Nifty ends at 8734, Sensex up 85 points amid consolidation; ITC up

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended off day's high amid consolidation Thursday after strong Budget rally in previous session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 84.97 points at 28226.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 17.85 points at 8734.25. The market breadth was also positive as about 1530 shares advanced against 1248 declining shares on the exchange.

ITC, Infosys, TCS, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs and Bharti Airtel rallied 1-3 percent while Tata Motors, L&T, M&M, HUL and Bajaj Auto fell 1-2.5 percent.

3:18 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks erased gains in late trade on profit booking. The Sensex was up 36.72 points at 28178.36 and the Nifty gained 4.15 points at 8720.55.

3:03 pm Interview: In an interview to CNBC-TV18, PN Vasudevan, MD of Equitas Holdings spoke about the results and his outlook for the company.

Speaking about the numbers, he said gross non-performing asset (NPA) would have been 2.95 percent if RBI dispensation was not used.

Asset under management (AUM) growth was marginally up 1-2 percent quarter-on-quarters as disbursements were down 24.5 percent QoQ, he said. Hopefully, disbursements should return to normalcy in Q4, he added.

Vasudevan further added that Q4 expected to be good considering it is a peak quarter.

2:52 pm Results: FMCG major Marico said consolidated profit during October-December quarter fell by 6.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 191.64 crore. It was impacted by lower revenue but supported by margin performance.

Revenue during the quarter declined 7.4 percent to Rs 1,416.71 crore on yearly basis, with domestic volume growth of negative 4 percent, which was ahead of estimates of negative 5-6 percent.

Operating profit during the quarter slipped 6.1 percent to Rs 272.4 crore but margin expanded by 30 basis points to 19.2 percent due to lower raw material cost and advertising cost.

2:35 pm S&P on Budget: Union Budget 2017-18 shows India's commitment to improve fiscal performance but heavy debt burden and weak public finances remain key rating constraints, S&P Global Ratings said today.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budget for next fiscal in Parliament yesterday in which he planned to cut fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent and 3 percent of GDP for next financial year and 2018-19 respectively. The deficit in the current fiscal is estimated to be 3.5 percent of GDP.

"India's 2017-2018 budget illustrates the government's commitment to improving its fiscal performance over the medium term, despite the hit to near-term growth from the demonetisation initiative," S&P said.

2:19 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices gained further with the Nifty reclaiming 8750 for the first time since October 6, 2016.

The Sensex rose 136.05 points at 28277.69 and the Nifty advanced 36.10 points to 8752.50.

2:16 pm Earnings: Homegrown retail major Future Enterprises today reported a standalone net loss of Rs 41.64 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2016.

The company, earlier known as Future Retail (FRL), had posted a net profit of Rs 220.88 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

Future Enterprises' total income from operations stood at Rs 944.73 crore in the quarter under review compared to Rs 3,333.14 crore in the year-ago period, the company said in a BSE filing.

The figures, it said, are not comparable due to demerger of the retail business into Bharti Retail and demerger of the retail infrastructure of FRL into the company.

Also read - Buy, sell, hold: Top stock picks post Budget 2017

2:00 pm Market Check: The market has extended its gain in afternoon trade, with the 30-share BSE Sensex rising 111.76 points to 28253.40, driven by ITC, Infosys and ICICI Bank.

The 50-share NSE Nifty  22.70 points at 8739.10, the highest trading level since October 10, 2016. The market breadth was positive as about 1494 shares advanced against 1168 declining shares on the BSE.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, ITC, Infosys, Axis Bank, Idea Cellular and Bank of Baroda were top gainers, while top losers include M&M, Tata Motors, GAIL, HDFC, Tata Steel and Hindalco.

European bourses were mixed as investors eyed corporate earnings and waited for the latest economic assessments of the Bank of England.

1:25 pm Earnings: State-owned Vijaya Bank has reported nearly four-fold jump in its net profit to Rs 230.28 crore for the third quarter ended December 31 despite rise in bad loans.

