Sensex begins week on positive note, Nifty closes above 9900 for first time ever

3:30 pm Market at Close: Equity benchmark indices began the week on a positive note, with the Nifty closing above 9900 for the first time ever.

The Sensex closed up 54.03 points at 32074.78, while the Nifty ended higher by 26.60 points at 9912.95. The market breadth was negative as 1302 shares advanced against a decline of 1395 shares, while 156 shares were unchanged.

Wipro, Cipla, UltraTech Cement and Vedanta gained the most on both indices, while ITC and Coal India lost the most.

Midcaps underperformed the Nifty, but still had a strong session, while FMCG stocks took a hit. The Bank Nifty too ended above 24,000 for the first time.

3:01 pm Earnings Estimates: Cement company ACC's second quarter profit is seen rising 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 282 crore and revenue from operations may increase 11.6 percent to Rs 3,255 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit is expected to rise 10 percent to Rs 501 crore but margin may shrink by 30 basis points to 15.4 percent compared with year-ago quarter.

Topline could see a bump up of 10 percent due to excise duty added in gross sales and would be driven by higher realisation & higher volumes.

ACC, which has Pan India presence, may see average realisations growth of 5-7 percent YoY and QoQ as cement prices in April 2017 increased sharply across India and witnessed a steady decline from thereafter till June 2017.

Sales volumes are expected to boost results on a low base. Volumes may be driven by ramp-up at new capacities in East India at Jamul and Sindri plants.

Cement sales volumes are expected to grow by 7 percent at 6.55mt YoY.

2:43 pm Buzzing: Shares of Indraprastha Gas (IGL) touched 52-week high of Rs 1,164.70, rising 3.8 percent intraday Monday as it has received permission to gas distribution network in Gurugram.

The company has received the permission from the Director of Industries & Commerce, Haryana to lay, build and operate City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in Gurugram in the area lying between west side of Sobha road and National Highway-8 of Gurugram.

The company is the central government authorised entity for the city of Gurugram.

The research firm Citi believes that the latest development of lay down of CGD network in Gurugram allows the company a foot in the door of a new and very material market opportunity and should arguably permit it to gradually expand to the other parts of Gurgaon over a period of time.

2:25 pm IPO: SBI Life Insurance, the subsidiary of country's largest lender State Bank of India, has filed draft red herring prospectus with capital market regulator SEBI for initial public offering.

The insurance company will issue up to 12 crore equity shares through public issue.

Recently Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority has given an in-principle approval for the IPO of SBI's life insurance subsidiary.

Once it lists on the bourses, it would be the second direct listing of an insurance company. So far ICICI Prudential Life Insurance (which started trading in September last year) is the only insurance company listed on exchanges.

SBI Life Insurance is a joint venture between State Bank of India (SBI) with 74 percent stake and BNP Paribas Cardif with the remaining 26 percent.

2:05 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices continued to trade steady in the afternoon session, with the Nifty holding to 9900, mark.

The Sensex was up 64.56 points at 32085.31, while the Nifty was up 23.75 points at 9910.10. The market breadth was narrow as 1,283 shares advanced against a decline of 1,272 shares, while 164 shares were unchanged.

Wipro, Adani Ports and Vedanta gained the most on both indices, while ITC and Coal India fell the most.

Shares of Jubilant Foodworks gained over 6.5 percent intraday on Monday as investors cheered the good performance of the firm in the June quarter. The company posted 25 percent rise in its net profit, while its same store sales growth was at 6.5 percent against negative 7.5 percent in Q4FY17 and negative over 3 percent in the same quarter last year.

1:45 pm Earnings: Hindustan Media Ventures (HMVL) today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 44.8 crore and total income of Rs 261.9 crore for the first quarter to June.

The corresponding figures in the previous fiscal were Rs 48.7 crore and Rs 259.28 crore, HMVL said in a BSE filing.

However, the company said, financial results for the June quarter are not comparable with those of the previous year as the former does not include the expenses of an entity that has discontinued operations.

1:32 pm Expert Speak: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) may take a toll on corporate earnings for the April-June quarter of FY7-18 and the overall earnings are likely to be muted, believes Harsha Upadhyaya, Chief Investment Officer, Equities, Kotak Mutual Fund.

