BSE Sensex, Nifty end weak; SBI, Tata Motors down 3%

3:55 pm Results: Tech Mahindra's consolidated net profit jumped to Rs 718 crore in September quarter from Rs 686 crore quarter-on-quarter. During the period, its revenue grew to Rs 4771 crore from Rs 4,103 crore on a quarterly basis. Dollar revenue, too, rose to USD 758 million vs USD 724 million.

Its forex loss stood at Rs 26 crore compared to a gain of Rs 134 crore Q-o-Q.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expected profit after tax to grow 6 percent sequentially to Rs 727 crore in the quarter gone by.

Revenues are seen going up by 13.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,666 crore in three-month period ended September 2013 while dollar revenues may grow 2.9 percent to USD 745 million, driven by deal ramp up and full integration of Complex IT.

3:45 pm Market closing: The market ends on a lower note with the Sensex ending below the Sensex 21000-mark at 20822.77, down 72.17 points. The Nifty ended down 27.90 points at 6187.25.

3:40 pm Bond market outlook: In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Vivek Rajpal of Nomura said that biggest issue in the market is the supply/demand dynamics for bonds.

"November is a month of heavy supply. It is very ironic that because of all the liquidity that we are getting in the dollar form, liquidity infusion requirement through open market operations is getting pushed out," he explained.

He further added that uncertainly on economic data due next week is keep bonds under pressure.

3:30 pm Results: India's largest coffee producer and exporter Tata Coffee posted consolidated net loss of Rs 12.8 crore during September quarter as against profit of Rs 37 crore in a year ago period, dented by exceptional loss of Rs 90.86 crore.

Exceptional items during second quarter included a full provision of Rs 113.49 crore and net provision of Rs 90.86 crore was after adjusting forex fluctuation reserve of Rs 22.63 crore.

The stock closed at Rs 1,054.75, down 6.70 percent compared to previous close after falling as much as 10 percent intraday.

3:20 pm Management interview: Real estate major DLF is confident of bringing down its debt as per its guidance to Rs 17,500 crore in FY14. Currently, it stands at Rs 19,500 crore on the back of an IPP and disposal of windfarm assets, says Ashok Tyagi, its Group CFO. Going forward, the sale of Amar Resorts will be the major contributor in bringing down the debt by the end of the fiscal, he tells CNBC-TV18. He sees savings of Rs 450-470 crore on interests from FY15.

Tyagi sees pressure on margins for the next three to four quarters. New projects worth Rs 1,400 crore are not reaching revenue recognition thresholds due to the new accounting policy, he says. He expects margins to return to 40 percent levels once these get recognised.

The market is struggling to keep its feet firm. The Sensex is down 53.20 points at 20841.74, and the Nifty slips 22.70 points at 6192.45. About 1021 shares have advanced, 1348 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged.

Banking, capital goods and oil & gas stocks are under extreme selling pressure. BHEL continues to lose 5 percent, SBI and Tata Motors are down 3 percent while ICICI Bank and Tata Power fall over 2 percent each.

On the gaining side are Tata Steel , Infosys , TCS and Hindalco . Tata Steel is gaining after global rival ArcelorMittal's operating profit beat street estimates.

That is raising hopes as Tata Steel gears up to report its earnings next week with traders betting on a better performance from its European subsidiary, Corus.

03:05pm Market Update
The market is weak with the Sensex losing nearly 300 points from day's high. The Sensex is down 65.90 points at 20829.04, and the Nifty is down 21.25 points at 6193.90.

03:00pm Chennai Petroleum Corporation surges 17%

Chennai Petroleum's second quarter net profit doubled to Rs 120 crore from Rs 59 crore in a year ago period despite forex loss of Rs 306 crore.

Total income jumped 68.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 13,111 crore in the quarter gone by and its gross refining margin spiked 64 percent on yearly basis to USD 7.07 a barrel.

02:55pm Rupee at 5-week low

Indian rupee is trading at 5-week low, losing 23 paise to 62.62 against the US dollar.

