Sensex rebounds 117 points, Nifty ends above 10,150; Airtel top gainer

3:30 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks rebounded on Monday after a consolidation in previous week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 116.76 points at 32,506.72 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 38.40 points to 10,184.90.

About 1,421 shares declined against 1,293 advancing shares on the BSE.

3:15 pm Results: Wendt India, a Murugappa Group company, has recorded a dip in consolidated profit after tax for the second quarter ending September 30, 2017 at Rs 2.65 crore.

The company had clocked PAT at Rs 3.36 crore during the corresponding quarter of the previous year, Wendt India said in a BSE filing today.

For the half-year ending September 30, 2017 consolidated Profit After Tax was Rs 4.93 crore, compared to Rs 6.89 crore registered during the year ago period.

For the year ending March 31, 2017, consolidated PAT were at Rs 12.05 crore.

Consolidated total income for the three month period ending September 30, 2017 slipped to Rs 37.49 crore from Rs 42.02 crore, registered during the same period last year. For the half year period April-September 30, 2017 consolidated total income stood at Rs 73.54 crore as against
Rs 78.57 crore registered during year ago period.

2:59 pm Provisioning norms: With banks burdened with a spike in bad loans and shortage of capital availability, the government may push the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to help them in meeting capital requirements. The government will also look to ease provisioning norms for the loan accounts identified under the insolvency process.

While bankers have approached the banking regulator, the Indian Banks' Association (IBA) has also made a representation to the government seeking a breather on the provisioning requirements which may hit the banks' profitability given the capital constraints and weak credit growth at about 6 percent.

"We have made a representation and the government may look at it, otherwise it will be difficult for many banks to set aside that huge amount as provision. Our profitability could also take a hit as we have large exposures to many accounts. It also reduces the benchmarking of the value of the asset to find a new buyer," said a senior State Bank of India official.

2:46 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks gained strength in afternoon, with the Nifty trading above 10,150 level, backed by Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 86.21 points at 32,476.17 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 23.70 points to 10,170.20.

About 1,398 shares declined against 1,184 advancing shares on the BSE.

2:38 pm Coal Shortage?: Rejecting Nalco's claim that three units of the PSU's captive power plants were shut due to fuel shortage, the coal ministry today said there is ample dispatch of coal to the PSU which has a regular supply of 4.7 MTPA dry fuel, more than the committed quantity by Coal India.

"It is stated that contrary to the recent media news, attributing the closure of three units of Nalco's captive power plant due to shortage of coal leading to curtailment of aluminium production, the ground reality is totally different," the Coal Ministry said in a statement.

The supply of fuel to the National Aluminium Company Ltd is mainly from Bharatpur opencast mines of Talcher coalfield of MCL (Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd) -- a Coal India arm, the ministry said, adding that in case of shortage of supply of coal from this mine the balance quantity of fossil fuel is supplied from other opencast mines of Talcher Coalfields.

Nalco has a regular coal linkage for supply of 4.716 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) coal from MCL, the ministry said.

2:25 pm Gold trade: Falling for the third straight day, gold prices declined further by Rs 200 to Rs 30,450 per 10 grams at the bullion market today amid easing demand from local jewellers weakness in global markets.

However, silver strengthened by Rs 50 to Rs 40,900 per kg on demand from industrial units and coin makers.

Traders said a weak trend overseas, where gold declined as the dollar strengthened, weighed on gold prices here.

Globally, gold fell 0.41 percent to USD 1,274.80 an ounce in Singapore.

2:12 pm Earnings: Consumer electrical goods maker Havells India today reported a standalone net profit of Rs 171.02 crore for the quarter ended on September 30, 2017, on account of higher income.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 145.79 crore during the same period previous fiscal, Havells India said in a regulatory filing.

The company said the results are not comparable as it had acquired the consumer durable business of Lloyd Electric and Engineering. The latest figures includes the concerned business.

Net sales during the quarter under review stood at Rs 1,777.36 crore against Rs 1,559.33 crore in the year ago period.

Havells India had acquired the consumer durable business of the Lloyd Electric and Engineering for an enterprise value of Rs 1,600 crore in February.

2:02 pm Buzzing: Zuari Agro share price rallied 20 percent after healthy growth in earnings.

Profit grew multi-fold to Rs 53.5 crore in Q2, compared with Rs 0.3 crore in same quarter last fiscal, driven by sharp rise in revenue and operational income.

