Sensex, Nifty end up over 1 percent; auto, bank, metal rally

3:30 pm Market closing: Late hours rally pushed market higher. The Sensex ended up 328.37 points or 1.3 percent at 26007.30, and the Nifty was up 107.60 points or 1.4 percent at 7962.65. About 1568 shares advanced, 992 shares declined, and 169 shares were unchanged.

Hindalco, Maruti, Tata Steel, BHEL and Lupin were top gainers while Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's Labs, Reliance and Bajaj Auto were laggards in the Sensex.

2:55 pm FMCG threat? Patanjali Ayurved, the FMCG venture promoted by yoga guru Ramdev, will invest over Rs 1,150 crore in the current fiscal to set up six processing units and one R&D center as it chases a turnover of Rs 10,000 crore this year.

"We will invest Rs 1,000 crore to set up 5-6 processing units in various parts of the country. Apart from this, we will invest Rs 150 crore in research and development (R&D). We are looking at doubling our turnover to Rs 10,000 crore in the current fiscal," Ramdev told PTI.

These units will come up in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

2:45 pm Pharma business: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has issued notices to 263 firms that were found overcharging during 2015-16, Parliament was informed today.

NPPA has informed that during 2015-16, demand notices were issued to 263 companies amounting to Rs 928.32 crore, Minster of Chemicals & Fertilizers Ananth Kumar said in a reply in Lok Sabha.

The recovery effected is Rs 12.68 crore, he added.

2:30 pm Economy: Private lender DCB Bank reduced both base rate or the minimum lending rate and the marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR), a move which will lower EMIs for its borrowers.

While MCLR has been reduced by up to 0.5 percent, the base rate has been cut by 0.06 percent.

MCLR for overnight lending has been slashed by 0.5 percent to 9.32 percent while it has been lowered by 0.2 percent to 9.72 percent effective May 4, DCB Bank said in a statement.

MCLR rate for other maturities has been left unchanged, it said.

The market is surging ahead with the Sensex up 344.19 points or 1.3 percent at 26023.12. The Nifty is up 109.85 points or 1.4 percent at 7964.90. About 1499 shares have advanced, 908 shares declined, and 169 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Maruti, BHEL, Tata Steel and Tata Motors are top gainers while Hero and Adani are losers in the Sensex.

Morgan Stanley's Jonathan Garner expects emerging markets to fall around 10 percent from current levels. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says emerging markets are trading around 15 times forward earnings, which is expensive.

Garner has an 'equal-weight' rating on India for now, but says it is capable of outperforming other emerging markets in the long run.

He is bullish on private sector banks

1:45 pm Market outlook: Udayan Mukherjee says the correction in the Nifty has been modest. From mid-February onwards, a lot of emerging market indices have performed well. Largecaps, in particular, have rallied about 30-40 percent during this time and foreign direct investments have come down, says Mukherjee. "And so there is no harm in taking profits and stepping to the sidelines," he says. Global trends will play a key role in deciding how investors react in May -- and it would be best to take it one day at a time, says Mukherjee.

1:30 pm Result: Maruti has posted lower profit in January-March quarter on higher tax and lower other income. The four-wheeler major's net profit fell 11.7 percent in Q4FY16 at Rs 1133.6 crore from Rs 1284.2 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal.

During the quarter, total income rose 12.3 percent at Rs 15306 crore in Q4 against Rs 13624.8 crore year-on-year. In Q4, other income fell to Rs 121.2 crore against Rs 320 crore on annual basis.   

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit was seen falling 3.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,240 crore in Q4 and revenue was expected to increase 9.2 percent to Rs 14,885 crore in Q4. Tax expenses incurred, during the quarter, jumped to Rs 556.5 crore versus Rs 437.3 crore (YoY).

The market is surging ahead with support from index heavyweights. The Sensex is up 278.50 points or 1 percent at 25957.43 and the Nifty is up 95.55 points or 1.2 percent at 7950.60. About 1402 shares have advanced, 880 shares declined, and 150 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, BHEL, Maruti, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are top gainers while Hero and Adani Ports are losers in the Sensex.

Meanwhile, Moody's says public sector banks (PSBs) will not be able to raise funds from the markets and government will have to provide capital support to them in the near term given their weak solvency position.

They could see negative pressure on their credit profile if the government does not revise upwards its capital infusion plans, Moody's Investors Service VP Financial Institutions Group Alka Anbarasu said.

