BSE Sensex up over 250 points; M&M, Tata Power, HDFC Bank weak

3:30 pm Market outlook: Vetri Subramaniam, chief investment officer, Religare Invesco Mutual Fund believes the market is looking for "concrete policy action" from the government to address some of the structural issues Indian economy is facing right now.

According to him, the main concern of the equity investor right now is that the outlook for earnings growth looks fairly muted."The currency depreciation in recent times will certainly help exporters but there is a lot more that needs to be done by the government," he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

3:20 pm Management speaks: Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto expects the August exports positivity to continue in coming days .

"Exports were overall up about 10 percent to about a 144,000 vehicles, up from 131,000 in August. That gain came primarily from our motorcycles. We exported close to 128,000 motorcycles, about 17 percent higher than August last year which was about 109,000," Bajaj told CNBC-TV18. However, the disappointment in exports came in the three-wheeler segment due to a slowdown seen in Egypt, he explains.

Despite the rupee depreciation and the forex advantage it provides to exporters, Bajaj says the company will not pass on the currency gains to its customers by adjusting prices.

The market holding grounds firmly till the last trading hour of the day. The Sensex is still away from the 19000-level mark and at 18899.61, up 279.89 points or 1.50 percent at 18899.61, and the Nifty adds up 80.15 points or 1.46 percent at 5551.95.

Index heavyweights are taking the lead today. Tata Steel , ITC , Maruti Suzuki, Reliance , Hindalco are gainers in the Sensex while M&M, Tata Power , HDFC Bank , Infosys and Dr Reddy's Labs are losers.

Bajaj Hindusthan , Balrampur Chini , Shree Renuka Sugars , Dwarikesh Sugar and Dhampur Sugar rallied 13-20 percent.

02:59pm Gainers & Losers
Index heavyweights are taking the lead today. ITC surged 4.6 percent and Reliance Industries rallied 3.4 percent.

ICICI Bank and HDFC gained more than 2 percent while Tata Steel is the top gainer in Sensex, rising 6 percent.

Maruti Suzuki spiked 4 percent; Coal India , GAIL , Hindalco , HUL and Jindal Steel jumped 2-3 percent.

However, Infosys and HDFC Bank fell 0.6 percent. M&M and Tata Power declined over 1.5 percent.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, Jaiprakash Associates spiked 8.5 percent and Ranbaxy Labs gained 7 percent.

02:50pm Market & Rupee Update
The Sensex is up 286.21 points or 1.54 percent at 18905.93, and the Nifty is up 81.75 points or 1.49 percent at 5553.55.

The macroeconomic uncertainty in India is at a very high level and is making consumers and businesses far too cautious about their spending, says Leif Eskesen, chief economist, HSBC.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Eskesen says the recent steps taken by the RBI to tighten domestic liquidity will lead to an increase in the funding cost and the probability of a slowdown in growth.

This macro uncertainty apart, Fed tapering will decelerate growth further in Q2 FY14. HSBC lowering India's growth forecast from 5.5 percent to 4 percent is a testimony to its negative perception on the country's growth prospects.

Eskensen's views come on a day when India's factory output has fallen for the first time in 4-and-a-half-years . The HSBC Manufacturing PMI sank to 48.5 in August from 50.1 in July, the lowest reading since March 2009.

Indian rupee fell 41 paise in afternoon trade to below 66 level at 66.11 against the US dollar.

02:40pm Sugar stocks sweeten
Bajaj Hindusthan , Balrampur Chini , Shree Renuka Sugars , Dwarikesh Sugar and Dhampur Sugar rallied 13-20 percent.

02:30pm Under-recovery of oil companies
Oil under-recoveries could spike to Rs 1.8 lakh crore due to Syria crisis in FY14, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting government sources.

It is learnt that oil ministry is pegged FY14 under-recovery bill at Rs 1.67 lakh crore.

Oil ministry has been pushing for Rs 5 per litre diesel price hike that will cut losses by over Rs 29,391 crore, say sources.

The government on Saturday evening hiked petrol price by a steep Rs 2.35 per litre , the sixth increase in rates in three months, and diesel by 50 paise per litre on falling rupee and firming international oil prices.

02:20pm Stock In News
Hero MotoCorp has initiated work on developing new models for south American markets and will develop engines with technical partner AVL, reports CNBC-TV18 sources.

