Nifty ends tad above 8700, Sensex falls 115 points; Reliance up 2%

3:30 pm Market closing: After a volatile day, the market ended lower dragged by banks. The Sensex closed down 114.77 points or 0.4 percent at 28106.21 and the Nifty was down 34.40 points or 0.4 percent at 8709.55. About 1367 shares have advanced, 1513 shares declined, and 132 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, HUL, ONGC and HDFC were top gainers while Cipla, NTPC, M&M, Infosys and ICICI Bank were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Midcap losers: Midcap index loses 1 percent from previous close.

Meanwhile, YES Bank recovered after it issued clarfication to the exchanges that "no such correspondence has been recieved by YES Bank from SEBI and the bank is not privy to any such communication as being referred." The stock was down reacting to a news report that the private lender  had violated norms its USD 1 billion qualified institutional placement (QIP) and market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) has initiated a probe.

3:00 pm Fund raising: State-owned UCO Bank today said it will sell 7.17 crore shares to LIC on a preferential basis, which may fetch about Rs 270 crore to the bank.

The board of the bank at its meeting has approved a proposal for issue of 7.17 crore shares of Rs 10 each to Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on a preferential basis at a price to be determined in accordance with Sebi regulation, UCO Bank said in a statement.

With the preferential share allotment, LIC stake in the bank will increase by 5.5 percent. Currently, insurance companies, including LIC, holds 12.02 percent stake in the bank.

2:50 pm Market closing: The Sensex is down 159.95 points or 0.6 percent at 28061.03, and the Nifty is down 53.80 points or 0.6 percent at 8690.15. About 1224 shares have advanced, 1588 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.

2:45 pm Exclusive: According to CNBC-TV sources, Finance Ministry is likely to present Union Budget on February 2.

2:30 pm Losers: Auto, Bankex, Healthcare and IT indices are struggling while Oil & Gas index is still up 3 percent from previous close. NTPC, Cipla, ICICI Bank, M&M ans Axis Bank are losers.

The market is struggling in red with the Sensex down 76.43 points or 0.3 percent at 28144.55. The Nifty is down 23.30 points or 0.3 percent at 8720.65. About 1322 shares have advanced, 1447 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, HUL, ONGC and Maruti are top gainers while NTPC, M&M, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Dr Reddy's Labs are losers in the Sensex. Media, media and pharma stocks slip most.

Meanwhile, IMF says that the world is swimming in a record USD 152 trillion in debt, even as the institution encourages some countries to spend more to boost flagging growth if they can afford it.

Global debt, both public and private, reached 225 percent of global economic output last year, up from about 200 percent in 2002, the IMF said in its new Fiscal Monitor report.

The IMF said about about two thirds of the 2015 total, or about USD 100 billion, is owed by private sector borrowers, and noted that rapid increases in private debt often lead to financial crises.

1:50 pm Stake sale: State Bank of India is looking to sell 5 percent stake in its life insurance arm SBI Life. The country's largest bank owns 74 percent in SBI Life while its foreign partner BNP Paribas owns 26 percent.

The stake sale will help infuse funds into the bank's balance sheet and help it discover price for a potential IPO for SBI Life. Currently, the insurer could be valued at Rs 30,000 crore though merchant bankers will be appointed to come up with a value.

SBI is currently talked to private-equity investors and institutions for the stake sale.

1:45 pm Market slips: The market slips into red with the Nifty struggling below 8750. The 50-share index is down 5.40 points at 8738.55 and the Sensex is down 19.54 points at 28201.44, and the Nifty About 1491 shares have advanced, 1224 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged. ICICI Bank, M&M, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs and Cipla are losers in the Sensex while GAIL, Reliance, HUL, BHEL and ONGC are gainers.

1:30 pm Interview: While it is reasonable to expect India will see high economic growth, private sector investments may take some time to kick in, says Mahindra & Mahindra's Executive Director Pawan Goenka.

Capacity utilisation across industries still averages 70-75 percent and investments are unlikely to start before demand lifts utilisation levels to 85-odd percent, he says. Other aspects like leverage and credit availability are also stumbling blocks in private investment right now. It might take a year or so for these issues to get sorted, he adds.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit, Goenka says the last 12 months have been good for India. He believes the government has put growth on priority and there are enough levers to propel growth, but it now remains to be seen if all the levers will work well together as anticipated.

The Sensex is up 70.80 points or 0.2 percent at 28291.78 and the Nifty is up 27 points or 0.3 percent at 8770.95. About 1713 shares have advanced, 938 shares declined, and 126 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, ONGC, HUL and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex while Axis Bank, Infosys, ICICI Bank, M&M and Dr Reddy's Labs are major losers in the Sensex. Metals and oil & Gas rise index 1 and 3.7 percent respectively.

European stocks opened mildly higher Thursday, boosted by buoyant trade in Asia and the US and a rise in oil prices.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.25 percent. European stocks got a fillip from their Asian counterparts on Thursday as well as the bounce in US stocks after a slew of economic data.

Asian markets were bolstered by a rise in oil prices which on Thursday remained near the June highs reached in the previous session. Traders said the price dips early on Thursday were largely a result of profit-taking following strong rises the day before, Reuters reported.

