Sensex snaps 4-day fall, Nifty ends below 6100; banks drag

Equity benchmarks snapped four-day winning streak with the Nifty closing below the 6,100 level on account of profit booking and weak China PMI data.

The market extended its fall in last hour of trade weighed down by further fall in banks, technology, FMCG and oil & gas stocks.

The Sensex was down 186.33 points or 0.90 percent to 20,536.64 and the Nifty fell 61.30 points or 1 percent to 6,091.45 but the broader markets closed flat. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1462 to 1186 on the BSE.

Though there was a profit booking today, the market is still in consolidation mode, experts believe.

''Most of the events right now are behind us from the result season perspective or a data perspective, policy perspective.  For some time, the market should be in a quiet zone. Volumes and flows have been fairly light. That shows that right now market is in a consolidation mode,'' Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Capital elaborated.

He feels this is probably a consolidation before upmove closer to the political event.

India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank was the top loser today, falling more than 2 percent while State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were down 1.8 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

Housing finance company HDFC, cigarette major ITC, telecom operator Bharti Airtel, aluminium major Hindalco Industries and steel maker Tata Steel lost between 1.5-2 percent.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries slipped 0.9 percent and IT services exporter Infosys declined 1 percent.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Auto and Tata Power bucked the trend, rising 1-1.8 percent.

Capital goods majors Larsen & Toubro and BHEL bounced back in afternoon trade, gaining over 0.2 percent.

On the global front, Asian markets lost ground after the preliminary China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from HSBC/Markit fell to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February as against final reading of 49.5 in January.

Shangahi was down 0.2 percent after erasing all its early gains while Nikkei and Hang Seng slipped 1-2 percent.

03:55 pm Outlook:
Foreign investors have been broad buyers of Indian shares in the October-December quarter, with increases in foreign institutional investments (FIIs) in about 75 percent of the BSE 200 companies, according to a report by HSBC today.

That meant all sectors, except healthcare and staples, saw an increase in FII ownership. Information technology, consumer discretionary and utilities saw the highest net buying by FIIs, HSBC said.

Interestingly, overseas investors appear underweight in IT - the one sector that had attracted much FII flows - only because the sector weightage was increased by 10 percent in absolute weight terms in the MSCI India index.

FIIs also increased stakes in 26 industrial companies during the quarter, signaling some rotation towards domestically oriented sectors.

03:45 pm Market closing
The market ended on a weak note with the Nifty falling below 6100. The Nifty closed at 6091.45, down 61.30 points or 1 percent. The Sensex closed down 186.33 points or 0.90 percent at 20536.64.

Banks dragged the indices with ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC as major losers in the Sensex. Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel were other laggards.

Tata Power, BHEL and Bajaj Auto were gainers in the Sensex.

03:35 pm FDI nod
The government cleared Rs 6,400 crore FDI (foreign direct investment) proposal of global healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline to acquire additional 24.33 per cent stake in its India arm.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the proposal of GlaxoSmithKline Pte Limited, Singapore for acquisition of 24.33 percent shares in existing Indian subsidiary company of GSK Group.

The said acquisition ''would be done by way of a voluntary open offer under Sebi (SAST Regulations) in the pharmaceutical sector,'' an official statement said.

03:25 pm Interview
State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank was facing bad-loans stress not so much from retail, agriculture or large corporates and that it was mainly the large SMEs and midsize corporates that were an issue.

''Large companies have diversified operations and plenty of cash flows from different areas. They also have access to other sources of capital,'' she said.

SBI was going ''account-by-account'' to find solutions for such customers, Bhattacharya said, ''because not only do they need lengthening of their debts so as to enable them to pay but they also need capital; they need equity.''

03:15 pm Market outlook
Year 2014 has been good for the pharma sector so far. Not just frontliners like Sun Pharma that are already up 10 percent in 2014, even a mid-cap stock like Aurobindo Pharma has already rallied 30 percent since the start of the year.

Bino Pathiparampil, V-P Research - Institutional Equities, IIFL feels most of these companies have performed very well in the United States. He believes the sector will continue to do well as long as these companies continue to enhance their presence and penetration into the US market. A key factor for these stocks to do well would be continued visibility of growth in the US market - into 2014 and 2015.