It is learnt that its first manufacturing plant in Colombia is likely to come up by FY15. The two-wheeler major is planning to develop up to six new assembly facilities by FY15 and will enter eight new markets by end of this fiscal, say sources.

Hero MotoCorp is planning to have 20 assembly facilities by 2020. Hero is eyeing overall sales of 10 million units within five years and expects international operations to contribute 10 percent to total sales. Shares gained one percent.

02:10pm It is a positive session on Dalal Street as equity benchmarks extended early gains on broadbased buying and easing geopolitical worries. Midcaps and smallcaps also gained ground.

The Sensex is up 267.27 points or 1.44 percent at 18886.99, and the Nifty is up 72.75 points or 1.33 percent at 5544.55.

M&M lost ground after reporting weak August auto sales numbers, falling more than 2 percent. Total sales of the company fell 17 percent year-on-year to 37,900 units and its passenger vehicle sales have also slipped to 15,821 units from 21,831 units Y-o-Y.

Maruti Suzuki shares rallied 3 percent after reporting a 5 percent month-on- month growth in sales to 87,323 units in August.

Among 2-wheelers, Bajaj Auto's total sales are higher by 11 percent month-on-month to 3.12 lakh units. Rajiv Bajaj told CNBC-TV18 that there could be a marginal price hike soon for some brands. However, Hero MotoCorp's total sales dropped 5 percent month-on-month.

1:50 pm Market outlook: Trader Atul Suri feels that the Nifty will extend its current pullback to 5,700-5,900 levels in the near-term, but will see a sharp fall to levels of 5,000 in the long-run. "We are in for a short-term spike up and then we may have another leg down", he told CNBC-TV18.

The market has been extremely oversold and is due for a bounce back for the short-term, he told CNBC-TV18. Information Technology (IT) stocks will continue to see an uptrend and the index may revisit the highs witnessed in the year 2000. Pharma pack's performance will also be similar to that of IT, he adds.

1:40 pm Buzzer: Ashok Leyland reported a 2.5 percent month-on-month growth (down 24 percent year-on-year) in its August sales data, supported by strong commercial vehicle sales. The shares jumped 4 percent Monday.

Commercial vehicle maker sold 7,139 units in August as against 6,967 units in previous month and 9,432 units in a year ago period.

Commercial vehicle sales (excluding Dost) of the Hinduja Group flagship company increased 4.77 percent M-o-M (a fall of 25 percent Y-o-Y) to 4,939 units in August.

1:30 pm Update: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram have rejected the Oil Ministry's proposal of keeping petrol pumps open only from 8 am to 8 pm, reports CNN-IBN. Reacting to the proposal, Chidambaram said, "It's not a government suggestion but one which had come from the public as the Oil Minister has himself clarified. Should the government close itself to the public's suggestions?"

This came after the government faced criticism over the Oil Ministry's proposal. Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily was on the backfoot after his suggestion of having petrol pumps open for 12 hours in a day.

He said that the idea to keep petrol pumps open from 8 am to 8 pm was not the government's idea but had come from the public. He went on to say that the ministry has not taken any decision yet and no decision will be taken to keep petrol pumps dry in any part of the country.

1:20 pm Macro outlook: Robert Prior-Wandesforde, Director, Asian Economics Research, Credit Suisse belongs to the camp who believes that India's fundamentals remain strong despite the country growing slowest in four years in April-June quarter. India's first quarter GDP came in at a lower-than-expected 4.4 percent as the manufacturing and mining sectors contracted.

The next event that market will be closely following is September 18 mid-quarter review of monetary policy. According to Wandesforde, market is expecting positive credit commentary from new RBI governor Raghuram Rajan. He further added that the government needs to be proactive rather than just reacting under pressure.

It is a positive session on Dalal Street. The Sensex pockets 295.32 points or 1.59 percent at 18915.04 while the Nifty adds 82.15 points or 1.50 percent at 5553.95.  About 1217 shares have advanced, 707 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

It's a mixed August auto sales picture. Tata Motors' total sales down 30 percent year-on-year while M&M's total sales slip 17 percent. Maruti though reported 5 percent month-on-month growth in sales to 87,323 units. Two-wheeler major, Bajaj Auto also sees a 5 percent uptick in total sales versus last month.

The rupee recoups early losses on dollar sales by banks. Dealers also say there is absence of too much dollar demand from importers and FIIs. Bond prices rise as dealers expect the RBI to detail open market purchase of gilts for the week. The sentiment is also positive as the auction for the 10-year benchmark gilt auction witnessed strong demand on Friday.

