Sensex, Nifty close flat; Reliance up for 4th straight day

03:30pm Market Closing: The market has seen consolidation on Friday after rising for last five consecutive sessions on short covering. The Sensex fell 5.83 points to 28879.38 and the Nifty gained 2.05 points at 8780.35.

However, the broader markets remained favourite for buyers as the BSE Midcap gained 0.4 percent and Smallcap rallied 1.1 percent. About 1641 shares have advanced, 1181 shares declined, and 173 shares are unchanged.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 1 percent today, continuing upmove for the fourth consecutive session. The stock rallied 10 percent in four days.

Shares of Idea Cellular, Sesa Sterlite, NMDC, IDFC, SBI and Dr Reddy's Labs supported the market, up 1-4.5 percent. However, Cipla, Hindalco, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Lupin and Tech Mahindra fell 1-3 percent.

03:00pm Nitin Fire Protection in demand: Nitin Fire Protection received approval from Underwriter's Laboratory in the US for emergency lights for fire safety protection. The market size for this product in the US is USD 250 million. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rahul Shah, executive director of the firm, said the company has been growing at 20-25 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since last three-four years and is hopeful of continuing that momentum for a couple of more years.

The company is currently enjoying 15-20 percent margins in the domestic market. It is looking to penetrate the US market with this new approval.

02:45pm Market Expert: Despite there being a "slight disconnect" between valuations and fundamentals, the sheer flow of money towards Indian markets may lift them from current levels and take the Nifty closer to 9,000, believes Sandeep S Shenoy of Pioneer Investcorp.

Shenoy said the market has paused in recent times but capital flows will remain steady. "This leg of the rally will likely be led by healthcare," he said.

02:30pm Aurobindo Pharma in focus: Aurobindo Pharma has divested stake in its Australian subsidiary to Eris Pharma for an undisclosed amount to focus on the US, European and emerging markets.

The unit was not contributing any profit to APL. "Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL) has divested its step-down subsidiary, Aurobindo Pharma (Australia) Pty Ltd, to Eris Pharma Australia Pty Ltd," Aurobindo Pharma said in a filing to the BSE.

APL will continue to manufacture and supply products to Eris Pharma for Australian and New Zealand markets over the next few years, it added.

"This divestment is in line with APL's strategy of focusing on the US, the EU and key emerging markets. This subsidiary was not contributing any profit to Aurobindo," the company said.

Aurobindo Pharma currently exports its products to over 125 countries.

02:00pm Market Check
The market remained rangebound in afternoon trade, heading to snap the five-day winning streak on profit booking. The Sensex dropped 46.39 points to 28838.82 and the Nifty shed 17.30 points to 8761.

The broader markets continued to outperform with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. About 1581 shares have advanced, 1108 shares declined, and 175 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

In the midcap space, KEC International, Century Textiles, V-Guard Industries and Sobha gained 8-15 percent while smallcap stocks like Indian Metals, Century Enka, Claris Life, Sagar Cement and Pricol jumped 13-20 percent.

01:30pm New IPO: Nuziveedu Seeds, in which the Blackstone Group holds a 25 percent stake, is set to file for a market listing to raise up to USD 200 million, report media quoting unnamed sources.

Nuziveedu, which could file as early as next week, has hired JPMorgan, JM Financial Services and Axis Capital as lead managers, the sources said. They declined to be named as the information is not yet public.

Blackstone, which invested USD 54 million in the company in 2008, will make a part-exit with a near four times return on a seven-year-old investment, one of the sources said.

"We are almost done and could file it within a few weeks," said one of the sources. One other source said the filing could be completed within a week.

01:00pm Market Check
The market extended losses in afternoon trade due to selling in private banks and pharma stocks. The Sensex slipped 106.27 points to 28778.94 and the Nifty fell 39.50 points to 8738.80 amid consolidation.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices continued to trade higher, up around half a percent. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1504 to 1114 on the BSE.

The Indian equity market looks like ''on the best investments in Asia'' right now and UBS is overweight the country, according to Hartmut Issel, the firm's Head Equity & Credit for Asia Pacific and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth Management.

Issel said earnings growth and reforms momentum in the Indian market were two of the key drivers of UBS' bullishness.