He also spoke in detail about Dr Reddy's and Aurobindo Pharma.

03:05 pm Market Check
The market is battered in late trade as the Nifty breaks 6100. The Nifty is down 61.70 points or 1 percent at 6091.05. The Sensex is down 188.57 points at 20534.40. About 1162 shares have advanced, 1439 shares declined, and 163 shares are unchanged.

Banks continue to drag with ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC as major losers in the Sensex. Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel are other laggards.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bjaja Auto, Tata Power, BHEL and L&T are gainers.

02:59pm DCM Shriram on buyers' radar
Investors have been lapping up shares of DCM Shriram Consolidated for the third consecutive session toay ahead of board meeting for buyback decision. The stock rallied nearly 22 percent in three sessions to touch a 52-week high of Rs 70.35 apiece on the BSE and today it gained 16 percent.

"A special meeting of the board of directors will be held on February 22, 2014 to consider the report of sub committee of the board to look at all options including share buy-back from the existing shareholders, review of dividends policy, bonus issues etc for rewarding the shareholders," the company said in its filing.

Meanwhile, DCM Shriram on February 07 entered into an agreement with Axiall, LLC (subsidiary of Axiall Corporation, USA) for forming a 50:50 joint venture for polymer compounding business. That business is carried on by the 100 percent subsidiary of the company, Shriram Vinyl PolyTech Private Limited.

02:50pm Shiv Vani Oil to file appeal against London HC order
The London Court has given the summary judgment in the case filed by the bondholders through their trustees, Citibank NA London (Citibank).

According to the judgment, Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services has to pay to Citi Bank a sum of USD 84 million, USD 2.21 million default interest unto February 11, 2014 and USD 11,988 per day of default interest from February 11 to the day of payment.

The company proposes to file appeal against the judgment within the prescribed period of limitation and also seek stay of the judgment.

02:40pm Market extends losses
Equity benchmarks extended losses in last hour of trade with the Nifty slipping towards 6100 level.

ICICI Bank fell more than 2 percent while Tata Steel and Bharti Airtel lost nearly 2 percent.

Index heavyweights ITC and HDFC dropped a percent each followed by Reliance Industries with a 0.6 percent loss.

Shares of HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti, GAIL, Coal India and Hindalco Industries slipped 1-1.7 percent.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Power and Bajaj Auto continued to hold gains, rising over 1.5 percent.

02:30pm State Bank of India talks to CNBC-TV18
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, State Bank of India Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said SBI was facing bad-loans stress not so much from retail, agriculture or large corporates and that it was mainly the large SMEs and midsize corporates that were an issue.

''Large companies have diversified operations and plenty of cash flows from different areas. They also have access to other sources of capital,'' she said.  ''Our concern is mainly in the mid corporate and the larger SMEs because these are people who do not have deep pockets, who are in one line of activity and if that is stressed, they cannot bring in cash flows from somewhere else. And these people do not have access to that many sources of finance.''

SBI was going ''account-by-account'' to find solutions for such customers, Bhattacharya said, ''because not only do they need lengthening of their debts so as to enable them to pay but they also need capital; they need equity.''

02:15pm FII View
The general mood has been rather positive over the past many days as far as emerging markets like India is concerned. Richard Gibbs, Global Head, Macquarie Securities says investors should use dips to buy into the Indian market. He sees the cheer returning to EMs and the tide turning in its favour.

However, overnight there was some sell-off in emerging markets such as Russia, Argentina and Ukraine too was under pressure. But Gibbs is not worried about the sell-off affecting the Indian market. He believes as long as India's political scene remains on track, India should do well.

02:00pm The market remained under pressure in afternoon trade weighed down by profit booking in banking & financials, FMCG and oil & gas stocks.

The Sensex dropped 89.23 points to 20,633.74 and the Nifty fell 32.40 points to 6,120.35. About 1099 shares have advanced, 1376 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank topped the selling list with a 2 percent fall followed by HDFC Bank and State Bank of India with a percent loss. Housing finance company HDFC trimmed losses to 0.5 percent.