The currency strongly broke the 62 level on Wednesday after seeing consolidation in a range of 61-62 for past few weeks.

02:50pm Sandur Manganese and Iron Ores jumps 6%

Sandur Manganese' second quarter net profit jumped 8 times year-on-year to Rs 13 crore and net sales grew 2.8 times to Rs 80 crore from Rs 29 crore Y-o-Y.

02:45pm Tata Coffee loses 4%

Tata Coffee posted consolidated net loss of Rs 12.8 crore during second quarter as against profit of Rs 37 crore in a year ago period. It reported an exceptional loss of Rs 91 crore.

Consolidated total income declined marginally to Rs 469.5 crore from Rs 478 crore year-on-year. Operating profit margin slipped 120 basis points Y-o-Y to 16 percent in the quarter gone by.

02:40pm Abbott India surges 6% post earnings

Abbott India's second quarter (July-September) net profit jumped 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 45.2 crore and net sales increased 9.5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 445 crore.

02:32pm The market washed out all its gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling below the 21000 level and Nifty below 6200-mark. Reliance Industries (down 1.5 percent), ICICI Bank (down 1.75 percent), Tata Motors (down 2.2 percent) and State Bank of India (down 2.2 percent) dragged the market down.

The Sensex is down 44.89 points at 20850.05, and the Nifty is down 22.25 points at 6192.90. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1300 to 1063 on the BSE.

Punjab National Bank fell over 2 percent ahead of its second quarter earnings on Friday. Analysts expect weak asset quality during September quarter. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit after tax is expected to decline 11 percent year-on-year to Rs 951 crore and net interest income may increase 8 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,935 crore.

BHEL remained under pressure, falling nearly 5 percent as brokerage houses continued their bearish stance on the stock after dismal performance in Q2.

However, Tata Steel shares surged nearly 3 percent followed by Infosys , TCS and Hindalco with more than 1 percent gains.

2:00 pm Market check: Amid extremely choppy trade, the Sensex has fallen below 21000. The Sensex is up 38.59 points at 20933.53, and the Nifty up 0.80 points at 6215.95. About 1106 shares have advanced, 1166 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

1:55 pm Buzzer: Tata Steel gains 4.4 percent after global rival ArcelorMittal's operating profit beat street estimates.

That is raising hopes as Tata Steel gears up to report its earnings next week with traders betting on a better performance from its European subsidiary, Corus.

1:45 pm Market outlook: Rating agency Standard & Poor's on Thursday affirmed their sovereign credit rating on India, adding that the outlook on Asia's third-largest economy remains negative.

"The outlook remains negative, indicating that we may lower the rating to speculative grade next year if the government that takes office after the general election does not appear capable of reversing India's low economic growth," it said in a note.

1:30 pm Buzzer: Shares of Titan Company slumped 4 percent intraday on Reserve Bank of India's disclosure that the stock has hit the foreign institutional investor's trigger limit. The central bank added that further purchase by FIIs will only be allowed only post RBI approval.

The RBI regularly prevents foreign institutional investors from buying shares in companies if they are approaching the limit stipulated by regulations and will then re-adjust once foreign ownership falls below the prescribed level.

It's a choppy session on Dalal Street with the Nifty and the Sensex hovering around intra-day highs. The Sensex is up 191.15 points at 21086.09, and the Nifty is up 52.95 points at 6268.10. About 1191 shares have advanced, 951 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.

Metals and IT stocks are among the top gainers. Midcaps and small caps are holding firmly in green territory.

Private sector banks like Federal Bank and Karnataka Bank are in focus on speculation that RBI's framework to offer foreign banks an option to convert from 'branches' to 'wholly owned subsidiaries may support merger and acquisition prospects among the mid-cap private banks.

BHEL is the top Nifty loser, down 4 percent after reporting disappointing earnings.

12:59pm Market Update
The market is still strong amid volatility in afternoon trade. The Sensex is up 183.25 points at 21078.19, and the Nifty is up 50.45 points at 6265.60.

Going into 2014, two key events that would have significant impact on Indian equities are general elections at home and the likely reduction in money printing by the US Federal Reserve.

