Nifty ends below 7950; IT surges, Hero up, Maruti falls 3%

03:30 Market closing
The market ended a dull day of trade on a flat note. The Nifty ended tad below 7950 down 19.25 points at 7945.55 while the Sensex slipped 62.52 points at 26567.99. Oil & gas and FMCG stocks were beaten down while IT stocks gained on dollar strength.

Wipro, Infosys, M&M, TCS and Hero were top gainers. On the losing side were Maruti, Tata Steel, GAIL, Tata Power and Reliance.

03:00pm Market Check
The Sensex declined 52.90 points to 26577.61 and the Nifty fell 15.35 points to 7949.45.
About 1220 shares have advanced, 1604 shares declined, and 107 shares are unchanged.

02:45pm Minda Industries in focus
Minda signed a joint venture agreement with Panasonic Corporation, Japan to manufacture and supply of lead acid storage batteries for two wheelers, four wheelers and for other industrial batteries. The proposed plant of the joint venture company will be located at Pant Nagar, Uttrakhand.

The shareholding of Panasonic Corporation and Minda Industries in the said joint venture is in the ratio of 60:40, said the company.

The cost of the project will be around Rs 160 crore. The commercial production of the 4W batteries is planned for June, 2015. It is stated that the production capacity of this joint venture company is expected to be two million batteries by 2018.

02:30pm IVRCL in News
IVRCL shares rallied 8 percent as a media report suggested that the company is going to sell Rs 4,000 crore worth of assets.

While clarifying the assets sale, the company said as part of strategic business plan to monetize BOT assets, it proposed to divest its stake in certain road projects and water projects. The same has been mentioned in press release dated April 01, 2013 under copy to stock exchanges. Therefore, the news is already in public domain.

Further, as per the CDR package, the company is required to monetize certain assets and the above point has been clarified to the shareholder in the AGM held on September 26, 2014 to his query, it added.

02:00pm Market Check
The market remained directionless with the Nifty holding 7950. Oil & gas, FMCG, banking and financials, and metals stocks declined while technology and auto stocks gained.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 12.27 points to 26618.24 and the Nifty dropped 3.30 points to 7961.50. About 1259 shares have advanced, 1485 shares declined, and 114 shares are unchanged.

Individual stocks have been correcting of late but Nifty has not witnessed appropriate correction due to extended support by the defensives. Deven Choksey, Managing Director of KR Choksey Shares and Securities feels this could be a strategy to bring a much-needed headroom into some stocks.

If Nifty remains in an adjustment band of 7900-8200, he is confident of investors buying into corrected stocks from a long-term perspective.

Shares of ITC, Reliance Industries, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, HUL, Tata Steel, Gail India and Tata Power were down 1-2.5 percent while Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Hero Motocorp and Coal India gained 1-3 percent.

In the midcap space, Relaxo Footwear, Berger Paints, Cyient, Bata India and Kaveri Seed shot up 5-9 percent while Trinity Trade, PTC India, Rajesh Exports, BF Utilities and Manappuram Finance lost 3-5 percent.

Among smallcaps, Visagar Polytex, Oscar Investment, Balrampur Chini, Minda Industries and Can Fin Homes surged 7-10 percent whereas KGN Enterprises, Wim Plast, Swadeshi Industries, KDJ Holidayscap and JMT Auto slipped 5-8 percent.

1:45 pm Market outlook: Indian equities are done away with the Modi premium over the past three months and are back to focusing on high quality stocks with high earnings visibility, says Ridham Desai, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley. However, this skepticism is good for the bulls, he tells CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Second quarter earnings season, which kicks off from October 10, will be watched out and sectors like healthcare, technology and consumer staples are likely to post strong growth, he adds. Once earnings are out of the way, the state elections will be market's focus in the start of Q3. ''The BJP is taking risks by going alone in Maharashtra state elections and the market is trying to price in this event. But any adverse election result for BJP in Maharashtra could be a negative cue for the market,'' cautions Desai.

