Nifty ends above 7850, Sensex down 69 points; SBI up 2%

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has narrowed its losses at closing. The Sensex was down 69.00 points or 0.3 percent at 25704.61, and the Nifty slipped 20.60 points or 0.3 percent at 7870.15. About 1241 shares have advanced, 1314 shares declined, and 179 shares are unchanged.

SBI, Lupin, ONGC, L&T and Tata Steel are top gainers while Bajaj Auto, M&M, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank and BHEL are losers in the Sensex.

3:10 Gold check: Falling for the second straight day, gold shed Rs 20 to Rs 29,800 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a weak trend overseas amid easing demand from jewellers and retailers at domestic spot market.

Silver too faced selling pressure and broke below the Rs 41,000-mark by losing Rs 200 to Rs 40,900 per kg.

Bullion traders said sentiment remained bearish largely in tandem with a weak global trend where gold snapped three days of gains after strong inflation data that fuelled talk of an interest rate hike.

2:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained under pressure. The Sensex fell 126.07 points to 25647.54 and the Nifty declined 40.70 points to 7850.05.

Laggards in the index were HDFC (-1 percent),Maruti Suzuki (-1 percent),TCS (-1 percent) and Bharti Infratel (-1 percent). Gainers included ONGC (2 percent), Larsen (1 percent), SBI (1 percent) and Lupin (1 percent).

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, auto (-1.3 percent), IT (-0.5 percent), power (-0.3 percent) and oil & gas (-0.2 percent) were under pressure, while capital goods (0.5 percent) and metals (0.2 percent) gained.

European shares were trading weak with UK's FTSE down 24 points at 6142, France's CAC down 10 points at 4287, and Germany's DAX down 22 points at 9868.

Key Asian markets ended on a bearish note. Hong Kong's Hang Seng finished at the bottom of the heap, closing 292 points or 1.5 percent lower at 19826. China's Shanghai fell 36 points or 1.3 percent to 2807, Korea's KOSPI fell 11 points to 1956, Singapore's Straits Times shed 6 points to 2774, and Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 8 points to 16644. Taiwan was the only exception to the bearish trend with the Taiwan Index climbing 19 points to close at 8159.

2:50 pm Interview: State-owned  Punjab National Bank (PNB) posted net loss of Rs 5,367.14 crore in January-March quarter against profit of Rs 306.56 crore in year-ago period.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD & CEO of the bank said, the bank has done major cleansing in the last quarter and is now targeting recovery of loans worth Rs 15,000-20,000 crore in FY17.

While asset quality review (AQR) stood at Rs 11,800 crore, amount of Rs 1,700 crore from discoms slipped into non-performing asset (NPA) in FY16, she said.

She expects the bank to grow its loan book by 10 percent going forward. PNB's restructured book stands at Rs 20,000 crore currently, she said.

The bank is focussing on small-ticket engagements, currently 57 percent of total loan book, like those to agriculture and retail sectors, Ananthasubramanian added.

2:35 pm FM on GST: The Goods and Services Tax Bill has been hanging fire owing to Congress' stalling tactics. Ideally, FM Arun Jaitley said he would want the opposition party to give its all-clear. If it doesn't come through, then he is willing to let the Parliament do its job. ''Enough is enough as far as GST proceedings go,'' he said.

He said the government is in a state of readiness to roll out the GST, when it passes through all its hurdles. ''It is a transactional tax and we are ready.''

He also spoke on states' efforts to tackle the drought situation and Supreme Court's attck on the government.

2:20 pm Interview: Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, spoke about the reforms under way in banking. But the general anti-avoidance rule, which looks to empower the taxmen in India to clamp down on evaders, will come into effect from April this year. The government is looking close loopholes in the tax system, said Sinha. They are in the process of collecting data still and will come out with a fool-proof measure to bring evaders to book. The recent tweaked tax treaty with Mauritius is silent on taxing derivatives. Sinha said India is one of the few countries to say that the current tax regime in inequitable and has to be changed. Currently, in India, taxes are applied at the destination rather than the source.

The market continues to wobble as auto, IT and few bank stocks are putting pressure on the market. The Sensex is down 145.42 points or 0.6 percent at 25628.19, and the Nifty down 42.35 points or 0.5 percent at 7848.40. About 1113 shares have advanced, 1309 shares declined, and 166 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Lupin, SBI and Tata Steel are top gainers while BHEL, Bajaj Auto, HDFC twins and Hero MotoCorp are losers in the Sensex.

Growth recovery in Indian economy is becoming more 'broad-based' with rise in public sector capital expenditure and foreign direct investment, says a Morgan Stanley report.

Also, going forward the consumption growth is expected to pick up further.

