Sensex, Nifty snap 6-day losing streak; Lupin, L&T slip 1%

The market snapped six days of weakness by registering a green closing on Tuesday. The Sensex ended up 31.44 points at 26590.59 and the Nifty was up 9.90 points at 8060.70. About 1476 shares advanced, 1221 shares declined, and 128 shares were unchanged. Analysts believe that now global flows and Bihar elections outcome are likely to impact market on the downside now.

Krishna Kumar Karwa of Emkay Global Financial Services says from now to year-end, the market will be focussing on a few important events such as the US Federal Reserve rate hike and the government's reforms push. According to him, a bottom-up investing approach is important. He also sees a few more analyst downgrades going ahead.

Once again, corporate earnings hogged limelight. State-run oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) posted a loss of Rs 329 crore during July-September quarter compared to profit of Rs 6,435.7 crore in preceding quarter. Revenue declined 15.7 percent to Rs 85,384.8 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 1,01,306.8 crore in year-ago period. The company says average gross refining margin for April-September period was USD 5.76 a barrel against USD 0.09 a barrel in corresponding period of last fiscal. It ended with 2 percent gains.

Hero also rose over 1 percent as it reported 11.25 percent rise in sales at 6,39,802 units in October, its highest ever in a single month. The company had sold 5,75,056 units in the same month last year, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement. Its previous highest sales in any month was in October 2013 when it sold 6,25,420 units.

Top gainers in the Sensex were NTPC, M&M, ONGC, Hindalco and Vedanta. Lupin, Tata Motors, L&T, Tata Steel and Bharti were top gainers in the Sensex.

Meanwhile, Midcap and Smallcap index attracted better traction. Among the midcaps KRBL, Amtek Auto, HMT, EID Parry and TVS Motor were up 5-14 percent. After posting September quarter results, Oberoi Realty tanked 7 percent and Prism Cement lost 5 percent. In the smallcap space, Nilkamal rose 20 percent. 

3:30 pm Market close: The Sensex ended up 31.44 points at 26590.59, and the Nifty was up 9.90 points at 8060.70. About 1449 shares advanced, 1242 shares declined, and 134 shares were unchanged.

NTPC, ONGC, M&M, Hindalco and Vedanta were top gainers while Lupin, Tata Motors, L&T, Bharti and Tata Steel were among losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Jaitley on intolerance: Asserting that India will never be intolerant, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today rejected Congress' pitch on the issue, saying opponents must fight political battles politically, and wondered "where is the intolerance".

Calling as "aberrations" some of the recent incidents including the beef row, Jaitley insisted that there is "no justification" in returning of awards and the national situation "is absolutely peaceful. India is fully committed as a liberal democracy to peaceful co-existence".

"There is an atmosphere of harmony. This country has never been intolerant and will never be intolerant," the BJP leader said. 2:58 pm Market holds gains: The Sensex rose 70.02 points to 26629.17 and the Nifty advanced 20.50 points to 8071.30 amid volatility. About 1474 shares have advanced, 1140 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:45 pm Gold Update: Gold prices continued to fall for the fifth straight day and hit over three-week low of Rs 26,700 per 10 grams by losing Rs 110 at the bullion market today, tracking a weakening global trend amid subdued demand from jewellers and retailers. Silver too remained under selling pressure and fell further by Rs 250 to Rs 36,250 per kg.

Traders said besides a weakening global trend, as investors cut their holdings in bullion-backed funds to the smallest in two weeks on speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in December, easing demand from jewellers and retailers mainly kept pressure on gold prices.

2:30 pm Hero sales: Hero Motocorp has sold 6.39 lakh vehicles in October (highest ever sales in any month), higher by 11.25 percent compared to year-ago month.

Scooter sales increased by 74.6 percent to 1.08 lakh units in same period. The stock gained 1 percent.

"With this, the market share of company in domestic scooter market has risen from 13 percent in September to almost 20 percent in October," says Hero Motocorp in its filing.

