Nifty ends at 8711, Sensex in red; IT gains, IOB tanks 10%

03:30 Market close
The market ended at lower level. The Nifty ends at 8711.70 (down 12 points), after sinking below 8700 intraday. The Sensex is down 32.14 points at 28850.97. About 1025 shares have advanced, 1889 shares declined and 229 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power was down 8 percent, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL, ONGC and M&M were losers in the Sensex. IOB tanked 10 percent after it disappointed dismal Q3 results.

03:00 pm Market in red
The Sensex is down 27.78 points at 28855.33 and the Nifty down 8.65 points or 0.10% at 8715.05. About 1081 shares have advanced, 1789 shares declined and 226 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power tanks over 7 percent, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco and ICICI Bank are major losers in the Sensex. Only IT stocks are up with gainers like TCS, Wipro and Infosys. HDFC and Coal India are other gainers in the Sensex.

02:45pm Market Update
The market trimmed gains on profit booking at higher levels. The Sensex gained 230.24 points at 29113.35 and the Nifty rose 69.70 points to 8793.40.

About 1254 shares have advanced, 1572 shares declined, and 236 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:30pm Petronet LNG falls
Petronet LNG disappointed street with the third quarter net profit falling 38.2 percent sequentially (up 20 percent year-on-year) to Rs 162.4 crore.

A poll of CNBC-TV18 had expected profit of Rs 227.9 crore on revenue of Rs 11,058 crore for the quarter.

Total income from operations grew 2 percent (up 19 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 11,198 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 10,980 crore in pervious quarter.

Operating profit fell 34.2 percent quarter-on-quarter (down 3 percent year-on-year) to Rs 341 crore and margin declined 170 basis points to 3 percent in the quarter gone by. Analysts had estimated operating profit at Rs 475.2 crore and margin at 4.3 percent for the quarter.

02:00pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks gained more than a percent higher in afternoon trade, aided by further upside in banking & financials, technology and FMCG stocks. The Sensex jumped 367.77 points to 29250.88 and the Nifty rallied 98.80 points to 8822.50.

However, the broader markets remained flat. About 1320 shares have advanced, 1412 shares declined, and 241 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Samir Arora of Helios Capital says FIIs are excited about India, but most of them are still stocking to the quality names. They are still not upbeat on companies that are potential turnaround stories.

Looking at possibilities on the economy in terms of monetary stimulus and fiscal stimulus, financial sector stocks will still do well, and within that space, private sector banks will outperform, feels Samir Arora of Helios Capital.

Among banking & financials, HDFC toppped the buying list on Sensex, up 4.6 percent. Axis Bank and State Bank of India rallied 1-3 percent while rival ICICI Bank recouped all its losses.

HDFC Bank gained 2 percent as it kicked off a Rs 10,000 crore share sale, with a Rs 1,500 crore QIP book launched last night. Sources say the QIP book saw very strong response, was subscribed over 7 times. The bank is also looking to raise Rs 7,500-8,000 crore via ADR issue.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro climbed 3-3.6 percent after Cognizant positively surprised the street with a revenue growth of 6.2 percent Q-o-Q and provided an encouraging guidance of 19 percent for this year. CLSA says guidance should improve investor confidence on CY15 demand health for Indian IT companies.

Bharti Airtel rebounded after seeing a loss of 1 percent. The company delivered a tepid set of Q3 numbers as Africa performance continued to drag. CLSA downgraded Africa's FY15-18 EBITDA by 11-13 percent.

In key earnings, Tata Motors gained 1.4 percent ahead of its third quarter earnings today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects revenues to come in 3.5 percent higher while profits are likely to remain flat at Rs 4,846 crore on a consolidated basis.

However, ONGC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Power, Cipla, GAIL, Hindalco and BHEL were down 1-4 percent.

1:55 pm Brokerage: Macquarie has upgraded Wockhardt to outperform from neutral with a revised one-year target of Rs 1700 (from Rs 410) per share. The shares jumped 2.5 percent intraday on Thursday after it posted firm December quarter results. The stock was up around 10 percent in yesterday's trade. The brokerage has also increased FY15/16E EPS to Rs58/65, an increase of 120/110 percent respectively, driven largely by higher UK sales.

It states that Wockhardt has more than doubled its field force over the last 2-3 years. New product launches and increasing productivity of sales should help drive high-teen growth in the market going forward, feels Macquarie.