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and steel producer Tata Steel declined over a percent.

Shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC, Tata Motors, Maruti and Hindustan Unilever slipped 0.2-0.8 percent.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Auto and Tata Power bucked the trend, rising over 1.6 percent. TCS, Larsen & Toubro and Wipro gained 0.4-1 percent.

2:00 pm CCEA Meet: A regulator for the coal sector would be set up through an executive order, the government said today.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given nod to the proposal to set up coal regulator through an executive order," a senior Minister said after the meeting here.

The regulator will be empowered to specify the principles and methodology for determination of price of raw coal and washed coal and any other by-product generated during washing.

1:50 pm Buzzing: Sharon Bio Medicine stock jumped as much as 20 percent intraday on Thursday after it adjusted for bonus and split. It was the ex-date today.

The pharmaceutical company on January 14 approved the sub-division of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to Rs 2 each and issuance of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 1:1 (one equity share for every one equity share held as on the record date ).

The record date was fixed as February 21, 2014 to decide the eligible shareholders for sub-division of shares and bonus shares.

1:40 pm FII view: Reiterating global investors mood towards India, Hans Goetti, head of investment-Asia, Banque Internationale Luxembourg said that the country is in a strong position versus other emerging markets (EMs). In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said that India's FII outflows are minor when compared to peers.

Most global investors were cautious about India's high current account deficit. However, slew of measures taken by the Indian government and central bank RBI helped to bring CAD under control. CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, stood at USD 88.2 billion in 2012-13. Pick up seen in exports and declining gold imports contributed to the improvement in CAD, which dropped to 1.2 percent in second quarter, as against 4.9 percent in the first quarter.  The finance minister P Chidambaram sees 2013-14 current account deficit (CAD) USD 45 billion. Goetti added that India's improving CAD is fundamentally a big positive.

1:30 pm Relief: In a big relief to travellers on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, toll plazas in 12 of the 16 lanes, which had been causing huge traffic snarls on it, will be dismantled as the legal dispute over the plazas ended today under the supervision of the Delhi High Court.

The High Court on Wednesday recorded the consent order in terms of tripartite settlement arrived at among NHAI, Delhi-Gurgaon Super Connectivity Ltd (DGSCL) and lead financier IDFC.

The terms of the settlement, recorded by Justice Manmohan Singh in the consent order, would lead to dismantling of toll plazas 12 out of total 16 toll lanes on the Expressway.

The market is trading subdued as most Asian markets fall on back of weak disappointing China PMI data. The Sensex is down 105.23 points at 20617.74, and the Nifty is down 35.65 points at 6117.10. About 1054 shares have advanced, 1289 shares declined, and 143 shares are unchanged.

Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Power, TCS and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the major losers are ICICI Bank, SBI and HDFC Bank.

MCX is looking to sell stake in Dubai stock exchange and plans to raise around Rs 800-900 crore via stake sale in various ventures.

Brent crude slid below USD 110 a barrel, dragged down by a survey that pointed to slower growth in China, the world's second largest oil consumer.

Manufacturing activity shrank again in February to the lowest in seven months, while employment fell at the fastest pace in five years, a preliminary private survey showed.
12:59pm Bajaj Corp, Hexaware, REC slip as shares trade ex- dividend

Shares of Bajaj Corp, Hexaware Technologies and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) are quoting ex-dividend today. They are under pressure because of adjustment for dividend.

State-run Rural Electrification Corporation on February 14 approved payment of interim dividend at the rate of Rs 7.75 per share for the financial year 2013-14. This interim dividend on equity shares will be paid on February 28, 2014, the company said.

Meanwhile, hair oil producer Bajaj Corp has recommended an interim dividend of Rs 6.50 per share and the same will be dispatched from March 03 onwards.

Software services provider Hexaware Technologies declared payment of interim dividend in addition to final dividend at Rs 7.5 per share. That interim dividend will be paid on February 26.

All these companies fixed February 21 as the record date for the purpose of payment of interim dividend.