The company has seen overwhelming success of its newly scooters range - Maestro, Pleasure and Maestro Edge & Duet, it added. The stock gained nearly 2 percent.

2:15 pm Earnings: State-run oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has posted a loss of Rs 329 crore during July-September quarter compared to profit of Rs 6,435.7 crore in preceding quarter.

Revenue declined 15.7 percent to Rs 85,384.8 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 1,01,306.8 crore in year-ago period.

The company says average gross refining margin for April-September period was USD 5.76 a barrel against USD 0.09 a barrel in corresponding period of last fiscal.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to consolidate in afternoon trade after a correction in past six consecutive sessions. The Sensex rose 78.38 points to 26637.53 and the Nifty advanced 16.85 points to 8067.65.

The broader markets also traded in-line with benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.4-0.5 percent. The market breadth remained positive as about 1447 shares advanced against 1115 declining shares on the BSE.

Amtek Auto topped buying list on BSE Midcap, up 17 percent after the company appointed Morgan Stanley as advisors to assist in its debt reduction plan.

Larsen & Toubro, Eros International, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, United Spirits, Axis Bank, HDFC and TVS Motor were most active shares on exchanges.

1:55 pm Boardroom: Relaxo Footwears reported a net profit of Rs 27.06 crore for the quarter ended September 2015. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Ramesh Kumar Dua, MD of the company says premiumisation of products has led to a double digit growth in volumes this quarter.

Dua hopes to improve premiumisation and expects a 100 percent growth in online sales going forward.

He says capital expenditure will mainly be demand-driven ands that growth in the first half will continue in the next two quarters.

1:45 pm Deal: Liquor maker Tilaknagar Industries has inked a pact with Scotland-based Three Stills Company to explore opportunities to distribute scotch whisky in the country. The company has entered into an MoU with the Three Stills Company Ltd to explore opportunities to distribute scotch whisky in India, Tilaknagar Industries said in a regulatory filing. Set up in 1933 as Maharashtra Sugar Mills in Ahmednagar, Tilaknagar Industries entered the liquor business in 1987 and is now the fifth-largest domestic liquor firm with over two dozen brands straddling all segments.

The company manufactures whisky, brandy, rum, vodka and Gin and has a market leading position in the southern and western parts of India. Some of the well known brands of the company include Mansion House Whiskey, Senate Royale Whiskey and White House Premium Whisky. 1:30 pm Result: State-run oil marketing company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has posted a loss of Rs 329 crore during July-September quarter compared to profit of Rs 6,435.7 crore in preceding quarter. Revenue declined 15.7 percent to Rs 85,384.8 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 1,01,306.8 crore in year-ago period.

The company says average gross refining margin for April-September period was USD 5.76 a barrel against USD 0.09 a barrel in corresponding period of last fiscal.

The market is consolidating as coporate earnings are almost at fag end. The Sensex is up 45.92 points at 26605.07, and the Nifty gains 7.95 points at 8058.75. About 1437 shares have advanced, 1031 shares declined, and 106 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, NTPC, M&M, Vedanta and TCS are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers ate L&T, Lupin, GAIL, ITC and Bharti Airtel.

Valuations appear to be protected on the downside, though it may crack a bit on global flows and Bihar outcome, says Krishna Kumar Karwa of Emkay Global Financial Services. He says from now to year-end, the market will be focussing on a few important events such as the US Federal Reserve rate hike and the government's reforms push. According to him, a bottom-up investing approach is important.

He also sees a few more analyst downgrades going ahead. As far as the earnings growth estimate for FY16 is concerned, he says Emkay has been rather conservative and hasn't altered its expectations much.

12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks halved gains in afternoon trade. The Sensex rose 55.58 points to 26614.73 and the Nifty advanced 13.45 points to 8064.25.

About 1433 shares have advanced, 1019 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:40 pm Earnings: ABB India's July-September quarter earnings missed analysts' expectations on Tuesday with profit rising 30 percent to Rs 58.7 crore and revenue up 6.7 percent to Rs 1,969 crore compared to year-ago period.

