Nifty ends at 7602, Sensex sheds 414 on global woes

01 Aug 2014

03:45 pm Market outlook
The ongoing correction could intensify, as the market is already showing signs of fatigue, feels Gautam Shah of JM Financial.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said the Nifty could slip to 7450 if it failed to sustain above 7700 today, and in a worst case scenario, could slide all the way to 7150. He said the first leg of the bull run appeared to be over, and that the Nifty was likely to top out at 7840.

Shah said the US market was also showing signs of topping out, and could correct by 5-10 percent. Back home, Shah says the risk reward ratio will be favourable to go long when the Nifty is between 7300-7400.

03:30 pm Market closing
The market was butchered as weak global cues spooked investors. The Sensex ended down 414.13 points or 1.60 percent at 25480.84 and the Nifty slipped 118.70 points or 1.54 percent at 7602.60. About 1119 shares advanced, 1762 shares declined and 114 shares are unchanged.

Oil & gas, metals and capital goods suffered the most. Hindalco, GAIL, Cipla, Reliance and Tata Power were major laggards.

Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and SBI were top gainers.

03: 20 pm Slipping oil
Oil prices were mixed in Asia today, coming under pressure following a sell-off on Wall Street and concerns about unplanned refinery shutdowns in the US midwest, analysts said.

US benchmark West Texas (WTI) Intermediate for September delivery eased nine cents to USD 98.08 while Brent crude for September gained six cents to USD 106.08 in afternoon trade.

WTI fell USD 2.10 in New York trade and Brent declined 49 cents in London today.

"Oil prices are under pressure at the moment after heavy selling on Wall Street," Michael McCarthy, market strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney said.

03:10 pm Loss on diesel
Losses on the sale of diesel have dropped to an all-time low of Rs 1.33 per litre, bringing the prospect of deregulation of the nation's most consumed fuel within sniffing distance. If the current trend continues, diesel will be deregulated in three months.

An official statement said the difference between the cost of diesel production and the retail selling price has narrowed to Rs 1.33 per litre from Rs 2.49 last month. This was made possible because of softening international oil rates and the new government continuing with monthly price increases.

Diesel prices were yesterday hiked by 50 paise per litre. Rates have cumulatively risen by Rs 11.24 per litre in 18 instalments since January 2013 when the previous UPA government had decided on small monthly hikes.

03:00 pm Global markets tank
Global shares fell and the euro eased against the dollar, hit by weak euro zone manufacturing data and nerves ahead of a key US jobs report.

While encouraging for the global economy at large, strong US employment data would strengthen the case for an early interest rate hike by the Fed, whose monetary largesse has helped fuel a 45 percent rally in global stocks over the past two years.

The MSCI All-Country World index was down 0.5 percent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 1.1 percent, also weighed down by some downbeat corporate updates and manufacturing data.

The MSCI All-Country World recorded its steepest monthly loss since February last month, falling 1.3 percent on the back of concerns about a Fed rate hike after strong US GDP and labour costs data earlier this week, as well as geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The threat of a conflict between Vladimir Putin's Russia and Ukraine were starting to affect the euro zone economy, with the bloc's manufacturing growth easing in July, a survey showed.

02:50pm Market Check
Bears took charge of Dalal Street in last hour of trade. The Sensex tanked 373.68 points or 1.44 percent to 25521.29 and the Nifty plunged 109.55 points or 1.42 percent to 7611.75.

About 1045 shares have advanced, 1727 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.

02:40pm JSW Steel in News
Steel major JSW Steel beat street expectations on every parameter (except total income) on Friday with the net profit in April-June quarter at Rs 656.5 crore on strong operational performance, as against loss of Rs 381 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the company to report net profit of Rs 471 crore on revenue of Rs 13,502 crore for the quarter.

Total income from operations grew by 29 percent on yearly basis to Rs 13,254 crore from Rs 10,270.5 crore.

Operational performance was very strong in the quarter gone by. Consolidated operating profit (EBITDA) jumped by 39 percent at Rs 2,612 crore and margin expanded by 140 basis points at 19.7 percent compared to same quarter last year. Analysts had expected both at Rs 2,373 crore and 17.6 percent, respectively.

02:30pm Interview
MS Raghavan, CMD, IDBI Bank said the PSB plans to open 600 new branches this year, which will take its tally to 2,000 branches all over India. "Our plans are in place and we have a detailed plan rolled out for augmenting the CASA, augmenting the priority sector advances which are the need of the hour," he said.

Meanwhile, Raghavan refuted reports of any direct move or discussion to merge United Bank of India with itself. ''If that had been there unofficially or officially, we would have definitely gone back to our board and I would have come out because it is price sensitive information. We would not like to do something which will violate the regulations,'' he told the channel.

