Nifty ends above 8000 for first time, Sensex at new high

03:30 pm Market closing
It was a heady start to the new series, new week and new month after a long weekend. After hitting the magical 8000-level, the Nifty ended at record high. The Nifty ended at 8027.70 (up 73.35 points or 0.92 percent) after hitting intraday record high of 8035. The Sensex closed at 26,867.55 (up 229.44 points or 0.86 percent), after an intraday record high of 26900.

ICICI Bank and L&T are top contributors to the Nifty gain. Except FMCG, all sectoral indices ended trade in the green. Capital goods, realty, metals led trade today.

Bank Nifty closes above 16,000 for first time ever as ICICI Bank contributed 80 percent to Bank Nifty gain.

03:10 pm Coal block allocation case
Hearing underway on coal block allocation in SC. Attorney General seeks exemptions for 46 mines. The AG has given two Suggestions to SC in coal block allocation case. The government is keen on proceeding expeditiously for auction. The Supreme Court says there is no controversy on scrapping blocks where no work is done.

03:00pm Voltas and Motherson Sumi up over 2%
Bank of America Merrill Lynch reiterates buy rating on Voltas with an increased target price of Rs 305 per share. The brokerage also raised FY15/16E earnings per share forecast by 8 percent.

Meanwhile, JPMorgan reiterates overweight rating on Motherson Sumi, citing multiple growth drivers in place. It raised price target to Rs 410 from Rs 310.

02:50pm Is it the right time to decontrol diesel price?
India Ratings & Research believes that the staggered diesel price hike since end October 2012 has paved the way for diesel price decontrol and that now is the right time for the government to decontrol diesel price and allow oil marketing companies (OMCs) to price diesel according to global rates. This will help the government achieve its fiscal consolidation targets.

02:40pm Ashok Leyland surges 4%
Ashok Leyland has reported total sales of 8,331 units in August, up 17 percent compared to 7,847 units in a year-ago period.

Light commercial vehicle sales increased by 14 percent to 2,501 units from 2,111 units during the same period. Medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales grew by 18 percent to 5,830 units.

02:30pm Kingfisher in focus
State-run United Bank of India today became the first lender to declare debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines and its promoter Vijay Mallya as wilful defaulters.

"We have declared Vijay Mallya and three other directors of Kingfisher Airlines as wilful defaulters," United Bank of India Executive Director Deepak Narang told PTI. The Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC) of the bank has declared directors Ravi Nedungadi, Anil Kumar Ganguly and Subash Gupte as wilful defaulters.

Post this declaration, these persons and the entity would not be able to borrow from the bank in future. They would also lose director-level positions in companies. Criminal proceeding could also be initiated against these persons if warranted.

02:20pm Bharti Infratel in News
Bharti Infratel is eyeing the acquisition of Vodafone and Idea towers in India. Sources suggest that the telecom tower infrastructures provider is in initial talks with both the companies for part or complete buyout while exploring various fundraising options.

Currently, Vodafone has 25,000 towers in India whereas Idea has 9,400 towers. However, valuation of towers is yet to be assessed.

Bharti Infratel will need to raise capital to a minimum of Rs 5,000 crore for the deal whereas, its current cash flows stands above Rs 2,000 crore.

Bharti Infratel intends to scale up in terms of number of towers in their presence and eventually, leave those towers to Idea and Vodafone as a cost-saving tool.

The timeline for completion of the deal has been set to November but may take slightly longer due to high valuations.

02:10pm Market Expert
Manish Chokhani, director, Enam Holdings is looking to utilize every correction to get deployed in the Indian equity market. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said the market will need the support of India Inc's earnings to scale to higher levels from hereon.

''We do need earnings support to come through, all the predictions that I am seeing are of 15-20 percent growth, which means on a trailing basis this market will be trading at 20 times trailing earnings. So in a matter of 18 months, the market should be 50 percent higher from here and that is if nothing blows up in the world,'' he added.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks gained further in afternoon trade with the Sensex climbing 221.16 points to 26859.27 and the Nifty rising 69.95 points to 8024.30 led by banks, auto, capital goods and oil & gas stocks.

