Sensex ends over 240 points phigher, Nifty back at 9900; cement stocks fall

3:30 pm Market Check: Equity benchmark indices ended the session on a strong note, with the Nifty closing just a tad lower than 9900-mark.

The Sensex closed up 244.36 points at 31955.35, while the Nifty ended up 74.75 points at 9901.90. The market breadth was narrow as 1712 shares advanced against a decline of 978 shares, while 164 shares were unchanged.

Coal India, Bharti Airtel and Aurobindo Pharma gained the most on both indices, while Infosys, Hero MotoCorp, UltraTech Cement and ACC were the top losers.

3:20 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended rally in late trade, with the Nifty reclaiming 9900 level.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 244.55 points or 0.77 percentat 31,955.54, and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 73.95 points or 0.75 percent to 9,901.10.

3:05 pm BofAML upgrades IOC: Bank of America Merrill Lynch has upgraded Indian Oil Corporation to neutral (from underperform) on valuation driven by recent underperformance with unchanged target price of Rs 413. The stock gained 1.3 percent intraday on Wednesday.

"We prefer IOC to underperform-rated BPCL and HPCL due to relative valuation comfort (stock trades in line with long term averages) and specific volume/margin led growth," it reasoned.

According to the research house, risk-reward has become balanced, with positives from volume/margin led growth from Paradip counter balanced by headwinds from potential stake sale by ONGC/government.

2:46 pm Buzzing: Lupin and Sun Pharma shares gained 1.8 percent each intraday after receiving approval from the US health regulator for drugs.

Pharma major Lupin has received approval from US Food and Drug Administration for Armodafinil that is used to treat excessive sleeping disorder.

US FDA also approved ANDA for Paroxetine Hydrochloride that filed by Sun Pharma.

Paroxetine Hydrochloride is used for treatment of OCD, panic attacks.

The rally in healthcare stocks after drug approvals from USFDA lifted Nifty Pharma index 1.8 percent.

2:37 pm Earnings: Electrical equipment manufacturer, Havells India, posted a 16.6 percent year-on-year (YoY) fall in its net profits for the June quarter at Rs 121.3 crore against Rs 145.6 crore during the same period last year.

The June quarter profit came in lower than an analysts' poll by CNBC-TV18 which pegged it at Rs 158 crore.

The revenue for the quarter was however up 26 percent at Rs 1,982 crore against Rs 1,573 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. The figure beat analysts' expectations of Rs 1,889 crore.

On the operating level, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was lower by 14 percent at Rs 172.4 crore against Rs 200.4 crore year on year, while the operating margin came in at 9.3 percent against 13.6 percent in June 2016.

2:30 pm Merger: In parliament, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said PSU oil giant ONGC sent proposal to acquire oil retailer HPCL and the ministry is working on in-principle approval to ONGC's plan for HPCL acquisition.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that HPCL may remain listed as a subsidiary of ONGC.

2:15 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices continued to trade strong, with the Nifty trading a tad below 9900.

The Sensex was up 167.90 points at 31878.89, while the Nifty was up 48.80 points at 9875.95. The market breadth was narrow as 1677 shares advanced against a decline of 934 shares, while 146 shares are unchanged.

ITC, Bharti Airtel, Zee Entertainment and Aurobindo Pharma gained the most, while Infosys, HUL, ACC and UltraTech Cement lost the most.

European bourses were higher Wednesday morning as investors took stock of a series of corporate announcements from across the continent.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 started the day up 0.49 percent, paring losses seen Tuesday after the White House saw the latest setback in its efforts to drive ahead with health-care reforms. All sectors bar construction and materials were seen in the black.

1:58 pm Revision of GST rates: The government may not revise tax rates for commodities under the new indirect tax system unless there is an anomaly, need for correction or something has been left out.

"Industry will have issues on law, on rules, rates, but there is time for it," Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) head Vanaja N Sarna said today.

Sarna further said that the textile and entertainment sectors were facing issues with the rates and these will get ironed out with time.

1:40 pm NCLT reserves order: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) today reserved its order over the bankruptcy petition filed by the country's largest lender SBI against Bhushan steel Ltd.

A bench headed by Justice MM Kumar also reserved order on the plea filed by Punjab National Bank (PNB) against Bhushan Steel & Power Ltd.

The NCLT, on July 13, issued notices to Bhushan Steel Ltd as well as Bhushan Steel and Power Ltd over insolvency proceedings initiated by their lenders State Bank of India and PNB. The companies were directed to file their reply.

Both the petitions were filed under the Section 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016, where the financial creditor initiates insolvency proceedings with a claim.

1:20 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks remained strong in afternoon due to stable June quarter earnings season so far and also backed by positive global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 162.21 points at 31,873.20 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 46.40 points at 9,873.55 on strong breadth.