12:50pm Global Update
European markets gained ground today as the US delays a possible military strike against Syria, calming investor fears over another Middle Eastern conflict, reports CNBC.

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE rallied over 1.5 percent.

Asian markets too are strong in late trade. Hang Seng surged 2 percent and Nikkei rose 1.4 percent.

12:40pm Market Update
The market is heading towards the 19000 level in afternoon trade on short covering rally in FMCG, financials, metals and Reliance Industries . Three shares advanced for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

The Sensex is up 300.01 points or 1.61 percent at 18919.73, and the Nifty is up 85.20 points or 1.56 percent at 5557.

Trader Atul Suri feels that the Nifty will extend its current pullback to 5,700-5,900 levels in the near-term, but will see a sharp fall to levels of 5,000 in the long-run. "We are in for a short-term spike up and then we may have another leg down", he told CNBC-TV18.

The market has been extremely oversold and is due for a bounce back for the short-term, he told CNBC-TV18. Information Technology (IT) stocks will continue to see an uptrend and the index may revisit the highs witnessed in the year 2000. Pharma pack's performance will also be similar to that of IT, he adds.

12:25pm Auto Sales Update
Tata Motors and M&M lost ground after reporting weak August auto sales numbers . Tata Motors' total sales are down 30 percent year-on-year to 49,600 units and domestic sales have also slipped while exports have done a tad better.

M&M's total sales fell by 17 percent to 37,900 units and passenger vehicle sales have also slipped.

However, Maruti gained 2 percent after reporting a 5 percent month-on-month growth in sales to 87,323 units.

12:10pm An upward journey of the market continued in noon trade, supported largely by index heavyweight ITC that surged 3.7 percent. Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and HDFC too are on buyers' radar, rising 2-2.7 percent.

The Sensex is up 256.12 points or 1.38 percent at 18875.84, and the Nifty is up 70.40 points or 1.29 percent at 5542.20.

According to Hemant Thukral, national head of Aditya Birla Money, if the Nifty breaks 5,530 then one can go aggressively long because then the targets can be revised to 5,750-5,780.

Meanwhile, the rupee fell 6 paise to 65.76 against the US dollar today after seeing more than 300 paise recovery from its record low of 68.80 touched on Wednesday.

Ananth Narayan, Standard Chartered Bank expects the rupee to appreciate to 64 against the dollar in the near-term if there is improvement in trade deficit, decrease in oil demand, situation stabilises for some time and some sanity comes back into the market.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Narayan says the rupee should pull back to 62-63/USD rather than to 70/USD as things aren't as bad as they look. ''The events are too large and there are elections coming next year, which means from the growth front those things right might take a bit of time, but it's an overdone territory. We should see a pullback right now,'' he adds.

11:50 am Outlook: Scrambling for remedies as investors' faith in India sagged, the government said last week it fast-tracked approval for a slew of infrastructure projects worth USD 28 billion, but the stroke of a pen in New Delhi will not be enough.

The government hopes that speeding up the launch of hundreds of new power plants, highways and oil exploration blocks will breathe new life into an economy that has fallen off its perch as an emerging market high-flier.

Growth in the latest quarter was the slowest since during the global financial crisis, and the rupee has tumbled ever deeper against the US dollar. Failing to get the projects off the ground would be another blow.

11:40 am Macro data: Indian factory activity shrank for the first time in more than four years last month, adding to the country's deepening economic malaise even as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) struggles to defend the battered rupee currency, a survey showed, reports Reuters.

The bleak Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) comes hard on the heels of data on Friday that showed Asia's third-largest economy grew at it slowest quarterly rate in the three months to June since the global financial crisis, suggesting more pain ahead.

The HSBC Manufacturing PMI, compiled by Markit, sank to 48.5 in August from 50.1 in July, the lowest reading since March 2009. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a far shallower fall to 49.9.

11:35 am Expert opinion: BSE member Ramesh Damani, says that September and October may prove to be ominous as globally these two months are noted for causing major meltdowns.

He explained that the US Federal Reserve's meet on QE, currency crisis in India and conflict in Syria are all flag bearers of impending tough times.

The fall in rupee versus the US dollar has shaken investors' confidence and it's time the government announces economic reforms rather than pushing populist policies, Damani added.

11:25 am Buzzer: Shares of Fortis Healthcare rose 4.4 percent after promoters of the company released 4.07 crore pledged shares last week.