Both the banks are public sector entities with government of India having 76.50 per cent and 89.47 per cent stake in IDBI Bank and United Bank of India respectively.

02:20pm Sikka joins Infosys today
Infosys will improve its business by looking for new growth avenues and will return to historical performance levels in two years, top executives said on Friday.

Vishal Sikka, the 47-year-old former executive board member of German software company SAP AG , took charge of India's second-biggest IT services provider as Chief Executive on Friday.

Sikka starts with an almost clean administrative slate as founding members have given way in the hope of getting fresh blood into a hitherto conservative company.

Chief Operating Officer UB Pravin Rao said the company will be back to historic performance levels in a couple of years, reports Reuters.

02:10pm Market Expert
"Whenever there are these kinds of triggers pertaining to the Fed taking a decision on the tapering etc, one has seen unwinding of the long position. So, to an extent there has been some kind of knee-jerk reaction to the global markets. I don't think beyond which this particular collateral damage would extend, particularly for markets like India where I believe that the larger amount of interest is still there," said Deven Choksey MD, KR Choksey Shares & Securities.

At this point of time he believes that Nifty could probably stay in the range of 7500-7750.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks widened losses in mid-afternoon trade with the Sensex falling 257.19 points or 0.99 percent to 25637.78 and the Nifty losing 74.30 points or 0.96 percent to 7647 weighed down by currency depreciation. The Indian rupee fell by 39 paise to 60.94 a dollar.

About 1143 shares have advanced, 1549 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

Shares of HDFC Bank, HDFC, Reliance Industries, L&T, M&M, Sun Pharma, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, NTPC, Wipro, Coal India, Hindalco Industries, Tata Power and Gail plunged 1.5-3 percent.

However, shares of Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki bucked the trend, up 2.5 percent each followed by HUL and ICICI Bank with 1.65 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

1:55 pm Exclusive: Vodafone-Tata Group talks over Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) have been called off reports CNBC-TV18 sources. Essentially, this deal could have helped Vodafone climb ahead of Bharti Airtel because Tata Teleservices had a very strong presence in areas that Vodafone was not present in, like the 3G circle. It could have been a perfect fit for Vodafone, taking its market share 10-15 percent ahead of Bharti Airtel.

1:45 pm Buzzing: Shares of Thomas Cook surged to record high at Rs 148.90 per share, up 20 percent intraday, driven by positive sentiment as its parent company reported an eighth straight quarterly profit jump. Sterling Holidays, too, hit record high at Rs 158.80 per share (up 18 percent).

Buoyed up by its UK performance, the British holiday operator posted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 33 million pounds (USD 56 million) in the three months to the end of June, its fiscal third quarter, a big improvement on the 1 million pounds it made in the same period last year.

It said all its businesses had delivered improved results, though it was helped by the timing of Easter. The gross margin across the group rose 30 basis points, with the UK gross margin up 150 basis points.

1:30 pm Result impact: Shares of Union Bank of India rallied 7 percent intraday after it announced April-June quarter earnings. The state-owned lender surpassed street expectations with the net profit rising 18.5 percent year-on-year at Rs 664 crore in first quarter led by lower provisions but impacted by lower other income and higher tax cost. Profit in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal was Rs 560.2 crore.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose by 10.9 percent on yearly basis to Rs 2,117 crore in the quarter ended June 2014. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the bank to report net profit of Rs 529 crore and net interest income of Rs 2,080 crore for the quarter.

"Domestic net interest margin improved to 2.68 percent in June quarter from 2.62 percent in March quarter 2014. It was 2.72 percent in the year-ago period. Global NIM in Q1FY15 was 2.6 percent, higher than 2.55 percent in Q4FY14. It was 2.63 percent in corresponding quarter of last fiscal," said the bank.

1:20 pm Big slide: Shares of Pantaloons Fashion & Retail plunged 10 percent intraday as investors are growing worried about its business. The Aditya-Birla group firm's net loss widened to Rs 78.09 crore in the first quarter ended on June 30, dragged by higher depreciation and amortisation expenses.

Depreciation and amortisation expense in period were at Rs 45.55 crore as against Rs 16.75 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Pantaloons' Q1 net sales went up by 13.46 percent to Rs 381.3 crore as against Rs 336.04 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

Selling pressure continues in the market as global cues weigh on investor sentiment. The Sensex is down 90.57 points at 25804.40 and the Nifty slips 24.60 points at 7696.70. About 1262 shares have advanced, 1326 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

M&M, NTPC, GAIL, Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite are main losers while Maruti, Bharti, HUL and ICICI Bank are gainers in the Sensex. IT index is down over 1 percent, dragged by TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra (fell 1-2 percent each). ITC, Reliance, HDFC twins and Infosys are major negative contributors to the Sensex.