According to global brokerage firm, in India, recovery in growth is becoming more broad-based with the pick up in public sector capex and rise in foreign direct investment inflows spreading to discretionary consumption (both urban and rural).

According to the report, growth in the emerging market economies including India are stabilising at low levels.

12:40 pm Earnings: State-run Punjab National Bank (PNB) has posted net loss of Rs 5,367.14 crore in January-March crore, which is the highest ever loss reported by an Indian Bank, against profit of Rs 306.56 crore in year-ago period. Sharp surge in provisions and weak asset quality hit profitability despite higher other income.

Provisions increased nearly 3-fold to Rs 10,485.23 crore during the quarter compared to Rs 3,775.53 crore in preceding quarter and Rs 3,834.2 crore in corresponding period of last fiscal.

12:20 pm FII View: Taking about the trend in markets world over, Marc Faber, the investment guru based out of Thailand, said sovereign bond yields have been on the down low everywhere.

He has positive about the Indian stock market, which had peaked out last year. There was a dip to 23000 in January and now the market has rebounded to over 25000.

"Everything has gone up in price and my sense is we could have a period of asset deflation," he said, adding that the art market in London and New York has weakened considerably.

12:00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses in noon trade due to further selling in index heavyweights HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys and ITC that fell more than 1 percent. SBI and ONGC outperformed with more than 1 percent upside.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 253.13 points or 0.98 percent to 25520.48 and the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 73.40 points or 0.93 percent to 7817.35. About 1261 shares declined against 954 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Most Asian markets also lost ground today as traders moved their chips amid concerns the US Federal Reserve may hike interest rates soon, with Japan's shares turning negative in topsy-turvy trade. Many analysts are concerned the Federal Open Market Committee minutes could be more hawkish than the statement that followed April's meeting.

11:45 am Interview: Gujarat Gas 's non-executive Chairman GR Aloria is hopeful of putting up a better show in FY17 after the company reported good numbers in the March quarter. Aloria told CNBC-TV18 that he expects Gujarat Gas' volumes to improve going ahead. He said that the company is looking to expand its network and this will boost its volumes. "We hope to clock Rs 250-crore profit in FY17," Aloria said.

11:30 am Maruti in defence: The vehicle safety group Global NCAP's report on Tuesday said that as many as five popular passenger vehicle car models in India, including Maruti Celerio, Renault Kwid, Mahindra Scorio and Hyundai Eon, failed crash tests with 'zero star' rating. Reacting to the report, RC Bhargava, Chariman, Maruti Suzuki India said the GNCAP is a voluntary standard and no country requires you to pass its standards. So there is no fear of exports being hit, he added. Moreover, the GNCAP has not tested cars as per Indian Standards, which the company complies with as per the Indian law. ''Our regulations require that crash tests are done at a speed of 56 km/hr. This is the same standard that prevails in Europe and in the USA,'' he said.

Selling continues in Dalal Street as the Nifty drags. The the Sensex is down 231.07 points or 0.9 percent at 25542.54, and the Nifty down 69.20 points or 0.9 percent at 7821.55. About 895 shares have advanced, 1148 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, SBI, Dr Reddy's Labs, L&T and Reliance are top gainers while Maruti, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors are loser. Infosys, HDFC twins, ITC and TCS are dragging the indices.

Crude hit fresh 2016 highs in its march toward USD 50 in Asia today, fanned by escalating wildfires in Canada's oil sands region and hopes of an easing in the oversupply. Prices have shot up after US banking giant Goldman Sachs this week said that supply disruptions in Africa's biggest oil producer Nigeria -- along with better demand -- had created a surprising short-term supply deficit.

10:59 am Market Update: Benchmark indices were little changed over the last half an hour of trade. The BSE Sensex was at 25550, down 223 points or 0.9 percent over its previous close. The Nifty was down 65 points over its previous close.

Maruti Suzuki (-2 percent), Bosch (-2 percent), Hero Motocorp (-2 percent) and BHEL (-2 percent) were the big losers in the Nifty. Other laggards in the index were ITC (-1 percent), Axis Bank (-1 percent), Hindalco (-1 percent) and Asian Paints (-1 percent).

Key Asian markets were trading weak. China's Shanghai was the biggest lower, down 52 points or 1.8 percent at 2791. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 327 points or 1.6 percent at 19791, Korea's KOSPI was down 13 points at 1954, Singapore's Straits Times was down 8 points at 2772, and Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 30 points at 16622. Taiwan was the only exception to the downtrend with the Taiwan Index up 7 points at 8148.

10:40 am Earnings estimates: JSW Steel is expected to disappoint street with topline and bottomline numbers but margin is likely to be strong. According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, it is expected to post consolidated loss at Rs 56 crore for January-March quarter against net profit of Rs 62.4 crore in year-ago period.