1:45 pm Subsidy share: The Oil Ministry proposed a new subsidy sharing proposal by which upstream companies ONGC and Oil India would not make any contributions towards subsidy burden if crude prices are at or below USD 60 per barrel. The companies, however, take upon 85 percent of the burden if crude ranged between USD 60 and 100 and 90 percent if oil stays above USD 100.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Sudhir Vasudeva, former chairman and managing director, ONGC says the government should instead fix the price at USD 65 vis-a-vis 60 per barrel.

1:30 pm Downgrades: Shares of KEC International slumped over 12 percent intraday after it posted disappointing December quarter results. Its consolidated total income fell 6.7 percent to Rs 2053 crore while EBITDA was down 26.2 percent at Rs 104.6 crore.

Sales was driven by strong cable sales offset by weaker transmission and distribution (T&D) and railways revenue. The company was expected to report a recovery in Q3 EBITDA margins. However, during the quarter, its net profit was up at Rs 66.4 crore from Rs 19.2 crore year-on-year.

Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from overweight and lowered target price by 40 percent to Rs 73 from Rs 121 per share. It warns that there is a limited visibility of a margin turnaround post the deterioration in margins from Q2 while exposure to the Middle East and international business is a concern.

1:20 pm Market check: The market has started to rally with boosts from bank, IT and FMCG stocks. The Sensex is up 257.75 points or 0.9 percent at 29140.86 and the Nifty is up 76.85 points or 0.9 percent at 8800.About 1306 shares have advanced, 1342 shares declined, and 243 shares are unchanged.

It is a good day of consolidation as the Sensex is up 126.33 points at 29009.44. The Nifty is up 36.75 points at 8760.45. About 1273 shares have advanced, 1342 shares declined, and 230 shares are unchanged.

Wipro is up 3 percent while HDFC, Axis Bank, Infosys and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Metals & oil stocks drag. Among the losers are Tata Power, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, M&M and Hindalco.

Oil markets edged lower after big losses in the previous session as record high oil inventories in the United States had cut short a four-day rally.Prices had gained in early trade on optimism that steps by China's central bank to pour fresh liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy by lowering banks' reserve requirements would spur demand for energy.

Oil markets remain highly volatile, with US crude losing 9 percent on Wednesday in one of its biggest routs ever. In the previous four sessions, prices had rallied almost 19 percent from their lowest in nearly six years.

12:30pm Crude falls further
Oil markets edged lower on Thursday after big losses in the previous session as record high oil inventories in the United States had cut short a four-day rally.

Prices had gained in early trade on optimism that steps by China's central bank to pour fresh liquidity into the world's second-biggest economy by lowering banks' reserve requirements would spur demand for energy.

Oil markets remain highly volatile, with US crude losing 9 percent on Wednesday in one of its biggest routs ever. In the previous four sessions, prices had rallied almost 19 percent from their lowest in nearly six years.

Brent crude for March delivery was 14 cents lower at USD 54.02 a barrel by 0546 GMT, after touching USD 55 a barrel earlier in the day. The contract had settled USD 3.21 or 5.5 percent lower the previous day.

US crude traded 36 cents lower at USD 48.09 a barrel. The contract traded above USD 49 a barrel earlier in the session, after closing down almost 9 percent on Wednesday after the large build-up in inventories.

US crude stocks increased by 6.3 million barrels last week, rising for the fourth consecutive week to hit a record high of 413.06 million barrels, data from the Energy Information Administration showed, reports Reuters.

12:00pm Market Check
The 50-share NSE Nifty managed to maintain 8750 level amid consolidation today, supported by banking & financials and technology stocks. However, healthcare and select metals stocks were under pressure.

The Sensex rose 95.31 points to 28978.42 and the Nifty advanced 29.70 points to 8753.40. About 1223 shares have advanced, 1265 shares declined, and 216 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Global deflationary pressure will help economic situation, says Uday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank. He sees a possibility of rate cuts by banks in March or Q1FY16. While striking a cautious note, he says that the infrastructure sector is not out of the woods yet.

Bharti Airtel traded a percent lower after the company delivered a tepid set of Q3 numbers as Africa performance continued to drag. CLSA downgraded Africa's FY15-18 EBITDA by 11-13 percent.

In key earnings, Tata Motors traded marginally higher ahead of its third quarter earnings today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects revenues to come in 3.5 percent higher while profits are likely to remain flat at Rs 4,846 crore on a consolidated basis. PTC India, Financial Technologies, Hindustan Copper, CEAT, SJVN, Petronet LNG, IRB Infra, IOB, UCO Bank, Jubilant Foodworks and Allahabad Bank are other companies that will also announce its quarterly earnings today.