About two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Software services provider Mastek has reported solid earnings performance in the quarter ended June 2017 as profit grew by 39 percent sequentially to Rs 14.6 crore on strong operational growth. The stock rallied as much as 17.6 percent after results.

Sterlite Technologies shares surged nearly 8 percent to touch a fresh 52-week high of Rs 170.50 on strong earnings. Consolidated net profit increased 60 percent to Rs 61 crore YoY.

1:10 pm Earnings: Software services provider Mastek has reported solid earnings performance in the quarter ended June 2017 as profit grew by 39 percent sequentially to Rs 14.6 crore on strong operational growth. The stock rallied as much as 17.6 percent after results on Wednesday.

Revenue during the quarter increased 2.9 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 185.5 crore, with 12-month order backlog up 3.4 percent at Rs 344.6 crore (from Rs 333.2 crore QoQ), the company said.

Constant currency revenue growth was 5.3 percent.

"We grew 41 percent on revenue, 525 percent on profit and expanded EBITDA by 590 basis points YoY. Continued investment in digital space is propelling growth and we endeavour to maintain the momentum in coming quarters," Abhishek Singh, Group CFO, Mastek said.

Operating profit surged 24.1 percent to Rs 22.4 crore and margin expanded by 210 basis points to 12.1 percent compared with previous quarter.

12:50 pm Buzzing: Share price of Zee Entertainment Enterprises rose 3.8 percent intraday as it has completed the acquisition of Fly By Wire.

On approval from Ministry of Civil Aviation and compliance of other requisite formalities, the company has acquired the balance 51 percent equity stake in Fly By Wire International comprising of 10,20,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each at an aggregate consideration of Rs 1,40,25,000.

Upon said acquisition the Fly By Wire has become wholly owned subsidiary of the company.

12:36 pm Europe opening: European bourses opened higher, paring losses seen Tuesday after the White House saw the latest setback in its efforts to drive ahead with health-care reforms.

12.28 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks recouped half of previous day's losses, with the 30-share BSE Sensex gaining 184.13 points at 31,895.12.

The 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 53.95 points to 9,881.10 while the BSE Midcap index was up 0.8 percent and Smallcap gained 1 percent.

About two shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

ITC extended gains to 2.2 percent and Bharti Airtel jumped to 3 percent followed by Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, Tata Motors, SBI, ICICI Bank.

Infosys, HDFC, HUL and Hero Motocorp were only losers among Sensex stocks.

12:10 pm Buzzing: JM Financial climbed nearly 3 percent intraday after its subsidiary acquired 8.5 percent stake in the microfinance company.

"JM Financial Products, a subsidiary of the company, has completed the first leg of acquisition of 24,35,286 equity shares of Spandana Sphoorty Financial, representing 8.56 percent of the current outstanding total equity shares of Spandana," the company said in its filing on Tuesday.

On a fully diluted basis, the acquisition would result in the holding of 4.71 percent in Spandana, it added.

The remaining 8.78 shares of the company are proposed to be purchased by the company within a period of 12-13 months from March 29.

11:58 am Earnings Estimates: Midcap IT company Mindtree's first quarter profit is seen rising 10.1 percent sequentially to Rs 107 crore and revenue may increase 0.9 percent to Rs 1,330 crore.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, dollar revenue growth is expected to be 4 percent at USD 203.3 million QoQ.

However, EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) may fall to Rs 130 crore (from Rs 140.1 crore) and margin may contract to 9.8 percent (from 10.6 percent) on sequential basis.

Negative currency moves and visa related costs will be the key margins headwinds during the quarter.

11:37 am Drug launch: Cadila Healthcare shares rallied 3 percent intraday after the launch of drug that used for the treatment of mild to moderate ulcerative colitis, in the US and the FDA approval for cholesterol drug.

Subsidiary Zydus Cadila has commercially launched its Mesalamine delayed release tablets (USP 1.2g) in the US market.

Zydus was the first to file an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a generic version of Lialda and is currently the only generic available to patients in the US, the company said in its filing.

The group has received 26 final ANDA approval from the US Food & Drug Administration and 2 tentative ANDA approvals since January 2017.

Meanwhile, Zydus Pharma, the US division of Cadila Healthcare, has received approval from USFDA for Pitavastatin that helps in lowering bad cholesterol & raising good cholesterol.

11.16 am Market Check: Benchmark indices extended gains in morning, with the Sensex up 147.47 points at 31,858.46 as all sectoral indices traded in green.

The Nifty inched towards 9,900 leve, up 45.05 points at 9,872.20.

The BSE Midcap index was up 0.7 percent and Smallcap gained 0.9 percent as about two shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

The Nifty Metal, Pharma, Realty and FMCG indices gained the most, up 1-2 percent.

11:00 am Stock Split: Shares of Heritage Foods added 5.5 percent intraday as the company will consider stock split.

