Nifty ends below 7850, Sensex up 104 points; Infosys down 2%

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended with gains for another day. The Sensex was up 104.37 points or 0.4 percent at 25864.47. The Nifty was up 30.95 points or 0.4 percent at 7837.55. About 1390 shares advanced, 1298 shares declined and 169 shares were unchanged. GAIL, ITC, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Hindalco were top gainers while Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were losers.

3:10 pm Macro data: India's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to be about 1 percent of the GDP in the current fiscal because of low crude prices and contained gold imports, says a Citigroup report.

According to the global financial services major, CAD is likely to be about USD 20.6 billion (1 percent of GDP) in 2015-16, as against USD 28 billion (1.4 percent of GDP) last year.

"Though it's still early to call the bottom on export contraction, we maintain our view of India's current account deficit narrowing to around 1 percent of GDP in FY16 due to low crude prices and contained gold imports," Citigroup said in a research note.

2:55 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks lost some gains in last hour of trade amid volatility. The Sensex rose 117.84 points to 25877.94 and the Nifty gained 31.20 points at 7837.80.

About 1364 shares have advanced, 1240 shares declined, and 169 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:40 pm HCL bags order: HCL Technologies has signed an application development and maintenance contract with Deutsche Bank.

Under the terms of agreement, HCL will provide digital solutions, systems integration, product implementation and design, build and test new applications in addition to the ongoing application maintenance and support services.

HCL will manage and enhance some of the existing application suites, including corporate banking and securities, global transaction banking, asset and wealth management, and risk, finance and back-office operations across Deutsche Bank group.

2:20 pm FM on economic growth: The Indian government would prefer to use buoyant tax receipts to fund extra infrastructure spending than to slash its borrowing target for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Reuters in an interview.

Arun Jaitley said he would prefer to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year through to March 2016.

Achieving high growth and reducing poverty were priorities in the coming years, Jaitley said on a visit to Dubai, slapping down rebels in the ruling party who have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a recent regional election defeat.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market gained strength in afternoon trade with the Nifty reclaiming 7850 level, aided by FMCG, metals, select pharma and banking & financials stocks. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 1-1.5 percent on positive Wall Street cues.

The Sensex rose 184.99 points to 25945.09 and the Nifty climbed 53 points to 7859.60. About 1364 shares have advanced, 1148 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Hindalco Industries, ITC, HDFC, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, HUL, GAIL, Vedanta and Tata Steel topped buying list on Sensex, up 2-3.7 percent.

Infosys and Dr Reddy's Labs fell 1.4 percent each.

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended with gains for another day. The Sensex was up 104.37 points or 0.4 percent at 25864.47. The Nifty was up 30.95 points or 0.4 percent at 7837.55. About 1390 shares advanced, 1298 shares declined and 169 shares were unchanged. GAIL, ITC, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Hindalco were top gainers while Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were losers.

3:10 pm Macro data: India's current account deficit (CAD) is likely to be about 1 percent of the GDP in the current fiscal because of low crude prices and contained gold imports, says a Citigroup report.

According to the global financial services major, CAD is likely to be about USD 20.6 billion (1 percent of GDP) in 2015-16, as against USD 28 billion (1.4 percent of GDP) last year.

"Though it's still early to call the bottom on export contraction, we maintain our view of India's current account deficit narrowing to around 1 percent of GDP in FY16 due to low crude prices and contained gold imports," Citigroup said in a research note.

2:55 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks lost some gains in last hour of trade amid volatility. The Sensex rose 117.84 points to 25877.94 and the Nifty gained 31.20 points at 7837.80.

About 1364 shares have advanced, 1240 shares declined, and 169 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:40 pm HCL bags order: HCL Technologies has signed an application development and maintenance contract with Deutsche Bank.

Under the terms of agreement, HCL will provide digital solutions, systems integration, product implementation and design, build and test new applications in addition to the ongoing application maintenance and support services.

HCL will manage and enhance some of the existing application suites, including corporate banking and securities, global transaction banking, asset and wealth management, and risk, finance and back-office operations across Deutsche Bank group.

2:20 pm FM on economic growth: The Indian government would prefer to use buoyant tax receipts to fund extra infrastructure spending than to slash its borrowing target for the current fiscal year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Reuters in an interview.

Arun Jaitley said he would prefer to stick to the fiscal deficit target of 3.9 percent of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year through to March 2016.

Achieving high growth and reducing poverty were priorities in the coming years, Jaitley said on a visit to Dubai, slapping down rebels in the ruling party who have criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a recent regional election defeat.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market gained strength in afternoon trade with the Nifty reclaiming 7850 level, aided by FMCG, metals, select pharma and banking & financials stocks. European markets like France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 1-1.5 percent on positive Wall Street cues.

The Sensex rose 184.99 points to 25945.09 and the Nifty climbed 53 points to 7859.60. About 1364 shares have advanced, 1148 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Hindalco Industries, ITC, HDFC, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, HUL, GAIL, Vedanta and Tata Steel topped buying list on Sensex, up 2-3.7 percent.