The bank had posted a net profit of Rs 52.61 crore in the October-December quarter of the 2015-16 fiscal, it said in a BSE filing today.

The bank's total income rose to Rs 3,714.37 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 3,237.02 crore in the same period a year ago, Vijaya Bank said.

The bank's gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rose to 6.98 percent as against 4.32 percent in the same quarter last fiscal.

Net NPAs rose to 4.74 percent in the quarter under review compared to 2.98 percent a year ago.

As a result, provision for bad loans have significantly increased to Rs 424.17 crore as against Rs 278.72 crore in the year-ago period.

1:00 pm Market Check
The market remained listless in afternoon trade as investors await RBI policy and more corporate reports after pricing in Union Budget.

Technology, healthcare, select banks and FMCG stocks retained strength while infra, auto and HDFC Group stocks saw profit booking after rally in previous session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 20.95 points at 28162.59 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 0.60 points at 8717.

Geoffrey Dennis of UBS Investment Bank said that the Nifty was fairly valued at about 16.5 times next year earnings but added that if the demonetisation-induced slowdown eases and India goes back to 8 percent growth next year, the market looks "interesting" to foreign investors.

He is pencilling in two rate cuts, this month and in April.

NHPC gained 5 percent as board of directors will consider share buyback on February 7. IL&FS Engineering also surged 5 percent on letter of intent for rural electrification works worth Rs 515.5 crore.

Idea Cellular rebounded 4 percent after yesterday's profit booking. The stock surged more than 65 percent in 10 consecutive sessions after Vodafone and the company confirmed talks of merger.

12:45 pm GDP Growth: India is expected to clock a GDP growth of 7.1 percent in 2017-18 as the country gets sufficiently remonetised and the schemes in the Budget play a supportive role, says an HSBC report.

The uptick in the growth numbers would be largely driven by the remonetisation process which is expected by April end as this in turn would boost the consumption levels in the country.

"We expect GDP to grow at 7.1 percent year-on-year in 2017-18, up from 6.3 percent in 2016-17, as the country gets sufficiently remonetised (by April-end), and consumption moves back to pre-demonetisation levels," HSBC India Chief Economist Pranjul Bhandari said.

Growth numbers will be largely consumption driven as investment is expected to be a drag.

12:25 pm Earnings: Mumbai-based real estate firm Godrej Properties reported healthy growth in third quarter earnings despite currency demonetisation. Profit on consolidated basis increased nearly 3-fold year-on-year to Rs 77.2 crore on strong response to new launches.

Total income from operations during the quarter increased 109.6 percent to Rs 518.2 crore compared with Rs 247.2 crore in same quarter last year.

"Response to new project launches in Noida and Pune has been excellent despite challenging market conditions. As we commence the final quarter of the financial year, we look forward to building on this momentum." Pirojsha Godrej, Managing Director and CEO said.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market remained directionless in noon trade, with the Nifty hovering around 8700 as investors remained on the sideline after pricing in Union Budget. Corporate earnings and RBI policy are next key events.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 39.32 points at 28102.32 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 19.90 points to 8696.50.

Infosys, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs, Coal India and NTPC were top gainers among Sensex stocks, up 1.5-2 percent while HDFC, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, M&M and L&T fell 1-2.5 percent.

Asian stocks came under pressure as investors flooded into safe haven plays as the administration of President Donald Trump moves on fronts as diverse as Iran, global trade, immigration and the Supreme Court less than two weeks after taking office.

Gold edged up today, as the dollar weakened after the US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged at its first meeting since President Donald Trump's inauguration. US gold futures were up 0.73 percent, to USD 1,217 an ounce.

11:48 am EIR from USFDA: Drug firm Dishman Pharma has received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator on closure of inspection of its Bavla facility in Gujarat.

"The company's Bavla facility was successfully inspected by the USFDA in July, 2016, which was intimated to the stock exchanges on July 9, 2016. In this regard, the company has received the Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the USFDA for this facility on February 1, 2017," Dishman Pharma said in a regulatory filing.