Globally, Asian markets are mostly lower following sell-off in US markets overnight but upbeat data from China helps cap larger losses. China's official PMI rises to a better-than-expected 51.7 in July. All eyes are on crucial US jobs data due tonight.

The world trade organization failed to reach a consensus on the trade facilitation agreement, aimed at easing customs rules globally. India is firm on its stand of having a parallel pact on food stockpiling and agriculture subsidies.

12:50pm Oil marketing companies rally
Shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) rallied 1-2 percent. Petrol price was cut by Rs 1.09 per litre, the second reduction in three-and-half-months, while diesel rates were hiked by 56 paise a litre.

Petrol in Delhi now costs Rs 72.51 per litre from as against Rs 73.60 a litre. Similarly, diesel will be priced at Rs 58.40 per litre as compared to Rs 57.84. Petrol price was reduced following drop in international oil rates and rupee depreciation against US dollar, making imports cheaper.

12:40pm JP Morgan on GDP
With fears of inadequate monsoon having receded, the Indian economy could grow 5.5-6.0 percent in the second half of this fiscal, said Jahangir Aziz, Chief Economist, JP Morgan.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Aziz said he expects a strong pick-up in government consumption, and does not see the RBI cutting rates despite signs of inflation easing.

12:30pm Finance Minister on Fiscal Deficit
India's fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal year is "daunting", Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told lawmakers in parliament.

Jaitley has promised to narrow the deficit to 4.1 percent of gross domestic product in the year to March 2015 from 4.5 percent a year earlier.

However, many private economists have dubbed the deficit target rather optimistic, citing weak tax receipts in a sluggish economy and high government expenditure commitments, reports Reuters.

12:20pm Union Bank surges 6%
Union Bank of India surpassed street expectations with the net profit rising 18.5 percent year-on-year at Rs 664 crore in April-June quarter led by lower provisions but impacted by lower other income. Profit in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal was Rs 560.2 crore.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose by 10.9 percent on yearly basis to Rs 2,117 crore in the quarter ended June 2014. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the bank to report net profit of Rs 529 crore and net interest income of Rs 2,080 crore for the quarter.

12:10pm Technical expert on Market
The ongoing correction could intensify, as the market is already showing signs of fatigue, feels Gautam Shah of JM Financial.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said the Nifty could slip to 7450 if it failed to sustain above 7700 today, and in a worst case scenario, could slide all the way to 7150.

He said the first leg of the bull run appeared to be over, and that the Nifty was likely to top out at 7840.

According to him, the risk reward ratio will be favourable to go long when the Nifty is between 7300-7400.

12:00pm Equity benchmarks recovered more than half of losses in afternoon trade with the Nifty hovering around 7700. The index falling 22.55 points to 7698.75 and the Sensex slipped 85.78 points to 25809.19.

About 1220 shares have advanced, 1280 shares declined, and 102 shares are unchanged.

India's biggest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank gained strength, up 1 percent each while top telecom operator Bharti Airtel surged 3.2 percent after TRAI Chairman Rahul Khullar said mobile tariffs may raise 8-9 percent.

Car maker Maruti Suzuki topped the buying list, up 3.5 percent after strong sales performance in July. Total sales of the company grew by 21.7 percent year-on-year to 1.01 lakh units. Nomura maintains buy on the stock and raised target price to Rs 3,025 post steady Q1 earnings.

11:50 am PSU merger?: The government does not have any definite plans for merging PSU banks, Banking Secretary Gurdial Singh Sandhu. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said guidelines on autonomy to PSU banks would be issued in a month. Sandhu said the merger between the ailing United Bank of India and IDBI Bank was a suggestion, and that United Bank could be a candidate for merger with any other PSU bank as well.

SBI Capital Markets has been asked to prepare a feasibility report for the merger, he said. Sandhu said the government was not planning to brings banks under the Companies Act as recommended by the PJ Nayak Committee on governance norms for PSU banks.

11:40 am Fall: Shares of Tech Mahindra, one of the largest software services exporters in India, fell as much as 5.8 percent intraday Friday after disappointing operating performance in April-June quarter. The company's operating profit margin in Q1FY15 dropped 310 basis points sequentially to 18.1 as against analysts' expectations of 19.6 percent.

Consolidated net profit increased by 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter as against forecast of 8.1 percent growth but it beat street expectations on dollar revenue front that grew by 3.6 percent Q-o-Q to USD 855 million as against expectations of 3 percent growth.