Revenue shot up 87 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,315 crore while operating profit jumped to Rs 127.5 crore from Rs 33.1 crore and margin expanded by 500 basis points to 9.7 percent from 4.7 percent YoY.

1:55 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks remained flat in afternoon, with the Nifty hovering around 10,150 level. Gains in Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, Infosys and telecom stocks were offset by fall in HDFC and ITC.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 11.07 points at 32,401.03 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 4.70 points to 10,151.20.

The market breadth was negative as about 1,409 shares declined against 1,111 advancing shares on the BSE.

The rally in 2017 led by telecom business helped Reliance Industries cross the market capitalisation milestone of Rs 6 lakh crore today. The stock price hit a fresh record high of Rs 932.50, up more than 2 percent.

1:42 pm Interview: Festive season starts from Navratri and it peaks during Dhanteras. Therefore, the company saw good growth in this festive season, Sanjeev Bhatia, CFO of PC Jeweller said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

It is also getting market share from unorganised players, he further added.

He expects 30 percent sales growth for FY18.

Talking about store funding, he said store rollout funding will be done via internal accruals.

1:28 pm GST issues: Several issues around the GSTN portal have been addressed and efforts are on to make the filing smooth, the network's chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

In an interview to PTI, Pandey said a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi reviews the functioning of the GST Network (GSTN) every fortnight to ensure that it is working smoothly.

The GoM will meet next on October 28 to review the actions taken to make the filing of GST process smooth. This will be the third meeting of the GoM since it was constituted in September.

"Many of the issues which had arisen prior to the constitution of the GoM, have been addressed. The attention to these issues from government side is from a very high level. The CEO of Infosys personally attends the GoM meeting. The objective is to make the return filing process very smooth," Pandey said.

1:15 pm New investors in MFs: Showing a growing traction for mutual funds among investors, the number of folios has grown by over 66 lakh in the first six months of the current fiscal on account of strong participation from retail investors.

According to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on total investor accounts with 42 active fund houses, the number of folios rose to a record 62,049,189 at the end of September, from 55,399,631 in March-end, a gain of 6.65 million or 66.5 lakh.

Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts, though one investor can have multiple accounts.

"The rise in number of folios has mainly come from the retail category, which can be seen by growth in folios in equity, balanced and debt segments," BNP Paribas Mutual Fund Chief Investment Officer Ritesh Jain said.

1:01 pm Buzzing: Indian Energy Exchange managed to cross its issue price of Rs 1,650 and hit an intraday high of Rs 1,660 per share, but it could not sustain that level for long.

It was trading at Rs 1,632, down 1 percent from issue price.

12:52 pm BHEL in focus: State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has commenced execution of Rs 20,400-crore Yadadri supercritical thermal power project ordered by the Telangana State Power Generation Corporation.

"The execution of the 4,000 MW Yadadri Supercritical Thermal Power Project ordered on Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) by Telangana State Power Generation Corporation Limited (TSGENCO) has commenced with the issuance of revised Letter of Intent by TSGENCO," BHEL said in a regulatory filing.

BHEL said that the project, valued at approximately Rs 20,400 crore, is the single largest order for the company so far and is also the highest value order ever placed in the power sector in India.

The project is located at Damaracherla in Nalgonda district of Telangana.

12:40 pm Europe trade: European markets opened slightly higher, as investors monitored fresh corporate earnings and awaited further developments of Spain's ongoing constitutional crisis.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged up 0.17 percent shortly after the opening bell with almost all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

12:35 pm Poll: Hindustan Zinc's profit in July-September quarter is expected to increase 24 percent to Rs 2,366 crore, compared with Rs 1,902 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue from operations may grow 45 percent to Rs 5,544 crore from Rs 3,819 crore year-on-year, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit during the quarter is seen rising 48 percent to Rs 2,997 crore, but margin may shrink 410 basis points to 54.1 percent compared with same quarter last fiscal.

Restricted supply of refined zinc at a global level led to strong zinc prices. LME zinc touched a near decade high.

12:25 pm Fundraising: Global healthare IT/digital health companies have raised USD 5.5 billion in VC funding in January-September this year, more than in all of 2016, says a report.

