Market crashes: Sensex, Nifty end at 3-week closing low

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended at three-week low. The Sensex was down 174.01 points or 0.7 percent at 25406.33 and the Nifty slipped 46.40 points or 0.6 percent at 7741.00. About 1412 shares have advanced, 1505 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

Reliance, Cipla, TCS, HDFC Bank and Coal India were top gainers while Hindalco, ITC, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank and ONGC were losers in the Sensex.

3:05 pm Market Update: The market remained under pressure. The Sensex fell 126.68 points to 25453.66 and the Nifty declined 35.50 points to 7751.90.

The broader markets also declined marginally with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.3 percent.

2:50 pm Market Expert: Talking on sudden weakness in market, Jagdish Malkani, Member of NSE says it could be a sentiment impact because of jittery world markets; Europe has opened weak and on macro side although things have been good so far but some noises from government that the fiscal deficit would be allowed to slip could have caused some heartburn.

According to Bruno Verstraete of Lakefield Partners, maybe the markets were taken by surprise with geopolitical events which is concerning given the weak economic growth in Europe and the interest rate cycle which is on the upside in US. So a combination of weak economic growth and cautious outlook on consumers makes it tricky trading at this point.

2:40 pm Gold at 3-week high: Continuing its rising streak for third straight day, gold prices added another Rs 60 to hit over three-week high of Rs 25,900 per 10 grams at the bullion market today, tracking a firming global trend amid pick up in buying by jewellers.

Silver followed suit and advanced by Rs 50 to Rs 33,750 per kg due to increased offtake from industrial units and coin-makers. Bullion traders said a firming global trend as investors eyed Federal Reserve minutes to be released later in the day, mainly buoyed the sentiment here.

2:20 pm Movers & Shakers: ITC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, ONGC, Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries were biggest losers on Sensex, down 2-3.5 percent followed by Infosys, L&T, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC and SBI.

More than 1.6 percent upside in Reliance Industries limited downside in the market. TCS, HDFC Bank, Cipla and Bharti Airtel gained 0.2-1 percent.

In midcap space, Torrent Power, HMT, Monsanto India, SRF and KRBL rallied 5-13 percent while Parsvnath, Punj Lloyd, India Cements, PTC India and Suzlon Energy fell 3-5 percent.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended losses in afternoon trade following sharp correction in European peers after crude oil prices hit multi-year lows. The Sensex fell 162.44 points to 25417.90 and the Nifty declined 47.60 points to 7739.80.

European markets opened lower as geopolitical risks posed by North Korea's latest nuclear test and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East increase uncertainty. FTSE, CAC and DAX fell around a percent.

North Korea announced the test following reports of a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near a nuclear testing site in the politically-isolated country. North Korea's state-owned television station later confirmed that the country had conducted a test and said that it won't give up nuclear capability unless U.S. drops its hostile foreign policy towards the country.

Oil prices gave up gains, hitting 11-year low. Brent crude was trading at 35.7 a barrel (the lowest level since July 2004), down 1.7 percent.

1:50 am Sharp fall: The Sensex is down 138.96 points or 0.5 percent at 25441.38, and the Nifty down 38.75 points or 0.5 percent at 7748.65.
About 1567 shares have advanced, 1214 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

1:30 pm Market outlook: With most analysts expecting markets to stay in a range this year, a stock and sector specific investing approach will likely hold up well in 2016. Outlining his sector preferences, Mahantesh Sabarad, Deputy VP - Research, SBICap Securities, said he is positive on the auto and metals and negative on the oil & gas space. Of the three recent healthcare listings ( Alkem and Dr Lal Pathlabs recently, and Narayana Healthcare today), Sabarad said he is most positive on Alkem.

The market is still languishing with few index heavyweights dragging their feet. The Sensex is up 15.03 points at 25595.37 and the Nifty is up 7.05 points at 7794.45. About 1782 shares have advanced, 982 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.

Relaince, Bharti, Cipla, Coal India and HDFC Bank are top gainers while ITC, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Tata Steel and M&M are laggards.

Gold prices rose by Rs 65 to Rs 25,453 per 10 gram in futures trading today as speculators enlarged their positions amid a firming trend overseas.

Analysts said a firming trend in the global markets where gold rose to USD 1,077.23 an ounce in Singapore as investors eyed Federal Reserve minutes to be released on Wednesday, influenced gold futures here.

12:59 pm Market Update: The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 10.29 points to 25590.63 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 3.90 points to 7791.30.

About 1787 shares have advanced, 979 shares declined, and 120 shares are unchanged on the BSE. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent.

12:15 pm Siti Cable in News: Essel group firm Siti Cable Network said it plans to raise up to Rs 680 crore through issuance of warrants and optionally fully convertible debentures (OFCDs) to promoter companies.

"The Board of Directors of the company... approved subject to shareholders' approval issuance of 14,28,57,143 number of warrants convertible at option of the holder in one or more transches... to Direct Media & Cable Pvt Ltd and/or Arrow Media & Broadband Pvt Ltd, entities forming part of promoter/promoter group of the company at Rs 35 per warrant... the total value of warrants shall not be more than Rs 500 crore," the company said in a BSE filing.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained directionless in noon trade with the Sensex rising 0.29 points to 25580.63 and the Nifty falling 1.50 points to 7785.90. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.4-0.7 percent.