Goldman Sachs recently upgraded its India rating to equal-weight from earlier underweight citing improving macro and micro cues. The investment banking firm raised its Nifty target to 6900 citing optimism over possible political change led by Narendra Modi.

Asia Strategist Timothy Moe said the market is viewing Narendra Modi as a leader for change and it is trading politics over fundamentals at this point. Moe based this assumption on the feedback his firm has been getting from its clients.

12:50pm Block deal in Magma Fincorp

Shares of Magma Fincorp rallied more than 11 percent after a block deal worth Rs 18.75 crore. About 25 lakh equity shares (1.32 percent equity) exchanged hands on the BSE at Rs 75 apiece.

12:45pm Market Expert
Dipen Sheth, Head-Institutional Research, HDFC Securities believes that the Indian market is still on the mercy of foreign inflows and fears relating to impact of QE tapering haven't eased out completely.

He feels that the market is now in a no man's land and many macro-economic factors have to fall in place for Indian equities to head higher from the current level.

Those looking to play this market should consider betting on beaten down stocks, which are in an attractive territory now, he recommended.

12:40pm Tech Mahindra up ahead of Q2 earnings

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect profit after tax of Tech Mahindra to grow 6 percent sequentially to Rs 727 crore in the quarter gone by.

Revenues are seen going up by 13.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,666 crore in three-month period ended September 2013 while dollar revenues may grow 2.9 percent to USD 745 million, driven by deal ramp up and full integration of Complex IT. The stock gained nearly a percent.

12:35pm Sadbhav bags order
Sadbhav Engineering gained nearly 2 percent in afternoon trade as the company bagged projects worth Rs 207 crore.

12:30pm L&T gains
Larsen & Toubro shares rallied 2 percent as the engineering and construction company received orders worth Rs 2,309 crore in October-November period.

12:15pm The market gained strength in noon trade with the Sensex rising more than 200 points after two-day correction.

"The correction is always healthy for the market and one should utilise that correction to buy because the market will have lot of triggers - state elections and then the general election. So, there would be interest in the market, momentum will continue," Ambareesh Baliga of Edelweiss Financial Services said.

The Sensex is up 236.08 points or 1.13 percent at 21131.02, and the Nifty is up 70.55 points or 1.14 percent at 6285.70.

Tata Steel is the biggest gainer in the Sensex with more than 4 percent upmove followed by Infosys , TCS , L&T, Sesa Sterlite and Hindalco with 2-3 percent gains. Among others, ITC , HDFC Bank and HUL rose over 1 percent.

However, the laggards are BHEL (down 3.5 percent), Bharti Airtel and Coal India .

12:00 am Stock bets: Ajay Srivastava, CEO, Dimensions Consulting continues to remain positive on the pharma and consumer space . He feels it will be a good decision to buy services-focussed pharma companies. For him, Biocon , Suven Life and Dabur remain the preferred picks in the two sectors. He feels Dabur will do well because of its rural connection. Srivastava is bullish on Rallis India to play the agri theme, but not so much on M&M and Escorts .

He advises investors not to go in for auto ancillaries but invest in the auto stocks meant for end-users. He is bullish on Tata Motors , L&T and ICICI Bank in the large caps space.

11:50 am Market check: The market is making smart moves pulled higher by technology and metal stocks. The Sensex is up 196.24 points at 21091.18 and the Nifty is up 58.65 points at 6273.80. About 1147 shares have advanced, 824 shares declined, and 114 shares are unchanged.

Metal stocks like Tata Steel , Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco are up 2-4 percent each. Infosys is up 2 percent.

11:40 am Market outlook: Ambareesh Baliga, Edelweiss Financial Services believes it is not the time to sell. He says it is a healthy correction and investors who have missed out will join the rally on a 100-150 point cut.

However, he does not see the Nifty falling below 6,000-6,050 levels.

Baliga is bullish on Bharat Forge and Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals.