Infosys and Dr Reddy's Labs fell 1.4 percent each.

12:45 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks erased morning gains due to sell-off in banking stocks and heavyweights like Infosys, Reliance Industries & L&T.

The Sensex fell 22.92 points to 25737.18 and the Nifty declined 9.60 points to 7797. About 1240 shares have advanced, 1160 shares declined, and 159 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:40 pm Ajanta Pharma's launch: Shares of Ajanta Pharma gained 2.9 percent intraday after its US subsidiary has launched asthma drag. Ajanta Pharma USA Inc, a subsidiary of Ajanta Pharma, announced yesterday the launch of Montelukast sodium oral granules (4mg), a bioequivalent generic version of Singulair granules, in the US market, the Mumbai-based pharma company said in its filing.

Montelukast sodium tablets are used for the chronic treatment of asthma in adults and pediatric patients 12 months of age and older.

12:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering today surged over 6 percent intraday after Reliance Infrastructure said it will make an open offer to acquire an additional 26 percent in the company.

The Rs 1,263-crore open offer is scheduled to start on December 2. The open offer, to be made by Reliance Infrastructure along with its wholly-owned subsidiary Reliance Defence Systems Pvt Ltd, will stay open till December 15. Under the offer, the company is looking to acquire up to 19.14 crore shares from public shareholders of Pipavav at a price of Rs 66.

In March, the Anil Ambani group firm had announced plans to acquire a controlling stake in Pipavav Defence for up to Rs 2,082 crore.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to consolidate in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 23.66 points to 25783.76 and the Nifty gaining 4.50 points to 7811.10. The BSE Midcap also erased early gains to trade flat.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1301 shares have advanced against 1007 declining shares on the BSE.

Infosys, one of the top five index heavyweights, lost more than 2 percent on margin warning for second half of FY16. In a conference call, the company says it expects Q3 to be soft but is confident of coming back to growth in Q4.

Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel and Hero Motocorp fell more than 1 percent. Shares of ITC, HDFC, Sun Pharma, Cipla, Hindalco, Vedanta, GAIL and Tata Steel gained 1-4 percent.

11:55 am Market outlook: The trajectory of earning growth which saw a modest decline in the first half is likely to see recovery in the second half and FY17 will see a proper growth in earrings, is the word coming in Anish Damania, CEO, IDFC Securities. According to him earnings for the whole year would grow around 7 percent. First half saw a decline of 3 percent but second half would see a growth of around 10-12 percent and FY17 would see a growth of 20 percent on back of government's increased spending, lower inflation, seventh pay commission coming through, OROP etc. On basis of all the above developments, he expects Nifty to hit 9250 within a year.

11:45 am Interview: Balaji Telefilms is looking to expand its television as well as the film business extensively in coming quarters. The production house added four new shows in last quarter and will add two more in the next quarter, Ekta Kapoor, Joint MD of the company told CNBC-TV18. The company is its second quarter reported an 8 percent decrease in total income to Rs 55.07 crore year-on-year (YoY). Net profit came in at Rs 7.287 crore against a loss of Rs 7.6 crore last year. FY17 will be a crucial year for the company, as it expects a turnaround in its film business with six to seven new releases, said Sameer Nair, Group CEO

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Infosys declined nearly 2 percent intraday Tuesday after the India's second largest IT company warned investors of weaker margins in second half of current financial year 2015-16. In a conference call on Monday, it says weaker margin will mainly be due to lower spending by the company's top clients on account of the festive season. It also expects third quarter earnings to be soft but is confident of growth bouncing back in fourth quarter. Generally, third quarter for IT companies remain soft due to less number of working days (on holidays) and furloughs.

The market is holding up its gains with the Nifty nearing 7850. The 50-share index is up 28.80 points or 0.4 percent at 7835.40. The Sensex is up 107.72 points or 0.4 percent at 25867.82. About 1310 shares have advanced, 794 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Vedanta, ITC, Tata Steel and Cipla are top gainers while Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and M&M are among losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices extended gains in Asia on Tuesday but the uptick was capped as investors waited for data on US crude stockpiles expected to further underscore a global supply glut. Prices pushed higher yesterday after US-led coalition jets bombed the Islamic State group's oil operations following the deadly attacks on Paris, but analysts said the impact of geopolitical tensions on the oil market is limited.

10:55 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks maintained early gains. The Sensex gained 89.78 points at 25849.88 and the Nifty rose 25.55 points to 7832.15.

About 1304 shares have advanced, 768 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:45 am Rupee fall benefits: HPCL , IOC and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) will benefit the most from the rupee's depreciation as their dollar earnings are sufficient to more than offset the negatives of higher debt and capex in dollar terms, says a Fitch Ratings' report.

However, Power Grid Corporation of India , NTPC , Bharti Airtel and Lodha Developers Pvt Ltd tick all three negative boxes of minimal earnings in dollars, dollar-denominated debt and dollar-denominated capex, Fitch said.