12:55 pm FM's optimism: India strongly supports the capital increase in the World Bank, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said and expressed the country's readiness to take a larger share in the global lender than the dynamic formula.

In his meeting with World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, Jaitley acknowledged the long-standing and mutually beneficial relationship between the World Bank Group and India since its inception and called on the Bank to work together with the member countries to explore innovative financing solutions.

12:45 pm Jet fuel license: The Indian arm of British oil giant BP Plc has received a license from the government to sell jet fuel in India, its country head said on Thursday.

"India is a huge market ... Obviously we are a very large player globally in the aviation business, so it makes sense for us to be here," said Sashi Mukundan, regional president and India country head for BP .

Mukundan said BP will soon start local sales of aviation turbine fuel (ATF).

He declined to elaborate on whether BP will sell fuel on its own or tie up with an Indian partner.

12:30 pm FII view: After forecasting 10 percent plus earnings in fiscal years 2015 and 2016, both of which turned out to be nearly flat in terms of profit growth, analysts hoping for a 15 percent earnings rise in 2017 may again have to revise estimates lower, says Pramod Gubbi. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Gubbi, Director - Institutional Sales, Ambit Singapore, however, said earnings were on course for a turnaround almost definitely in fiscal 2018 and 2017 was not a cause of concern as the financial year has been halfway through. Gubbi was speaking about earnings in the context of the broader stock market, which, he said, appears to be in a steady state given the liquidity situation globally. While it is difficult to estimate when liquidity will turn, Gubbi said that as long as earnings growth comes through, investors need not worry too much.

The market is going steady but IT stocks are under pressure. The Sensex is up 67.39 points or 0.2 percent at 28288.37 and the Nifty is up 23.10 points or 0.3 percent at 8767.05. About 1640 shares have advanced, 885 shares declined, and 122 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, ONGC, BHEL and HUL are top gainers while Infosys, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs are top losers in the Sensex.

The Reserve Bank of India has embarked on a significant but potentially risky shift towards greater tolerance of higher inflation under new governor Urjit Patel, prompting markets to price in another rate cut.

On Tuesday, Patel and the newly formed monetary policy panel cut the policy rate by 25 basis points and softened the RBI's stance on the timeline for meeting its inflation target, indicating that it had until 2021 to reach it.

And by lowering its real interest rate target to 1.25 percent, from the 1.5-2 percent band set by Patel's predecessor Raghuram Rajan, the RBI gave itself more room to cut rates further.

The moves sent the benchmark 10-year bond yield down to a more than 7-year low on Wednesday, on expectations of another rate cut, either in December or February.

11:55 am Exclusive: US-based consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (P&G) is looking to increase stake in its Indian arm and is considering buy-back as an option, reports CNBC-TV18. P&G currently holds about 70.6 percent in the Indian entity and plans to increase the stake up to 75 percent, sources say. Two bankers have been reportedly appointed to chart out the possibility of increasing the stake, pricing and such and the deal is expected to be finalised within the next 2-3 months.

US-based consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (P&G) is looking to increase stake in its Indian arm and is considering buy-back as an option, reports CNBC-TV18. P&G currently holds about 70.6 percent in the Indian entity and plans to increase the stake up to 75 percent, sources say. Two bankers have been reportedly appointed to chart out the possibility of increasing the stake, pricing and such and the deal is expected to be finalised within the next 2-3 months.

US-based consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (P&G) is looking to increase stake in its Indian arm and is considering buy-back as an option, reports CNBC-TV18. P&G currently holds about 70.6 percent in the Indian entity and plans to increase the stake up to 75 percent, sources say. Two bankers have been reportedly appointed to chart out the possibility of increasing the stake, pricing and such and the deal is expected to be finalised within the next 2-3 months.

11:45 am Interview: Tyre stocks of late have been on a tear on the back of a buzz that there would be anti-dumping duty on imported tyres. However, when CNBC-TV18 spoke to Vivek Kamra, President, JK Tyre, he said there was no specific update yet on that.

Rubber prices, he said, for the last two quarters, have been on an uptick but in the last month and a half they have fallen again, so the margins would continue to be under pressure in the near-term, and impact of lower prices would be seen in next quarter.

The medium-term outlook for margins is good with rubber prices expected to go down further and reasonably strong demand, he said.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Aurobindo Pharma jumped 3 percent intraday on Thursday after it lost bid to buy global giant Teva's European assets.  Ahmedabad drugmaker Intas Pharmaceuticals has pipped Aurobindo Pharma in Teva's European assets.

The loss is seen as positive for Aurobindo as it removes near term overhang of potential equity dilution, increasing debt and integration issues.

The market is still holding its gains as the Sensex is up 69.47 points or 0.2 percent at 28290.45 and the Nifty up 21.00 points or 0.2 percent at 8764.95. About 1555 shares have advanced, 806 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, ONGC, BHEL and HUL are top gainers while Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Infosys, Dr Reddy's Labs and Coal India are losers in the Sensex.

Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak Institutional Equities expects net profits of the Kotak Instituinal Equities' universe to increase 15.3 percent YoY, led by a sharp increase in profits of downstream oil companies. He expects YoY growth in net income of automobile, cement, consumer products and industrials sectors.

"We see banking sector dragging overall earnings as companies in the sector are likely to make high provisions for bad loans. We expect net profit of the BSE-30 Index to grow 4 percent YoY. Excluding banking companies, we expect net income to grow 9.8 percent YoY," he says.

10:50 am Global debt at record high: Worldwide public and private debt is at an all-time high, posing a substantial impediment to getting global economic growth back to normal, the International Monetary Fund said.

The easy money policies of the world's top central banks has fed the problem, stoking a private-sector credit binge in China and rising public debt in some low-income countries, the IMF said in a new report.

Meanwhile, slow economic growth is making it hard for both companies and countries to cut their debt burdens - a process that can also drag on growth momentum because deleveraging companies slow spending and investment.

10:30 am Blessing in disguise? Ahmedabad drugmaker Intas Pharmaceuticals has pipped Aurobindo Pharma in buying global giant Teva's European assets.

Intas is buying Teva's European assets for USD 764 million in an all-cash deal.

Intas Pharma offer was higher than Aurobindo Pharma.

Intas will be buying Teva's products sold through erstwhile Actavis' operations. It will emerge as a top player in the UK generics market.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Prakash Diwan of Altamount Capital Management said that Aurobindo is having its plate full.

The market is gradually picking as the Sensex is up 95.11 points or 0.3 percent at 28316.09, and the Nifty up 28.95 points or 0.3 percent at 8772.90. About 1471 shares have advanced, 545 shares declined, and 86 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, BHEL, ONGC and HUL are top gainers in the Sensex while Axis Bank, Infosys, Adani Ports, Coal India and Dr Reddy's Labs are losers in the Sensex.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Bank expects  the Sensex to post earnings growth of 10.2 percent YoY in the September quarter, the first double-digit growth in the past 10 quarters. ''For a market that has been concerned over high valuations and waiting for over two years now for double-digit earnings growth, this could be a potent catalyst,'' he adds.

However he is concerned over global macros and hence maintains a near-term cautious stance on the market with a December Sensex target of 27,000. He has reiterated overweight stance on domestic/defensive sectors, i.e. consumers, utilities, energy, and healthcare.

9:45 am IMF: Worldwide public and private debt is at an all-time high, posing a substantial impediment to getting global economic growth back to normal, the International Monetary Fund said today.

The easy money policies of the world's top central banks has fed the problem, stoking a private-sector credit binge in China and rising public debt in some low-income countries, the IMF said in a new report.

Meanwhile, slow economic growth is making it hard for both companies and countries to cut their debt burdens - a process that can also drag on growth momentum because deleveraging companies slow spending and investment.

9:30 am FII view: Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Bank said, "Based on a bottom-up aggregate of Deutsche Bank analyst estimates, we expect Sensex to post earnings growth of 10.2 percent YoY in the September quarter, the first double-digit growth in the past 10 quarters. For a market that has been concerned over high valuations and waiting for over two years now for double-digit earnings growth, this could be a potent catalyst."

"However, while we are excited over what appears to be the return of a strong earnings growth trajectory, we remain concerned over global macros and hence maintain a near-term cautious stance on the market with a December Sensex target of 27,000. We reiterate our overweight stance on domestic/defensive sectors, i.e. consumers, utilities, energy, and healthcare," he added.

The market has opened in green. The Sensex is up 86.22 points or 0.3 percent at 28307.20, and the Nifty is up 24.75 points or 0.3 percent at 8768.70. About 448 shares have advanced, 90 shares declined, and 28 shares are unchanged.

Reliance, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Tata Motors and L&T are top gainers while Axis Bank, Cipla, Coal India, Infosys and Dr Reddy's Labs are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 66.56 per dollar on Thursday versus 66.50 Wednesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Dollar has been strengthening this week against most currencies with rising expectations of a Fed rate hike in December."

"Rupee however has been resilient in a range. USD-INR trading range for the day seen between 66.40-66.65/dollar," he added.

The dollar held steady against a basket of currencies as upbeat data on US services sector offset a weaker-than-expected report on private job growth, while the euro was broadly higher in step with a rise in higher euro zone bond yields.

Asian shares firmed encouraged by stronger US economic data and a rise in oil prices, while growing prospects of a US rate hike hit gold and the boosted the dollar to one-month highs versus the yen. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 percent while Japan's Nikkei gained 0.9 percent.

Stocks on Wall Street rose led by the energy sector as oil prices rallied and as financials gained on the increasing likelihood of an interest rate hike after strong economic data.

US services sector activity recovered sharply in September from six-year low hit in August, following similarly upbeat news from US factories on Monday.

Euro zone bond yields have picked up since then, with Germany's 10-year Bund yield rising back to near zero percent from 2 1/2-month low of minus 0.16 percent hit last week.

Oil prices rose to their highest since June after the fifth unexpected weekly drawdown in US crude inventories added to support on hopes that major producers will agree to cut output next month.