Sensex ends above 29000, up for 6th day; Sun Pharma leads

The market ended at fresh record closing high on Thursday, gaining for the sixth consecutive session ahead of European Central Bank meeting outcome later in the day.

The 30-share BSE Sensex closed above 29000 for the first time, up 117.16 points at 29006.02 while the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 31.90 points to 8761.40. The broader markets ended on a flat note amid consolidation.

Dipen Sheth of HDFC Securities says the cycle triggered by the new government is gathering pace. There are multiple macro triggers available at the moment and that global fund managers are increasing bullish bias on India,'' he adds.

Globally, markets gained strength ahead of the European Central Bank meet outcome. Expectations are of 50 billion euros per month of bond buying by the ECB. European markets were mixed while Asian markets closed higher with the Hang Seng and Shanghai rising over 0.5 percent. Brent crude prices traded below USD 50 a barrel.

Back home, healthcare, metals, capital goods, select technology and auto stocks supported the market. However, the fall in index heavyweights like ITC, Reliance Industries and HDFC capped the upside.

Sun Pharma was the biggest gainer on the Sensex, up 3.65 percent while its rivals Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 1-1.7 percent. Among banking & financials, Axis Bank was up 3.3 percent. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank closed marginally higher whereas State Bank of India declined 0.44 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC fell 0.4 percent on profit taking after rising nearly 8 percent in previous two consecutive sessions.

Tata Motors surged 2.7 percent on launching Bolt petrol variant at Rs 4.65-6.35 lakh (ex-Mumbai) and diesel variant at Rs 5.75-7.32 lakh (Ex-Mumbai) today. The company said it already received 50,000 bookings so far.

Among others, Infosys, ONGC, Wipro, Tata Steel and Coal India gained 1-2 percent. However, Reliance Industries and NTPC plunged more than 2 percent. Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, PNB, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech were down over a percent.

In the broader space, Suzlon Energy declined 7.5 percent. The turbine maker is going to reduce its debt by selling its German arm, Senvion to US-based PE Centerbridge Partners for 1 billion euros in an all cash deal. Chairman Tulsi Tanti told CNBC-TV18 that Suzlon will make profits by FY16 end as the interest costs will fall by 50 percent from Rs 1,600 crore to Rs 800 crore.

Sun TV Network shed 5 percent, possibly impacted by news of CBI arresting three persons including a close aide of Dayanidhi Maran in connection with a telephone exchange case. However, statements from Dayanidhi Maran today say the arrest does not have anything to do with Sun TV.

Hitachi Home surged 20 percent to end at record closing high of Rs 1,169.15 on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company announced divesting of stake in the company into global joint venture which is formed by Johnson Controls and Hitachi Appliances.

India Cements climbed 9 percent after Supreme Court gave N Srinivasan clean chit on issue of IPL case cover-up. SC found Meiyappan and Raj Kundra guilty of IPL betting.

In the earnings, Dish TV gained 4.5 percent after it managed to lower its net loss at Rs 2.8 crore in the third quarter from Rs 38 crore in the year-ago period, supported by strong operational performance. Mastek was up nearly 4 percent as profit after tax surged five-times sequentially to Rs 8.7 crore in Q3 on strong operational performance.

Muthoot Finance's third quarter net profit fell 20.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 154 crore, dented by lower net interest income. The stock lost 1.6 percent.

The market breadth was negative as declining shares outnumbered advancing ones on the Bombay Stock Exchange by a ratio of 1580 to 1347.

03:30pm Market Closing
The market ended at record closing high ahead of European Central Bank meeting outcome later in the day. The 30-share BSE Sensex closed above 29000, up 117.16 points at 29006.02 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 31.90 points to 8761.40.

About 1347 shares advanced while 1580 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Axis Bank topped the buying list on Sensex, up 3.54 percent. Sun Pharma and DLF rallied 3.4 percent each. Tata Motors surged 2.65 percent after launching Bolt. ONGC and Cipla gained 1.5-2 percent.

However, Reliance Industries and NTPC fell more than 2 percent. Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, PNB, Tech Mahindra and HCL Tech lost over a percent.