The broader markets consistently outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining over a percent. About 1810 shares have advanced, 1000 shares declined, and 127 shares are unchanged.

Raamdeo Agarwal of Motilal Oswal expects the Nifty to hit 10000 before the elections next year.

Maruti Suzuki and Hero Motocorp topped the buying list, up 4 percent each followed by ICICI Bank, L&T, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, ONGC, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, GAIL, Coal India, Tata Power and Hindalco Industries with 1-3 percent.

Global economic data came in weak. European markets like Germany and France marginally in the red after the euro zone manufacturing PMI falling to a 13-month low of 50.7 while Spanish manufacturing data has slowed down for second straight month. Also in Asia, China manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.2 versus an 18-month high of 51.7 in July.

1:50 pm FII view: Christopher Wood, CLSA says Greed & Fear's formal view remains that investors should only overweight Asia and EMs if they have the ability to make a material overweight bet in India.

''The positive view on India, which remains our favourite stock market in Asia and EMs on a 5-year view, is worth re-iterating this week given a growing perception among investors that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not living up to expectations,'' he adds.

1:40 pm Auto expansion: South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor could set up a manufacturing plant in its biggest global market China if sales there rise to 50,000 vehicles a year, the brand's sole China agent Pang Da Automobile Trade Co said.

Ssangyong, which is majority owned by Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra, expects to sell 50,000 vehicles in China a year by 2017 at the earliest, Pang Da, one of China's biggest car dealers, said in a statement.

This year, Ssangyong expects sales of 20,000 vehicles in China, a more than three-fold jump from the 6,300 vehicles it sold a year ago.

Ssangyong Chief Executive Lee Yoo-il had raised the possibility of a joint-venture plant in China last month, Wang Yue, investor relations official at Pang Da, told Reuters.

1:30 pm Plan your holiday:  The second largest airline by market share, SpiceJet launched yet another limited period special fare scheme, 'Early Bird', offering customers ticket prices as low as Rs 499 on its domestic network.

The bookings for this three-day offer commences from today with a travel validity period between January 16 and October 24 next year, SpiceJet said in a release.

SpiceJet offers discounted flying options to destinations across the country, with one way fares starting as low as Rs 499 (including fuel surcharge but excluding applicable statutory taxes and fees), the release said. This sale will allow customers to enjoy low fares by planning their journey and holidays in advance. The sale offer is applicable on all direct, via and connecting flights on SpiceJet's domestic network.

 1:20 pm Buzzing: Not only shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) gained but even upstream companies (PSU) soared on Monday on hopes of zero diesel under-recovery to be a reality soon. HPCL , BPCL and IOC rallied 1.5-3 percent while ONGC and Oil India climbed 1.35 percent intraday. Government today said the under-recovery on high speed diesel (HSD) applicable for first fortnight of September effective today will go down to Rs 0.08 per litre.

This was Rs 1.78 per litre during second fortnight of August 2014. Gradual increase in diesel price and stable oil prices in international market pushed the diesel under-recovery near zero. During the same period, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG under-recoveries will be Rs 32.67 per litre (Rs 32.98 per litre in last fortnight) and Rs 427.82 per cylinder (Rs 447.87 per cylinder in last fortnight), respectively.

Strong rally continues on Dalal Street with major support by banks, capital goods and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex is up 195.94 points or 0.7 percent at 26834.05 and the Nifty is up 60.85 points or 0.7 percent at 8015.20. About 1757 shares have advanced, 972 shares declined, and 123 shares are unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp, Maruti, L&T, Cipla and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the top losers are in the Sensex, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite, ITC and BHEL.

Mid-cap state-run banks gain as investors unwind short positions. Traders cite better-than-expected GDP data. RBI Chairman Rajan's comments noting bad loan are not "scary" also cited as a reason.

Indian shares could fall to correct about 5 percent over the next two months, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch says in a note. BofA-Merrill says pace of reforms are "slower" than expected but adds it still expects India's earnings to double over the next 4-5 years. Mean reversion of corporate profits to GDP are among other indicators. It adds auto, cement and energy sectors will drive earnings rebound.