Profit was supported by strong operational performance and revenue growth but higher tax cost limited growth. Power products business provided good support to revenue during the quarter despite degrowth in power systems and process automation businesses. Order inflow during the quarter increased 61.3 percent to Rs 2,292 crore compared to Rs 1,421 crore in year-ago period, which was marked by few firsts like marine generator and controlled start solutions for mining, says the company, adding order backlog at the end of quarter was at Rs 8,275 crore.

12:20 pm StanChart fund raising plant: Standard Chartered Plc announced plans on Tuesday to raise USD 5.1 billion in new capital via a rights issue and posted a third-quarter operating loss of USD 139 million due to growing regulatory costs and rising loan impairments in India.

The loss for the July-September quarter compares with a USD 1.5 billion profit in the same period a year ago.

Standard Chartered (StanChart) formally reports earnings every half-year, but since 2013 began giving more details of quarterly progress in its 'interim management statement'.

Also read - Banks' NPL pressures to ease, but only gradually: Fitch

12:00 pm Market Check
The market maintained early gains led by technology, banking & financials, metals, select pharma and oil stocks. The broader markets too traded in line with benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5-0.6 percent.

The Sensex rose 123.21 points to 26682.36 and the Nifty advanced 32.35 points to 8083.15. The market breadth too was positive as about 1460 shares advanced against 870 declining shares on the BSE.

Asian markets except China rallied today after a positive handover from the US. Europe too is expected to open higher today as investors focus on key earnings.

Diageo strategy is finally showing results. United Spirits surged 6 percent after reporting a strong operational performance as margins expanded 330 basis points year-on-year to 14.8 percent driving a profit of Rs 929 crore. Company says it will reduce debt by Rs 1,000 crore in next 12-18 months.

Tech Mahindra was modestly higher ahead of earnings. The company's dollar revenue is seen higher by 2 percent led by growth in telecom vertical and 2.7-2.8 percent growth in constant currency.

NTPC, Infosys, Hindalco, TCS and ICICI Bank topped buying list on Sensex, up 1-3 percent.

11:45 am Interview: Real estate company Brigade Enterprises reported a significant increase in its net profit at Rs 41 crore, the company's Q2 revenue was down 11 percent at Rs 249 crore versus Rs 280 crore. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, chief financial officer Suresh Kris, says the fall in numbers came because the company didn't recognise any revenues in Q2. However, Kris adds the company's H1FY16 has been better than H1FY15.

11:30 am Market outlook: Valuations appear to be protected on the downside, though it may crack a bit on global flows and Bihar outcome, says Krishna Kumar Karwa of Emkay Global Financial Services. He says from now to year-end, the market will be focussing on a few important events such as the US Federal Reserve rate hike and the government's reforms push. According to him, a bottom-up investing approach is important. He also sees a few more analyst downgrades going ahead. As far as the earnings growth estimate for FY16 is concerned, he says Emkay has been rather conservative and hasn't altered its expectations much.

The market is holding steady with gains in metal, bank, IT and pharma stocks. The Sensex is up 122.29 points or 0.5 percent at 26681.44 and the Nifty is up 32.05 points or 0.4 percent at 8082.85. About 1449 shares have advanced, 735 shares declined, and 73 shares are unchanged. Hindalco, NTPC, Vedanta, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma are top gainers while GAIL, ITC, Maruti, BHEL and Bharti are among losers in the Sensex.

Crude oil rose 0.46 percent to Rs 3,047 per barrel in futures market as speculators created fresh bets, taking positive cues from Asian markets.

Analysts said speculators built fresh positions on the back of a firm Asian trend, buoyed by bargain hunting ahead of the release of US data that will gauge crude demand in the world's biggest economy. This mainly led to rise in crude oil prices in futures trade.

10:40 am Earnings Poll: Software services provider Tech Mahindra 's second quarter profit after tax is seen rising 8.2 percent sequentially to Rs 732 crore, aided by strong operational performance.