PSBs are facing balance sheet problems because of mounting bad loans. They have gross non-performing assets of about Rs 3.7 lakh crore at of end December.

12:45 pm Market check: The Sensex is up 202.20 points or 0.8 percent at 25881.13, and the Nifty is up 69 points or 0.9 percent at 7924.05. About 1387 shares have advanced, 884 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.
 
12:40 pm Market gushes again: The Sensex is up 134.87 points or 0.5 percent at 25813.80, and the Nifty is up 49.25 points or 0.6 percent at 7904.30. About 1343 shares have advanced, 900 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

Auto, banks, pharma, IT and metal stocks are lending support to benchmark indices. Hindalco, Tata Steel, BHEL, Tata Motors and M&M are top gainers while Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto and Reliance are losers in the Sensex.

12:30 pm Market news: The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea challenging the reappointment of U K Sinha as Chairman of market regulator Security and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) till 2017, saying there is no bar on it.

"We are not inclined to hear this," a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, when senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, sought issuance of a notice on the plea seeking quashing of appointment of Sinha as SEBI head.

Jaising referred to the alleged flouting of rules or norms by the Centre in appointing Sinha and said that he has been reappointed despite the fact that the selection committee did not include his name in the list of the shortlisted candidates for the post.

Selling continues on Dalal Street but metal find takers in a weak trading day. The Sensex is down 4.35 points at 25674.58, and the Nifty is up 4.30 points at 7859.35. About 1268 shares have advanced, 896 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, BHEL, Tata Steel, M&M and Tata Motors are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto and Axis Bank are laggards in the Sensex.

A weaker dollar helped gold extend gains into Tuesday, with investors adjusting positions ahead of policy meetings this week at the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve.

The US dollar slipped against the yen as traders took profits from the greenback's recent rally against the Japanese currency, while the dollar weakened against other major currencies on expectations for a dovish Fed.

Speculation of further easing sent the yen reeling late last week, but uncertainty over whether the BOJ will actually deliver fresh stimulus at its April 27-28 meeting saw the Japanese currency recover some ground on Monday.

11:55 am PSU banks outlook: Moody's Investors Service today cautioned that a prolonged worsening in asset quality at PSU banks is the main threat to India's sovereign credit profile and made a case for the government bearing some of the cost of cleaning up bank balancesheets.

"The main threat to the sovereign credit profile would be via a significant and prolonged worsening in asset quality at state-owned banks, beyond the recognition of bad loans currently under way, that causes contingent liabilities to crystallise on the government's balancesheet," it said.

High corporate leverage poses systemic risks if adverse growth and financial conditions pressure borrowers' repayment capacity, Moody's said, adding that the capital infusion by the government in PSU banks is likely to be larger than budgeted.

11:30 am Huffing: Cigarette and tobacco related stocks are under pressure once again. According to CNBC-TV18 sources, Maharashtra FSA is undertake another round of inspection for new cigarette packs . The state government will check if companies are printing pictorial warning as per norms  as state regulators will stick to central government directive till clarity emerges.

It is learnt that cigarette companies are yet to give undertaking claiming return of seized cigarettes. Recently,   Maharashtra FDA had seized cigarettes to the tune of over Rs 300 crore.

Recently, FMCG major ITC resumed manufacturing of cigarettes at its factories, which it had suspended from April 1 over the large pictorial warning issue.  

The market is still in red but metal stocks are outperforming. The Sensex is down 35.61 points or 0.1 percent at 25643.32, and the Nifty is down 4.55 points at 7850.50. About 1141 shares have advanced, 822 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco is up 4 percent while BHEL, Tata Steel, M&M and HDFC Bank are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorp and Bharti Airtel are losers in the Sensex.

A weaker dollar and equities helped gold extend gains into Tuesday, with investors cautious ahead of policy meetings this week at the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve.

The US dollar fell versus the yen as traders took profits from the greenback's recent rally against the Japanese currency. Expectations of a dovish Fed also hurt the dollar. Asian stocks retreated as investors were wary of riskier assets ahead of the central bank meetings.

Speculation of further easing sent the yen reeling against the dollar late last week, but uncertainty over whether the BOJ will actually deliver fresh stimulus at its April 27-28 meeting saw the Japanese currency recover some ground.