03:10pm India Cements up 7%
Supreme Court gave N Srinivasan clean chit on issue of IPL case cover-up. SC found Meiyappan and Raj Kundra guilty of IPL betting.

02:55pm Dish TV gains strength
Dish TV managed to lower its net loss at Rs 2.8 crore in the third quarter from Rs 38 crore in the year-ago period, supported by strong operational performance.

Net sales grew 16.5 percent to Rs 711 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 against Rs 610 crore in same quarter last fiscal, which was in line.

The loss was expected at Rs 5 crore and revenues at Rs 695 crore for the quarter, according to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operational performance improved during the quarter due to lower set top box cost and stable content cost. Operating profit jumped 43 percent on yearly basis to Rs 189 crore and margin expanded by 500 basis points to 26.6 percent in October-December quarter. Analysts had expected Rs 176 crore and 25.3 percent as EBITDA and EBIDTA margin for the quarter, respectively.

02:30pm IT Industry
IT companies are expected to be on the lower end of NASSCOM's guidance of 13-15 per cent growth for FY 15, the industry body's President R Chandrashekar said today.

"I don't think that's a sign of worry. If you talk to any of the companies and I have seen in your own reports stating that as well, they continue to be extremely optimistic about the future," he told reporters.

Chandrashekar, who was speaking on the sidelines of "NASSCOM Diversity and Inclusion Summit" here was asked if there is a worry about IT companies even meeting the lower end of the guidance with just one more quarter left. "There are of course variations in the course of the year... currency fluctuations, for example, had been a big factor this year and you have seen a number of reports on that account also. o I think these temporary variations are not indicator of the broader trend behind that."

Secondly, there are different segments of the industry also where there have been significant growth.

"We believe that taking all these factors into account, of course within the band it is more likely to be towards the lower end rather than else where..., that is what we still think would be the over all outcome at the end of the year," he said.

NASSCOM, which represents the more than USD 120 billion IT-ITeS industry, expects the sector's exports to grow by 13-15 percent in 2014-15 fiscal as against 13 percent in 2013-14, reports PTI.

02:00pm Market Check
The market continued to consolidate with a positive bias in afternoon trade The Sensex rose 13.42 points to 28902.28 and the Nifty advanced 1.45 points to 8730.95.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1538 to 1267 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Dipen Sheth of HDFC Securities says the cycle trigerred by the new government is gathering pace, there are multiple macro triggers available at the moment and that global fund managers are increasing bullish bias on India.

Globally, markets are bracing for the European Central Bank meet outcome today. Expectations are of 50 billion euros per month of bond buying by the ECB. European markets were flat while Brent crude prices traded below USD 50 a barrel.

Reliance Industries and NTPC topped the selling list, falling 2.7 percent each. HDFC, SBI, ITC, ICICI Bank, Hero Motocorp and Maruti were down 0.4-1.5 percent. However, Infosys, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, ONGC and Cipla gained 1-3 percent.

ITC was the most active stock on NSE followed by Infosys, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and SBI.

Suzlon Energy is going to reduce its debt by selling its German arm, Senvion to US-based PE Centerbridge Partners for 1 billion euros in an all cash deal. Tulsi Tanti told CNBC-TV18 that Suzlon will make profits by FY16 end as the interest costs will fall by 50 percent from Rs 1,600 crore to Rs 800 crore. The stock plunged nearly 7 percent.

The rupee traded flat today at 61.64 against a close of 61.63 yesterday, trimming its early gains on mild bouts of dollar demand by importers.

01:30pm Emami in focus
FMCG major Emami has acquired controlling stake in Australia based Fravin Pty Ltd along with it's three subsidiaries for an undisclosed sum.

The acquisition of 66.67 percent stake in Fravin Pty Ltd, a firm manufacturing natural and organic personal care products, has been done by the company's arm Emami International FZE, Emami said in a statement.

Commenting on the development, Emami Director Harsh Agarwal said: "The Fravin acquisition is in sync with the Company's strategy to grow aggressively through both organic and inorganic routes in India and overseas."

This is a significant step for the organisation as the acquisition marks Emami's entry into organic personal care products where it was not present earlier, he added.