Revenue is seen falling 14 percent to Rs 10,870 crore during the quarter compared to same period last fiscal, impacted by weak realisations but volumes may support.

Domestic sales volume is likely to increase 6 percent to 3.25 million tonne on yearly basis after its capacity enhancement as blast-furnaces restarted.

Realisations may take a hit YoY but may see some marginal improvement on sequential basis.

10:20 am SEBI on L&T arm: Markets watchdog Sebi has sought clarification from the merchant banker of L&T Infotech, an arm of engineering giant Larsen and Toubro (L&T), regarding the company's proposed initial public offering.

Without disclosing the details of the clarifications sought, Sebi has said that it is awaiting response from lead manager for the proposed public offer.

Sebi further said it might issue observations on draft offer documents within 30 days after receiving satisfactory reply from the lead merchant banker regarding the clarification or additional information sought.

10:00 am Market Check
The market remained under pressure in morning trade with the Sensex falling more than 150 points, dragged by private banks, FMCG, auto and technology stocks. Most Asian markets were under pressure with the Hang Seng and Shanghai losing 1.7 percent each.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 179.63 points to 25593.98 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 53.15 points to 7837.60. The market breadth was also negative as aabout 959 shares declined against 711 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Maruti Suzuki lost nearly 3 percent as Suzuki crashed 15 percent in Tokio market after the vehicle safety group Global NCAP's report on Tuesday said that as many as five popular passenger vehicle car models in India, including Maruti Celerio failed crash tests with 'zero star' rating.

Reacting to the report, RC Bhargava, Chariman, Maruti Suzuki India said the GNCAP is a voluntary standard and no country requires you to pass its standards. So there is no fear of exports being hit, he added.

HDFC Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, M&M and Axis Bank were down around 1 percent while ONGC and SBI outperformed.

9:55 am Opinion: Merger between state-run giant State Bank of India and its five associate banks, along with Bharatiya Mahila Bank, will have a positive impact on the bank, said Manish Agarwalla, Co-Head of Research at Phillipcapital.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Agarwalla said the gross non-performing assets (NPA) percentage will remain the same.

However, major drawbacks would be the stress is asset quality of the SBI Group post the merger and a surge in employee costs, he added. He has a buy call on the stock for long-term investors.

9:45 am Result estimate: Punjab National Bank (PNB) is likely to see loss of Rs 53 crore in January-March quarter (against profit of Rs 307 crore in year-ago period) due to continued clean up of balance sheet, according to CNBC-TV18's consensus estimates. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, may grow 10.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 4,177 crore in quarter gone by. Overall its asset quality performance is likely to be weak as analysts expect slippages to remain elevated. Analysts say credit cost is also expected to remain elevated on account of stressed assets addition.

9:34 am Market check: The Sensex is down 187.06 points or 0.7 percent at 25586.55, and the Nifty down 53.95 points or 0.7 percent at 7836.80. About 591 shares have advanced, 751 shares declined, and 58 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, SBI and Reliance are top gainers while Maruti, BHEL, ICICI Bank, Hero and Tata Motors are losers in the Sensex.

The market has opened lower with the Nifty below 7850. The 50-share index is down 44 points or 0.6 percent at 7846.75. The Sensex is down 151.35 points or 0.6 percent at 25622.26. About 204 shares have advanced, 276 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, HUL, M&M are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Infosys, Tata Motors, GAIL and BHEL are losers in the Sensex. SBI is down 1 percent. The state-run giant State Bank of India will merge its five associate banks, along with Bharatiya Mahila Bank, with itself.

In a press release, SBI said its board has given in-principle approval for the bank to discuss the possibility of acquiring its associate banks.

The five associate banks are State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur and State Bank of Patiala. The BMB was created in 2013 by the erstwhile UPA government, especially to cater to women's lending needs but analysts say it has failed to take off.

The Indian rupee opened at 2 months low at 66.95 per dollar. It has opened lower by 8 paise against previous close of 66.87. Bansi Madhavani of India Ratings said, "An uptick in US retail inflation along with firming up of oil prices have rekindled rate hike fears across markets."

The US dollar dipped against a basket of major currencies after US Inflation data failed to convince currency traders that the Federal Reserve was moving closer to another interest rate hike.

Asia markets opened lower, with Japan's shares wavering as traders struggled to interpret data showing the country's economic growth beat expectations.

Wall Street sold off as investors boosted their bets on the Federal Reserve raising rates later this year, while Home Depot dragged on indexes following its quarterly report.

US consumer prices recorded their biggest increase in more than three years in April as gasoline and rents rose. The data pointed to a steady inflation build-up that could give the Fed ammunition to raise interest rates later this year.