"Overall earnings growth is going to be muted with GST related adverse impact due to destocking and discounts in a couple of consumption-related sectors and export/global oriented businesses continuing with sluggish trend," Upadhyaya said.

Upadhyaya feels, monsoon progress until now has been above-normal despite some softening recently, which augurs well for many rural-oriented businesses.

1:15 pm Earnings: Jubilant Foodworks beat analysts expectations on earnings front as profit grew by 25.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 23.84 crore and revenues increased 11.5 percent to Rs 678.8 crore in June quarter.

Profit was expected at Rs 20.1 crore on revenue of Rs 647.5 crore for the quarter, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit came in at Rs 79.6 crore and margin at 11.7 percent against estimates of Rs 67.3 crore and 10.4 percent, respectively.

1:00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to trade moderately higher amid volatility in afternoon, backed by consistent support from Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 61.57 points at 32,082.32 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 22.25 points to 9,908.60 but the BSE Midcap lost 0.1 percent as the gap between advances and declines narrowed.

About 1,260 shares advanced against 1,231 declining shares on the exchange.

Wipro retained top position in the buying list among Sensex stocks, up 3.5 percent ahead of board meeting to discuss buyback of shares.

Adani Ports, Reliance Industries, M&M, Infosys, Vedanta and Zee Entertainment were other gainers whereas ITC, Coal India, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Maruti Suzuki, Bank of Baroda and Yes Bank were losers.

12:35 pm Chart:

12:25 pm Reliance in focus: Reliance Industries continued its northward journey for 11th consecutive session on Monday and has consistently been hitting fresh nine-year high, which helped it to become the most valued company among listed entities.

Today the stock rallied as much as 1.76 percent intraday to hit a high of Rs 1,558, the highest level since January 17, 2008.

In these 11 consecutive sessions, it gained nearly 13 percent, partly due to positive market condition and company's new tariff plans.

This rally helped the stock to cross Rs 5 lakh crore in market capitalisation at Rs 5,05,695.79, which is far ahead of TCS (Rs 4.73 lakh crore) and HDFC Bank (Rs 4.3 lakh crore).

Disclaimer: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

12:05 pm Buzzing: ITC shares fell nearly 3 percent intraday on fears of likely increase in cess on cigarettes.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to meet today to consider a cess on tobacco.

The council is expected to discuss the impact on cigarette prices post GST rollout as the government already received representations from anti-tobacco lobbies on cigarette prices falling post GST.

It may also review the quantum of cess levied on cigarettes.

After GST rollout, the fall in total tax on tobacco products, which is dangerous to health, is worrisome for the government.

Hence, the Council called urgent meeting today ahead of its next scheduled meeting on August 8 as the decision on cess will be taken quickly,

11:45 am Interview: There has been a change of guard at JSW Energy. Prashant Jain has taken over as the Joint MD and CEO from Sanjay Sagar last month.

28,000-30,000 megawatt (MW) of the capacity is stranded and sitting idle at this point in time and these are high cost power plants which are right now sitting with huge debt, he said.

Expect consolidation in power sector and in order to do that, there will be a lot of haircuts which needs to be taken by the banks, he added.

''We are keenly watching what is going to happen in these 12 cases which have gone to National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT),'' he said.

The company continues to remain interested in all the assets of Monnet Power, said Jain.

See a lot of opportunities in thermal space, think renewable and thermal can coexist, he added.

11.11 am Market Check: Benchmark indices maintained uptrend amid volatility in morning, driven by Reliance Industries that extended gains for seventh consecutive session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 107.03 points at 32,127.78 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 30.50 points to 9,916.85.

About 1,258 shares advanced against 1,010 declining shares on the BSE.

11:00 am Buzzing: Inox Wind shares fell nearly 7 percent in morning trade despite the company's clarification on issues related to insolvency proceedings and Jeena case against it.

Last week media reports indicated the wind energy service provider is headed for insolvency, after the National Company Law Tribunal's Chandigarh bench (NCLT) ordered commencement of the process in response to the plea made by Jeena & Company, an operational creditor.