According to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, revenue is likely to increase 4.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 6,578 crore and dollar revenue may climb 2.1 percent to USD 1,010 million. Constant currency growth in dollar revenue may be around 2.7-2.8 percent, which may be relatively better after two soft quarters. Dollar revenue may be supported by some growth in telecom vertical (on a low base in preceding quarter) and continued momentum in enterprise segment.

Analysts feel two recent acquisitions LCC (Lightbridge Communications Corporation) may show some sequential improvement and Comviva business may not be a headwind during the quarter, adding Comverse deal is likely to provide USD 8 million in revenue.

10:20 am FII View: Sunil Garg, JP Morgan feels 'sideways' is about as constructive as it gets on MSCI Asia ex-Japan technicals.

"We are also abandoning outperformance expectations until we see clear evidence. While our bias remains bearish, notwithstanding the October rally, we see MSCI Asia ex-Japan in a painful rangebound existence in the near term," he says.

Garg says he continues to see rotational opportunities as the main plays, with main trades being underweight on India, China likely to go nowhere, continue to prefer consumer discretionary versus staples, technology over financials and commodity sectors to remain challenged.

10:00 am Market Check
The market continued to see buying interest on the back of short covering after falling for last six consecutive sessions. Technology, banking & financials, metals, select pharma and oil stocks provided support.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 107.85 points to 26667 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 27.25 points at 8078.05. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was also positive as about 1294 shares advanced against 548 declining shares on the BSE.

9:55 am Auto sales: TVS Motor Company on Monday reported 14 percent increase in total sales at 2,74,622 units in October.

The Chennai-based company had sold 2,41,044 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales for the month grew 14 percent to 2,64,112 units as against 2,31,990 units in October 2014, TVS Motor Company said in a statement. Motorcycle sales increased 17 percent to 1,06,175 units last month compared with 90,779 units in the corresponding month a year ago.

Scooter sales grew 30 percent to 91,430 units in October 2015 as against 70,571 units in the corresponding month last year. Exports last month jumped 20 percent to 41,682 units, compared to 34,855 units in the corresponding month a year ago.

9:45 am Buzzing: Shares of United Spirits advanced 5.2 percent intraday on back of turnaround performance by the company in second quarter of FY16.

The company has registered a net profit of Rs 929.3 crore in July-September quarter against a net loss of Rs 26.9 crore for the same period of last fiscal. The increase in profit is due to the divestment of United Breweries shares worth Rs 870 crore, which has been used to retire its debt.

Broking firm Citi has maintained sell rating on stock, while JP Morgan has maintained overweight rating with a target price of Rs 4100 per share.

9:30 am IPO: InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, owner of Indian budget airline IndiGo, raised Rs 3010 crore in an initial public offering after setting the pricing at Rs 765 per share, according to a prospectus on Monday. That was at the upper end of a price range of Rs 700 to Rs 765 per share. The book-building closed last week, having attracted orders worth six times the number of available shares. It will make its market debut later this month.

The market has opened higher on Tuesday after weakness seen yesterday. The Sensex is up 110.16 points or 0.4 percent at 26669.31 and the Nifty is up 35.15 points or 0.4 percent at 8085.95. About 429 shares have advanced, 98 shares declined, and 23 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, SBI, Cipla, Vedanta and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are ITC and ONGC.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 11 paise at 65.48 per dollar against previous close of 65.59.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The upcoming US data will have direct impact on the December FOMC decision and can result in increased market volatility. The USD-INR pair is back above the crucial 65.50/dollar level on the back of a strong dollar."

The dollar fell against the euro after comments from two members of the European Central Bank's governing council lowered expectations for increasing its bond-purchase program next month.

Asian equity markets staged a comeback on Tuesday, with investors encouraged by the upbeat handover from Wall Street.

Major US averages climbed nearly 1 percent or more overnight, helped by gains in energy and healthcare counters.