Sesa, Wipro, SBI lose & HDFC Bank up 1%; Nifty ends flat

03:55 pm Market view: Dipan Mehta, member, BSE & NSE told CNBC-TV18 that as market approaches May 16, it will see a lot more movement in stock prices and some volatility will come in even before May 12 when the exit polls are known and well before May 16. There could be some kind of sell-off before election results start rippling in.

As investors, traders would like to light into such a major event rather then getting caught in the wrong foot. So, we should factor in some kind of a sell-off over the next couple of weeks or so.

03:40 Market closing: The market ended on an absolutely flat note. The Sensex was down 6.46 points at 22758.37, and the Nifty slipped 2.30 points at 6815.35. About 1472 shares advanced, 1277 shares declined, and 166 shares were unchanged.

Capital goods and oil & gas lend support to the indices while metals were under selling pressure.

L&T, GAIL, HDFC Bank, ONGC and Hindalco were top gainers in the Sensex. Sesa Sterlite lost 4 percent, Wipro, SBI, Infosys and Maruti Suzuki were other laggards in the Sensex.

03:25 pm European markets: M&A talk in the pharmaceutical sector lifted European shares , but failed to support the euro, which held at a two week low against the dollar on rising expectations of further policy easing by the European Central Bank.

China's yuan fell to its softest against the dollar in 14 months, after the central bank set a lower official midpoint of its trading range, highlighting its desire for a weaker currency to manage an economic slowdown.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.5 percent at 1,335.88 points, building on last week's gains on the back of largely better-than-expected results by U.S. companies.

"We've got steady earnings coming out of the U.S., and the mergers and acquisition news doesn't do us any harm either," said Terry Torrison, managing director at McLaren Securities.

The stronger European stock market failed to lift the euro, which dipped to a two-week low of USD 1.3783.

 03:15 pm Brokerage views: Brokerages are not worried about losing its appeal to invalidate Abbott Labs' Tarka patent. JP Morgan is overweight on the stock with a target price of Rs 645 per share. The brokerage says that the final decision on Tarka removes overhang on the stock and damages were already accounted for it. It believes that Glenmark has important R&D related milestones coming up over the next year.

Barclays, too, maintains overweight on the stock as it removes overhang and liability is along expected lines. ''Market was pricing in the worst case scenario for Glenmark. Hence, the stock underperformed peers by 12 percent over the last 6 months,'' it said in a note.

03:05 pm Rupee watch: The rupee fell to its weakest level against the dollar since March 21, weighed down by heavy greenback demand from importers, particularly oil firms, as well as weaker regional currencies.

The partially convertible rupee was trading at 60.85/86 per dollar by 2:55 p.m., after earlier hitting as low as 60.86, its weakest since March 21. The unit had closed at 60.59/60 on Monday.

Asian currencies also fell on Tuesday, with the Chinese yuan hitting a 14-month low.

2:50 pm Interview: Like its peers, TD Power Systems too feels the domestic ordering activity has come to a standstill.  ''We too do not see any customer calling us for negotiations. We do not see many live inquiries at all… We are also seeing that reflection in the IIP number, which is shrinking,'' said MD Nikhil Kumar.

TD Power System's total order book, as of December 2013, stood at Rs 835 crore. The order book for the manufacturing division was around Rs 300 crore, of which 50 percent came from exports, and the EPC division stood at Rs 500 crore, which was all domestic.

The company sees manufacturing exports, which is growing in excess of 20 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate), to be the growth driver in FY15.

02:35pm HDFC Bank Q4 earnings: HDFC Bank, the second largest private sector lender in India, met street forecast with the fourth quarter (January-March) net profit rising 23 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,326 crore while net interest margin stood at 4.4 percent, a growth of 20 basis points on sequential basis that was better than expectations.

According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts had expected the bank to report net profit of Rs 2,372 crore and net interest income of Rs 4,975 crore for the quarter.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew 15.3 percent on yearly basis to Rs 4,952.7 crore in the quarter ended March 2014.

