Nifty ends below 8400, Sensex falls 75 points on Greek crisis

03:30 pm Market closing: Lot of excitement in the final 15 minutes of closing. Greek woes dragged market while investors are generally nervous ahead of F&O expiry. The Nifty ended at 8360.85, down 20.70 points. The Sensex was down 74.70 points at 27729.67.

BHEL, Lupin, HUL, Wipro and Sun Pharma were top gainers while Hindalco, Tata Steel, M&M, SBI and NTPC were major laggards in the Sensex.

03:20 pm Greek crisis: International creditors have rejected Greek proposals on the debt issue. The PM said that creditors' stance may be because they don't want a deal.

Greece owes the IMF 1.6 billion euros and repayment deadline is on June 30 and there was a fear that it may default on the debt without more aid. Markets hope that Greece will come to some kind of reforms-for-rescue deal with its international creditors this week, after Athens presented a new set of reform proposals Monday.

The Sensex is down 105.08 points or 0.4 percent at 27699.29 and the Nifty is down 33.15 points or 0.4 percent at 8348.40.

03:10 pm Market news: Asia Index, a BSE and S&P Dow Jones Indices joint venture, launched an index to measure the performance of 30 leading manufacturing and production companies.

The new index-S&P BSE India Manufacturing Index--is launched at a time when manufacturing sector is expecting a big boost from the government's 'Make in India' initiative. The index is a measure for production and manufacturing activities in the country.

It would provide liquid and investable exposure to India's top 30 manufacturing and production companies. "The manufacturing sector is one of the key indicators of growth of the Indian economy," Asia Index Private Limited CEO Alka Banerjee said.

02:55 pm Market Update: The market erased some gains amid consolidation. The Sensex rose 56.20 points to 27860.57 and the Nifty gained 9.65 points at 8391.20. About 1374 shares have advanced, 1259 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:40 pm IPO Opens: Initial public offering of Manpasand Beverages has opened for subscription today. The fruit drinks maker aims to raise up to Rs 400 crore through public offer for its expansion plans, including a new manufacturing unit.

Gujarat-based Manpasand has fixed a price band of Rs 290-320 per piece for the issue, which will close on June 26.

The company said it would use around Rs 153 crore from the IPO proceeds for setting up of a new manufacturing facility in Haryana. IPO funds will also be used to set up a corporate office at Vadodara, modernisation of existing facilities in Vadodara and Varanasi, repayment of loans and other general corporate purposes.

Fruit drinks maker Manpasand Beverages today said it has alloted 5.625 million equity shares at Rs 320 per share aggregating to Rs 180 crore to 11 anchor investors.

The company on Tuesday raised Rs 180 crore from anchor investors like Goldman Sachs, Birla Sun Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential MF, Morgan Stanley, Bharti AXA Life, SBI MF, UTI MF, BNP Paribas, Shinhan BNPP, Amundi Funds & Ashoka Pte.

02:25 pm Airtel in news: Jersey-based telecom joint venture of Bharti Group and Vodafone is in advanced talks to acquire JT Global.

"Jersey Airtel, a joint venture between Bharti Global and Vodafone, is in advanced talks to acquire JT Global," sources privy to the discussions said.

Jersey's Bharti Group and Vodafone refused to comment on the matter. Jersey Airtel sells Vodafone services in Jersey - an island nation off French coast in English Channel.

Apart from Jersey Airtel and JT Global, Bahrain based Batelco also has operations in the island nation.

"It is an extremely small market so merger makes sense," the sources said. Jersey has an estimated population of around 1 lakh people.

02:00 pm Market Check

The market remained in a positive terrain, aided by FMCG, oil, capital goods, select banks and pharma stocks. The Sensex gained 125.39 points or 0.45 percent at 27929.76 and the Nifty rose 33.20 points or 0.40 percent to 8414.75.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL extended rally, up 5 percent. FMCG major Hindustan Unilever gained more than 3 percent on reports that the company may buy Kerala-based ayurvedic hair and skin care brand Indulekha for Rs 500 crore.

Shares of ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma and Lupin climbed more than 2 percent. However, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra are leading laggards.

