Sensex, Nifty see biggest 2-week gains in last 3 months; SBI down

3:30 pm Market closing: After a strong rally, the Nifty ended flat. The 50-share index closed up 1.85 points at 8220.80 while the Sensex was down 0.11 points at 26843.03. Both the benchmark indices posted biggest 2-week gains in last 3 months. Axis Bank, HUL, NTPC, M&M and Bajaj Auto were top gainers and SBI, Bharti, Lupin, BHEL and GAIL were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Market news: Leading stock exchange BSE will auction investment limits for overseas investors on Monday for the purchase of government debt securities worth Rs 4046 crore.

The auction will be conducted on BSE's e-bidxchange platform from 1530 hrs to 1730 hrs, after the close of market hours.

The debt auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in the debt, up to the limit purchased.

"Live bidding session for allocation of debt investment limits for FII/FPI/sub accounts shall be conducted on Monday, June 6, 2016, on exchange's 'ebidxchange' platform," BSE said in a circular.

2:56 pm Market Update: The Sensex gained 13.81 points at 26856.95 and the Nifty rose 3.60 points to 8222.55.

Axis Bank (3.5 percent), NTPC (1.9 percent), Bajaj Auto (1.8 percent) and Hero Motocorp (1.5 percent) are the top gainers in Nifty. Among the losers are Tata Steel (-0.6 percent), Dr Reddys Labs (-0.5 percent), HDFC (-0.5 percent) and ONGC (-0.4 percent). 

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, auto (0.6 percent), oil & gas (0.5 percent), power (0.3 percent) and IT (0.2 percent) gained, while consumer durables (-1.1 percent), capital goods (-0.8 percent) and healthcare (-0.7 percent) were under pressure. 

European shares were trading firm with UK’s FTSE up 52 points at 6238, Germany’s DAX up 56 points at 10264, and France’s CAC up 21 points at 4487.

2:45 pm Gold at 3-month low: Gold prices plunged by Rs 145 to trade at over three-month low of Rs 28,720 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a weak trend overseas along with sluggish demand from jewellers at spot market.

However, silver recovered by Rs 200 to Rs 38,800 per kg on scattered buying support from industrial units.

Bullion traders said apart from a weak trend overseas, muted demand from jewellers and retailers at domestic spot market mainly weighed on the prices.

Globally, gold fell 0.19 percent to USD 1,210.40 an ounce in New York in yesterday's trade.

2:25 pm Buzzing: Shares of Natco Pharma advanced 9.5 percent intraday as it has received tentative approval for Sorafenib tablets from US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

The company's marketing partner, Mylan Inc., has received a tentative approval for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Sorafenib Tablets, 200mg,
with the USFDA.

"This product is the generic version of NEXAVAR, which is indicated for the treatment of certain types of cancers including unresectable hepatocellular
carcinoma and advanced renal cell carcinoma," as per company release.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks lost shine in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling 0.13 points to 26843.01 while the Nifty was up only 3.30 points at 8222.25. The market breadth also turned negative as about 1386 shares declined against 1110 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Pharma, infra, telecom and HDFC group stocks dragged market while Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Infosys, HUL along with auto stocks gained.

European stocks traded higher as investors turned their attention to a key US jobs report that could hold the key to a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month. The FTSE was 0.9 percent higher, the German DAX was up 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 up 0.3 percent.

Brent oil prices held around USD 50 a barrel following an OPEC meeting that failed to agree on output targets, but which was seen as supportive as Saudi Arabia pledged not to flood the market with more fuel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to agree to a clear oil-output strategy on Thursday as Iran insisted on raising production to regain market share lost during years of sanctions, which were lifted in January.

1:25 pm Market cap jumps to Rs 100 lakh cr mark: Boosted by a rally in stocks, the total market valuation of listed companies at the BSE regained the Rs 100 lakh crore mark today. The total market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies rose to Rs 1,00,30,703 crore during the afternoon trade.

Analysts said forecast of a normal to excess rainfall, recovery in earnings report card and smart GDP numbers have fuelled rally in the stock market.

There is no possibility of a "deficient" monsoon this year and 96 percent chances are that the rainfall would be "normal to excess", India Meteorological Department (IMD) said yesterday.

The total market valuation of all listed firms at the BSE had first hit Rs 100 trillion level on November 28, 2014.