The company board meeting is scheduled to be held on August 10, to consider & approve the un-audited financial results (standalone & consolidated) for the quarter and three months ended June 30, 2017.
The board will also consider the proposal for sub-division of equity shares of the company.

The share price has moved up 121 percent in the last one year.

10:40 am Demerger: Grasim Industries shares fell more than 22 percent in morning trade on account of demerged of Aditya Birla Capital (formerly known as Aditya Birla Financial Services).

The company informed stock exchanges that it has fixed July 20 as record date-2 pursuant to Part III of the composite scheme of arrangement between Aditya Birla Nuvo and Grasim Industries and Aditya Birla Financial Services (now known as Aditya Birla Capital Limited) and their respective shareholders and creditors.

It means the people who have Grasim shares as of July 20 will be eligible to get shares of Aditya Birla Capital that will be listed soon.

Grasim shareholders will receive 7 shares of Aditya Birla Capital for every 5 shares held in the company.

The merger committee had fixed July 4 as effective date-2 for the effectiveness of demerger of financial services business of Grasim and transfer of the same to ABFSL.

After the demerger, Grasim Industries holds 55.94 percent stake in Aditya Birla Capital, followed by promoter group's 16.75 percent shareholding, public investors 25.11 percent and PI Opportunities Fund - 1's 2.2 percent stake.

10.18 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to trade higher in morning, with the Sensex rising over 100 points, backed by ITC, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 130.13 points at 31,841.12 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 39.25 points at 9,866.40 on strong market breadth.

About 1,444 shares advanced against 584 declining shares on the BSE.

The broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Grasim Industries shares fell more than 22 percent in morning trade Wednesday on account of demerged of Aditya Birla Capital (formerly known as Aditya Birla Financial Services).

9:55 am Tie-up: Shares of Ashok Leyland gained 2 percent intraday as the company has entered into strategic alliance for electric mobility solutions with Sun Mobility.

Sun Mobility is promoted by Chetan Maini, Founder of Reva and Uday Khemka, Vice Chairman of SUN Group.

This global partnership between Ashok Leyland and Sun Mobility will leverage India's innovation and engineering potential to develop world class electric mobility solutions.

Ashok Leyland has been pioneer in electric buses, hybrid buses, in both CNG as well as diesel, including those that do not require a plug-in.

Sun Mobility aims to be the leading provider of universal energy infrastructure and services to accelerate mass electric vehicle usage.

Sun Mobility plans to revolutionlise the transportation sector by deploying a unique open-architecture ecosystem built around their proprietary smart batteries and a network of quick interchange battery stations. These stations, predominantly powered by renewable energy, will refuel electric vehicles at cost lower than and speed faster than conventional diesel/petrol pumps.

9:38 am FII View: Surendra Goyal of Citi said midcaps have been at the forefront of Indian markets' performance for the past couple of years, and the trend has so far sustained in CY17, although there has been some reversal in relative performance over the past three months.

The BSE Midcap Index rallied more than 25 percent this year against 20 percent for Sensex.

Goyal sees downside risks to aggregate bottom-up FY18 earnings estimates for coverage universe.

"We have Sensex target of 32,200 and remains selective on midcaps," he said.

9:27 am Buzzing: Shares of Aurobindo Pharma gained over 7.5 percent in morning trade as investors cheered a product approval by the US drug regulator.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), late on Tuesday, gave an approval to Sevelamer Tablets. These are used to treat patients with chronic kidney diseases.

''The approved product has an estimated market size of US$ 1.9 billion for the twelve months ending May 2017 according to IMS,'' the company said in a filing to the exchanges.

The company further informed that the product will be launched immediately from its Hyderabad facility. ''This is the 124th ANDA (including 21 tentative approvals) to be approved out of Unit VII formulation facility in Hyderabad,'' the company further added.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks rebounded on Wednesday after yesterday's steep fall, backed by short covering in beaten down stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 104.05 points at 31,815.04 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 33.90 points to 9,861.05.

Healthcare stocks were in demand as Aurobindo Pharma rallied 7.5 percent followed by Lupin, Sun Pharma after USFDA approvals.

HUL gained nearly a percent post better-than-expected earnings. ITC rebounded 1 percent after yesterday's 13 percent correction.

Eicher Motors, ACC and Zee Entertainment gained 1 percent whereas Bajaj Auto and UltraTech Cement were under pressure.

Nifty Midcap was up 0.4 percent as about five shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Lakshmi Electrical Control Systems surged 10 percent.

JM Financial, Sintex Industries, Federal Bank, Amtek Auto, Ashok Leyland, Sundaram Finance, Jubilant Life and Jet Airways gained up to 2 percent while Sasken Communications, KPIT Tech and Havells India were down.

Asia markets were mixed as dimmed prospects for US healthcare reform led to the dollar wallowing near 10-month lows.