Nifty ends below 6300; IT stocks weak, HDFC & HUL gain 1%

The market sunk into pressure after opening in the green. The Nifty ended the day below 6300, 6291.10 down 23 points, while the Sensex closed 51 points lower at 21143.01. IT, banking and realty stocks were in sellers' radar. Infosys , Bajaj Auto and M&M ended the day with 2 percent loss. Other losers in the Sensex are L&T and ICICI Bank . Technical analyst Gautam Shah, senior VP at JM Financial sees the first important support below 6250, after which he says 6170 becomes a key level for the Nifty. He thinks the index could break below 6170 in January. ''A close below 6170 would set Nifty up for a 5 percent decline at least,'' he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. Asian markets end mostly positive, China ends with minor losses. The euro is slipping. The US 10 year yield above 3 percent. Gold is testing the 1200 mark and WTI crude is above 100 dollars a barrel. Rupee weakened against the dollar due to month-end dollar purchases by state-owned banks on behalf of their oil importer clients, and on weakness in local share indices.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, has approved Tesco's proposal to invest USD 110 million to set up supermarkets in the country.Earlier this month, Tesco became the first foreign supermarket operator to venture into India's USD 500 billion retail sector after announcing it had applied to buy a 50 percent stake in Tata Group's Trent Hypermarket. The announcement came after market hours but expectations of an approval kept Trent busy today. The stock closed with a gain of 2 percent, touching an intraday high of 4 percent on the BSE. Shares of Sesa Sterlite jumped around 4 percent intraday as it commenced mining in Karnataka, albeit with production caps, after receiving permission from Supreme Court. Idea Cellular rallied 2.5 percent intraday. The telecom service provider has received shareholders' approval for increasing the investment limit for overseas investors to 49 percent, according to PTI sources.

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended on a negative note. The Sensex ended down 50.57 points at 21143.01, and the Nifty closed 22.70 points lower at 6291.10. About 1362 shares advanced, 1138 shares declined, and 148 shares were unchanged.

The Indian markets dip into the red after a positive opening. The Sensex is down 64.81 points at 21128.77, and the Nifty is down 25.35 points at 6288.45. About 1271 shares have advanced, 1131 shares declined, and 146 shares are unchanged. BHEL , Coal India , HDFC , Tata Motors and Reliance are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the major losers are Infosys , Bajaj Auto , M&M, Cipla and L&T. Asian markets end mostly positive, China ends with minor losses. The euro is slipping. The US 10 year yield above 3 percent. Gold is testing the 1200-mark and WTI crude is above 100 dollars a barrel. Rupee weakens against the dollar due to month-end dollar purchases by state-owned banks on behalf of their oil importer clients, and on weakness in local share indices. Commodity market regulator FMC has given more time till January 17 to Mumbai-based chartered accountants Chokshi and Chokshi for completing the forensic audit of the crisis-hit National Spot Exchange Ltd's (NSEL) e-series contracts. Chokshi and Chokshi, which was given December-end deadline to complete the audit of e-series contracts at NSEL, had sought extension to finish the work. "Based on your request, it is decided by the Commission to grant extension of time up to January 17, 2014 to complete the work of forensic audit of e-series contracts at NSEL," Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said in a letter to the audit firm.

2:56pm Brokerage Outlook for 2014: A survey of brokerage reports done by Nimesh Shah of CNBC-TV18 suggests Sensex target in the range of 21000-24600. Brokerages are overweight on IT, pharma, auto and metals. Underweight on consumer discretionary, staples and banks. The expected Sensex EPS range is between 1243-1603.

2:52pm: Top losers on NSE were Liberty Shoes , Gitanjali Gems , Vaibhav Global , BF Utilities .

Nifty losers: DLF (down 3.3%), Ranbaxy (down 3.1%), ACC (down 2.2%), M&M (down 2.2%) and Infy (down 2.1%).