Rural Electrification Corporation stock was down 3.92 percent to Rs 186.40 while Hexaware Technologies fell 1.55 percent to Rs 158.40 and Bajaj Corp declined 2.89 percent to Rs 207 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

12:50pm Market Expert
Emerging markets have been under pressure from January end to now, which broadly resulted in an EM sell-off. But now that pressure seems to be abating slowly. However, India was not as affected as its other EM peers.

Prabhat Awasthi of Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities believes the markets could head up in the short term. Though he feels elections will be the main theme going forward in the next three months.

He says investors are unwilling to take a major call on elections either way. He doesn't see huge market move either on the upside or on the downside pre elections.

12:40pm Sharon Bio Medicine goes ex-bonus and ex-split
Sharon Bio Medicine stock jumped 16.55 percent after it adjusted for bonus and split. It was the ex-date today.

The pharmaceutical company on January 14 approved the sub-division of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to Rs 2 each and issuance of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 1:1 (one equity share for every one equity share held as on the record date).

The record date was fixed as February 21, 2014 to decide the eligible shareholders for sub-division of shares and bonus shares.

Sharon Bio-Medicine said a meeting of the board of directors will be held on February 24 for allotment of bonus shares to the shareholders.

12:30pm Crude Update
Brent crude slid below USD 110 a barrel on Thursday, dragged down by a survey that pointed to slower growth in China, the world's second largest oil consumer.

Manufacturing activity shrank again in February to the lowest in seven months, while employment fell at the fastest pace in five years, a preliminary private survey showed.

April Brent crude had slipped 60 cents to USD 109.87 a barrel by 0540 GMT, after settling at its highest level this year on Wednesday.

US crude futures for March delivery edged down 27 cents to USD 103.04 a barrel. The contract closed on Wednesday, a day ahead of its expiry, at its highest since October 8.

April Brent's premium to WTI has fallen to the lowest since October after a new pipeline diverted excess supply from Cushing, Oklahoma, the WTI contract's delivery point, to the gulf coast. Robust heating demand this winter has also supported US crude prices, reports Reuters.

12:20pm Thomas Cook rises 0.6% post earnings
Travel company Thomas Cook's fourth quarter (October-December) consolidated net profit grew 52 percent to Rs 13.1 crore compared to same quarter last year on account of higher revenues.

Total income from operations jumped 4.8 times to Rs 465.6 crore from Rs 97.7 crore during the same period.

The company follows calendar year as the financial year.

Other income more than doubled to Rs 4.5 crore from Rs 2.02 crore year-on-year, but interest and finance cost rose 53.7 percent to Rs 12.37 crore and tax expenses increased 21 percent to Rs 5.4 crore in the quarter ended December 2013.

12:10pm FII View
Reiterating global investors mood towards India, Hans Goetti, head of investment-Asia, Banque Internationale Luxembourg said that the country is in a strong position versus other emerging markets (EMs). In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said that India's FII outflows are minor when compared to peers.

Most global investors were cautious about India's high current account deficit. However, slew of measures taken by the Indian government and central bank RBI helped to bring CAD under control. CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign exchange, stood at USD 88.2 billion in 2012-13. Pick up seen in exports and declining gold imports contributed to the improvement in CAD, which dropped to 1.2 percent in second quarter, as against 4.9 percent in the first quarter.  The finance minister P Chidambaram sees 2013-14 current account deficit (CAD) USD 45 billion. Goetti added that India's improving CAD is fundamentally a big positive.

Meanwhile, he said that barring shockingly poor US data, the Federal Reserve is likely to continue tapering its monetary stimulus.

12:00pm Equity benchmarks continued to see profit booking after they rallied more than 2 percent in previous four sessions. The Sensex declined 114.69 points to 20,608.28 and the Nifty fell 38.40 points to 6,114.35.

Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1206 to 961 on the BSE.
 
MCX India, Maruti Suzuki, United Spirits, Cairn India, Financial Technologies, Infosys, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank and Tata Steel are most active shares on exchanges.

Software services exporter Infosys lost a percent but its rival TCS gained 0.66 percent after liquor maker Diageo selected Tata Consultancy Services as its new global IT provider.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank slipped around 1.5 percent. Rivals HDFC Bank and Axis Bank declined a percent.