Cipla lost further, down 3.5 percent after CLSA downgraded the stock to sell from underperform with a target price of Rs 619. According to the brokerage, inhalers may offer only gradual upside in EU contrary to market expectations.

Shares of HDFC Bank, HDFC, TCS, L&T, Sun Pharma, Lupin and Hindalco dropped 1-3 percent while Sesa Sterlite and Idea Cellular topped the buying list, up 2-3 percent.

SBI gained nearly 2 percent as Barclays maintained its overweight on the stock with a target price of Rs 353. The brokerage said SBI is a significant outperformer in two key franchise products - savings accounts and credit cards.

Japan's Nikkei share average topped the psychological 20,000-point mark on Friday for the first time in 15 years on hopes of stronger corporate earnings, and gained 2.4 percent on the week. The Nikkei rose as high as 20,006 before ending down 0.2 percent at 19,907.63.

12:30pm Nikkei Update
Japan's Nikkei share average topped the psychological 20,000-point mark on Friday for the first time in 15 years on hopes of stronger corporate earnings, and gained 2.4 percent on the week.

The Nikkei rose as high as 20,006 before ending down 0.2 percent at 19,907.63.

The rally has been driven by many factors, including hopes of higher shareholder returns, a rise in corporate earnings, a recovery in domestic consumption and more share buying, both real and imagined, by Japanese public investors.

The market expects Japanese earnings to rise 10 to 15 percent this year, but with the Nikkei already up 14 percent so far this year, some investors see limited justification to chase them much higher.

12:00pm Market Check
The market fell marginally amid consolidation in noon trade, dragged by index heavyweights HDFC, HDFC Bank and ITC. The Sensex declined 84.19 points to 28801.02 and the Nifty slipped 29.45 points to 8748.85.

The broader markets maintained uptrend, up half a percent as about 1460 shares have advanced against 1063 shares declined on the BSE.

Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS expects more consolidation in the market. According to him, the downside range for the Nifty is 8000-8300, while the index may hit 9,000 on the upside.

Asian markets gained with the Hang Seng and Nikkei at multi-year highs. China's consumer inflation held steady at 1.4 percent for March.

Shares of HDFC, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma and Cipla declined 1-2 percent followed by ITC, L&T, TCS, Axis Bank and NTPC with 0.5-0.9 percent loss while SBI, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL and Tata Power gained 1-2 percent.

Hindalco lost 1.5 percent. Alcoa, the world's third largest aluminium producer, reported numbers in the US with revenues disappointing even as profits topped estimates. JP Morgan said Alcoa's commentary around the auto segment continued to remain positive which highlighted revenue visibility for Hindalco's Novelis unit.

11:30am FII View: The Indian equity market looks like ''on the best investments in Asia'' right now and UBS is overweight the country, according to Hartmut Issel, the firm's Head Equity & Credit for Asia Pacific and Chief Investment Officer for Wealth Management.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Issel said earnings growth and reforms momentum in the Indian market were two of the key drivers of UBS' bullishness.

''India has somewhat demanding valuations in the mean time, but I think they can keep it up,'' he said.

11:00am Market Check
The market remained rangebound with the Nifty marginally weak near the 8750 level as select FMCG and financial stocks dragged. BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed by a significant margin today, up 0.7 percent each.

The Sensex fell 41.41 points to 28843.80 and the Nifty declined 12.55 points to 8765.75. About 1448 shares have advanced, 849 shares declined, and 140 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Asian markets continued their positive momentum, trading higher across the board after China's consumer inflation held steady in March. Brent traded strong near USD 57 per barrel.

Shares of HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC, TCS, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Tata Motors slipped 0.4-1 percent while Infosys, SBI, Sesa Sterlite, BHEL and Tata Power gained 1-1.6 percent.

IDFC gained 2 percent as the company received shareholders' approval for the scheme of arrangement between the company and IDFC Bank. Rajiv Lall, MD & CEO said he expects the bank to begin banking operations on October 1 with a total of 20 branches and the total balance sheet size on October 1 will stand at Rs 70,000 crore.