2:47pm Indian economy is ready for tapering says RBI. Painting an optimistic picture on the external front, the Reserve Bank has said the country is ready for the US Federal Reserve's tapering, and has pegged the current account deficit at below 3 percent for this fiscal in its eighth Financial Stability Report.

2:43pm Technicals: Nifty is trading well above its 50 DMA of 6183. Heavyweights like Bajaj Auto , Ambuja Cements , Glenmark Pharma , Cipla and HPCL are trading below their 200 Day Moving Averages.

2:36pm F&O Check: Nifty open interest put call ratio is at 0.84. Nifty 6400 and 6500 call add 5 lakh and 6 lakh shares in OI indicating call writing in trade today. India VIX is up 5 percent. Bank Nifty is down 0.73 percent.

2:21pm Stock picks: Bhavin Shah of Equirus Securities recommends 5 stocks for investment for the year 2014.

2:19pm Rupee at day's low: The rupee extends losses after being in a tight range in early trade. The pair is at 62.10/11 versus its close of 61.85/86 on Friday, reported Reuters.

2:17pm Midcap Stars: TVS Motor (up 12.65%), HMT (up 6.75%), Linde India (up 4.86%), CMC (up 4.78%) and MCX India up 4.72%). The Nifty continues to trade in a narrow band of 20 points amid thin volumes. IT and realty stocks were trading weak on the back of profit booking. BSE Metal index was the top sectoral index gainer with close to 1 percent gain. The Sensex was down 33 points at 21160 and the Nifty was down 17 points at 6296.About 1277 shares advanced, 1044 shares declined, and 143 shares were unchanged. Top gainers in the Sensex were Coal India (up 1.56%), Sesa Sterlite (up 1.19%), BHEL (up 1.18%), Tata Motors (up 1.13%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.06%). Infosys (down 2.04%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.67%), M&M (down 1.18%), Cipla (down 0.99%) and ONGC (down 0.99%) were top losers.

1:50 pm Interview: Welcoming talks of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the railways sector, Umesh Chowdhary, managing director, Titagarh Wagons says the sector will benefit from more interest and investment. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Chowdhary says the existing FDI that is allowed in railways does not permit inflows in component manufacturing. ''However, for infrastructure, the talks are the FDI will be opened up to 100 percent for dedicated freight corridor and the high speed railway network which has been long spoken about will be very good,'' he further adds.

1:40 pm Opinion:The privatisation of airports will provide a good opportunity for investments as all of them need funding support, says Satish Mandana, managing partner & chief investment officer, IDFC Alternatives. "As more and more airports are going to get privatised and low cost airports come into the picture this space has good oppurtunity. But existing airports also offe some investment opportunities because they are leveraged and they do require funding support at some level," he explains. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mandana says the time is right for investing into the infrastructure sector and for acquiring assets. He believes social infrastructure- healthcare, hospitality and education-pose good investing opportunities.

1:30 pm Taxation: The government will not extend its Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) beyond its original December 31 deadline, Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose told reporters on Monday. The VCES was launched in a bid to make service tax defaulters to pay up and tax authorities received about 40,000 applications totaling up to Rs 5,500 crore, Bose said. Under the scheme announced in the union budget this year, defaulters were allowed to pay 50 percent of their dues between 2007 and 2012 without late payment penalties and interest.

1:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Idea Cellular rallied 2.5 percent intraday on Monday as it has received shareholders' approval for increasing the investment limit for overseas investors to 49 percent, according to PTI sources. "Increase in FII investment limit has been approved by shareholders of Idea Cellular at the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on December 26 ," sources said. Currently, FII share holding in the company is about 17.95 percent of the paid up capital.