The asset quality of the private sector lender was stable during the quarter. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) remained unchanged at 1 percent and net NPAs at 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter.

02:10pm Kosamattam Finance bond issue: Gold loan provider Kosamattam Finance's public issue of secured, redeemable, non-convertible debentures will open for subscription during April 23-May 22, 2014. The company aims to raise upto Rs 75 crore, with an option to retain over-subscription upto Rs 25 crore aggregating to a total of upto Rs 100 crore.

The non deposit taking NBFC is primarily engaged in the gold loan business, lending money against the pledge of household Jewellery in the state of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and in the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The funds raised through this issue will be utilised for repayment of existing loans and towards its business operations including for capital expenditure and working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks maintained positive momentum with marginal gains, heading to close higher for the third consecutive session. The Sensex rose 35.87 points to 22800.70 and the Nifty advanced 10.35 points to 6828. Advancers beat decliners by a ratio of 1403 to 1182 on the BSE.

The market may be eyeing sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections that will be held on April 24 (Thursday) for 117 seats across 11 states and one Union Territory.

According to Gautam Shah of JM Financial, the market can absorb 5-7 percent correction if poll outcome disappoints. He foresees the current rally continuing for one-two years.

Capital goods, oil & gas, private banks and two-wheeler majors advanced while metals, FMCG and select technology stocks declined.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro rallied 2 percent followed by Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ONGC, GAIL and Coal India with 1-1.7 percent.

However, Sesa Sterlite fell 3 percent on profit-taking. Shares of ITC, Infosys, HDFC, State Bank of India, Hindustan Unilever, M&M, Tata Motors, NTPC and Maruti declined 0.3-0.9 percent.

2:00 pm RBI's move: RBI is discussing ways to ensure an orderly rollout of its unpopular proposal to price state government debt at market-based valuations to minimise potential losses for banks holding this debt, three officials familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

Holders of state debt - which are largely made up of banks - could be pushed to mark them to market prices in several stages as opposed to in one go, the officials said, although they noted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has not yet decided whether it will implement the proposal.

The officials added the central bank is also considering adopting a uniform pricing method used for government bonds to sell state debt. Under this method, debt is allocated to bidders at the same prices and is considered to be less volatile.

1:50 pm Asian market: Tokyo shares dropped on Tuesday, unable to maintain earlier gains, on caution over upcoming Japanese corporate earnings reports and tensions in Ukraine.

The Nikkei average closed down 0.9 percent at 14,388.77, after rising as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The broader Topix fell 0.8 percent to 1,162.50, though trading volume was the second lowest so far this year.

1:40 pm Rupee check: The rupee is trading at 60.81-82 after hitting 60.8250, its lowest since March 24 on the back of heavy dollar demand from oil importers. The unit closed at 60.59/60 on Monday, after posting its biggest single-day loss in more than a month.

Traders expect some consolidation in the pair later in the session. The pair is likely to hold in a 60.50 to 60.90 range for the rest of the session, dealers say.

Most Asian currencies also trading weaker compared with the dollar. The Indonesian rupiah led declines among emerging Asian currencies with the dollar holding firm and as worries about liquidity and earnings in China hurt regional stocks.

1:30 pm Power plea: Appellate Tribunal (APTEL) has issued notices to Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC), Tata Power and Adani Power on NGO, Energy Watchdog's plea.

Energy Watchdog has moved Appellate against the CERC order which allowed Rs 1,200 crore compensatory tariff to two Mundra Projects of Tata Power and Adani Power in February this year.

The Energy Watchdog in its plea said that the move will give the two companies undue benefit and the plea moved by Tata Power and Adani Power was on the basis of high cost of fuel which was being imported from Indonesia.

The plea has not yet been accepted but the notices have been issued to CERC which has given order, in the matter, to both Adani Power and Tata Power. The next date of hearing has been scheduled for May 6.