USFDA releases a copy of the EIR to the establishment that was the subject of an FDA or FDA-contracted inspection when the agency determines the inspection to be closed.

11:35 am Earnings estimates: FMCG major Marico's third quarter consolidated profit is seen declining 2.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 193.5 crore and revenue may fall 5.4 percent to Rs 1,472 crore as domestic volume is expected to decline 5-6 percent.

Operating profit during the quarter is likely to fall 6.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 275.6 crore and margin may contract 20 basis points to 18.7 percent, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Key factors to watch out for would be cut in prices for coconut oil by 2.5-3 percent during the quarter, lower growth in discretionary part of portfolio (Value Added Hair Oils & Safolla) and margin guidance.

11:20 am Market Expert: Even though the Budget for FY18 played it safe, it didn't address the issues that the Street expected it to, according to Udayan Mukherjee, Consulting Editor of CNBC-TV18. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget speech didn't spell out much for the informal economy; however, there could be an upside to the market, he said, adding that Nifty could hit 8900-9000 levels.

The market continues to be good, unsullied by the Budget announcement, but global outcomes can be a source of worry, Mukherjee said. The Dalal Street is of the view that the markets have shaken off the demonetisation hit induced in November and December, and is back to normal, he said.

11:00 am Market Check
Benchmark as well as broader indices continued to consolidate as investors digested Union Budget and await RBI policy due next week & more corporate earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 16.60 points to 28125.04 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 9.20 points to 8707.20 but the market breadth remained positive as about 1335 shares advanced against 994 declining shares on the BSE.

Tata Motors fell 1.6 percent on profit booking as it already digested auto sales data announced yesterday after market hours. Eicher Motors also fell 2 percent on profit taking. Infosys rebounded after losses in previous two consecutive sessions due to H1-B visa woes.

However, run up in ITC, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Sun Pharma continued in today's trade as well.

Oil prices fell after official data showed US crude and gasoline stockpiles rose sharply, although signs that OPEC and other producers are holding the line on output cuts are helping support prices. Brent crude futures fell 0.33 percent, to USD 56.61 a barrel after settling up USD 1.22 in the previous session.

10:59 am Market Update: Benchmark indices remained volatile with the Sensex rising 29.27 points to 28170.91 and the Nifty gaining 2.40 points at 8718.80.

About 1360 shares advanced against 886 declining shares on the BSE.

10:50 am Auto sales: Bajaj Auto said its total sales in January fell by 18 percent to 2.42 lakh units compared with 2.93 lakh units in year-ago month, but grew by 7.3 percent on month-on-month basis.

Exports slipped 19 percent year-on-year to 1.06 lakh units and domestic sales declined 16 percent to 1.35 lakh units in the month gone by.

The company said 3-wheeler sales fell by 27 percent to 30,093 units while motorcycle sales dropped 16 percent ot 2.12 lakh units compared with year-ago month.

10:42 am Interview: Merging all the oil companies into one entity looks difficult even though it has financial benefits, says HPCL's Chairman and Managing Director, MK Surana, commenting on the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Budget proposal to merge state oil firms to create an oil behemoth. 'Size of a company does matter in the oil industry', he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had expressed views similar to Surana in a post-Budget interview when he said it ''wouldn't be wise to put all eggs in one basket'' and there would be 'multi' oil PSUs. 

Surana noted the concept of integration is not new to the oil industry and was expected for some time.

AK Srinivasan, Director Finance at ONGC believes it is early to comment as there is not much clarity on how integration roadmap will be laid out. However, he believes integration will improve financial leverage of oil companies.

10:30 am Expansion: NLC is going to set up more renewable energy plants in various places of Tamil Nadu at a cost of Rs 2170 crore with a capacity of 500 MW, as a part of NLCIL's Solar Mission of 4000 MW in various
parts of the country.

10:20 am Earnings estimates: Healthcare firm Glenmark Pharma's third quarter profit is expected to jump 77 percent year-on-year to Rs 303 crore and revenue may increase 33.4 percent to Rs 2,372 crore, driven by likely better growth in US business.