11:30 am Results poll: Chennai-based India Cements will declare its results today for the quarter ended September (second quarter) 2013. Watch out for cement demand and pricing outlook of the company, especially in South India; expected timeline and potential cost savings from captive coal block in Indonesia and AP power plant; and roadmap for stake increase in Trinetra Cement (Rajasthan plant).

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect net sales of the company to rise 1 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,137 crore while PAT may fall 64 percent on yearly basis to Rs 17.5 crore in the quarter gone by due to lowe realisation.

The market is directionless with tepid trading. The Sensex is up 11.32 points at 20906.26, and the Nifty up is 2.20 points at 6217.35. About 946 shares have advanced, 752 shares declined, and 95 shares are unchanged.

Shares of Wockhardt jumped over 11 percent in intraday trade on Thursday as UK health regulator has given approval to manufacture and supply most of products manufactured at its unit at Kadaiya, Nani Daman.

"Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, United Kingdom has allowed the company to manufacture and supply most of the products manufactured at the said facility and assessed to be critical to public health," it said in a filling to the BSE.

Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, TCS and Infosys are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the major losers are BHEL , Bharti Airtel , Coal India , SBI and ICICI Bank.

Meanwhile, the rupee is growing weak at 62.61 per dollar on dollar demand from state-owned banks on behalf of their importer clients. Fall in US treasury yields stems the fall in benchmark government bond yields. Prices are under pressure ahead of weekly auction of gilts on Friday.

Commodities were mostly unchanged with gold at USD 1318/ounce and Brent at USD 105/bbl.

Asian markets are trading lower as caution ahead of the European central bank's policy meeting overshadowed potential gains from Wall Street's record finish.

10:59am Market Update
The market remained lacklustre as the Sensex is up 18.65 points at 20913.59, and the Nifty is up 3 points at 6218.15. About 938 shares have advanced while 747 shares declined on the BSE.

Among midcaps, Muthoot Finance , Info Edge , Jubilant Life, Linde India and Alembic Pharma rallied 5-10 percent while Triveni Turbine , Era Infra Engg, Chennai Petroleum, State Bank of Mysore and United Bank lost 3-7 percent.

In the smallcap space, Venus Remedies , Suprajit Engg, Supreme Infra, Mastek and Ashoka Buildcon surged 8-11 percent whereas Seshasayee Paper, Gravita India , S Mobility and Ponni Sugars(E) slipped 5-8 percent.

10:55am DLF Boardroom
"We are committed to bring down debt to Rs 17,500 crore in FY14," says Ashok Tyagi, group CFO. Current debt of the real estate major stands at Rs 19,500 crore.

According to him, Amanresorts sale will be the big trigger for debt reduction. "We will close Amanresorts sale in H2FY14."

Tyagi expects annual interest cost saving of Rs 450-470 crore FY15 onwards.

He is confident of meeting targetted FY14 sales guidance of Rs 6,000 crore, but margins are likely to remain under pressure for next 3-4 quarters, he adds.

10:45am Market Expert
Despite the correction, Ambareesh Baliga, Edelweiss Financial Services believes it is not the time to sell. He says it is a healthy correction and investors who have missed out will join the rally on a 100-150 point cut.

However, he does not see the Nifty falling below 6,000-6,050 levels.

10:30am Gainers and Losers
Sesa Sterlite and Tata Steel topped the buying list with more than 2 percent gains followed by TCS , Infosys and Sun Pharma with more than 1 percent upmove.

However, BHEL shares plunged 4 percent as brokerage houses are bearish on the stock and cut price target for the same after dismal performance in second quarter earnings. Citi recommends sell rating on the stock and cut price target to Rs 116 from Rs 116 earlier.

Shares of ITC , ICICI Bank , HDFC Bank and State Bank of India declined over 0.7 percent while Bharti Airtel lost 1.8 percent.

10:20am Rupee Update
The rupee today lost 19 paise to 62.58 against the dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to higher demand of the US currency from banks and importers.

Forex dealers said a lower opening in the domestic equity market also put pressure on the rupee but dollar's weakness against euro in the global markets, after Germany released data showing factory orders rising 3.3 per cent in September, capped the fall, reports PTI.