IndusInd Bank was also in focus. The bank announced acquiring RBS's diamond and jewellery financing business with a loan book size of approximately Rs 4,500 crore. Ramesh Sobti, MD & CEO said the jewellery financing business has been growing at 25-30 percent and will be margin accretive.

Hindalco lost 1.5 percent. Alcoa, the world's third largest aluminium producer, reported numbers in the US with revenues disappointing even as profits topped estimates. JP Morgan said Alcoa's commentary around the auto segment continued to remain positive which highlighted revenue visibility for Hindalco's Novelis unit.

10:25am Market Expert: Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS expects more consolidation in the market. According to him, the downside range for the Nifty is 8000-8300, while the index may hit 9,000 on the upside.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Kapoor said that some major steps taken by the government may help revive the economy but feels the rural consumption may still take some time to improve.

He expects the US Fed to delay the hike in interest rates as employment numbers remain weak and sees more retail investors entering the domestic market through IPOs.
Kapoor sees earnings improving by the second half of the quarter if the monsoon is good. He, however, expects IT companies to post moderate Q4 earnings.

10:00am Market Check
The market entered into consolidation mode after rallying in last five consecutive sessions. Private banking & financials stocks declined whereas oil and PSU banks stocks gained.

The Sensex declined 7.82 points to 28877.39 and the Nifty fell 2.30 points to 8776.00. However, the broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained more than 0.5 percent. About 1157 shares have advanced, 684 shares declined, and 132 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

In the pharma sector, Cipla slipped over a percent as CLSA downgraded stock to a sell from underperform with a target price of Rs 619. Biocon gained 2 percent on approval for insulin glargine in Mexico.

IDFC gained more than 3 percent as shareholders approved scheme of arrangement between company and IDFC Bank. Rajiv Lall, CEO & MD of IDFC said banking operations will start on October 1, with the total balance-sheet size on October 1 will stand at Rs 70,000 crore.

09:45am Glenmark in News: Glenmark Generics has received a final approval from USFDA for the oral contraceptive Levonorgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets.

Glenmark Generics Inc USA has been granted final approval by the USFDA for the oral contraceptive Levonorgestrel/Ethinyl Estradiol Tablets USP, 0.09 mg/0.02 mg, the therapeutic equivalent to Lybrel of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This approval marks Glenmark's 11th oral contraceptive authorized for distribution by the USFDA.

09:15am Market Check
The market fell marginally in opening trade on last day of the week. The Sensex declined 58.69 points to 28826.52 and the Nifty slipped 18.25 points to 8760.05. About 583 shares have advanced, 398 shares declined, and 97 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Cipla lost more than 2 percent. Hindalco Industries, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, HDFC, PNB, Asian Paints and Zee Entertainment slliped 0.5-1.5 percent. However, IDFC rallied 2.2 percent. HCL Tech, Idea Cellular, ONGC, Wipro, Reliance Industries, Sesa Sterlite and Infosys gained 0.5-1 percent.

The Indian rupee has opened marginally lower at 62.30 per dollar today against previous day's closing value of 62.24 a dollar.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Local equity market is likely to trade sideways today and will take cues from global markets for further directions. The ongoing strength in dollar may force rupee to depreciate."

"At present mixed global sentiments has dented the global equity movement. The rupee range for the day is seen between 62.20-63.00/dollar," he added.

The dollar hovered at three week highs against a basket of major currencies as the hapless euro extended its decline.

Among global markets, in US, stocks closed higher after trading in a narrow range as investors digested a rebound in oil prices and looked for more signals on the timing of an interest rate hike.

Jobless claims rose by 14,000 last week, indicating that more Americans are seeking unemployment benefits. The increase follows a fifteen-year low reported in the previous week. The less volatile four-week average of claims, though, fell by 3,000.

Bank of England's monetary policy committee has left interest rates on hold at 0.5 percent and quantitative easing unchanged at 375 billion pounds.

Greece made 450 million euro loan payment to the International Monetary Fund. The payment to the IMF secured extra emergency lending for Greek banks and helped improve global risk sentiment.

And in Asia, stocks are mixed ahead of China's inflation data; Nikkei trades just shy of 20,000 mark.

Among commodities, crude prices gaind on strong German economic data and uncertainty about negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.