According to Mercom Capital Group, healthcare IT/digital health companies raised USD 5.5 billion in 586 deals from global VCs in the January-September period of 2017 against USD 4.2 billion from 463 deals in the same period of last year.

In the July-September quarter however, VC funding worth USD 1.5 billion was reported globally in 227 deals, a 38 percent decrease compared to the record USD 2.4 billion raised in 194 deals in April-June 2017.

12:15 pm Earnings Estimates: Electrical equipment maker Havells India is expected to report profit at Rs 143 crore for July-September quarter against Rs 145 crore in same quarter last fiscal, but revenue may increase sharply by 25 percent to Rs 1,943 crore year-on-year.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, operating profit during the quarter is seen rising to Rs 215 crore compared with Rs 203 crore in year-ago quarter but margin may shrink 190 basis points to 11.1 percent YoY that may hit net profit.

Solid revenue growth may be led by Lloyd consolidation and price hike taken during the quarter.

12:04 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks turned flat in noon as the rally in telecom stocks, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and Infosys was offset by fall in HDFC Group stocks, ITC and Axis Bank.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 8.27 points at 32,398.23 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 8 points to 10,154.50.

The BSE Midcap index was up 0.2 percent while the BSE Smallcap index fell 0.2 percent. About 1,276 shares declined against 1,121 advancing shares on the BSE.

11:42 am Buzzing: Reliance Industries gained over a percent after hike in tariff plans.

Reliance Jio increased price of its popular 84-day plan by 15 percent to Rs 459 from October 19, under which subscribers get 1GB 4G data at high speed per day.

However, subscribers of Rs 149 plan gets 4GB of data for each billing cycle of 28 days under the new scheme "Diwali Dhamaka" compared to 2GB being offered at present.

It has also reduced recharge tariff for lower denomination and short-term plans besides offering data benefits under the schemes.

Jio has introduced plan for Rs 52 with one-week validity and Rs 98 with 2 weeks that offers its customers free voice, SMS, unlimited data (0.15 GB daily), as per its website.

All plans of Jio will continue to offer unlimited voice calls even during roaming.

11:32 am Telecom stocks in focus: Bharti Airtel extended rally in late morning trade, rising 4.6 percent to Rs 495.75 while Idea Cellular surged 8 percent to Rs 98.40 on value buying.

telecom stocks gained after  Reliance Industries Ltd's unit Jio raised data tariffs last week, signalling more pricing discipline in the sector,

Bharti Airtel hit Rs 500 per share for first time since May 2009.

Experts believe the worst may be over for telecom stocks and pricing may be stabilised soon after Reliance Industries' unit Jio raised data tariffs last week. According to them, only three-four telecom players may be seen after consolidation.

11:18 am Rupee trade: The rupee pared initial losses to trade up by 1.5 paise at 65.015 against the American currency in late morning trade.

The rupee resumed lower at 65.08 per dollar as against last closing level of 65.04 at the Interbank Forex Market.

The forex market was closed on Thursday and Friday on account of Diwali holidays.

Overseas, the dollar touched a three-month high against the yen early today, with an emphatic election victory for Japan's ruling party keeping yen-weakening stimulus measures at the heart of government policy.

11:02 am Fiscal deficit: The government is likely to achieve its fiscal deficit target of 3.2 percent this financial year as the budgeted disinvestment receipts are on track to realise Rs 72,500 crore, says an SBI research report.

According to the report, though there are predictions that the government is going to have a big revenue slippage in 2017-18 which may impact fiscal deficit numbers, "such projections flunk the test of logical reasoning and are grossly misconstrued".

"Fiscal deficit target of 3.2 per cent in FY18 seems not difficult, as revenue may be lower than budgeted, but more than offset by disinvestment and expenditure cuts," said the SBI research report, Ecowrap.

The report noted that the government will able to meet the disinvestment target of Rs 72,500 crore as Rs 60,000 crore has already been achieved and hence the fear of low disinvestment receipts is "completely unwarranted".

10:50 am Auto sales: Hero Motocorp gained 1.6 percent after strong sales recorded on Dhanteras day.

The two-wheeler maker sold over 3 lakh units on Dhanteras day. In September, company had sold more than 7 lakh units for the first time.

10:40 am Buzzing: Reliance Industries hit fresh record high of Rs 929.95 today, up 2.15 percent intraday and has been lending great support to the market.

