in 28 years due to a shale oil boom. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped more oil in July despite conflicts in the Middle East and Africa.

11:00am Interview
Force Motors' promoters- the Firodias- now hold 60 percent of the company, says chairman and managing director Abhay Firodia. The promoters bought 9 percent stake fom Bajaj Holdings, that just recently exited the joint venture.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Firodia says he expects the company's light commercial vehicles and tractors to see a strong growth in the current year.

The company has a capex plan of Rs 200 crore this year, which Firodia adds will be raised internally.

10:45am Cut in LPG subsidy likely?
According to Gagan Dixit of Quant, interest cost has declined sharply for oil marketing companies (OMCs) after crude price fell sharply below USD 102 per barrel.

Going ahead, he expects further reduction in LPG subsidy on the hope of reforms for direct tax subsidy and LPG subsidy.

Dixit is bullish on IOC and BPCL and suggests buying with a target price of Rs 430 and Rs 700, respectively.

10:25am FII View
Mahesh Nandurkar, CLSA says the brokerage continues to believe in the domestic recovery story. ''Some initial data points on 4-wheeler and cement demand growth improvement and encouraging performance of the state owned banks fortifies our confidence,'' he adds.

The brokerage's top ideas are ICICI Bank, SBI, Grasim, Maruti, ONGC, HCL Technologies and Bharti Airtel.

10:00am Equity benchmarks remained in positive terrain supported by PSU banks, metals, oil & gas and capital goods stocks. The Sensex advanced 100.54 points to 26460.65 and the Nifty rose 25.55 points to 7916.65 after hitting a record high of 7924.50. Even the Bank Nifty touched an all-time high of 15785.20, up 0.6 percent to 15752.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5 percent each. About 1233 shares have advanced, 678 shares declined, and 67 shares are unchanged.

Shares of Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco Industries, ONGC, SBI, Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda rallied 1.5-2 percent while HDFC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs and DLF declined 0.2-1 percent.

United Spirits dropped nearly 4 percent as the National Stock Exchange has decided on Thursday to remove the stock from Futures and Options segment with effect from September 19. Earlier the exchange also decided to remove the stock from CNX Nifty from same day.

The market has opened marginally higher. The Sensex is up 71.56 points 26431.67 and the Nifty up 13.45 points at 7904.55. About 485 shares have advanced, 122 shares declined, and 22 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, TCS, HDFC Bank, Hero Motocorp and Tata Power are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Sun Pharma, M&M and Bharti Airtel.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 18 paise on Friday at 60.49 per dollar versus 60.67 Thursday.The dollar is hovering just below its 2014 peak against a basket of major currencies.

Breaking its three-session string of gains, the Indian rupee on Thursday retreated from three-week highs and ended six paise down at 60.67 against the greenback on importer demand for US currency, amid a firm dollar overseas. However, a marginal recovery in local equities and continued capital inflows restricted the rupee fall.

Yesterday, the dollar rallied against its key rivals after the Federal Reserve Released meeting minutes suggesting the pace of labour market gains is getting quicker and improvement in job market might force the Fed to hike key lending rates. The market is now looking for the outcome of Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen's speech at the Jackson Hole economic conference.

Global markets are awash with positive sentiment as the S&P 500 hit a new record as a host of US economic data positively surprised amidst optimism that Federal Reserve chairman Janet Yellen will continue to maintain a dovish stance in her speech at Jackson Hole today. Asian and the European markets both were is positive in trade.

Brent crude prices slipped, hurt by an increase in supplies and precious metal gold settled at its lowest level since late June, extending losses to a fifth session, following a technical sell-off after prices broke below a key support level.