Sun TV Network is one of the top five most active stocks, down 10.5 percent. Reports in the media on Tuesday suggested the Prime Minister's Office is in sync with Home Ministry's view of not allowing Sun TV licence renewal. But CNBC-TV18 learnt from sources within the Government of India that the Prime Minister is not necessarily in favour of any kind of ban.

HDFC, Reliance Industries, ITC, Aurobindo Pharma, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank are most active shares on exchanges.

1:50 pm Analyst meet: Betting big on digital business, Mindtree says the unit will lead growth to gain momentum. In an analyst meet, the management has said that digital unit is expected to reach USD 220 million by 2020. The software service company derives 33 percent of current revenue from digital. ''Pricing is not the priority in digital,'' it says. Mindtree's fourth quarter consolidated net profit declined 8.4 percent sequentially to Rs 129 crore that fell short of expectations on Thursday, impacted by forex loss.

1:30 pm FM notes: Promising a globally compatible business climate in India, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said reforms have become "absolutely necessary" in the areas of land, labour and taxes to attract investors.

Stating that the government is committed to these reforms, Jaitley also promised a permanent consultation mechanism to address the foreign investors' concerns.

The Finance Minister further said that the government has already begun implementing various tax reforms.

"The aggression in the tax policy has been subdued and taxation structures are now becoming a lot more compatible and lot less adversarial," Jaitley told agency in an interview here. "Land, labour and taxation - these are the three areas, where the reforms are absolutely necessary. This is what many investors have highlighted.

The Sensex is up 106.32 points at 27910.69, and the Nifty is up 26.55 points at 8408.10. About 1366 shares have advanced, 1121 shares declined, and 166 shares are unchanged.

BHEL, HUL, Sun Pharma, Lupin and ICICI Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Hindalco, M&M, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and SBI.

Asian markets edge higher with Japan's Nikkei clinching an 18-year peak. Optimism that Greece's debt talks will be successful continues to buoy sentiment ahead of a meeting of European Union Finance Ministers later in the day.

Gold slid to a one-week low, down for a fourth consecutive session, as the dollar strengthened and global stock markets continued to rally on expectations of a Greek debt deal.The precious metal, often seen as an alternative investment during times of financial and economic uncertainties, has come under pressure after Greece's leftwing government expressed confidence that parliament would approve a debt deal with lenders.

12:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex rose 113.95 points to 27918.32 and the Nifty added 31.30 points to 8412.85. About 1330 shares have advanced, 1104 shares declined, and 162 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:50 pm GMR in focus: India's first Infrastructure Investment Trust, popularly called the InvITs may soon see the light of the day. Sources indicate that the debt-laden GMR Group may list its roads portfolio under this trust.

Infrastructure Investment Trusts or InvITs enable the creation of a new investment product for arranging long-term financing for infrastructure projects. InvITs allow investors to invest in specific products linked to infrastructure projects while providing necessary safeguards. More importantly, it helps the corporate raise significant amounts of capital for their projects.

Sources directly involved in the transaction say that the GMR Group, through the holding company for its roads projects- GMR Highways, is looking to raise upto Rs 4,000 crore through an InvIT listing. A few of the 6 completed highway projects the company owns may be offered for listing.

Given that this is the first such trust to be launched by an Indian corporate, GMR has sought more clarity on taxation from SEBI. Sources say it may file the Draft Red Herring Prospectus or DRHP with the market regulator by the end of this year.

12:20 pm Interview: Monsooon has started in all earnest but it is still too early to say it will improve crop productivity. However, if monsoon remains on track, there will be good impact on agriculture, says Marico chairman Harsh Mariwala.

In the same breadth, Mariwala dismisses current talks of a slowdown in rural demand. He agrees the pace of growth in rural demand has slowed down since last year, but it is not frozen. The story is quite opposite in the urban areas, and a huge recovery in the short-term is unlikely, he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Mariwala refused to reveal if the consumer products and services company was looking at acquisition in this fiscal.