10:30 am Market Outlook: Equity markets have done well globally and India is no different. However, the bigger challenge is rebound in earnings growth, Vetri Subramaniam, group president and head-equity, UTI Mutual Fund said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

''Markets do not really care about Samvat or quarters. Markets have done pretty well globally, but the run has not been that spectacular for Indian markets,'' he said.

Vetri further added that investors need to watch out for these two things as we move forward – a) What recovery we get in terms of economic data, and b) at which point of time we see earnings start to move higher because we need that to support the move seen in stock prices.

10:19 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks erased some gains in morning, trading off day's high on selling pressure in HDFC Group stocks and Axis Bank. However, Reliance Industries, ITC and ICICI Bank continued to support the market.

The Sensex was up 40.94 points at 32,430.90 and the Nifty gained 20.20 points at 10,166.70.

10:09 am Buzzing: Bharti Airtel share price continued its rally and hit a fresh 52-week high, rising 2.04 percent to Rs 483.50.

The stock has been on buyers' radar, especially after its acquired consumer telecom business from Tata Teleservices. It surged 23 percent in October so far.

10:00 am Listing: Indian Energy Exchange opened sharply lower at Rs 1,500, falling 9 percent against issue of Rs 1,650 per share.

9:55 am Buzzing: Bhushan Steel share price rallied as much as 20 percent in morning after a media report indicated that the global steel giant ArcelorMittal showed interest to buy the company.

9:45 am Pre-opening: Indian Energy Exchange settled at Rs 1,350 per share in pre-opening trade on the National Stock Exchange, down 18.2 percent compared with issue price of Rs 1,650.

9:42 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended gains in morning, with the Sensex rising 150.86 points to 32,540.82.

The 50-share NSE Nifty reclaimed 10,200 level, rising 58 points to 10,204.50, supported by Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and FMCG stocks.

About 1,195 shares advanced against 666 declining shares on the BSE.

9:37 am Listing: Indian Energy Exchange will make its debut on exchanges today. The issue price is fixed at Rs 1,650 per share, the higher end of price band.

The Rs 1,001 crore initial public offer has received good response from investors, with the issue getting oversubscribed 2.28 times.

It was the first IPO by a power exchange in the country.

The reserved category of qualified institutional buyers was oversubscribed 2.56 times, non-institutional investors 85 percent and retail investors 2.61 times.

9:29 am Asia trade: Asian stocks were mostly higher as the dollar spiked to more than three-month highs against the yen following a snap election in Japan on Sunday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling coalition secured a two-thirds "super majority" after winning 312 out of 465 seats available at Sunday's election, Reuters said, citing local media. Abe's solid win at the polls points to a continuation of fiscal and hyper-easy monetary policies under his Abenomics program.

The Nikkei 225 surged 0.93 percent.

9:22 am FII View: Christopher Wood of CLSA said Greed & Fear remains a long-term bull on India, as reflected in the nearly three times overweight in the relative-return portfolio and the 54 percent weighting in the Asia ex-Japan long only portfolio.

But Greed & Fear has to admit that there is the potential for some short-term vulnerability, and at least relative underperformance, he added.

It is certainly evident what has been driving the stock market so far this year, with the Sensex up 22 percent year to date. That is accelerating flows into local equity mutual funds, Wood said.

The lack of an investment cycle, and the related lack of loan growth, are directly linked to the ongoing asset quality problem in the Indian banking system which remains the main unfinished business of the first Narendra Modi administration, he feels.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off the week on a positive note Monday, with the Nifty reclaiming 10,150 level on short covering after over a percent loss seen in previous week. The market opened after a long weekend.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 80.01 points at 32,469.97 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 30.30 points at 10,176.80.

Hero Motocorp, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Infosys, HUL, Cipla, TCS and Reliance Industries gained 1-2 percent.

Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, HDFC, Indiabulls Real, UPL and HPCL were under pressure in early trade.

Nifty Midcap was up 0.2 percent on positive market breadth.

Bhushan Steel, Uttam Galva, Monnet Ispat, Visa Steel, 63 Moons, Dwarikesh Sugar, Puravankara Projects, Radico Khaitan and Gati rallied 2-10 percent.

Sintex Industries, Canara Bank, Andhra Bank and Titan Company were down 1 percent.

The Indian rupee has opened at 65.07 a dollar, falling 5 paise compared with previous close of 65.02 a dollar.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.