However, Tata Power recouped all its early trade losses, gaining 2 percent followed by Bajaj Auto with a 1.6 percent upmove.

Dr Reddy's Labs gained 0.9 percent and BHEL rose 0.5 percent. Government sources said heavy industry ministry has agreed to 5 percent divestment in BHEL.

11:50 am Buzzing: Sharon Bio Medicine stock jumped as much as 20 percent intraday on Thursday after it adjusted for bonus and split. It was the ex-date today.

The pharmaceutical company on January 14 approved the sub-division of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to Rs 2 each and issuance of bonus equity shares in the ratio of 1:1 (one equity share for every one equity share held as on the record date ).

The record date was fixed as February 21, 2014 to decide the eligible shareholders for sub-division of shares and bonus shares.

Sharon Bio-Medicine said a meeting of the board of directors will be held on February 24 for allotment of bonus shares to the shareholders.

11:40 am Result: Travel company Thomas Cook's fourth quarter (October-December) consolidated net profit grew 52 percent to Rs 13.1 crore compared to same quarter last year on account of higher revenues.

Total income from operations jumped 4.8 times to Rs 465.6 crore from Rs 97.7 crore during the same period.

The company follows calendar year as the financial year.

Other income more than doubled to Rs 4.5 crore from Rs 2.02 crore year-on-year, but interest and finance cost rose 53.7 percent to Rs 12.37 crore and tax expenses increased 21 percent to Rs 5.4 crore in the quarter ended December 2013.

11:30 am FII view: The general mood has been rather positive over the past many days as far as emerging markets like India is concerned. Richard Gibbs, Global Head, Macquarie Securities says investors should use dips to buy into the Indian market. He sees the cheer returning to EMs and the tide turning in its favour.

However, overnight there was some sell-off in emerging markets such as Russia, Argentina and Ukraine too was under pressure. But Gibbs is not worried about the sell-off affecting the Indian market. He believes as long as India's political scene remains on track, India should do well.

The market is still under selling pressure with the Nifty struggling to hold 6100-level. The Nifty is down 32.55 points at 6120.20 and the Sensex is down 91.65 points at 20631.32. About 922 shares have advanced, 1084 shares declined, and 126 shares are unchanged.

Bajaj Auto is up 2 percent. Othe gainers in the Sensex are Dr Reddy's Labs, TCS, Cipla and Sun Pharma. Among the laggards are Tata Steel, SBI, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Hindalco.

The rupee is at one-week low as risk appetite weakens globally after US fed minutes signals more cuts in stimulus programme.

Government bond prices fell as the minutes of the US Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting indicated the Federal Reserve may continue the tapering of its monthly asset purchases.

Gold attempted to hold onto USD 1300/ounce levels this morning after falling nearly 1 percent in the previous session. However, a firmer US dollar could cap gains while Brent trades near 2014 highs.

Emerging market equities and currencies sold off such as the Russian rouble that hit a low against the euro and the Hungarian forint that weakened due to tension in Ukraine. Other emerging market currencies such as the Turkish lira, South African rand also fell against the dollar.

Asian markets trade mostly weak reacting to the US close and Asian data. The Chinese HSBC preliminary manufacturing PMI fell to 48.3 vs a final 49.5 in January which is a 7-month low while Japanese trade deficit for January came in at record 2.79 trillion yen vs an expected 2.5 trillion.

10:59am China PMI at seven-month low
The preliminary China Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) from HSBC/Markit for February fell to a seven-month low of 48.3 in February from January's final reading of 49.5, as employment fell at the fastest pace in five years.

"The building-up of disinflationary pressures implies that the underlying momentum for manufacturing growth could be weakening," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist for China at HSBC, in comments accompanying the PMI data, reports Reuters.

"We believe Beijing policymakers should and can fine-tune policy to keep growth at a steady pace in the coming year."

10:50am CCL Products talks to CNBC-TV18
A day after coffee futures posted the biggest two-day gain in over a decade, C Rajendra Prasad, chairman and managing director, CCL Products, that produces numerous variants of coffee, says the company is on its way to see the best financial year ever.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rajendra says that the company's topline is expected to be around Rs 700 crore with a profit of Rs 70 crore.