With this release the pledged shares percent come down to sub 40 percent of the total number of shares from 48 percent as of the quarter ended June 2013.

Promoters hold 71.92 percent stake in the company as of June 2013. Now the pledged shares are 18,18,96,300 - 39.6 percent of total paid up equity and 55 percent of total promoters shareholding as against previous 48.49 percent of total paid up equity and 67.54 percent of total promoters shareholding in June.

11:15 am The Big Bull exclusive interview: The current uncertainty that has hit almost every man on the street, has not shaken Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's faith in India. The ace investor and trader, who is also a qualified Chartered Accountant, remains as optimistic as he was during the bullish days and claims he has not lost confidence in this country's future. Jhunjhunwala, often called pin-up boy of bull run, told Udayan Mukherjee on CNBC-TV18 that the real turnaround will happen after elections with the return of confidence.

Although he reduced his stake in watches-to-jewellery maker Titan Industries early this year, Jhunjhunwala says he will sit on the remaining shares of this cherished company for the long term.

The market holds firm supported by banks, pharma, metals and FMCG stocks. The Sensex is up 133.64 points or 0.72 percent at 18753.36, and the Nifty is 5504.30, up 32.50 points or 0.6 percent.

About 1090 shares have advanced, 479 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.

Stock specifically, Jindal Steel , Tata Steel , ITC , Hero MotoCorp and Sun Pharma are top gainers in the Sensex. Top losers in the Sensex are M&M, NTPC , HDFC Bank , Tata Power and Tata Motors . Jet Airways is up around 5 percent after agencies reports indicate that Etihad has extended deal deadline with Jet Airways till sep-end. Deadline has been extended to win regulatory approvals.

Asian markets are higher on better than expected Chinese PMI data and a weaker yen.

After a choppy Friday, Brent has slipped to near USD 112/oz levels. Gold futures are trending lower for the third consecutive session after having gained 6 percent in August. The dollar index trades at a 4-month high while the euro remained weak against the dollar.

In the money markets back home, bond prices are higher on strong demand seen in the auction of the 10-year on Friday. Meanwhile, the rupee trades slightly lower in line with the weakness seen in most Asian currencies on dollar strength.

10:59am Expert talks
The market started the month on a positive note Monday despite weak gross domestic product data in April-June quarter. However, the month gone by was quite terrible for the market with the rupee hitting a record low of 68.80 per dollar and the benchmark indices losing 4 percent.

The current uncertainity that has hit almost every man on the street, has not shaken Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's faith in India. The ace investor and trader, who is also a qualified Chartered Accountant, remains as optimistic as he was during the bullish days and claims he has not lost confidence in this country's future. Jhunjhunwala, often called pin-up boy of bull run, told Udayan Mukherjee on CNBC-TV18 that the real turnaround will happen after elections with the return of confidence.

Although he reduced his stake in watches-to-jewellery maker Titan Industries early this year, Jhunjhunwala says he will sit on the remaining shares of this cherished company for the long term.

10:50am Market Update
The rally in financials, FMCG, metals and capital goods helped the market continue to trade higher.

The Sensex is up 154.02 points or 0.83 percent at 18773.74, and the Nifty is up 39.10 points or 0.71 percent at 5510.90.

Power stocks are under pressure with the NTPC and Tata Power falling 1-1.5 percent. Its total sales fell 17.32 percent to 37,897 units in August . The company had sold 45,836 units in the same month last year. In August this year, M&M's domestic sales stood at 35,159 units as against 42,826 units in the same month last year, down 17.9 per cent.

10:40am Buzzers
Fortis Healthcare gained 2 percent as promoters have released 4.07 crore pledged shares last week. With this release the pledged shares percentage comes down to sub 40 percent of the total numbers of shares from 48 percent as of the quarter ended June 2013.

Jet Airways shares surged 5 percent after agencies reports indicate that Etihad said it had extended deal deadline with Jet till September-end. Deadline has been extended to win regulatory approvals.

Coal India and NMDC are up 1-2.5 percent as finance ministry sources have indicated the government is likely to consider buybacks in NMDC, NHPC and Coal India. Sources say the boards of cash-rich public sector companies have agreed to go in for this exercise.

10:30am Rupee Update
Indian rupee fell by 11 paise to 65.81 against the US dollar after hitting an intraday low o 66.06 per dollar.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered feels that weak growth data on Friday is expected to keep the rupee subdued. "Aggressive selling by nationalised banks on behalf of RBI is expected to continue, keeping the rupee strong. The range for the day is seen between 65.60-66.60/USD," he adds.