1:30 pm IT stocks rally: Shares of technology stocks are rallying as dollar gains strength. The rupee depreciated by 19 paise to trade at almost seven-month low of 61.94 against the US currency in early trade today on capital outflows amidst the dollar's gain against other currencies overseas. The BSE IT index is up around 1.5 percent intraday.

IT stocks are also riding on the euphoria that the second quarter earnings will be better. Goldman Sachs says that Q2 is a seasonally strong quarter for Indian IT and current market expectations from some large-cap peers appear subdued.

''We expect 2QFY15E to witness 4.7 percent quarterly USD revenue growth versus 3.3 percent Q-o-Q growth in 1QFY15. USD revenue growth will be negatively impacted by 40-70 basis points due to cross currency impact mainly from negative 3.5 percent depreciation in euro,'' it says in a report.

The market continues to be in sluggish mode ahead of the long weekend. The Nifty is hovering around 7950, down 12.20 points at 7952.60. The Sensex slips 35.05 points at 26595.46. About 1162 shares have advanced, 1430 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

Wipro and Hero are up 2-3 percent. Other top gainers are Infosys, TCS and Coal India. Among the losers are Maruti, Tata Steel, GAIL, ONGC and ITC.

Gold extended losses to trade near a nine-month low and looked likely to break below the key USD 1,200-an-ounce level, clobbered by a stronger dollar and lack of support from top buyer China.

With the dollar at a four-year peak against a basket of major currencies, other precious metals also took a hit. Platinum tumbled to a five-year low, while silver retained sharp overnight losses to trade at its lowest since March 2010.

A stronger US currency makes dollar-denominated precious metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Worries about an interest rate rise in the United States have also hurt gold, a non-interest-bearing asset.

12:58pm HOV Services in News
Investors lapped up more shares of HOV Services after the board of directors approved sale of its entire investment in SourceHOV. The stock is locked at 20 percent upper circuit at Rs 152.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange and there were pending buy orders of 123,886 shares, with no sellers available.

The board of directors of the company on Tuesday decided to sell company's entire investment in SourceHOV through its US-based wholly owned subsidiary HOVS LLC to promoters, affiliate/related parties and other potential buyers.

The board also approved merger of SourceHOV and BancTec; and notice of postal ballot for the purpose of seeking shareholders' approval for sale of stake and merger.

HOV Services through its wholly owned direct subsidiary HOVS LLC (a Nevada-based limited liability company in USA) holds a 26.1 percent stake in SourceHOV Holdings Inc, a Delaware-based corporation in USA.

The value of shares proposed to be sold to the potential buyers by HOVS LLC accounts for more than 20 percent of HOV Services assets.

12:30pm Gold Update
Gold extended losses to trade near a nine-month low and looked likely to break below the key USD 1,200-an-ounce level, clobbered by a stronger dollar and lack of support from top buyer China.

With the dollar at a four-year peak against a basket of major currencies, other precious metals also took a hit. Platinum tumbled to a five-year low, while silver retained sharp overnight losses to trade at its lowest since March 2010.

A stronger US currency makes dollar-denominated precious metals more expensive for holders of other currencies. Worries about an interest rate rise in the United States have also hurt gold, a non-interest-bearing asset.

Spot gold slipped 0.2 percent to USD 1,205.90 an ounce by 0623 GMT, falling for the fourth straight session. It went as low as USD 1,204.40 in the previous session, its lowest since early January.

The metal slid 6 percent in September, its sharpest monthly drop since June 2013, and also logged its first quarterly loss of the year, reports Reuters.

12:00pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate due to lack of triggers. The next trigger for the market would be second quarter earnings (July-September) that will be kicked off with Infosys on October 10.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 46.98 points to 26583.53 and the Nifty slipped 17.25 points to 7947.55. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were flat. The market breadth was weak; about 1134 shares have advanced while 1317 shares declined on teh Bombay Stock Exchange.
 
Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki shed 2.5 percent each followed by ITC, Reliance Industries, HDFC, ONGC, Hindustan Unilever and Gail India with 1-1.8 percent loss. Top lenders like State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were down 0.7 percent, 0.77 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

However, Wipro and Hero Motocorp topped the buying list, up 2 percent each. Infosys and TCS gained 1.8 percent each. Shares of Tata Motors, NTPC, Axis Bank, Coal India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Dr Reddy's Labs rose 0.3-0.9 percent.