Operating profit during the quarter is seen rising 38 percent to Rs 547 crore and margin may expand 70 basis points to 23 percent compared with year-ago period, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

For US business, the company may benefit from USD 2.6 billion worth Zetia generic, a cholesterol drug that launched with exclusivity on December 12 in US.

10:00 am Market Check
The market continues to be rangebound after a stellar rally post Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's Union Budget speech. The Sensex is up 28.36 points at 28170.00, and the Nifty up 1.05 points at 8717.45. About 1120 shares have advanced, 717 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

ITC, Bharti, NTPC, ICICI Bank and ONGC are top gainers while M&M, Tata Motors, Wipro, GAIL and HDFC are losers in the Sensex.

Ridham Desai, Head of India Equity Research and India Equity Strategist, Morgan Stanley said there was an upside rise to global growth this year and that as long as global factors remain supportive, India would be okay. He said that India was actually under-performing in comparison its emerging markets, especially at a time when global growth is on the upswing.

9:55 am FII view: The 2017-18 Union Budget has the shortest list of bad news for the markets in nearly two decades, said Ridham Desai, Head of India Equity Research and India Equity Strategist at Morgan Stanley.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Desai that unlike his predecessors, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had resisted the temptation to plant bombs in the fine print of the Budget.

Desai said that clarifications on Foreign Portfolio Investors and indirect transfers were positive developments for transparency, and said the only cause for concern in the Budget was the divestment target of Rs 72,500 crore.

He said that India had retained its macro stability reputation and was ahead of its peers on this count.

9:45 am Budget views: The Budget 2017-18 has provided an impetus to manufacturing, export infrastructure and government e-marketplace, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. She said that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced several measures for the ministry.

The Budget "provides renewed impetus to manufacturing and Make in India, export infrastructure and government e-marketplace," she said in a statement.

The measures include proposed scheme for creating employment in leather and footwear industries, further liberalisation of FDI policy and abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

9:30 am FII View: Sanjay Mookim of Bank of America Merrill Lynch says Budget 2017 seems to have resisted the temptation of a fiscal expansion, limiting FY18 deficit at 3.2 percent of GDP. Revenue assumptions seem achievable with risk to oil excise numbers if crude rises, he adds.

According to him, sectors such as staples/cement may benefit from the rural focus, banks may benefit from the focus on digital and affordable housing.

Yet, he sees little reason to change December 2017-end Sensex fair value estimate of 29,000.

With the sharp post-demonetisation rally, this leaves little upside room, and may imply some risk of a near-term pull back, Mookim feels.

9:15 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks started off Thursday's trade on a flat note after yesterday's 486 points rally on the Sensex driven by Budget.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 28.74 points at 28112.90 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 16.10 points to 8700.30.

ITC, ICICI Bank, NTPC, SBI, ONGC, NTPC and BPCL gained further in early trade, up 0.5-2 percent while M&M fell 2 percent after a 10 percent decline in auto sales in January.

Idea Cellular slipped further, down 1.7 percent on profit booking. Tata Motors, Aurobindo Pharma, Coal India, Hero Motocorp and Wipro were also under pressure.

The Indian rupee gained in early trade today. It has opened higher by 4 paise at 67.44 per dollar.

On Wednesday, the rupee ended at 67.48 per dollar, up 39 paise against Tuesday's close 67.86. It was a biggest single session gain reported by the rupee since May 25, 2016.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank says, "As expected, US Federal Reserve has maintained status quo. Odds of dollar weakness is increasing despite strong data from US on account of statements from the Trump administration."

The Union Budget is positive for Indian equities and INR. The USD-INR pair is expected to trade in a range of 67.30-67.60/dollar for the day, he feels.

The dollar index slipped against a basket of major currencies as the Fed opts to leave rates unchanged.

Asian markets were trading lower, with the Hang Seng and Straits Times falling 0.6 percent each.