Customs agent, Jeena & company, filed the case with National Company Law Tribunal over non-payment of dues totalling Rs 57 lakh.

Inox Wind clarified the company has filed an appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), seeking the said proceedings be quashed. The matter is listed for hearing today.

Inox further said it has already settled the matter with Jeena & Co. and paid the amount due in relation to the case pending with National Company Law Tribunal.

The company claimed it remains solvent and in fact, in excellent financial health.

10:27 am Parliament session to begin soon: The Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning today is set to be dominated by issues such as cow vigilantism, farmers' protests, Kashmir unrest, action of law enforcement agencies against some opposition leaders over alleged corruption, and India's stand-off with China.

The Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha will be adjourned today due to the death of sitting members of both the Houses and serious proceedings are expected from Tuesday. The session is slated to conclude on August 11.

Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad made it clear today that the Congress and other opposition parties would target the government over the issues of Kashmir as well as the stand-off with China.

10.15 am Market Check: The market extended gains in morning trade, backed by Reliance Industries, technology and select banking & financials stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 99.01 points at 32,119.76 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 28.60 points to 9,914.95.

About 1,116 shares advanced against 879 declining shares on the BSE.

10:14 am Monsoon session of Parliament: While addressing media ahead of beginning of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi said he expects this session to be fruitful.

"We will get new president, vice-president in this session of parliament," he said, adding he is hopeful that all political parties will support steps taken for betterment of nation.

10:00 am USFDA nod: Alkem Laboratories shares gained more than 3 percent Monday on zero observations from the US health regulator for Taloja unit.

"At the end of the inspection, no Form 483 was issued for Taloja facility in Maharashtra," the Mumbai-based pharma company said in its filing.

The US Food and Drug Administration had conducted an inspection at the company's bioequivalence facility from July 10-14, 2017.

9:45 am Interview: State-owned construction firm NBCC is expecting 25 percent growth in revenue this fiscal to nearly Rs 8,000 crore helped by execution of new contracts like redevelopment of the Pragati Maidan exhibition centre here.

The company is targeting to secure new orders worth Rs 25,000 crore this financial year, its CMD Anoop Kumar Mittal said, while highlighting the company bagged a major contract last month to redevelop 10 railway stations across the country.

"We are expecting 25 per cent growth in revenue during this fiscal, mostly from project management consultancy and EPC contracting," Mittal told PTI.

NBCC, which is under the administrative control of the urban development ministry, posted a net profit of Rs 354.51 crore on a turnover of Rs 6,313 crore during 2016-17 fiscal and is a zero-debt firm.

Mittal said the company currently has an order book of over Rs 70,000 crore and is expecting to secure new orders of Rs 25,000 crore this fiscal.

9:30 am Earnings Estimates: Jubilant Foodworks, which had a disastrous last quarter of FY17, could post a 6 percent rise in net profit for June quarter at Rs 20.1 crore, according to a poll of analysts by CNBC-TV18. The total income could rise 6.3 percent at Rs 647.5 crore, against Rs 608.9 crore.

Meanwhile, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation could soar 16.6 percent at Rs 67.3 crore against Rs 57.7 crore, while the operating margin could be seen at 10.4 percent.

The key thing to watch out could be the same store sales growth, which had seen a sharp fall of negative 7.5 percent in the previous quarter. In the June quarter, analysts expect it to be 2.9 percent. Also, investors could watch out for store additions as it is likely to open 10-12 stores in Q1.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened higher on Monday after Friday's consolidation, with the Nifty50 reclaiming 9900 level and the Nifty Bank hit 24000 level for the first time.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 82.18 points at 32,102.93 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 21.45 points at 9,907.80.

ITC lost more than 2 percent on reports that the government may increase cess on cigarettes.

Nifty Midcap was up 0.3 percent as about three shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Alkem Labs, Indraprastha Gas, Jubilant Foodworks and CESC gained over 1 percent while Karnataka Bank and Gruh Finance fell over 1.5 percent.

Asia markets were mixed following the release of better-than-expected China second-quarter GDP.