12:00 pm Market Check

The market inched higher amid consolidation in noon trade and is headed for positive closing for ninth consecutive session. The Sensex advanced 93.88 points to 27898.25 and the Nifty gained 24.15 points at 8405.70, supported by FMCG, pharma and oil stocks. About 1279 shares have advanced, 1018 shares declined, and 149 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Asian markets edged higher with Japan's Nikkei clinching an 18-year peak on optimism that Greece's debt talks will be successful continued to buoy sentiment ahead of a meeting of European Union finance ministers later in the day.

BHEL topped the buying list, up 4 percent followed by HUL with 2.7 percent upside. ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Lupin and Wipro gained 1-2 percent. However, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco and Tata Steel fell 1-2 percent.

From the IT pack, Persistent Systems slumped more than 10 percent as the company gave a profit warning for Q1FY16, saying certain client specific issues could result in USD revenue decline. Tech Mahindra declined over a percent after Barclays cut target price on the stock to Rs 480 from Rs 545, citing concerns over its telecom vertical. However, Mindtree gained 2.5 percent as the company expects growth to remain above industry average.

Coal India remained in focus today as coal and power minister Piyush Goyal said company registered production growth of 12.3 percent in the 1st 83 days of FY16. Among others, Jet Airways rallied 4 percent after Eithad told CNBC-TV18 that it is working on a plan to further infuse capital into the company.

11:50 am Market outlook: Not among those who believe India has stepped on the gas, Saurabh Mukherjea, CEO of institutional Equities at Ambit Capital paints a slightly morbid picture of the economy. He says there are no tell-tale signs of an imminent recovery while the slowdown in rural demand is ''real.'' He clarifies the stress in rural India is divorced from the monsoon agonies. "the stress is not majorly related to rain," but driven by real estate, he said.

The situation has frustrated both the FIIs and Indian corporates. Only a handfuk of stocks portray earnings visibility like Coal India, Power Grid and PI Industries . Accordingly, Ambit has cut Sensex FY16 earnings to 9 percent from 16 percent and FY16 GDP growth rates to 7 percent against RBI's revised target of 7.6 percent.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of HUL jumped 3 percent intraday as it eyes acquiring a Kerala-based ayurvedic brand. According to media reports, the FMCG major may buy out Mosons Groups' brand Indulekha comprising hair care products, hair grooming oil and shampoo. The deal is pegged at around Rs 500 crore.

"If the negotiations are successful, HUL will buy all products under the Indulekha brand, including Bringha Ayurvedic Hair Oil, Bringha Selfie Bottle Hair Oil, Coconut Milk Shampoo, skin care oil, skin care cream and Acrot Natural Face Mask," one report quotes a source.

It will be quite interesting to know why HUL wants to re-enter hair oil market as it exited the business after selling Nihar Brand to Marico in 2006. The maker of Dove shampoos and Lux toilet soaps already has ayurvedic range of health care and personal care under its brand Ayush.

The market is still maintaining its uptrend. The Sensex is up 76.51 points at 27880.88 and the Nifty is up 19.70 points at 8401.25. About 1172 shares have advanced, 902 shares declined, and 124 shares are unchanged.

HUL, BHEL, Sun Pharma, Lupin and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Hindalco, M&M, Tata Steel, Maruti and SBI.

Oil prices extended their gains in Asia on Wednesday on expectations of a decline in US crude inventories and robust economic data from the eurozone, analysts said. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery was up 12 cents at USD 61.13 a barrel and Brent climbed 11 cents to USD 64.56 in late-morning trade.

Both contracts also ended higher on Tuesday as traders bet on a fall in stockpiles when the US Department of Energy releases its weekly report later today, indicating strong demand in the world's biggest economy.

In the eurozone, business activity rose sharply in June to hit a more than four-year high, which analysts said suggested a better-than-expected recovery in the making, while Greece closes in on a debt reform deal with its creditors.

10:45 am Cadila in News: Shares of Cadila Healthcare advanced 2.8 percent intraday Wednesday on getting final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for its neurological drug Pyridostigmine Bromide.

Pyridostigmine Bromide tablets are used in the treatment of various neurological disorders. The estimated sales of the drugn in 2015 is USD 27.9 million, as per IMS.