HDFC Bank gained 1.2 percent as it kicked off a Rs 10,000 crore share sale, with a Rs 1,500 crore QIP book launched last night. Sources say the QIP book saw very strong response, was subscribed over 7 times. The bank is also looking to raise Rs 7,500-8,000 crore via ADR issue.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro climbed 0.8-1.5 percent after Cognizant positively surprised the street with a revenue growth of 6.2 percent Q-o-Q and provided an encouraging guidance of 19 percent for this year. CLSA says guidance should improve investor confidence on CY15 demand health for Indian IT companies.

Pipavav Defence gained 9 percent as reports suggest that Mahindra & Mahindra, the Hero group and a French shipbuilder have started separate discussions with the promoters to purchase a 19 percent stake.

11:5 am Betting big? Investors are really excited about India post election outcome, said Kirti Doshi of Antique Stock Broking. He feels the results of recent government steps will be visible in 6-9 months. Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of Antique Investor Conference, both Doshi and Dharmesh Dalal, Co-Head, Equities, said the structural changes in the economy are seen at grassroots level and may start reflecting in earnings too in the next 2-3 quarters. Among sectors Antique is positive on infra, capital goods and autos. It expects financials to continue to lead the market and sees SBI to be the biggest beneficiary of turnaround in economy. The broking firm is bullish on HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank and Canara Bank .

11:45 am Result analysis: Macquarie has upgraded Wockhardt to outperform from neutral with a revised one-year target of Rs 1700 (from Rs 410) per share. The shares jumped 2.5 percent intraday on Thursday after it posted firm December quarter results. The stock was jump around 10 percent in yesterday's trade.

The brokerage has also increased FY15/16E EPS to Rs58/65, an increase of 120/110 percent respectively, driven largely by higher UK sales. It states that Wockhardt has more than doubled its field force over the last 2-3 years. New product launches and increasing productivity of sales should help drive high-teen growth in the market going forward, feels Macquarie.

The brokerage had a cautious view on the stock for past year, awaiting better visibility regarding regulatory issues and future approvals but Form 483 issued by the US FDA in early 2014 on the Morton Grove US facility has now been resolved, which provides significant comfort around the sustainability of the remaining US business.

11:30 am Outlook: Market expert Udayan Mukherjee believes the fall in the market could have had a darker red hue had it not been for the most important financial event – the Budget.

Mukherjee says the Budget trigger is proving a strong support for Nifty, which is trading ahead of itself. He says a 200-300 points correction would have been just fair given the way the corporate earnings have disappointed.

Mukherjee believes the immediate trigger- the Delhi elections is not in essence an important event but the results of the same could have contrarian impact on the street.

''If the BJP comes to power, it will rekindle the market's sentiment and Nifty could rally beyond 9000. But if the AAP wins the elections, it will give the market a reason to sulk,'' he adds. On the earnings season, Mukherjee is hopeful of seeing better cumbers from companies in the next two quarters. He believes it will take that long for the government's actions o bear fruit.

But on the more immediate trigger, Mukherjee says the market may see a 10 percent fall if the

The market is consolidating with the Nifty hovering around 8750 levels. IT stocks support while banks continue to weigh. The Nifty is up 27.50 points at 8751.20 and the Sensex is up 115.24 points at 28998.35. About 1237 shares have advanced, 1028 shares declined, and 197 shares are unchanged.

Wipro, Axis Bank, HUL and Infosys are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata Power, ONGC, GAIL, M&M and Sesa Sterlite.

Globally, Asian markets are mixed. China is higher as the People's Bank of China reduced the reserve requirement by 50 bps, the first cut in 2 years. However, volatility in oil prices and worries about Greek debt after the European Central Bank banned the use of Greek government bonds as collateral weighs.

10:30am Market Expert
The sustenance of market rally will depend on Budget and how earnings recovery happen in the quarters ahead, says Nilesh Shah, Managing Director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management. He expects both equity and debt funds to do well in 2015.

Stating that markets are no longer cheap as they were in mid-2013, Shah recommends investors to take Systematic Investment Plan ( SIP ) way to invest in equity funds. He advises putting money in Kotak Gilt Fund & Kotak Bond Fund.

Investors with average risk profile must look at diversified funds, says Shah, advising that one should go for a blend of midcap and largecap funds. He recommends thematic funds for high-risk investors.

10:00am Market Check
Equity benchmarks gained momentum amid consolidation. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 134.92 points to 29018.03 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 35.90 points to 8759.60.

The broader markets also saw marginal gains. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1134 to 736 on the BSE.

Axis Bank rebounded after losing 8 percent in previous two sessions, up 2.5 percent. HDFC Bank, HDFC, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki and Coal India also led support to the market, up 1 percent each.