1:00 pm Market Check
The market is making steady gains with the Nifty holding 8250. The Nifty is up 33.05 points or 0.4 percent at 8252 and the Sensex is up 102.50 points or 0.4 percent at 26945.64.

Axis Bank, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Hero and Coal India are top gainers while Bharti Airtel, Lupin, BHEL, L&T and ITC are losers in the Sensex.

Boosted by a rally in stocks, the total market valuation of listed companies at the BSE regained the Rs 100 lakh crore mark today. The total market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies rose to Rs 1,00,30,703 crore during the afternoon trade.

Analysts said forecast of a normal to excess rainfall, recovery in earnings report card and smart GDP numbers have fuelled rally in the stock market.

There is no possibility of a "deficient" monsoon this year and 96 percent chances are that the rainfall would be "normal to excess", India Meteorological Department (IMD) said yesterday.

12:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex rose 110.51 points to 26953.65 and the Nifty climbed 34.75 points to 8253.70. About 1258 shares advanced against 1122 declining shares on BSE.

12:40 pm Services PMI: Growth in India's services industry slowed sharply in May to a six-month low, due to a deceleration in new orders, a business survey showed on Friday.

The Nikkei/Market Services Purchasing Managers' Index slumped to 51.0 in May from April's 53.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

"Ongoing weakness in manufacturing and services was evident in May, with output growth losing momentum for a second straight month. Overall expansion across the two sectors was the lowest since last November, as was the case for new orders," said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit.

A sister survey on Wednesday showed factory growth expanded only slightly as output growth softened again.

12:20 pm Suven in news: Drug firm Suven Life Sciences has been granted a patent each by Israel and Mexico for a drugused for the treatment of neuro-degenerative diseases.

The patents are valid till 2032, the company added. Suven said the granted claims of the patents...are being developed as therapeutic agents and are useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease, Attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington's disease, Parkinson and Schizophrenia.

With these new patents, Suven has a total of 10 granted patents from Israel and 21 from Mexico.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market lost half of its morning gains due to profit booking in ITC and HDFC. Banks, metals, auto and select technology stocks remained positive.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 80.30 points at 26923.44 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 25.40 points to 8244.35 whlie the BSE Midcap index outperformed, up 0.5 percent due to positive market breadth. About 1203 shares advanced against 1033 declining shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Axis Bank extended rally in afternoon trade, up more than 3 percent followed by ICICI Bank, HUL, M&M, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto with more than 1.5 percent upside while ITC, TCS, HDFC, Lupin, Bharti Airtel, L&T and SBI fell 0.5-1.5 percent.

Asian markets were mostly higher as markets awaited key US jobs data, which will offer a key indicator of whether the Federal Reserve will pull the trigger in June. The Japanese yen was also on investors' radar after the dollar-yen fell below 109 Thursday.

11:45 am Interview: The Indian economy is witnessing an upturn and this should support stock prices but investors must keep expectations tempered in the short term, says Krishna Kumar Karwa, MD of Emkay Global. "With an 18-24 month view, investors can buy consumption stocks: two-wheelers, NBFCs etc," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. "Returns should be more back-ended."

He maintained that on the back of a decent fourth quarter earnings season and expectations of a normal monsoon and increased government expenditure, valuations had run up. "This makes it a buy-on-dips market."

11:30 am OPEC outlook: Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not agreed on anything for the last two years and that it is too late to do anything now, said Fadel Gheit, senior oil and gas analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gheit said with shale being the game-changer, the crude price war will continue and OPEC members will keep fighting for life because of the change in the energy world. Given that shale is not politics but technology, he said OPEC as a market watcher has lost its control over oil prices for forever. Calling OPEC irrelevant, dysfunctional and corrupt, Gheit said both technology and time have left OPEC's side. He is of the view that the crude prices will only rise from here on.

The market has cooled off a bit with the Sensex up 97.23 points or 0.4 percent at 26940.37. The Nifty is up 25.30 points or 0.3 percent at 8244.25. About 1161 shares have advanced, 887 shares declined, and 125 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank are top gainers while Lupin, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, TCS and Adani Ports are losers in the Sensex.

Brent oil prices held around USD 50 a barrel following an OPEC meeting that failed to agree on output targets, but which was seen as supportive as Saudi Arabia pledged not to flood the market with more fuel.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to agree to a clear oil-output strategy on Thursday as Iran insisted on raising production to regain market share lost during years of sanctions, which were lifted in January.

Analysts still took away positive aspects from the meeting in Vienna, as Saudi Arabia showed restraint.