What is driving coffee prices higher, Rajendra says, is the dry Brazil weather. ''Arabica coffee prices are going up due to delayed monsoon. It is up by 20-25 percent in two-three months,'' he adds.

Brazil accounts for a third of the world's coffee and the reduction in supply has driven Standard & Poor's GSCI Agriculture Index for its longest rally since 2011.

10:40am HMT soars 9% again as CCEA clears revival plan
Shares of HMT rallied another 9 percent intraday on Thursday on top of a 9 percent rally in previous session. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today cleared company's revival plan.

The Government of India on Tuesday had approved its revival and restructuring package of Rs 1,083 crore that includes cash infusion of Rs 425 crore against which the company has to issue of 8 percent redeemable preferential shares.

In the phase I, the Government of India has released the sanctioned funds amounting to Rs 217 crore.

Meanwhile, CCEA has also approved setting up of coal regulator, and FDI proposals of GSK Pharma and Prism India. However, Cabinet has deferred decision on additional coal supply beyond tapering linkage.

10:30am Market Expert
The Indian equity market seems to be in a consolidation mode currently, Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Capital said. However, like most market experts, he sees chances of a market rally as we head towards the key domestic cue, the general elections, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

On specific stocks, Infosys remains his top pick in IT space. According to him, one should maintain a balanced IT portfolio between large and midcap stocks .

Meanwhile, he believes that some quality names in the banking sector are trading at attractive levels. He recommends market participants to buy private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank at current levels.

10:20am Geodesic & Shiv Vani Oil tank 5% on London Court order
Shares of Geodesic and Shiv Vani Oil slumped 5 percent each in early trade, as London Court has asked both the companies to cough up hefty sums on defaulting foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB).

As per the order, the IT firm has to pay USD 172 million and the oil & gas exploration firm has to pay USD 84 million by February-end.

"The London Court has given a summary judgement in the case filed by the Bondholders through their Trustees, Citibank N.A., London (Citibank). According to the judgement, the company has to pay to Citibank a sum of USD 157,064,251," Geodesic said in a filing to the BSE.

Geodesic has also been directed to pay over USD 14.88 million (Rs 92.5 crore) of unpaid default interest (up to and including February 7, 2014) and USD 39,266.06 (Rs 24.39 lakh) per day of default interest from February 8, 2014 to the date of payment.

In 2008, Geodesic had raised funds through FCCB and the same was due for repayment in January last year, which the company has not been able to repay.

10:10am DCM Shriram spikes 15% ahead of board meet for buyback, bonus
Investors have been lapping up shares of DCM Shriram Consolidated for the third consecutive session on Thursday ahead of board meeting for buyback decision. The stock rallied nearly 22 percent in three sessions to touch a 52-week high of Rs 70.35 apiece on the BSE.

"A special meeting of the board of directors will be held on February 22, 2014 to consider the report of sub committee of the board to look at all options including share buy-back from the existing shareholders, review of dividends policy, bonus issues etc for rewarding the shareholders," the company said in its filing.

10:00am The market broke the four-day winning streak on Thursday weighed down by interest rate sensitive and commodity stocks. Asian markets too are under pressure following negative US cues; Nikkei lost 2 percent and Hang Seng declined 1 percent, but China gained 0.7 percent despite February HSBC flash manufacturing PMI fell to seven-month low.

The Sensex slipped 106.16 points to 20,616.81 and the Nifty lost 38.75 points to 6,114. About 633 shares have advanced, 788 shares declined, and 79 shares are unchanged.

Country's largest lender ICICI Bank shed 1.5 percent while its rivals State Bank of India, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank lost around a percent. Housing finance company HDFC declined 0.9 percent.

Tata Steel extended losses, falling 2 percent in addition to 1.3 percent loss in previous session. Sesa Sterlite too fell further, down 0.9 percent.

Tata Power and NTPC also shed further, losing 2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

Shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Bharti Airtel, ONGC and Hindustan Unilever too are under pressure.