The market breadth was strong as about two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Narayana Hrudayalaya was the most active stock on exchanges on first day, up 28.58 percent to Rs 321.45 compared to issue price of Rs 250 apiece.

Growth in India's services firms rose at its fastest pace in 10 months in December as demand picked up, a business survey showed on Wednesday.

The Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index surged to 53.6 in December from November's 50.1, marking a sixth month above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction.

11:45 am Buzzing: Shares of Glenmark Pharma rose 2.3 percent intraday after its North American division Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc USA got tentative approval from USFDA for anti-arrhythmic drug. The company has received an approval for its Dronedarone tablets, 400 mg, the generic version of Multaq tablets, 400 mg of Sanofi-Aventis US LLC. According to IMS Health sales data for the 12 months period ending November 2015, the Multaq market achieved annual sales of approximately USD 425.7 million.

11:30 am Earnings peview: The much-anticipated turnaround in earnings of India Inc is unlikely to take place in the December quarter season, says ratings and research firm CRISIL. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, CRISIL Senior Director Prasad Koparkar says topline growth for companies in the third quarter -- for which companies will start reporting results next week -- is expected to come in at a meagre 2 percent, or levels that have been the norm for a few quarters now. Part of this decline is because of the rout in commodity prices, which will bog down revenue growth for all related sectors such as petrochemicals, metals and oil & gas, etc. "But even ex-commodity, top line growth is likely to be 5.5-6 percent," he said.

The market is absolutely flat as the Sensex is up 6.80 points at 25587.14. The Nifty is up 1.15 points at 7788.55. About 1674 shares have advanced, 773 shares declined, and 114 shares are unchanged.

Reliance, Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Cipla and TCS are top gainers while ITC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and M&M are major losers in the Sensex.

Gautam Chhaochharia, UBS says consensus FY16, FY17 and FY18 forecast of 10 percent, 20 percent and 18 percent earnings growth still appears optimistic and top down estimate implies that cuts in 2016 may remain significant.

According to him, this (earnings forecast cut) will likely be broad based across sectors.

He sees limited room for a re-rating and forecast an end-2016 Nifty target of 8,200 based on a 15x one-year forward PE multiple.

10:55 am Market Update: The Sensex fell 2.35 points to 25577.99 and the Nifty declined 1.05 points to 7786.35.

About 1668 shares have advanced, 781 shares declined, and 503 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:40 am Interview: SREI Infrastructure Finance Limited on Tuesday informed the bourses that BNP Paribas acquired 5 percent stake in the company.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Sunil Kanoria, vice chairman, says the deal will be value accretive for the company.

He further adds the company has been seeing good growth in the last 3 months  and hope to grow in double digits in the near-term. On the margins front, Kanoria says the company will have steady margins in the range of over 4 percent.

10:25 am Buzzing: Premier Explosives surges 12 percent after the company has signed, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Israel Aerospace Industries Limited for exploring potential business opportunities.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate but the party in broader markets sustained. The Sensex fell 23.73 points to 25556.61 and the Nifty declined 10.90 points to 7776.50.

Narayana Hrudayalaya listed at Rs 291 on the National Stock Exchange, rising as much as 29 percent to hit day's high of Rs 322.90.

Gautam Chhaochharia, UBS says consensus FY16, FY17 and FY18 forecast of 10 percent, 20 percent and 18 percent earnings growth still appears optimistic and top down estimate implies that cuts in 2016 may remain significant.

According to him, this (earnings forecast cut) will likely be broad based across sectors.

He sees limited room for a re-rating and forecast an end-2016 Nifty target of 8,200 based on a 15x one-year forward PE multiple.

9:45 am FII view: Nipun Mehta of Blue Ocean Capital Advisors says that global volatility will restrict foreign institutional investors (FIIs) into the domestic market in the first half of the current year. He expects FII inflows in the second half of 2016 with a visible pick-up in the corporate earnings, credit growth as well as private sector growth. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mehta says volatility in the global market will continue. The markets will continue to see overhang of Federal Reserve rate hike as well as slowdown in the Chinese economy, he adds.

9:30 am IPO listing: Action in primary market action will begin with listing of first initial public offering (IPO) listing of the year on January 6. Narayana Hrudayalaya, promoted by renowned cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, will debut on both the bourses Wednesday. The healthcare services major was looking to raise up to Rs 613 crore via the IPO. The segment has, recently, seen good traction with listing of Dr Lal Pathlabs and Alkem Labs . Both the blockbuster IPO rocked Dalal Street with bumper opening as Alkem Labs ended the day with 31 percent returns and Dr Lal Pathlabs surged 52 percent on same day.

The market has opened lower as the Sensex is down 23.09 points at 25557.25. The Nifty is down 10.15 points or  at 7777.25. About 825 shares have advanced, 300 shares declined, and 470 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma, Coal India and BHEL are top gainers while Lupin, Infosys, ONGC, Tata Steel and GAIL are major losers in the Sensex.

China's markets, closely watched after a wild ride so far this week, rallied after services sector data showed expansion, but other Asian markets remained under pressure. Activity in China's services sector saw a modest expansion, though slowest in 17 months, in December, according to the Caixin non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a measure of factory activity.