10:45 am Citi on NPA: Over the past one year, the talk around the bad loans troubling the banking sector has picked up. Aditya Narain of Citi said that the asset quality crisis is now a thing of the past. He admitted that asset quality recognition may happen but the NPA crisis is well under check.

He expects Nifty Bank will outperform the Nifty and that an upcycle in the sector will take a longer time to come, but when it does it will be better and last longer.

Narain said that NPA issues of the past will have a bearing on credit costs and expects them to be remain high.

10:30 am HUL: FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) on Thursday said it will split its Foods and Refreshments (F&R) business into two separate units in line with its global category structure. The company also announced appointment of Sudhir Sitapati as Executive Director, Refreshments. "The Foods and Refreshments (F&R) business will now be organised into two separate businesses of Foods and Refreshments. Sudhir Sitapati currently Regional Category Vice President, Refreshments (South Asia & Africa), Unilever, will be inducted into the management committee of HUL as Executive Director, Refreshments," HUL said in a NSE filing.

The market is still holding gains as the Nifty is still above 8250 as bulls seem to be gearing up for monsoon. The 50-share index is up 32.65 points or 0.4 percent at 8251.60. The Sensex is up 135.77 points or 0.5 percent at 26978.91. About 1113 shares have advanced, 588 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Steel and ICICI Bank are top gainers while Bharti Airtel, Lupin, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs and BHEL are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices held steady trading today after a fall in US crude inventories offset OPEC's decision to shun production caps. The commodity initially fell yesterday after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ended its meeting in Vienna with no agreement, as expected, to lower or cap output despite a global supply glut.

However, it rebounded after a US Department of Energy report showed commercial crude inventories sank by 1.4 million barrels last week, indicating a pick-up in demand in the world's top crude consumer.

9:55 am FII view: After the recent rally, the Indian market is now trading at roughly 16.5 times one-year forward earning, which is slightly higher than the 10-year mean, says Surendra Goyal, Head of Research at Citi in a note to clients.

The brokerage has raised its Sensex target to 28,800 from 27000 earlier. The revised target implies 16 times estimated earnings for 2017-18. Citi is ‘constructive’ on the Indian market for the following reasons

9:45 am Market rises: The Sensex touched 27000 for first time after October last year.The Sensex is up 141.64 points or 0.5 percent at 26984.78, and the Nifty is up 36.20 points or 0.4 percent at 8255.15. About 1096 shares have advanced, 452 shares declined, and 58 shares are unchanged. 

9:35 am ICRA on pharma: Indian drug industry will see moderation in growth due to slowing of business in the US market with reduction in the number of large size drugs going off patent, increased competition and generic adoption reaching saturation levels, ICRA said. The Indian drug firms have registered strong growth over last decade driven mainly by the US market.

"However growth from the US has come down to 15 percent in FY2016 and going forward the growth momentum is likely to face further pressure," rating agency Icra said in a statement.

Increased regulatory scrutiny as reflected in increased issuance of warning letters/import alerts and consolidation of supply chain in the US market resulting in pricing pressures will have an impact on profitability of Indian pharmaceutical companies, it said.

9:15 am Market Check
The market extended uptrend in early trade Friday, tracking positive global cues. The Nifty reclaimed 8250 level for the first time since October 26, 2015, aided by banking & financials, auto and select technology stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 134.09 points to 26977.23 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 35.15 points to 8254.10.

Axis Bank surged 2.4 percent followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India and Tata Steel with more than 1 percent upside. However, Bharti Airtel plunged 2 percent.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 6 paise at 67.23 per dollar today against previous close of 67.29.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Dollar is trading strong compared to other major global currencies. The rupee too is expected to depreciate further for the day."

He expects the USD-INR to trade in the range of 67-67.80/dollar today.

The dollar fell to its lowest against the yen in more than two weeks, weighed down by uncertainty over whether the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates this summer and a loss of risk appetite from investors as oil and global equities wavered.

In yesterday’s trading session the US market edged higher ahead of the employment report due today. S&P closed at 2105.26, highest closing since November 2015.

Similar is the scenario with the Asian market, Nikkei was trading up 0.72 percent in early trade Friday, despite Yen being strong and broke its two day losing streak.

Oil prices rose despite world's top oil producers failing to set a cap on production in the OPEC meet yesterday, Brent crude prices were up 22 cents at USD 49.94 per barrel.