Brokerage house CLSA rated underperform rating on the stock, citing decline in margins is the worst among peers despite no wage hike headwinds suggests that growth has come from deals with significantly lower margins. "This is likely to drive a sharp margin and earnings expectation reset, it said.

11:30 am Expert opinion: A slightly deeper correction might actually be healthy for Indian market, says  Udayan Mukherjee, who believes real test will be the second half of the session. ''You could fall a little bit-50-60 points to 7650, find support in buying coming in-but in the second half of the day, you will get a clearer impression of how the global investors, the FIIs, are approaching this global problem,'' he said.

Mukherjee believes the Fed is doing its best to keep the markets clam footing. But the problem is whether analysts or investors should also rely on the data points, like the Fed, because all indicators are suggesting to an earlier-than-anticipated rate cut.

11:20 am Buzzing: Shares of Maruti Suzuki are flying off the shelf, driving it up 4 percent intraday on Friday. Most brokerages are positive on the auto major stating that green shoots are clearly visible, impressed by its April-June quarter performance.

Credit Suisse maintains outperform rating on the stock. It thinks that Maruti's earnings can more than double in three years with a 15 percent volume CAGR and 300 basis points margin expansion due to a cut in discounts and operating leverage. What really surprised the brokerage is Maruti's effort to cut costs which actually off-set its record-level high-discounts in the quarter.

Citi suggests buying it but is concerned about Maruti's royalty costs. On a per car basis, it appears to be up 5 percent on quarter-on-quarter despite currency moving in Marut's favour. "We need more clarity on this aspect. If rates continue at this pace for Q2 and beyond, our EPS estimates could decline by Rs 7-Rs 11 per share over FY15 and FY16 respectively," its adds.

The market is still weak, seems to be triggered by foreign investors selling. The Sensex is down 132.30 points at 25762.67 and the Nifty slips 36.95 points at 7684.35. About 1015 shares have advanced, 1202 shares declined, and 83 shares are unchanged.
 
Maruti rose 4 percent while Bharti, HUL, Tata Steel and Hindalco are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are HDFC, NTPC, Sun Pharma, GAIL and M&M.  Telecom stocks gain as TRAI Chairman said mobile tariffs may be raised 8-9 percent.

Factory activity expanded at its fastest pace in 17 months in July as firms responded to burgeoning new orders by increasing output even as input prices jumped sharply, a business survey showed.The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, rose to 53.0 in July from 51.5 in June, its highest since February 2013. A reading above 50 separates growth from contraction.

Asian shares are also down following global markets due to ongoing tensions with Russia and Argentina's second debt default in 12 years.

10:55am Tech Mahindra under pressure
Tech Mahindra shares fell over 3 percent due to a big margin miss. Operating profit margin of the IT company declined over 300 basis points sequentially.

CLSA said this margin decline suggests that growth has come from deals with significantly lower margins while Barclays has lowered it FY15/16 earnings per share estimates by 8 percent/3 percent.

10:45am OnMobile Global falls
OnMobile Global has reduced its consolidated net loss to Rs 23.9 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 139.2 crore in previous quarter but its consolidated income from operations fell 11.6 percent to Rs 199 crore from Rs 225 crore during the same period.

10:35am China PMI
China's factories posted their strongest growth in at least 1-1/2 years in July as new orders surged to multi-month highs, two surveys showed, cementing bets that the economy is re-gaining momentum after a spate of stimulus measures.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) issued by the government climbed to a 27-month high of 51.7 in July, beating forecasts for 51.4.

A separate PMI published by HSBC/Markit also rose to 51.7, its best performance in 18 months.

A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity on a monthly basis, and below that a contraction, reports Reuters.

10:30am  India's HSBC Manufacturing PMI improved to 53.0 in July, the highest in last 17-month, compared to 51.5 in previous month.

10:20am Market Expert
Deven Choksey MD, KR Choksey Shares & Securities says Nifty at the current moment seems to be well behaved and could trade in the range of 7500-7750 and consolidate within that range.

He does not expect further damage to Indian market. In fact he thinks loss of Russia could be gain for India and market could see higher allocation in the near-term.

10:10am Berger Paints Q1 Expectations
Berger Paints, the second largest player in the decorative paints market with a 17 percent market share, will announce its first quarter (April-June) earnings today. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts expect consolidated profit after tax of the company to increase by 26.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 61.9 crore on strong sales and operating performance.