10:15am The market gained nearly one percent in morning trade Monday with the Nifty trading above 5500 level, aided by fuel price hike and despite weak GDP in April-June quarter.

The Sensex is up 176.31 points at 18796.03, and the Nifty is up 48.10 points at 5519.90 while the midcap and smallcap indices gained one percent each.

More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Cigarette major ITC led the market upmove with 2.5 percent gains followed by HDFC , TCS , ICICI Bank , State Bank of India and Hindustan Unilever with 1-2 percent gains. Maruti and Sesa Goa rallied 3 percent.

Motilal Oswal Securities presents a negative outlook on the economy going forward. It does not see growth picking up in the near term as low GDP growth may continue. Banks may strain their margins due to measures by the Reserve Bank (RBI) to stem rupee's fall, while the auto sector may see a recovery from its lows for the year.

But, investors may have already anticipated it given other indicators like industrial production pointing downwards, says Navin Agarwal, MD-institutional equities & investment banking at Motilal Oswal Securities in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Meanwhile, Rajat Rajgarhia, head of research at Motilal Oswal Securities foresees a downgrade earnings growth to 3-4 percent on the back of offsetting impact on massive downgrade for domestic companies and upgrades in export-oriented firms.

9:50 am Falling: Auto stocks like Tata Motors and M&M are losing investors' confidence on weak August sales. Both Tata Motors and M&M fell around 2 percent in early morning trade on Monday.

August auto sales indicated a weak trend with Tata Motors reporting a degrowth in total sales at 49,611 units versus nearly 72,000 (Y-o-Y). M&M too showed a similar trend with total sales slowing to 37,900 units versus over 45,800 units last year.

9:40 am FII view: Adrian Mowat, chief Asian and Emerging Equity Strategist, JPMorgan believes India may be downgraded further on weak gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 4.4 percent. According to him, the currency weakness will push up inflation.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says government has acknowledged the threat of a further rating downgrade by trying its best to reduce diesel subsidies.
 
''The issue here is trying to judge what has been priced into the market and focus on the currency. This will help investors' confidence which the currency and the market have been pricing in,'' he adds.

9:25 am Buzzer: Oil marketing companies (OMCs) are in trade today.  HPCL , BPCL , IOC , ONGC , Oil India are surging as for the sixth time in three months, petrol prices have been hiked by Rs 2.35 per litre and diesel by 50 paise per liter excluding VAT. The focus is likely to now shift to whether the one-time diesel price hike comes through post the monsoon session.

The market kickstarts the week on a decent note as the Sensex is up 70.31 points or 0.38 percent at 18690.03, and the Nifty is up 8.45 points at 5480.25. About 236 shares have advanced, 66 shares declined, and 24 shares are unchanged.

The Indian rupee opened weak by 39 paise at 66.09 per dollar agianst 65.70 on Friday.

Agam Gupta, Standard Chartered said, "Weak growth data on Friday is expected to keep the rupee subdued. Aggressive selling by nationalised banks on behalf of RBI is expected to continue, keeping the rupee strong. The range for the day is seen between 65.60-66.60/USD."

The dollar is trading at a 4-week high of 82.26 on safe haven buying. Conversely, the euro slipped to 1.31/USD levels while the dollar-yen trades at 98 levels.

The April-June quarter GDP growth was the slowest in four years. It came in at a lower-than-expected 4.4 percent as the manufacturing and mining sectors contracted. But policy-makers are unfazed about growth coming in below 5 percent for the third quarter in a row and they growth will pick up in the second half of the year. GDP data was announced after market hours on Friday.

The US market shut will remain shut today on account of labour day take a check on the losses this month. Dow Jones tumbled 4.5% percent while the S&P 500 lost over 3%. The Nasdaq fared a little better though.

The 10-year treasury yields gained on weaker than expected economic data, with the possibility of a military strike against Syria adding to a safety bid ahead of a holiday-lengthened weekend.

Brent prices retreat further to USD112/barrel levels. While nymex slipped to sub USD 106/barrel mark on uncertainty over the Syria strike. Oil prices record their biggest monthly gain in a year, with Brent up more than 6 percent in August. From precious metals space, gold prices slid below USD 1400/oz on a stronger dollar and as investors squared month end positions. Gold has gained nearly 5.6 percent this month.