However, TCS, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, Sun Pharma and Cipla bucked the trend, rising between 0.4-1.4 percent.

10:00 am Buzzing: Investors have been lapping up shares of DCM Shriram Consolidated for the third consecutive session on Thursday ahead of board meeting for buyback decision. The stock rallied nearly 22 percent in three sessions to touch a 52-week high of Rs 70.35 apiece on the BSE.

"A special meeting of the board of directors will be held on February 22, 2014 to consider the report of sub committee of the board to look at all options including share buy-back from the existing shareholders, review of dividends policy, bonus issues etc for rewarding the shareholders," the company said in its filing.

Meanwhile, DCM Shriram on February 07 entered into an agreement with Axiall, LLC (subsidiary of Axiall Corporation, USA) for forming a 50:50 joint venture for polymer compounding business. That business is carried on by the 100 percent subsidiary of the company, Shriram Vinyl PolyTech Private Limited.

9:50 am Market outlook: Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Capital feels the Indian equity market seems to be in a consolidation mode currently. However, like most market experts, he sees chances of a market rally as we head towards the key domestic cue, the general elections.

On specific stocks, Infosys remains his top pick in IT space. According to him, one should maintain a balanced IT portfolio between large and midcap stocks.

9:40 am Stock in focus: Shares of Geodesic slipped 5 percent intraday as London Court has directed it to pay Citibank a sum of USD 157.06 million (over Rs 976 crore) in a case filed by bondholders against the company.

Besides, the company has been directed to pay unpaid default interest and cost of court proceedings.

"The London Court has given a summary judgement in the case filed by the Bondholders through their Trustees, Citibank N.A., London (Citibank). According to the judgement, the company has to pay to Citibank a sum of USD 157,064,251," Geodesic said in a filing to the BSE.

Meanwhile, shares of oil and gas exploration firm Shiv-Vani Oil also slumped 5 percent as it has to pay USD 84 million to its lenders along with interest, according to London Court ruling.

9:30 am FII view: Ridham Desai, Morgan Stanley feels India's growth outlook remains challenged with stubborn inflation and real rates likely rising relative to real GDP. "Broad market earnings will remain challenged and the dispersion in performance will likely remain high," he said.

Alexander Redman, Credit Suisse continues to rate emerging market equities as a benchmark within a global portfolio with a year-end 2014 MSCI Emerging Market index target of 1075 with 12 percent potential upside. His top pick remains Korea.

The market is dragging in early morning trade as the Sensex is down 91.01 points at 20631.96. The Nifty is down 25.60 points at 6127.15. About 117 shares have advanced, 191 shares declined, and 18 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, L&T and Sesa Sterlite are top losers in the Sensex. Among the gainers are TCS, Wipro, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and Reliance.

The rupee weakened marginally in early trade. It opened lower by 18 paise at 62.38 per dollar as against Tuesday's closing of 62.20 a dollar. The dollar holds firm against a basket of major currencies, drawing support from minutes of the US Federal Reserve, which showed policymakers remained committed to reducing its massive stimulus at the current pace.
The euro was at USD 1.3731 pulling back from seven-week highs of USD 1.3773 against the greenback.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said RBI's announcement of providing adequate liquidity through term repo to neutralise advance tax outflows in March is expected to comfort bond market. "The 10-year yield is likely to trade in a range of 8.73-8.78 percent," he added.
According to him, bunched up FX inflows on account of holiday on Tuesday should support rupee which is expected to trade in a range of 62-62.35/USD.

The US markets sunk to session lows on Wednesday after Federal Reserve officials weighed whether it might be time to drop the notion that a 6.5 percent unemployment rate would be enough to consider raising rates. Higher interest rates would bolster the dollar and pressure demand for precious metals.

Asian markets have opened weak with trade deficit data weighing on the Nikkei.

Meanwhile, crude prices trend mixed with Nymex trading near a four-month high at above USD 103 a barrel ahead of data from the United States and china that may give cues for fuel demand in the world's two largest oil consumers.

And the precious metal gold bounced back after falling nearly 1 percent in the previous session.