TCS, Infosys and Wipro climbed 0.8-1.5 percent after Cognizant positively surprised the street with a revenue growth of 6.2 percent Q-o-Q and provided an encouraging guidance of 19 percent for this year. CLSA says guidance should improve investor confidence on CY15 demand health for Indian IT companies.

However, ONGC saw profit booking, down 2 percent. ICICI Bank, Cipla, Sesa Sterlite, Dr Reddy's Labs, GAIL and Tata Power went down 0.7-1.6 percent.

Bharti Airtel declined 0.7 percent on reporting tepid results with consolidated revenue and EBITDA slightly lower than estimates, with Africa dragging the overall business. CLSA downgraded Africa FY15/18 EBITDA estimates by sharp 11-13 percent while Bank of America Merrill Lynch says they see downside to consensus EBITDA estimates for Bharti.

In the broader space, KEC International lost 8 percent as the company reported weak revenues and margins. Consolidated total income fell 6.7 percent at Rs 2,053.3 crore Y-o-Y. Barclays downgraded stock to an underweight and cut earnings estimates by 29-75 percent over FY15-17 on lower margin expectations. It also lowered 12-month price target to Rs 73 from Rs 121.

Aurobindo Pharma fell 4 percent as Q3 margins declined to 20 percent from 30 percent and profits slipped 8 percent to Rs 384.35 crore. EBITDA impacted due to high base from created due to Cymbalta drug Y-o-Y.

Pipavav Defence gained 7.5 percent as reports suggest that Mahindra & Mahindra, the Hero group and a French shipbuilder have started separate discussions with the promoters to purchase a 19 percent stake.

9:50 am  Result analysis: Brokerages are mixed on Bharti Airtel after it showed tepid December quarter performance. Consolidated net profit of the India's largest telecom operator grew 4 percent sequentially to Rs 1,437 crore despite exceptional loss of Rs 292.1 crore during October-December quarter.

Macquarie maintains an outperform rating on the stock with a target of Rs 425 per share as it feels the upcoming spectrum auctions will be key driver. It states, though spectrum auction will pinch the balance sheet in the near term, it should alleviate regulatory uncertainty in the long run.

CLSA has downgraded Africa forecasts for FY15/18 but says Bharti's consolidated Ebitda and PAT growth remains robust at 14 percent and 20 percent CAGR over FY15-18. CLSA reiterates buy rating with a view that Bharti is best play on India mobile data boom.

9:32 am Poll: Tata Motors 's third quarter consolidated profit after tax is expected to increase 0.87 percent year-on-year to Rs 4,846 crore, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Revenue is seen going up 3.5 percent to Rs 66,110 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 63,876 crore in same quarter last fiscal. Consolidated operational performance is expected to be strong driven by JLR, feel analysts. Operating profit may grow 13 percent year-on-year to Rs 11,253 crore and margin may expand 250 basis points to 17 percent in the quarter gone by.

JLR's profit is likely to be flat at 618 million pound with revenue rising 5 percent Y-o-Y to 5,595 million pound. Operating profit is seen rising 13.3 percent on yearly basis to 1,082.5 million pound and margin may jump 150 basis points to 19.4 percent during the quarter.

9:30 am Gainers & Losers: Axis Bank, Wipro, BHEL, Coal India and HDFC Bank are top gainers while Tata Power loses 2 percent. Cipla, Sesa Sterlite, ONGC and Tata Motors are major losers in the Sensex.

The market has opened flat with negative global cues. The Sensex is up 29.27 points at 28912.38 and the Nifty is up 7.00 points at 8730.70. About 402 shares have advanced, 165 shares declined, and 154 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power, Bharti, Tata Steel, Axis Bank and Wipro are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are ICICI Bank, Sesa Sterlite, Cipla, Tata Motors and NTPC.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 13 paise at 61.88 per dollar on Thursday against previous day's closing value of 61.75 a dollar.

The euro declined after the European Central Bank said it will no longer accept Greek bonds as collateral for its liquidity operations, dealing a blow to Athens which is seeking debt relief from euro zone lenders.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Greece continues to be a worry for global markets leading to dollar strength against the euro. Domestic market is expecting short-term custodial dollar flows arising out of ECB QE. However, RBI is expected to intervene to prevent steep appreciation of rupee. USD-INR is expected to trade in a range of 61.70-62/dollar today."

Asian markets are trading in the red. China will be in focus today as the PBOC reduced the reserve requirements for banks by 50 basis points for the first time in two years.

In other asset classes, crude prices remained a source of market volatility. Nymex crude prices were steady around 48 dollars per barrel after closing nearly 9 percent lower overnight. Brent too traded around USD 54 per barrel.