Fravin will be a part of Emami's International business division, which contributes around 14 per cent to the total FMCG business. Emami has presence in over 60 countries across the world. The scrip of Emami hit 52-week high of Rs 930.5. The stock gained more than 5 percent.

01:00pm Market Check
The market continued to see buying interest in afternoon trade. The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 95.26 points at 28984.12 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 20.75 points to 8750.25, supported by private banks, healthcare and select auto stocks.

The market breadth turned in favour of declines. About 1275 shares have advanced while 1431 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The improvement in the macro environment triggered by policy measures is gathering pace, feels Dipen Sheth of HDFC Securities.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Sheth says there are multiple macro triggers in the market, which is causing global fund managers to turn bullish on India.

Tata Motors surged 3 percent on launching Bolt Bolt petrol variant at Rs 4.65-6.35 lakh (ex-Mumbai) and diesel variant at Rs 5.75-7.32 lakh (Ex-Mumbai) today. The company said it already received 50,000 bookings so far.

Drug maker Sun Pharma maintained its leading position in the buying list, up nearly 4 percent. Axis Bank, Infosys, ONGC and Cipla gained 1-2 percent. However, Reliance Industries and ONGC fell more than 2 percent. SBI and Hero Motocorp lost over a percent. HDFC, Hindalco Industries and Maruti Suzuki declined 0.8 percent each.

The market sustained its early gains supported by pharma, private banks, FMCG and select technology stocks. The broader markets too gained in-line with key indices as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices added 0.4 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 137.99 points to 29026.85 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 32.10 points to 8761.60.
 
Globally, markets are bracing for the European Central Bank meet outcome today. Expectations are of 50 billion euros per month of bond buying by the ECB. Asian markets traded choppy while Brent crude prices traded below 50 dollars per barrel.

Sun Pharma topped the buying list in Sensex, up 4 percent. Shares of Infosys, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ONGC, HUL, Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla gained 1-2.4 percent whereas Reliance Industries and NTPC declined 1.5-2 percent. State Bank of India, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, Bharti Airtel and Hindalco slipped 0.5-1 percent.

Suzlon Energy is going to reduce its debt by selling its German arm, Senvion to US-based PE Centerbridge Partners for 1 billion euros in an all cash deal. The stock, however, came off the day's high as the deal is subject to financing and regulatory approvals and fears of what Suzlon financials will look like without Senvion's profits and orderbook.

Sun TV Network shed 6 percent, possibly impacted by news of CBI arresting three persons including a close aide of Dayanidhi Maran in connection with a telephone exchange case. However, statements from Dayanidhi Maran today say the arrest does not have anything to do with Sun TV.

Some stocks reacting to earnings include ING Vysya Bank that fell 1 percent, reacting to a 13 percent drop in profits and 20 percent sequential increase in gross NPAs. L&T Finance Holdings, on the other hand, gained 4 percent, reacting to a profit jump of 66 percent Y-o-Y.

Some other stocks reacting to numbers include Raymond (down 1.2 percent), Siyaram Silk Milks (down 6 percent) are weak. TTK Prestige lost more steam, down 2 percent as Credit Suisse downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform.

11:30am Interview
After a 66 percent rise in third quarter net profit, Y M Deosthalee, chairman and managing director, L&T Finance Holdings says the company is likely to see stable net interest margins (NIMs) in the quarters ahead.

The net interest income for the lending business stood at Rs 623 crore (NIM 5.66 percent) during the quarter compared to Rs 479 crore (NIM 5.23 percent) last year.

Deosthalee says net non-performing assets (NPA) declined though gross NPAs rose.

''The increase in gross NPA is seasonal and it was impacted by the increase in the provision coverage to 35 percent consolidated level,'' he adds.

The company's gross NPA increased marginally at 3.01 percent in December quarter compared to 2.93 percent in the year-ago period and 2.96 percent in previous quarter. Net NPA during the same period stood at 1.98 percent against 2.06 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

11:00am Market Check
The market extended gains into the sixth consecutive session today with the Sensex hitting 29000-mark. The index rose 115.05 points to 29003.91 and the Nifty climbed 24.05 points to 8753.55.