12:55pm Eicher Motors in demand
Eicher Motors sold 26,643 units in August, a growth of 66 percent compared to 16,062 units in same period last year led by models with engine capacity upto 350cc as well as exceeding 350cc. The stock gained 2.5 percent.

12:45pm Market Expert
Nilesh Shah of Envision Capital feels September and October could be soft months for equities as the market tries to consolidate its recent gains and build a base for the next big upmove. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says calendar 2015 could be a big year for Indian equities as inflation moderates, interest rates start coming down and corporate earnings growth shoots up.

Shah expects 10-12 percent earnings growth for this financial year, but is hopeful of a 20 percent growth in FY16. He also sees big ticket macro reforms like GST being implemented in 2015.

12:30pm PSU oil stocks in focus
Not only shares of oil marketing companies (OMCs) gained but even upstream companies (PSU) soared today on hopes of zero diesel under-recovery to be a reality soon.

Government today said the under-recovery on high speed diesel (HSD) applicable for first fortnight of September effective today will go down to Rs 0.08 per litre. This was Rs 1.78 per litre during second fortnight of August 2014.

Gradual increase in diesel price and stable oil prices in international market pushed the diesel under-recovery near zero.

During the same period, PDS kerosene and domestic LPG under-recoveries will be Rs 32.67 per litre (Rs 32.98 per litre in last fortnight) and Rs 427.82 per cylinder (Rs 447.87 per cylinder in last fortnight), respectively.

12:20pm FII View
Christopher Wood, CLSA says Greed & Fear's formal view remains that investors should only overweight Asia and EMs if they have the ability to make a material overweight bet in India.

''The positive view on India, which remains our favourite stock market in Asia and EMs on a 5-year view, is worth re-iterating this week given a growing perception among investors that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not living up to expectations,'' he adds.

12:10pm Interview
Bajaj Electricals' engineering and project business unit bagged four new orders aggregating to Rs 602 crore. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, joint managing director Anant Bajaj said billing for the new order wins could start over next 18 months.

Four orders have been secured for transmission lines in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company respectively; and rural electrification work at Bihar from North Bihar Power Distribution Company and South Bihar Power Distribution Company respectively, he said.

The company's current order book stands at Rs 2,200 crore.

12:00pm The market remained on strong footing in noon trade supported by auto, banks, PSU oil and technology stocks. The Sensex rose 205.78 points to 26843.89 and the Nifty climbed 65.30 points to 8019.65.

About 1736 shares have advanced, 934 shares declined, and 106 shares are unchanged.
 
Maruti Suzuki surged over 3 percent on strong growth in August sales numbers boosted by compact cars segment. India's largest car maker sold 1,10,776 lakh units in August, up 27 percent compared to 87,323 units in same period last year and up 9 percent compared to 1.01 lakh units in previous month.

Compact cars (Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Dzire) sales were 46759 units in August, up 53.2 percent from 30512 units in August last year while mini cars sales (Alto and WagonR) increased by 8.3 percent year-on-year to 34686 units.

Two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp too gained more than 3 percent ahead of August sales numbers. Engineering and construction major L&T jumped 2.9 percent followed by Cipla, GAIL and Tata Power with 2 percent.

11:50 am Exclusive: Bharti Infratel is eyeing the acquisition of Vodafone and Idea towers in India. Sources suggest that the telecom major is in initial talks with both the companies for part or complete buyout while exploring various fundraising options.

Currently, Vodafone has 25,000 towers in India whereas Idea has 9,400 towers. However, valuation of towers is yet to be assessed.

Bharti Infratel has a cash flow of over Rs 2,000 crore but will need to raise capital to buyout towers.

When contacted, all three telecom players refused to comment.

11:40 am Market outlook: Super bullish Raamdeo Agrawal, Joint MD, Motilal Oswal Financial Services expects Nifty to hit 10,000 by the next Union Budget giving way to 20-25 percent run hereon. The first Budget was more about cleaning up and small incremental measures.