1:20 pm Buzzing: Investors are buying shares of Shasun Pharma as it gained 14 percent intraday, hitting 52-week.

The company might be a beneficiary of the Sevelamer molecule drugs going off patent in the US. Shasun is expected to be one of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) supplier of these drugs.

The latest indication of these drugs going off patent is that one of the molecules Sevelamer Carbonate or Renvela saw US-based Impax launch the authorised generic version of the drug a few days ago.

The market consolidates with the Nifty hovering around 6,820 level. The Nifty is up 5.20 points at 6822.85 while the Sensex is up 27.02 points at 22791.85. About 1334 shares have advanced, 1143 shares declined, and 181 shares are unchanged.

Gautam Shah of JM Financial expects the Nifty will soon touch 7,400-7,500 but says a correction is likely once these levels are hit.

Glenmark trades lower after it lost its appeal to invalidate Abbott Laboratories' Tarka patent. Glenmark is likely to pay a penalty of USD 16 million. Shasun Pharma surged as the company might be a beneficiary of the Sevelamer molecule drugs going off patent in the US.

Shares of Novartis India soared 20 percent intraday as its parent company is restructuring its drug business. The Swiss drugmaker Novartis is transforming its business by exchanging certain assets with GlaxoSmithKline and divesting its animal health business to Eli Lilly in deals worth billions of dollars. The revamp is the result of a keenly awaited strategic review at the company.

12:59pm Wonderla Holidays IPO
Bangalore-based amusement park operator Wonderla Holidays has opened its 1.45 crore shares public offer for subscription. The price band for the issue, which closes April 24, is at Rs 115-125 per share. The issue has been subscribed 42 percent on day 1.

Wonderla Holidays operates two largest amusement parks in Bangalore and Kochi under the brand name Wonderla and is in the process to open third one in Ranga Reddy district of Andhra Pradesh (AP).

It intends to raise Rs 166.75-181.25 crore through the issue, out of which it already garnered Rs 27.19 crore by selling 21.75 lakh equity shares through anchor investors' portion on April 17.

12:50pm Nikkei falls
Tokyo shares dropped on Tuesday, unable to maintain earlier gains, on caution over upcoming Japanese corporate earnings reports and tensions in Ukraine.

The Nikkei average closed down 0.9 percent at 14,388.77, after rising as much as 0.6 percent earlier. The broader Topix fell 0.8 percent to 1,162.50, though trading volume was the second lowest so far this year, reports Reuters.

12:40pm Sesa Sterlite falls 3%
The Supreme Court on Monday lifted a ban on iron-ore mining subjected to a cap of 20 million tonne a year but questions have been raised over whether companies would be able to start mining work considering most licences have expired long back.

Companies such as Sesa-Sterlite, which operate in Goa, will have to apply for fresh licences, RK Sharma, secretary general of Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, told CNBC-TV18.

''Most companies in India, not just Goa, are operating under the deemed extension clauses,'' he said. ''But with respect to expiration of mining leases in the whole country in 2007, the concern exists that what will happen after the first renewal expires.''

He added state governments take a lot of time in renewing mining leases, adding that he foresees mining in Goa to restart in one-two years, if the ''state government was very proactive''.

12:30pm Novartis in focus, up 7%
Swiss drugmaker Novartis is transforming its business by exchanging certain assets with GlaxoSmithKline and divesting its animal health business to Eli Lilly in deals worth billions of dollars. The revamp, announced on Tuesday, is the result of a keenly awaited strategic review at the company.

Novartis said it had agreed to acquire GSK's oncology products for a USD 14.5 billion payment. The Swiss drugmaker will also divest its vaccines business, excluding flu, to GSK for USD 7.1 billion plus royalties.

In a separate transaction, Novartis said it had agreed to divest its animal health division to Eli Lilly for approximately USD 5.4 billion, reports Reuters.