The market is rangebound wehed down by IT and capital goods stocks. The Sensex is down 17.79 points at 21175.79, and the Nifty is down 12.40 points at 6301.40. About 1204 shares have advanced, 992 shares declined, and 131 shares are unchanged. Infosys , Bajaj Auto , ONGC , Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank are laggards.BHEL, GAIL , Tata Motors , Coal India and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex.  Meanwhile, the RBI has released its financial stability report. The report says delay in tapering allowed India to adjust its current account deficit and needs to revive its fiscal responsibility law. Dollar strengthening against other currencies also put pressure on the rupee. Bond yields trade lower on bargain buying after yields rose in the last five trading sessions. All eyes are on Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) meet today. It is likely to take a call on Tesco's proposal to enter India's multi-brand retail segment and will consider Vodafone's application to hike stake in its Indian arm today.  Trent is up 3 percent on the BSE.

12:57pm: TVS Motors up 43% in 15 days. TVS Motors is the best performing 2-wheeler stock in the auto space in the year 2013. The stock has gained 80 percent compared to Hero Honda (up 11%) and Bajaj Auto (down 11%).

12:53pm: FTIL, MCX at one-month high: Shares of Financial Technologies and MCX were trading close to one-month high in trade today.

12:50pm Buzzing Stock: Shares of Sesa Sterlite jumped around 4 percent intraday on Monday as it has commenced mining in Karnataka, albeit with production caps, after receiving permission from Supreme Court.

12:45pm:  Yuan hits record high on strong central bank fixing China's yuan hit a record high on Monday in light trading, as traders say authorities are guiding the yuan stronger in the final days of the year to achieve a pre-determined yearly appreciation target.

12:35pm CNX IT down 1% after touching life-high: CNX IT has lost more than 100 points or 1.2 percent after touching an all-time high of 9632 earlier today.

12:25pm Market Outlook: The Nifty is setting up for 300 point move either way in the next 3-4 weeks. Technical analyst Gautam Shah, senior VP at JM Financial says the market looks critically placed at this point in time.

12:21pm Most Active: The most active shares on NSE were Infosys (down 1.5%), Tata Elxsi (up 7%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1%), Apollo Tyres (up 2.5%) and SBI (down 0.3%).

12:19pm Price Shockers: Smallcap stocks that have gained more than 40% in last seven trading sessions are Modern Dairies (up 83%), Rico Auto (up 60%), Gitanjali Gems (up 49%), Taneja Aerospace (up 47%).

12:11pm United Phosphorous board has approved buyback of 1.4 crore shares up to Rs 220 per share. The company will spend up to Rs 308 crore on share buyback. The stock touched a fresh 52-week high 198.40 post annoucement. The Nifty continues to trade flat in a lackluster trade on Monday. Lack of trading participation from fund managers and FIIs on account of year-end holidays is keeping the Nifty in a narrow band of 20 points. The action continues in broader markets. Stocks like TVS Motors, CMC , Gati and Ramco have made double digit gains for traders. The Sensex was up 4 points at 21198, and the Nifty was down 6 points at 6307. About 1140 shares advanced, 877 shares declined, and 123 shares remain unchanged. Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors , GAIL , Coal India and BHEL were top gainers in the Nifty. DLF , Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank , ACC and Jaiprakash Associates were top losers

11:50 am Market outlook: Technical analyst Gautam Shah, senior VP at JM Financial says the market looks critically placed at this point in time . He has turned cautious on the market from his earlier bullish stance. He says the market is witnessing selling pressures at higher levels. He sees the first important support below 6250, after which he says 6170 becomes a key level for the Nifty. He thinks the index could break below 6170 in January. ''A close below 6170 would set Nifty up for a 5 percent decline at least,'' he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. A bullish stance can't be taken until the Nifty crosses 6350, he says. However, he adds there are no immediate signs of weakness yet, though the price action in the Nifty has been lackluster. "The Nifty is setting up for 300 point move either way in the next 3-4 weeks," he says. He continues to advise investors to adopt a stock-specific approach.