The market sentiment is supported by FIIs that bought over Rs 2,000 crore in cash yesterday, in the sixth straight consecutive session of buying.
 
Globally, the markets are bracing for the European Central Bank meet outcome today. Expectations are of 50 billion euros per month of bond buying expected. Asian markets traded choppy while gold fell sub USD 1300 an ounce and brent crude prices traded sub USD 50 a barrel.

Sesa Sterlite trimmed gains to 0.5 percent from 3.5 percent. The company yesterday said it received approval for renewal of all its mining licenses in Goa. ITC rebounded taking support at its 200 DMA, up 1 percent while HUL traded at a fresh life high, up over a percent.

Reliance Industries topped the selling list on Sensex, down 2 percent followed by NTPC with 1.4 percent decline. HDFC and SBI saw profit booking, falling marginally.

Cairn India will release its quarterly numbers today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, Cairn's third quarter profit is expected to decline 40 percent sequentially to Rs 1,625 crore on lower revenue and operational performance. The sharp fall in crude oil prices is likely to have an impact on Cairn's earnings in Q3FY15. Brent crude prices fell to USD 49 a barrel (currently) from USD 115 a barrel in June 2014.

Suzlon Energy shed 3.5 percent after rising as much as 8 percent in early trade as it announced selling of its German arm Senvion for 1 billion euros to US-based PE firm Centerbridge Partners in an all cash deal. Shares fell because of fears of what the financials of the company will look like without Senvion. Bankers such as SBI, IDBI Bank and Central Bank say they are still to approve the deal, but expect the entire amount to go towards retiring high cost rupee debt.

Hitachi Home surged 20 percent. The company announced divesting of stake in the company into global joint venture which is formed by Johnson Controls and Hitachi Appliances.

Sun TV Network fell 5 percent, possibly impacted by news of CBI arresting three persons including a close aide of Dayanidhi Maran in connection with a telephone exchange case. However, statements from Dayanidhi Maran today say the arrest does not have anything to do with Sun TV.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones on the Bombay Stock Exchange by a ratio of 1299 to 1128.

10:35am Sensex above 29000
The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed above 29000, up 146.12 points at 29034.98 while the 50-share NSE Nifty inches towards 8800 level, up 37.60 points at 8767.10.

About 1326 shares have advanced, 844 shares declined, and 237 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

10:30am L&T Finance surges 4.6%
L&T Finance Holdings' third quarter consolidated net profit surged 65.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 181.6 crore supported by net interest margin and fee income.

"The profit growth has been aided by consistent and steady improvement in margins in the retail business, healthy fee income and stable operating expenses across lending businesses," the subsidiary of L&T reasoned.

Consolidated income from operations grew 23.2 percent to Rs 1,572 crore in the quarter ended December 2014 from Rs 1,276.2 crore in the year-ago period.

Net interest margin (NIMs) for the lending business was at Rs 623 crore (5.66 percent) in Q3FY15 compared to Rs 479 crore (5.23 percent) in the same quarter last year.

L&T Finance said with the intent to build a healthier balance sheet, it made additional provisions in the third quarter too, increasing the provision coverage to 35 percent at the consolidated level.

Asset quality has remained largely stable despite the seasonal impact of an increase in delinquency in the rural products portfolio. Gross non-performing assets (NPA) increased marginally at 3.01 percent in December quarter compared to 2.93 percent in the year-ago period and 2.96 percent in previous quarter. Net NPA during the same period stood at 1.98 percent against 2.06 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

10:15am Obama's India visit
The monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio broadcast of Prime Minister Narendra Modi this time will be special as he will be joined by US President Barack Obama. The programme will be aired on January 27, the Prime Minister revealed himself today through a series of tweets and asked for questions from the public.

"This month's 'Mann Ki Baat' episode will be a special one, where our Republic Day guest @BarackObama & I will share our thoughts together," Modi tweeted, reports PTI.