12:10pm FII View
Foreign fund inflow into emerging markets (EMs) is likely to continue given their improving macros and lacklustre performance of developed markets (DMs), believes Mark Matthews of Bank Julius Baer & Co.

Sharing views on Indian equity market, he tells CNBC-TV18 that victory of Modi-led National Democratic Alliance would take Indian stock market higher from current level. The outcome of ongoing general elections will be announced on May 16.

''Banks and consumer companies would benefit from improved economy, which I suspect will be a natural corollary of BJP victory,'' he adds.

12:00pm The market consolidates after hitting record highs in early trade. The Sensex rose 27.21 points to 22792.04 and the Nifty advanced 2.40 points to 6820.05. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1260 to 1050 on the BSE.

HDFC Bank gained more than a percent ahead of its Q4FY14 earnings. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, profit after tax of the bank is likely to grow 26 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,372 crore during the quarter on account of control in operating expenses.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro climbed nearly 2 percent while oil & gas companies like Reliance Industries, ONGC and GAIL rallied 1-2 percent.

However, aluminium major Hindalco Industries slipped 2 percent on NGO's appeals against forest clearances given by central government with a tagline "will you save mahan forests from mining?". This is a sentimental negative for company as the street expects benefit of captive coal from Mahan block to start flowing in towards the end of FY16.

12:00 pm Opinion: Foreign fund inflow into emerging markets (EMs) is likely to continue given their improving macros and lacklustre performance of developed markets (DMs), believes Mark Matthews of Bank Julius Baer & Co.

''Banks and consumer companies would benefit from improved economy, which I suspect will be a natural corollary of BJP victory,'' he adds. From the EM basket, he also finds Brazilian market attractive.

11:40 am Market outlook: The Indian equity market is now witnessing a classic textbook style bull run and this trend is likely to continue in the near-term, Gautam Shah of JM Financial says. He expects Nifty to find support in the range of 6,300-6,400. Continuing his bullish tone, he tellsCNBC-TV18 that Nifty will soon touch 7,400-7,500. However, a correction is likely once these levels are hit.

Even if outcome of the key event, the general election, on May 16 is unfavourable, market is unlikely to see trend reversal. Most market experts believe that this rally is largely driven by higher prospects of the BJP-led NDA coming to power at the Centre. According to Shah, market can absorb 5-7 percent correction if poll outcome disappoints. He foresees the current rally continuing for one-two years.

11:30 am Poll: India's second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank will announce its fourth quarter (January-March) earnings today. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, profit after tax is likely to grow 26 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,372 crore during the quarter on account of control in operating expenses. Operating expenses may increase 6-7 percent during fourth quarter, which had grown 4 percent year-on-year in Q3 with operating profit growth of 25 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,890 crore.

11:20 am  Brokerage view: Barclays believe that TCS-Mitsubishi Corporation pact in Japan will provide the Indian software company with more sizable scale and better access to the around USD 110 billion Japanese IT services market.

''We initially expect 2.4 percent upside to our current FY15 USD revenue growth estimate of 16.6 percent due to this merger. The management will be able to improve the margin profile of the entity using its global delivery model over the medium term,'' it said in a note. However, it adds that FY15 EPS impact of TCS will likely be muted given the margin dilutive nature of the incremental revenue and cash payout of USD 50 million.  It has an equal weight rating on the stock with a target of Rs 2275 per share.

After hitting record high in early trade, the market is trading flat but Nifty manages to hold 6800. The Nifty is up 2.85 points at 6820.50 and the Sensex is up 28.34 points at 22793.17. About 1237 shares have advanced, 866 shares declined, and 130 shares are unchanged.

Glenmark Pharma is weak after Sanofi, Abbott win appeal over Glenmark's generic of Tarka. With Appeal court's verdict against generic Tarka, Glenmark will pay a penalty of USD 16 million dollar and likely to impact Q1FY15e PAT by approximately 8.6 percent.