11:40 am Macro outlook: Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan said the challenge of containing inflation is limiting the central bank's ability to boost economic growth, while urging the government to continue with fiscal consolidation to support the economy. The comments were included in the foreword of the central bank's financial stability report published on Monday, which comes after the RBI surprised investors by keeping interest rates unchanged this month after raising them by a total of 50 basis points in September and in October. Analysts say the RBI could resume tightening monetary policy by early next year should inflation remain high, even as the economy is growing below the decade low of 5 percent posted in the fiscal year ending in March. The report also reiterated the RBI's previously stated concerns about the level of bad assets in the banking sector, while noting a corporate "failure" could trigger contagion in the interlinked banking system.

11:30 am Interview: In a bid to expand business, Muthoot Finance is now seriously considering foraying into the White-label ATM business, says George Alexander Muthoot, managing director, Muthoot Finance. Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the path ahead, Muthoot says this business segment will help the company gain access to those who are not their customers via gold loans. White-label ATMs are automated teller machines that dispense cash, but unlike the conventional ATMs, are owned by non-banking companies. On the plans for the future, Muthoot says the company has applied for housing finance that will cater to the rural and semi-rural masses.

The market continues to be volatile and seems to ignore the RBI Financial Stability report. The Sensex is down 40.84 points at 21152.74, and the Nifty is down 18.00 points at 6295.80. About 1049 shares have advanced, 699 shares declined, and 92 shares are unchanged. The RBI Financial Stability report says that delay in tapering allowed India to adjust current account deficit (CAD) and India has built buffers by replenishing forex reserves. In the global markets, growth in China's factory activity may have pulled back slightly in December, a Reuters poll showed, reinforcing views that the world's second-largest economy could lose some steam at the year end while Beijing is shifting its focus to structural reforms, reports Reuters. China's official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) likely eased to 51.2 in December, down a touch from November's 51.4, according to the median forecast of 11 economists in the poll. Among the currencies, South Korea's won hit its strongest level in more than five years against the yen on Monday, ending the year up, but most emerging Asian currencies suffered losses to the dollar with the U.S. Federal Reserve to start tapering its stimulus in January. The won rose as much as 0.2 percent to 9.9983 to the Japanese currency, breaking through a psychological resistance at 10.000 for the first time since September 2008.

10:55 am Flashback: Merger and acquisitions (M&As) activities of Indian companies slowed down in 2013 to a total of nearly 500 deals worth USD 27 billion, but the momentum is set to pick up in 2014 especially after the general elections. In comparison, Indian companies were involved in 598 M&As deals worth USD 35.4 billion in 2012 and 644 transactions worth USD 44.6 billion a year ago in 2011, shows an analysis of data compiled by various deal-tracking firms. While deal volumes have slipped for two consecutive years now, experts believe there is a lot of pent up demand for M&A transactions and the deal momentum is set to pick up in 2014.

10:45 am Buzzing: Sesa Sterlite jumped 4 percent intraday 3.6 after the Supreme Court has permitted Vedanta group company to resume iron ore mining at Chitradurg in Karnataka. The SC has capped production from the mine at about 40 per cent of its annual capacity. Mining operations in Karnataka were banned in July 2011 following allegations of illegal mining.

10:30 am AAP effect: The employees of the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, who have not been paid their salaries for the past 17 months, today said they will seek help from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in getting their dues. "In the past, we have requested to both the Congress and the BJP to intervene in the issue. But none of them did come to our help. We will now approach Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and seek his help in getting our dues cleared," a Delhi-based Kingfisher Airlines employee told PTI.