10:00am Market Check
The market continued to trade higher supported by healthcare, capital goods, metals, technology and select private banks stocks. ITC rebounded with a percent gain after yesterday's 5 percent fall due to disappointing Q3 earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 102.81 points to 28991.67 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 23.35 points to 8752.85. The broader markets gained too; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices increased 0.5 percent.

About 1196 shares have advanced while 730 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Sun Pharma topped the buying list, up 3 percent followed by Infosys, HDFC Bank, ONGC, Cipla, Sesa Sterlite, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Tata Steel and BHEL with 1-2 percent upside.

However, Reliance Industries and NTPC declined over a percent. ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki and M&M fell 0.2-0.8 percent.

Sun TV Network lost 4.5 percent. CBI has arrested Dayanidhi Maran's former additional private secretary on Wednesday night. Former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran said the arrest has no links with Sun TV Network.

Hitachi Home surged 12 percent after parent company Hitachi Appliances says it will divest stake in company. Hitachi Appliances has signed an agreement for global JV with Johnson Controls. Johnson will get 60 percent stake in parent's international AC biz ex-Japan.

09:47am Hitachi Home hits 52-week high
Hitachi Home & Life Solutions jumped 12 percent to Rs 1,087 as parent company Hitachi Appliances will divest stake in Hitachi Home. Hitachi Appliances has signed an agreement for global JV with Johnson Controls. Johnson will get 60 percent stake in parent's international AC biz ex-Japan.

09:40am Sun TV in Focus
CBI has arrested Dayanidhi Maran's former additional private secretary today. Former Union Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran said the arrest has no links with Sun TV Network.

The scrip of Sun TV Network fell 2.74 percent to Rs 400.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

09:35am ECB Meet today
Thomas Harjes of Barclays says the brokerage expects the ECB's Governing Council policy meeting today to end with an announcement to expand its asset purchase programme and include government bonds and possibly other Euro area financial assets.

"We expect a commitment, at least through mid-2016, to monthly total asset purchases until the ECB's immediate target of balancesheet expansion of about (E)1 trillion has been met," he adds.

09:15am Market Check
The market opened higher on Thursday following positive global cues. The 30-share BSE Sensex touched 29000 level for the first time, up 108.24 points at 28997.10 while the 50-share NSE Nifty hit 8750, up 19.50 points at 8749.

About 721 shares have advanced, 263 shares declined, and 198 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Suzlon Energy gained 8 percent in opening trade as the turbine maker sold its German arm Senvion for euro 1 billion to to US-based PE Centerbridge Partners for debt reduction. However, the stock could not sustain the upside.

Sesa Sterlite topped the buying list, up nearly 3 percent after the company received approval for renewal of all mining leases in Goa. It expects to resume mining in near future after regulatory nods.

ITC, Infosys, ONGC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp, Cipla and Tata Steel gained 0.7-1.3 percent. However, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and NTPC fell 0.4-1 percent on profit taking.

The Indian rupee opened with marginal gains of 4 paise at 61.60 per dollar today versus 61.64 Wednesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Global markets are expecting European Central Bank (ECB) to announce sovereign bond buying QE programme in today's meeting. This expectation is triggering a risk-on sentiment which should benefit emerging markets particularly India. USD-INR is expected to trade in a range of 61.40-61.75/dollar today."

Global cues were positive with the US stocks gaining for the third straight day marking the longest win streak of 2015 as investors largely accepted the view that the European Central Bank (ECB) would implement a large-scale bond-purchasing program.

European markets too closed higher over news that the ECB is set to buy around 50 billion euros per month of government bonds for around a year.

Japan's Nikkei was the lone market that is trading with a mild negative bias while the rest of Asia was well in the green on a positive global handover.

In other asset classes, the Canadian Dollar languished at its lowest in nearly six years early today, having suffered a massive drop after the bank of Canada stunned markets by cutting interest rates. The euro is firm around 1.15 ahead of the ECB action.

In commodities, Nymex Crude futures fell more than 1 percent , giving up almost half the gains from the previous session, this after OPEC defended its decision not to intervene to stop a collapse in oil prices since the middle of last year.

And precious metal gold slipped below USD 1300 an ounce hurt by profit-taking ahead of a key ECB meeting.