Sesa Sterlite, Wipro, Hindalco, Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki are among the laggards.

The rupee is trading near one-month low against the US dollar. Stronger dollar and heavy dollar purchases are likely on behalf of oil importers or for the government's defense related payments weigh.

Bond prices though are steady, but the bias is weak due to profit sales by traders.

Gold is at two-week lows while crude futures inched higher with Brent trading close to USD 110 as tensions in Ukraine and possibility of sanctions on Russia aided prices.

Asian markets are cautious in trade despite a positive US closing. Prospect of further US sanctions on Russia also weigh on.

10:58am Gujarat Gas down 5%
The board of directors of the company has approved consolidation of its entities which will result in the combined entity becoming Asia's largest gas distributor by volume. The stock is under pressure as the consolidated entitry may drag profitability and also there is a possibility that the company can turn from a net cash company to debt.

10:48am Novartis up 9%
Eli Lilly will buy Novartis' animal health business in all-cash transaction, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting DowJonesWire.

10:45am HEG Q4 earnings
Graphite electrodes manufacturer and exporter HEG reported fourth quarter (January-March) net profit at Rs 46.6 crore, up 32.8 percent compared to same quarter last year, driven by higher other income, forex gain and lower tax expenses.

Net sales increased 12.7 percent to Rs 499.5 crore during March quarter from Rs 443.3 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Other income increased to Rs 7.62 crore from Rs 4.44 crore while tax expenses dropped to Rs 2.91 crore from Rs 7.12 crore during the same period. Foreign exchange gain during March quarter stood at Rs 1.5 crore.

10:35am IL&FS Engineering locked at 10% upper circuit
IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company says its subsidiary Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia Co won a 268-crore worth order in Saudi Arabia.

"Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia Co, a subsidiary of IL&FS, said it has received a Letter of Award from Saudi Binladin Group for road drainage works for King Abdul-Aziz International Airport Development Project, Jeddah," it said in a statement.

The scope of work involves the construction of road drainage works including excavation, steel reinforcement, concrete works, erection, and backfilling, it elaborated.

10:25am Gold falls for 4th day
Gold extended losses into a fourth session today and hovered near its lowest in 2-1/2 weeks on further outflows from bullion-backed funds and stronger equities.

Geopolitical tensions in Ukraine failed to lift gold's safe-haven appeal, underscoring bearish sentiment in the market.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to USD 1,286.65 an ounce by 0312 GMT. The metal declined to USD 1,281.40 the day before - its lowest since April 3, reports Reuters.

10:15am Market Expert
The Indian equity market is now witnessing a classic textbook style bull run and this trend is likely to continue in the near-term, Gautam Shah of JM Financial said. He expects Nifty to find support the in range of 6,300-6,400.

Continuing his bullish tone, he told CNBC-TV18 that Nifty will soon touch 7,400-7,500. However, a correction is likely once these levels are hit.

Even if outcome of the key event, the general election, on May 16 is unfavourable, market is unlikely to see trend reversal. Most market experts believe that this rally is largely driven by higher prospects of the BJP-led NDA coming to power at the Centre.

According to Shah, market can absorb 5-7 percent correction if poll outcome disappoints. He foresees the current rally continuing for one-two years.

10:00am Equity benchmarks continued to see buying interest with the Nifty gradually marching towards the 6850 level supported by private banks, oil & gas and capital goods stocks.

The Sensex advanced 75.81 points to 22840.64 and the Nifty climbed 15.70 points to 6833.35. The broader markets beat benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.55 percent and 0.77 percent, respectively. About 1145 shares have advanced, 574 shares declined, and 64 shares are unchanged.

State-owned oil & gas companies ONGC and GAIL gained nearly 2 percent while petrochemical major Reliance Industries jumped 1.8 percent. Capital goods majors L&T and BHEL advanced 1 percent each.