However, the second Budget will be full of reforms wherein all pending issues will be addressed, he says in an interview with CNBC-TV18. Agrawal believes the early players that have performed well so far will lead the market extending largest gains irrespective of their sector or size.

"There will be correction so you have to stay put with your stocks and you should feel lucky that you have those stocks in your portfolio because at enhanced price, it is very difficult to enter those stocks. Therefore, one should not get into junk stocks, stay on with blue chips whether it is small cap, midcap or large cap and that would be my thought process," he said.

11:30 am Downgrade: Shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd fall after Citigroup downgraded the stock to "sell" from "buy".

Citi cites "expensive valuation, moderate return ratios and high leverage" and says prefers Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd and Gujarat Pipavav Port.

The stock is quoting at Rs 247.25, down Rs 4.35, or 1.73 percent on the BSE.

11:20 am Big buzzing: Shares of Maruti Suzuki touched a new high of Rs 2,867.70, up 3 percent intraday on strong growth in August sales numbers boosted by compact cars segment.

The India's largest car maker sold 1,10,776 lakh units in August, up 27 percent compared to 87,323 units in same period last year and up 9 percent compared to 1.01 lakh units in previous month.

Domestic sales grew by 29.3 percent year-on-year to 98,304 units in the month gone by due to growth across segments barring mid-size vehicles while exports rose by 10.3 percent to 12,472 units during the same period.

Meanwhile, the company is confident of getting minority shareholders' nod to let parent Suzuki Motor Corp own and invest in its Gujarat facility and has no second option. "We are thinking of getting voting (done) in October... There is no plan B, I can't see why it should not happen," Chairman RC Bhargava said.

The Street seems to be celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi with great pomp and show. The market has started the September F&O  series at record high with the Nifty still holding above 8000-level. The 50-share index is up 62.35 points at 8016.70 and the Sensex is up 199.18 points at 26837.29. About 1594 shares have advanced, 712 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.

L&T, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Cipla and Gail are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata MotoCorp, Sun Pharma, BHEL, ITC and HDFC.

Factory growth eased in August from July's 17-month record pace as new orders came in at a slower clip, a business survey showed.

The HSBC Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, fell to 52.4 in August from 53.0 in July but chalked up its tenth month above the 50 mark that divides growth from contraction.

The new orders sub-index fell to 54.5 from 55.9, still considered a healthy pace of expansion.
"Output and new orders slowed slightly in August, but remained robust relative to their 12-month history," said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC.

10:55am Maruti on buyers' radar
Shares of Maruti Suzuki touched a new high of Rs 2,867.70, up 3 percent on strong growth in August sales numbers boosted by compact cars segment.

India's largest car maker sold 1,10,776 lakh units in August, up 27 percent compared to 87,323 units in same period last year and up 9 percent compared to 1.01 lakh units in previous month.

Domestic sales grew by 29.3 percent year-on-year to 98,304 units in the month gone by due to growth across segments barring mid-size vehicles while exports rose by 10.3 percent to 12,472 units during the same period.

10:40am Natco Pharma at new high
Investors lapped up shares of Natco Pharma on Monday after its marketing partner, Mylan Inc filed ANDA for generic Copaxone (to treat patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis).

"Marketing partner in the USA, Mylan Inc has filed an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for a three-times-a-week generic Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection, 40 mg/mL) and has been accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA)," said the company in its filing.

Mylan believes it is one of the first companies to have filed a substantially complete ANDA containing a Paragraph IV certification for this product and expects to be eligible for 180 days of marketing exclusivity in the US upon final FDA approval.

10:30am HSBC PMI data
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Purchasing Managers'Index (PMI) dipped slightly from July's 17-month high of 53.0 to 52.4 in August.

"The data highlighted a tenth consecutive monthly improvement in operating conditions in August, as solid output growth was supported by strong expansions in total new orders and business from abroad. Purchasing activity continued to rise, although a second consecutive decline in employment was recorded. Meanwhile, input cost pressures eased slightly following the acceleration seen in July," said HSBC in its report.

10:20am Bajaj Electricals in News
Shares of Bajaj Electricals gained as much as 6.4 percent in early trade Monday on getting four orders in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and West Bengal.