The domestic currency had plunged by 77 paise to 62.39 against the dollar yesterday on renewed fears that the US Federal Reserve would look at scaling back its stimulus soon.

10:00am The market is directionless due to lack of trigger so benchmark indices are hovering around their previous closing values. Technology, healthcare and power stocks are on buyers' radar while capital goods and financials are under pressure.

The Sensex is down 1.90 points at 20893.04, and the Nifty is down 0.95 points at 6214.20, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap Index gained 0.5 percent and Smallcap rose 0.2 percent as advancing shares outpaced declining ones by a ratio of 720 to 478 on the BSE.

Laurence Balanco of CLSA says the Nifty has been in rangebound for over two-years and the ranging pattern is roughly 40 percent wide. "When the market finally breaks out of these ranges the minimum expectation will be for a 40-50 percent advance. But we are not expecting a sustained breakout at this time and will sell into this 6,229-6,357 resistance zone," he adds.

He recommends shorting Nifty futures with a stop-loss set on a close above 6,383.

markets covered in its survey had enjoyed an expansion in output, with robust increases in activity in China, Brazil and Russia.

9:50 am Results poll: Diesel and gas engines manufacturer Cummins India will announce its second quarter earnings (July-September) today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts feel structurally weak demand environment will hurt topline growth while lower power outages in South India will keep demand and volumes under pressure.

They believe revenue decline will be led by 10 percent decline in power gensets and around 5 percent fall in industrial and automotive segments. Analysts expect to see growth in exports and Cummins Sales and Service India (CSS) segment.

9:40 am FII view: Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities feels that the Indian equity market seems to be on course to receive over USD 20 billion FII flows in 2013, which, if attained, will be among top 3 annual inflows ever. "Macro data continues to get incrementally better and our economists believe a bottom is in the making for India's economy. Our analysts have raised target price for 37 stocks, including Tata Motors and cut target price for 11 stocks, including IDFC," he says in an interview.

9:30 am Results poll: Tech Mahindra will announce its second quarter (July-September) results today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect profit after tax to grow 6 percent sequentially to Rs 727 crore in the quarter gone by.

Revenues are seen going up by 13.7 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 4,666 crore in three-month period ended September 2013 while dollar revenues may grow 2.9 percent to USD 745 million, driven by deal ramp up and full integration of complex IT.

The market has opened in green terrain with negative bias. The Sensex is up 26.90 points at 20921.84, and the Nifty is up 13.75 points at 6228.90. About 257 shares have advanced, 87 shares declined, and 17 shares are unchanged.

Reeling under dismal September quarter results, BHEL is down over 3 percent while Jindal Steel, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are other laggards.

On the gaining side are NTPC, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Wipro and Dr Reddy's Labs.

Indian rupee opened flat at 62.40 per dollar on Thursday as against previous day's closing of 62.39 per dollar.

According to Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank, re-emergence of US Fed tapering expectations after a better than expected US ISM Manufacturing data pushed the US yields higher and the dollar strengthened against major as well as emerging market currencies. FII flows started to taper which put pressure on EM currencies, he adds.

Raina expects the rupee to trade in a range of 61.80-62.50/USD.Meanwhile, the euro traded near one-week highs against the dollar and yen early in Asian trade as investors quickly switched gears after upbeat German data dampened the chances of any imminent interest rate cut from the European Central Bank.

In US, the markets closed mixed on Wednesday. The Dow notched another record close, as investors bought into optimism that the Federal Reserve would continue its stimulus longer than thought, ahead of economic reports this week on the economy and the labour market.

In commodities, Nymex futures edged up above USD 95/bbl for a second session today after a bigger than forecast drop in gasoline inventories calmed concerns over rising supplies in the world's top oil consumer. Brent traded sub USD 105/bbl.

From precious metals space, gold prices held onto gains as investors bet the US Federal Reserve would keep its stimulus measures for longer and also holdings in the biggest gold backed exchange-traded fund rose for the first time in two weeks.