India's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank bounced back with 0.4 percent gains. Quant Capital is bullish on the bank with a target price of Rs 1,440 apiece. The brokerage house is also bullish on YES Bank that gained 1 percent.

HDFC Bank maintained its uptrend, rising 0.8 percent ahead of January-March quarter earnings. Shares of Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Auto, TCS, HDFC and Coal India gained 0.4-0.9 percent.

However, Sesa Sterlite slipped 1.4 percent on profit taking. The stock had rallied 5 percent in previous session after Supreme Court lifted iron ore mining ban in Goa.

Shares of Infosys, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, HUL, SBI and Tata Steel fell 0.3-0.8 percent.

10:00 am In focus: Shares of South Indian Bank gained as much as 5.5 percent intraday after the Reserve Bank of India has lifted ban on share purchases by foreign institutional investors.

The Reserve Bank on Monday notified that the aggregate share holding by foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/non-resident Indians (NRIs)/persons of Indian origin (PIOs)/foreign direct investment (FDI)/American depository receipt (ADR)/global depository receipts (GDRs) under the portfolio investment scheme (PIS) in The South Indian Bank Limited have gone below the prescribed threshold caution limit stipulated under the extant FDI policy. Hence the restrictions placed on the purchase of shares of the above company are withdrawn with immediate effect, the central bank says.

9:45 am Buzzing: Shares of IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company hit 52-week high, up 10 percent intraday on bagging an order in Middle East. The company's subsidiary Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia Co has bagged a 268-crore worth order.

"Maytas Infra Saudi Arabia Co, a subsidiary of IL&FS, said it has received a Letter of Award from Saudi Binladin Group for road drainage works for King Abdul-Aziz International Airport Development Project, Jeddah," it said in a statement.

The scope of work involves the construction of road drainage works including excavation, steel reinforcement, concrete works, erection, and backfilling, it elaborated.

9:30 am FII view: Ajay Kapur, Bank of America Merrill Lynch feels data from the Q4FY13 earnings suggest Korea and Thailand have continued their run of worsening positive EPS surprises. Meanwhile, India and Indonesia have seen a reversal of their run of declining positive EPS surprises. Their equity markets have responded well to this turnaround, he adds.  

Equity benchmarks opened higher on Tuesday with the Nifty hitting record high of 6827.20 supported by HDFC group, pharma, technology and capital goods stocks.

The Sensex rose 35.45 points to 22800.28 and the Nifty advanced 8.05 points to 6825.70. About 603 shares have advanced, 196 shares declined, and 30 shares are unchanged.

HDFC Bank gained 0.5 percent ahead of announcing its Q4FY14 earnings. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, India's second largest private sector lender's profit after tax is likely to grow 26 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,372 crore during the quarter on account of control in operating expenses. Net interest income is expected to be at Rs 4,975 crore in March quarter, up 15.8 percent compared to same quarter last year that is lower than 22 percent growth in Q3FY14 and 27 percent in Q1FY14.

Shares of TCS, L&T, Infosys, HDFC, M&M, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bajaj Auto, Maruti and Cipla gained 0.3-0.9 percent.

However, top lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank declined 0.5 percent each on profit booking. FMCG majors ITCS and Hindustan Unilever declined 0.5-0.9 percent.

Asian markets are mixed with the Shanghai and Hang Seng trading lower while Nikkei rose 0.3 percent.

The Indian rupee opened with a marginal loss of 10 paise at 60.69 per dollar on Tuesday as against previous day's closing value of 60.59 a dollra.

The dollar held at two-week highs against a basket of major currencies after a subdued session overnight. The yen trades near a two week low of 102.71.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank says the dollar-rupee market has been consolidating in a very narrow range ahead of the outcome of elections, and holiday shortened week. "Lower FII inflows, good oil and usual demand from other sectors resulted in the pair coming off from its recent highs. The situation in Ukraine can have some bearish impact," he adds.

According to him, the range for rupee is seen between 60-61/dollar.