12:50 pm Opinion: Rohit Sah, fund manager - International Equities, TCW Group is confident on Indian economy after the Narendra Modi-led government came into power on May 16.

According to him, India has all positives to grow at 12 percent in dollar terms but desperately needs economic reforms to boost growth. Sah says the midcaps and smallcaps in India are driven by domestic economy and it is wise to focus on quality stocks in both these packs. The tailwinds, right now, are supporting the domestic economy and there is no need to worry about the valuations, adds Sah.

12:30 pm Market outlook:  Brokerage house Citi has raised its December 2015 Sensex target by 16 percent to 31,000, led by an uptick in earnings growth. "You are now beginning to hear the rumblings: 'little real reform happening, nothing's changed on the ground, no loan demand, India could do a Japan, etc'. But given an eco-corporate up-cycle, macro tailwinds (inflation, oil) and increased risk appetite (business and consumer), India should generate earnings growth-led returns,'' Citi said in its note to clients.

The market is trading listlessly. The Sensex is down 37.97 points at 26592.54 and the Nifty is down 13.10 points at 7951.70. About 1189 shares have advanced, 1121 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.
 
Auto companies are in focus as September sales are announced. Wipro, TCS, Infosys, Hero MotoCorp and NTPC are top gainers while Maruti, Tata Steel, GAIL, ITC and ONGC are laggards.

Globally, Asia is mixed. Hong Kong and China are closed for trade. However, Hong Kong continues to be in focus as pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong have entered into their 5th day. From currencies the yen trades at the lowest since August 2008 and the Indian rupee continues to trade close to seven month lows.

Brent oil futures edged up above USD 95 a barrel as a positive Chinese factory survey helped the crude benchmark start October firmer after it fell to its weakest level since 2012 in the previous session.

Concern over growing oil supply and the dollar's strength pushed Brent down by more than USD 2 on Tuesday in its biggest single-day drop since January and the same factors are likely to keep a lid on any price recovery.

Chinese manufacturing activity steadied in September, with the government's Purchasing Managers' Index unchanged at 51.1, a tad higher than market forecasts, offering some relief to investors worried about the slowdown in the world's No 2 economy.

10:59am Videocon in focus
Direct to home service provider Videocon D2H has filed for initial public offer (IPO) to raise up to Rs 700 crore, the market regulator Sebi said.

The company had received the regulator's approval in March 2013 for its proposed IPO but did not launch the same due to bad market conditions.

In an earlier interview to CNBC-TV18, the chairman and managing director Venugopal Dhoot had said that Videocon D2H is looking at a Diwali release for its proposed float.

When asked whether the proceeds will be used purely for acquisition or to repay some of the debt, Dhoot has said it would mainly be for expansion.

10:40am Maruti Suzuki slips nearly 2%
Maruti Suzuki sold 1.09 lakh units in September, down nearly a percent compared 1.10 lakh units in previous month but up 4.6 percent compared to same month last year. Sales were lower than analysts' expectations of 1.2 lakh units.

Domestic sales grew 9.8 percent year-on-year to 99,290 units and passenger vehicle sales rose by 3.1 percent to 81,447 units but exports declined 28.2 percent to 10,452 units during the same period.

10:20am FII View
Indian equities are done away with the Modi premium over the past three months and are back to focusing on high quality stocks with high earnings visibility, says Ridham Desai, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley. However, this skepticism is good for the bulls, he tells CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Second quarter earnings season, which kicks off from October 10, will be watched out and sectors like healthcare, technology and consumer staples are likely to post strong growth, he adds.

Once earnings are out of the way, the state elections will be market's focus in the start of Q3. ''The BJP is taking risks by going alone in Maharashtra state elections and the market is trying to price in this event. But any adverse election result for BJP in Maharashtra could be a negative cue for the market,'' cautions Desai.