10:55 am Market outlook: The market is showing signs of fatigue ahead of key policy meetings from Bank of Japan and the US Fed later this week. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Udayan Mukherjee says the correction in the Nifty has been modest. From mid-February onwards, a lot of emerging market indices have performed well. Largecaps, in particular, have rallied about 30-40 percent during this time and foreign direct investments have come down, says Mukherjee. "And so there is no harm in taking profits and stepping to the sidelines," he says. Global trends will play a key role in deciding how investors react in May -- and it would be best to take it one day at a time, says Mukherjee.

10:30 am Result poll: Country's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki is likely to disappoint the street on April 26 by reporting contraction in profit and margin for January-March quarter. Profit is seen falling 3.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,240 crore in Q4, which may get impacted by lower margin, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Revenue may increase 9.2 percent to Rs 14,885 crore in quarter ended March 2016 compared to Rs 13,624.8 crore in same quarter last fiscal, despite slow down in volume growth. Maruti sold 3.6 lakh units in Q4, a growth of 4 percent compared to 3.46 lakh units sold in year-ago period. Volume was hit due to production loss of 10,000 units in February on account of Jat reservation agitation in Haryana. Company temporarily suspended production due to disruption of component supplies.

The market is still under pressure with the Sensex is down 57 points or 0.2 percent at 25621.93. The Nifty is down 14.40 points or 0.2 percent at 7840.65. About 977 shares have advanced, 742 shares declined, and 96 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Tata Steel, M&M, BHEL, NTPC are gainers while ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Hero, Bajaj Auto and SBI are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices rebounded in Asia, rebounding from sharp losses driven by a report saying Saudi Arabia was close to completing an oilfield expansion that would ramp up output.

However, analysts say the gains would likely be short-lived owing to lingering worries about a global supply glut, while traders nervously await the release of US stockpiles data tomorrow.

Also tomorrow the Federal Reserve will wrap up its latest policy meeting. While it is not expected to unveil any new measures, dealers will be hoping for some forward guidance on monetary policy and any future interest rate hikes.

The world oil market has been hammered over the past two years by weak demand, overproduction, a slowing global economy -- particularly China -- and a supply glut.

9:55 am Eicher: Eicher Trucks and Buses, a part of VE Commercial Vehicles today forayed into sub-5 tonne segment in the country with the launch of Eicher Pro 1049 mini truck.

The model, which has been designed to cater to the last mile distribution in urban, semi-urban and rural areas, comes with the longest cargo body of ten feet and highest payload in the segment.

"With this launch, Eicher Trucks and Buses plans to strengthen its leadership in the light and medium duty segment (LMD) and is aligned with the company's commitment to usher in the future of Indian trucking with next generation products and technologies," VE Commercial Vehicles said in a statement.

9:30 am Rupee outlook: In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Sameer Goel, Head of Asia rates and currency research at Deutsche Bank said that the US dollar weakened against major currencies on expectations of a dovish US Fed.

He said that there is still potential for two hikes by the US Fed this year and it might bring strength back to the dollar.

On the upcoming BoJ meet on April 28, he expects no change in policy. Encouraging a greater currency weakness will remain a challenge for the bank.

The market has opened lower as the Sensex is down 77.87 points or 0.3 percent at 25601.06. The Nifty is down 21.90 points or 0.3 percent at 7833.15. About 313 shares have advanced, 357 shares declined, and 32 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Bharti, Tata Steel, M&M and Axis Bank are top gainers while ICICI Bank, ITC, GAIL, Maruti and Hero are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee has opened marginally lower at 66.72 a dollar compared to 66.61 a dollar in previous session.

Ashutosh Raina, HDFC Bank says the crucial 2-day FOMC meeting starts today with market expectations of no rate action. However, the statements following the policy will be keenly analysed, he adds. According to him, the USD-INR pair continues to trade in the Rs 66-67/USD range. He expects the pair to trade in this range awaiting the outcome from FOMC.

Energy shares dragged Wall Street slightly lower, tracking a decline in oil prices, while earnings and guidance from companies including Perrigo and Xerox also weighed on US stocks.

The Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady after a two-day meeting set to begin on Tuesday, but policymakers may be more upbeat on the economic outlook, leaving the path open for future rate hikes.

Asia stocks were mixed, after energy plays led to a decline in US equities overnight, and as investors likely took to the sidelines ahead of major central bank monetary policy decisions due later in the week.