The market has given away all its gains as Nifty slips below 6300. The Nifty is down 16.55 points at 6297.25, the Sensex is down 31.93 points or 0.15% at 21161.65. About 719 shares have advanced, 506 shares declined, and 53 shares are unchanged. Pressure is seen in banking stocks as well. HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , Kotak Mahindra, Bank of Baroda and PNB are dragging the banking index. Bajaj Auto , L&T, Wipro , Infosys and ONGC are top losers in the Sensex. Among the gainers are Tata Motors , Sesa Sterlite, Coal India , HUL and GAIL . Railway stocks are big gainers today as the government is liekly to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in railways. According to a media report, FDI limit in railways may be lowered to 74 percent. Kalindee Rail , Titagarh Wagaon, Texmaco Rail and Hind Rectifiers are rallying. The report quotes a senior official, "The proposal is currently with the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet secretary. CCEA was expected to take it up either on January 2 or January 9. Changes had to be made to DIPP's version of the Cabinet note to bring it in sync with the Railways' demand." Gold ticked down, heading for its biggest annual loss in more than three decades at nearly 30 percent, as firm equities and the prospect of a recovery in the global economy stole its shine, reports Reuters. Bullion has been on a roller-coaster trade in 2013. A plunge to a 2-year low in April unleashed pent-up demand from retail investors, but prices sank again in June to a near 3-year low on worries over a plan by the US Federal Reserve to wind down its monetary stimulus.

9:50 am Market outlook: Technical analyst, Sudarshan Sukhani of s2analytics.com says, "It is also the beginning of the new F&O settlement in January. So a lot of interesting events are combining together. I would be upbeat on the market in the short-term. We are just breaking out of a trading range. The upper resistance was 6,320. We are on the verge of taking that out. Trading range breakouts must be treated with respect. So it is not for me to say that the markets are overvalued or overbought, doesn't matter."

9:40 am Buzzing: Railway stocks are big gainers today as the government is likely to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in railways. According to a media report, FDI limit in railways may be lowered to 74 percent. Kalindee Rail , Titagarh Wagaon, Texmaco Rail and Hind Rectifiers are rallying. The report quotes a senior official, "The proposal is currently with the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet secretary. CCEA was expected to take it up either on January 2 or January 9. Changes had to be made to DIPP's version of the Cabinet note to bring it in sync with the Railways' demand." At present, FDI is not allowed in railway segments other than mass rapid transport and component manufacturing.

9:30 am Exclusive: In an interview with CNBC-TV18 , Finance Minister P Chidambaram says that restrictions on gold imports should continue. He expects the current account deficit below USD 50 billion. ''Hope food inflation measures will translate into easier monetary policy on January 28. We have allowed state governments to pass the buck on inflation to the central government. States have got away with belief that they have no responsibility on inflation,'' he said.

The market opens on a higher note as Nifty holds 6300. The Nifty is up 22.60 points at 6336.40 and the Sensex is up 100.55 points at 21294.13.About 352 shares have advanced, 59 shares declined, and 23 shares are unchanged. Banking stocks are leading the indices. HDFC twins, ICICI Bank , SBI and Axis Bank are top gainers in the financial space. Sesa Sterlite, Tata Motors and Hindalco are other lead gainers in the Sensex. The Indian rupee opened lower by 10 paise at 61.95 per dollar versus 61.85 Friday. Himanshu Arora, Religare said, "Rupee is expected to strengthen against the dollar amid continuous inflows into Indian equities. Further weakness in dollar against basket of currencies is also expected to cap upside in USD-INR. The range for the day is seen between 61.40-62.08/USD." CCI sources say the competition regulator's green light will be essential for mergers and acquisitions in the telecom space. In the political front, it has been a busy weekend for Arvind Kejriwal. Less than two hours after being sworn-in as the 7th and youngest chief minister of Delhi on Saturday, team Kejriwal swung into action with their first cabinet meet and it wasn't without outcome. Nine senior bureaucrats, including the CEO of the Delhi Jal Board were transferred as well. With Kejriwal taking charge, sources say that the Delhi secretariat may now work six days a week. Meanwhile, the US stock markets closed mostly flat on Friday, with the Dow snapping a six-day streak of record closing highs after investors took a break from this week's rally. Both the Dow and the S&P 500 wrapped up a second straight week of solid gains. The S&P 500 posted its best two-week period since July, while the Dow marked its best two weeks since June 2012. In Europe, shares closed higher on Friday after the two-day Christmas break, continuing their year-end rally. However, trading was thin as investors geared up for the New Year.