Total income from operations may jump 15.1 percent to Rs 1,045 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 compared to Rs 908 crore in the year-ago period. Operating profit (EBITDA) may rose 24.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 112 crore and margin may expand 80 basis points to 10.7 percent in the quarter gone by.

10:00am Equity benchmarks remained under pressure with the 50-share NSE Nifty trading below the 7700 level weighed down by banking and financials, oil & gas, healthcare and capital goods stocks.

The Sensex declined 147.91 points to 25747.06 and the Nifty slipped 45.25 points to 7676.05. About 735 shares have advanced, 1071 shares declined, and 65 shares are unchanged.

Top power producer NTPC extended losses, down 2 percent in addition to 3 percent fall in previous session post disappointing Q1 earnings. Index heavyweights: Housing finance company HDFC, private sector lender HDFC Bank and petrochemical major Reliance Industries dropped 1-2 percent.
 
Shares of Sun Pharma, Larsen & Toubro, Sesa Sterlite, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Power and Gail went down 1-1.5 percent. Utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra plunged 2.5 percent ahead of July auto sales data.

However, car maker Maruti Suzuki gained more than a percent after total sales of the company in July jumped 21.7 percent at 1.01 lakh units compared to year-ago period with domestic sales growth at 19.9 percent and exports at 38.4 percent.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel topped the buying list, up 3 percent.

OnMobile Global falls
OnMobile Global has reduced its consolidated net loss to Rs 23.9 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 139.2 crore in previous quarter but its consolidated income from operations fell 11.6 percent to Rs 199 crore from Rs 225 crore during the same period.

10:00 am FIIs sell: Overseas investors sold shares worth Rs 1654 crore on Thursday, their biggest single-day selling since July 2, provisional exchange data shows.
Thursday also marked a second consecutive day of net sales by foreign investors, totaling USD319 million. Yesterday's outflows included sales by Goldman Sachs Singapore, Deutsche Securities Mauritius and Morgan Stanley Singapore in certain stocks, NSE's bulk-deal data shows.

 9:50 am Market check: The Sensex is down 154.99 points at 25739.98 and the Nifty is down 51.60 points at 7669.70. About 644 shares have advanced, 940 shares declined, and 60 shares are unchanged.

Bharti is up 2 percent while M&M and NTPC fall around 2 percent each.

9:40 am Bond news: BSE may launch interest rate future contracts based on the new 10-year 2024 bond starting on Monday, a spokesman for the exchange told Reuters.

"Bond futures on the new 10 year would likely be launched on Monday," the spokesman for the BSE said.

Separately, two sources familiar with the matter at the National Stock Exchange said the exchange would also launch futures based on the new 10-year on Monday. They declined to be identified because they were not authorised to discuss the plans.

A spokeswoman for the NSE said a circular will likely be released later in the day.

9:30 am Poll: Watch-to-jewellery maker Titan Company will announce its first quarter (April-June) earnings today. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts expect profit after tax to increase by 5.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 192 crore while adjusted profit after tax may fall 7.2 percent to Rs 192 crore during the quarter.

Total income from operations is likely to slip 7.8 percent to Rs 2,864 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 3,108 crore in the year-ago period.

Operating profit (EBITDA) may jump 7.7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 264 crore and operating profit margin may expand by 130 basis points to 9.2 percent in the quarter gone by.

Selling continues at Dalal Street Friday kick-starting August series on a weak note. The Sensex down 155.16 points at 25739.81. The Nifty slips 53.65 points at 7667.65. About 309 shares have advanced, 708 shares declined, and 40 shares are unchanged.

Infosys, Cipla, TCS, Wipro and Bharti Airtel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are M&M, GAIL, HDFC and NTPC.

The Indian rupee opened weak. The rupee slipped 20 paise at 60.75 per dollar versus 60.55 Thursday. The dollar holds steady near its highs ahead of the crucial jobs data in the u-s today

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, ''Investors are expected to trade watchfully till the credit policy is announced, though the positive sentiments may support the market.The rupee is expected to trade range bound to slightly strong after yesterdays fall. Range for the day is seen between 60-61/dollar."

In the US, stocks tumbled yesterday with the Dow and S&P 500 posting their first monthly drop since January, as investors worried about Europe's economy, an Argentine default and a jump in US labour costs prompted concerns about corporate margins. Slipping into the red for the year, the Dow Jones industrial average lost over 300 points. The CBOE volatility index jumped 27 percent to 16.95.

Nymex crude slipped putting the contract on course for its biggest weekly drop in seven months on the news of a potentially lengthy shutdown of a key refinery and a slide in equities weighed on sentiment. Brent too slipped below USD 106.

From precious metals space, gold was stuck near a six-week low and headed for a third straight weekly loss.