The group now has 100 approvals and has so far filed over 260 abbreviated new drug applications since the commencement of the filing process in FY04.

10:25 am Another leg down possible?: Gaurav Mehta, Ambit Capital said in spite of the sharp upmove of the past few sessions, he believes it is too early to conclude that the uptrend on the Nifty has been reinstated.

According to him, a key trendline, that has stalled all intermittent rallies on the Nifty ever since the March peak, currently lies around the 8300 mark. "Sustenance above this level is unlikely in our view & we believe another leg down stays a high possibility," Mehta said.

10:00 am Market Check

The market gained further amid consolidation. The Sensex rose 87.06 points to 27891.43 and the Nifty advanced 22.40 points to 8403.95, led by FMCG, pharma, oil and select private banks. The broader markets advanced too, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.3-0.5 percent.

Nearly two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindustan Unilever climbed nearly 2 percent as media report suggested that the FMCG major may buy Kerala-based ayurvedic hair and skin care brand Indulekha for Rs 500 crore.

ITC, Lupin, Sun Pharma, BHEL and Coal India gained 1-1.5 percent followed by Infosys, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, ONGC and Dr Reddy's Labs with marginal gains.

However, HDFC, L&T, SBI, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, Bharti Airtel, Cipla and Tata Steel declined.

9:50 am Market check: After a lot of struggle, the Nifty managed to reclaim 8400-levels. The 50-share index is up 23.10 points or 0.3 percent at 8404.65. The Sensex is up 81.83 points or 0.3 percent at 27886.20.About 1058 shares have advanced, 556 sharesdeclined, and 107 shares are unchanged.

HUL is up 2 percent while Lupin, Sun Pharma, Vedanta and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are HDFC, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and SBI.

9:30 am Buzzing: Aviation stocks are flying high on expectations of lower tax burden. Media report indicates that the civil aviation ministry is mulling options to decrease tax burden on the ailing industry. Shares of Jet Airways and SpiceJet were up 6 and 4 percent respectively intraday on Wednesday.

Another sentiment positive what is driving the Naresh Goyal-led airline company is a possible further capital infusion by Etihad into the company. In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Etihad has said that it is working on a plan on further capital infusion and shareholders will decide on increasing stake in Jet Airways.

Meanwhile, Aviation Ministry sources have said that Jet Airways officials have met it on new codeshare agreements with international airlines. "Jet has not brought up stake hike issue by Etihad with ministry as of now.  Any etihad proposal to hike stake will have to be submitted to FIPB," they said.

Following strong global cues, the market has opened on higher note but soon flattened out. The Sensex is up 0.77 points at 27805.14 and the Nifty down 0.25 points at 8381.30. About 481 shares have advanced, 226 shares declined, and 76 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, HUL, Coal India, Sun Pharma and Lupin are top gainers in the Sensex. Maruti, SBI, Cipla, HDFC and Axis Bank are among losers.

The Indian rupee fell marginally in early trade. The currency has opened at 63.65 per dollar, down 6 paise compared to 63.59 a dollar in previous session.

NS Venkatesh, IDBI Bank expects the rupee to move with a weakening bias due to month-end importer demand in a range of 63.55-63.70/USD. He said the underlying sentiment in the market is positive due to above average monsoon. Expectation of the FII limit being linked to the INR limit will free some limit for investment by FIIs, he added.

Nikkei hit its highest level since June 1997. Kospi index inched up to touch a three-week peak and looked set to extend a five-day winning streak. US stocks closed mildly higher as investors remained optimistic on the Greece debt talks and eyed continued signs of moderate economic growth. The Nasdaq composite closed a record for the second day in a row.

Markets continue to hope that Greece will come to some kind of reforms-for-rescue deal with its international creditors this week, after Athens presented a new set of reform proposals Monday. Greece owes the IMF 1.6 billion euros on June 30 and could default on the debt without more aid.

Crude prices gain ahead of US inventory data which is expected to show strong demand for gasoline.

Brent crude trades above USD 64 per barrel. Gold prices trade below USD 1180 an ounce as the euro slid sharply against the dollar.