The report highlights those Indian corporates whose financial profiles could strengthen or weaken if the rupee were to depreciate by 15 percent and 30 percent.

Fitch specifically highlights nine Indian corporates whose financial profiles would deteriorate and conversely eight corporates that are likely to benefit.

10:30 am Gold Update: Gold was little changed today as lingering caution in the aftermath of the Paris attacks offset the downward impact of a firmer US dollar and weaker demand in major gold buyers.

Expectations are growing that the United States will hike interest rates next month, which has pushed the dollar to its highest in half a year against a basket of currencies, making precious metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.

China and India are the world's top two consumers of gold.

Spot gold edged down 90 cents or or 0.1 percent to USD 1,081.40 an ounce. It struck USD 1,074.26 a tonne on Nov. 12 which was its cheapest in more than five years. US gold slipped by 0.3 percent to USD 1,080.90.

10:15 am Market Expert: The trajectory of earning growth, which saw a modest decline in the first half of FY16, is likely to see recovery in the second half and FY17 will see a proper growth in earrings, says Anish Damania, CEO, IDFC Securities.

According to him, earnings for whole year would grow around 7 percent. First half saw a decline of 3 percent but second half would see a growth of around 10-12 percent and FY17 would see a growth of 20 percent on back of government's increased spending, lower inflation, seventh pay commission coming through, OROP etc.

On basis of all the above developments, he expects Nifty to hit 9250 within a year.

10:00 am Market Check: The market continued to see buying interest, aided by banking & financials, FMCG, metals and infra stocks. However, the correction in Infosys limited upside.

The Sensex rose 80.66 points to 25840.76 and the Nifty climbed 23.30 points to 7829.90. The broader markets marginally outperformed benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was also positive as about 1158 shares have advanced against 618 declining shares on the BSE.

ITC continued to top contributor to Sensex's gains, up 2 percent. Vedanta, Hindalco, GAIL, BHEL and Sun Pharma rallied 1.5-3 percent.

Infosys lost 1.66 percent on margin warning for second half of FY16. Dr Reddy's Labs plunged over 2 percent and Bharti Airtel fell over a percent.

9:45 am Infosys concall: India's second largest IT company, Infosys, in a concall on Monday warned investors of weaker margins in second half of FY16. This will mainly be due to lower spending by the company's top clients on account of the festive season, the management said. However, the company has retained its earlier FY16 guidance of 10-12 percent in constant currency terms. The company is confident of bouncing back in the fourth quarter post a soft Q3. 9:35 am ICICI Pru deal: Private bank ICICI Bank approved a 6 percent sale in ICICI Prudential Life Insurance. After the deal, the bank will hold 68 percent stake ,while the Prudential PLC (the joint venture partner) will hold 26 percent.

The remaining 6 percent stake will be sold to Premji Investment and Compassvale Investment. The transaction is valued at Rs 32,500 crore.

Last month, ICICI Bank decided to sell additional 9 percent stake in its general insurance arm for about Rs 1,550 crore to Prem Watsa run Fairfax Financial Holdings of Canada.

9:25 am Oil Update: Oil prices extended gains in Asia today but the uptick was capped as investors waited for data on US crude stockpiles expected to further underscore a global supply glut.

Prices pushed higher yesterday after US-led coalition jets bombed the Islamic State group's oil operations following the deadly attacks on Paris, but analysts said the impact of geopolitical tensions on the oil market is limited.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December was up six cents to USD 41.80 and Brent crude for January was trading 11 cents higher at USD 44.67 a barrel.

9:15 am Market Check
The market has extended rally in early trade Tuesday, taking positive cues from global peers. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 109.17 points to 25869.27 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 30.95 points at 7837.55.

ICICI Bank, Vedanta, SBI, L&T, BHEL, Idea Cellular, Cairn India and Tata Power were early gainers, up around a percent each. Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Hero Motocorp, Infosys and HCL Technologies were losers.

On the data front, the trade deficit for the month of October shrunk below the USD 10 billion mark.

The Indian rupee has opened with a marginal gains of 5 paise at 65.95 per dollar against previous close of 66.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The dollar index continues to edge towards the 100 mark with the dollar gaining against most of the currencies. The USD-INR pair continues to trade in the 65.50-66.50/dollar range but is expected to weaken from current levels on the back of overall dollar strength."

"We expect the pair to trade in the 65.70-66.30/dollar range for today," he added.

On the global front, stocks in the US gained on a sharp jump in oil prices boosted by geopolitical concerns following weekend terror attacks in Paris. Major indices closed more than 1 percent higher, recovering some of their sharp declines of last week. On the economic data front, November empire manufacturing index came in at minus 10.

Asian markets remained strong, taking positive lead from Wall Street. Shanghai, Nikkei, Hang Seng, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted gained 1-2 percent.

The dollar added on to gains as investors continue to expect an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.