On the macro front, Inflation remains a major concern for India at this point of time, but Desai expects the inflation situation to improve in the next six-eight months.

10:00am Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained rangebound as investors stayed sideways ahead of long weekend. The Sensex fell 8.41 points to 26622.10 and the Nifty declined 6.20 points to 7958.60.

The broader markets maintained marginal gains with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.2 percent each. Advancing shares beat declining ones by a ratio of 1076 to 897 on the BSE.

Technology stocks saw huge buying interest on depreciation in rupee. TCS, Infosys and Wipro rallied 1-3 percent.

Shares of Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hero Motocorp, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and Coal India were up 0.4-1 percent while Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and Gail India topped the selling list, down 2-2.5 percent.

ITC, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ONGC, HUL, SBI, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL and Maruti Suzuki lost 0.4-1 percent.

9:56 am Petrol price cut: Petrol price was today cut by 54 paisa a litre, but the first reduction in diesel rates in over five years was put off until the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the US. State-owned oil firms, which skipped raising rates on September 16 even though their cost had gone up, cut prices in view of the downward trend in international markets.

Petrol price was reduced by 54 paisa a litre without including local sales tax or VAT, with effect from midnight tonight.

9:45 am Weak yen: The dollar hit a new high six-year high against the yen, breaching 110 for the first time since August 2008. The currency pair reached 110.08 in early Asian trading, prompting a response from a Japanese government spokesperson, saying authorities will monitor the yen's movement carefully.

The greenback has strengthened more than 8 percent against the yen since early August, driven by the Federal Reserve's tightening monetary policy and recent weakness in the Japanese economy.

9:30 am Deposit rate cut: State Bank of India has reduced the short-term deposit rates by 1 percentage point for amount below Rs 1 crore, second such move this month. In an exchange filing on Tuesday, the banking giant said it has reduced the pricing of short-term deposits of below Rs 1 crore to 6 percent from 7 percent now for a maturity of 7 to 45 days.

The new pricing will be effective October 7, said the lender, which controls close to a quarter of the total liabilities in the banking system. The bank has retained the existing rates for all other maturities in this bucket.

Equity benchmarks started October month on a flat note with the Sensex falling 2.97 points to 26627.54 and the Nifty declining 5.95 points to 7958.85 while the broader markets saw marginal gains.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent each. About 596 shares have advanced, 254 shares declined, and 27 shares are unchanged.

Auto sector will remain in focus today as all auto companies are going to announce their September auto sales data. Strong volume growth is expected across all segments on the back of improvement in the demand scenario in the past 2-3 months. Hero Motocorp's total September sales came in 30 percent higher at 6 lakh units; the stock gained 2 percent.

Wipro extended gains, up nearly 2 percent. TCS, Sesa Strelite and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, ITC, Tata Steel, Tata Power and HDFC.

The Indian rupee declined in the early trade. It has opened lower by 18 paise at 61.93 per dollar against 61.75 Tuesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "With the USD appreciating in response to expectation of rise in dollar interest rates, dollar-funded carry trades are shifting to euro as an attractive funding currency."

"This dollar rally is impacting rupee to some extent. The rupee is expected to trade today in a range of 61.60-62/dollar," he added.

On the global front, the US stocks fell with equities posting September losses and quarterly gains, as portfolio managers engaged in end-of-quarter positioning. S&P 500, Nasdaq extended quarterly win streak.

On the economic data front - the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index rose at an annual pace of 6.7 percent in July. That is the lowest pace of growth in twenty months. US consumer confidence has fallen unexpectedly this month, to a four-month low.

In Europe, shares closed broadly higher, as investors focused on key data from the euro zone rather than the geopolitical risk posed by the protests in Hong Kong.

Two of the Asian markets, Hong Kong and Shanghai are closed. Hong Kong markets are closed until Friday, while Shanghai markets are shut until October 7.

In Japan, Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed business sentiment improving in the past quarter. Kospi extended losses into a fourth session.

In the currency space, dollar gained strength and trades near 4-year high. The euro languished near a fresh two-year trough having come under fire as a further slowdown in euro zone inflation intensified pressure for more stimulus from the European central bank.