"Engineering and project business unit of the company has bagged orders worth Rs 26.05 crore and 40.25 crore for transmission lines in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) and West Bengal State Electricity Transmission Company, respectively," said the company in its filing.

Other two orders worth Rs 314.87 crore and Rs 220.95 crore were for rural electrification works at Bihar from North Bihar Power Distribution Company and South Bihar Power Distribution Company, respectively, it added.

10:10am FII View
Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, Bank of America Merrill Lynch says the brokerage house continues to be bullish in the long-term on the Indian market and believes that buying on dips is a particularly compelling strategy.

''Our bullishness is driven by the bottoming of the earnings cycle, a view we first articulated a year ago saying that earnings would double over next 4-5 years. We continue to reinforce our message that earnings are set to double over next 4 years to FY18 and market returns could mirror earnings growth,'' he adds.

10:00am Equity benchmarks jumped to all-time high with the Sensex rising 190.82 points to 26828.93 and the Nifty climbing 60.60 points to 8014.95 aided by banks, infrastructure and technology stocks.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining a percent each. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1379 to 501 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of L&T, Hindalco Industries, Cipla, GAIL and Tata Power topped the buying list, up more than 2 percent followed by State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India and Tata Steel with 1-1.8 percent.

However, HDFC, Sun Pharma and Tata Motors were only losers in the Sensex.

In the midcap space, ESS DEE Aluminium, Linde India, Lakshmi Machine, Crompton Greaves and Suzlon Energy rallied 4-5.5 percent while among smallcaps, Essar Shipping, Insecticides India, Nilkamal, Munjal Showa and Kewal Kiran jumped 5-10 percent.

9:45 am Udayan Mukherjee's opinion: The Nifty is likely to touch 9,000 before finance minister Arun Jaitley presents his next Union Budget, says Udayan Mukherjee.

On the global front, liquidity continues to be strong and volatility is low. Good news from the European Central Bank (ECB) in terms of rates can cheer global markets, he says. However, one needs to keep an eye on the geopolitical situation, which can blindside and emerge as a risk, he cautions.

Further, he adds that chances of a massive decline in global markets due to slew of expected rate hikes by global central banks is low. Market participants who have well constructed portfolios, comprising of pharma and auto stocks shouldn't take profits, he recommends. Also, one should stick to sectors like banks, auto ancillaries and select infrastructure stocks, he adds. ''Stocks like Sun Pharma and Maruti have done well in the past few sessions. Consumer names are also coming back in flavour,'' he adds. On the flipside, one should avoid stocks in the metals and mining sector which are likely to be impacted by the coal scam.

The Nifty has hit record high at 8000 just minutes after opening at an all time high. The 50-share index is up 50.15 points at 8004.50. The Sensex is up 169.79 points at 26807.90. About 824 shares have advanced, 188 shares declined, and 45 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, NTPC, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco and L&T are major gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL and Infosys.

The Indian rupee opened flat at 60.50 per dollar versus 60.50 Thursday. Euro slipped to a fresh one-year low early as the situation in Ukraine worsened. Meanwhile, pressure on the euro helped the dollar index reach a high not seen in over 13 months.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered said, "Expect rupee to trade in the range of 60.35-60.70/dollar. The downside will attract buying from local banks whereas any spike above 60.60/dollar will see exporter hedging."

He further added, "The market will keep an eye on geo-political news from Ukraine after we have seen some escalation in tensions there."

In the US, stocks rose on Friday, lifting the S&P 500 to another record finish, as investors welcomed a better-than-expected read on US consumer confidence and bypassed geopolitical worries. However, US markets will be shut today on account of labour day.

In commodities, Brent crude oil rose to 103 dollars after reports indicate Russian troops had entered Ukraine in support of pro-Moscow rebels, intensifying a separatist war.

Key event to watch today, the Supreme Court will decide what to do with captive coal blocks, having deemed more than 200 allocations made since 1993 to be illegal. While writing their order, one of the biggest questions before chief justice R M Lodha and his fellow judges will relate to the 40-odd blocks where mining has already started.