Nifty ends tad below 8750,Sensex in green; Tata Steel, Bharti up

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended in green. The Sensex was up 69.11 points or 0.2 percent at 28292.81, and the Nifty closed up 38.75 points or 0.4 percebt at 8745.15. About 1622 shares have advanced, 1030 shares declined, and 222 shares are unchanged. Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Adani Ports and BHEL were top gainers while Reliance, Coal India, HUL, Sun Pharma and Wipro were losers in the Sensex.

3:05 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained volatile ahead of F&O expiry. The Sensex was up 64.80 points at 28288.50 and the Nifty gained 35.40 points at 8741.80.

About 1640 shares advanced against 975 declining shares on the BSE.

2:54 pm IPO: Maharashtra-based auto component maker Endurance Technologies' public issue is set to hit the capital market on October 5. The company has fixed a price band of Rs 467-472 per share.

It is an offer for sale by selling shareholders Actis Components and Anurang Jain; hence the company will not get any money from the issue that will close on October 7.

Investors can bid for a minimum of 30 equity shares and in multiples of 30 equity shares thereafter.

Endurance Technologies manufactures a diverse range of technology-intensive automotive components for two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments. It also manufactures specified components for four-wheeler passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles and heavy commercial vehicles.

2:36 pm MRF at record high: Tyre maker MRF shares crossed the Rs 50,000 mark for the first time to hit a record high of Rs 50,190, up 7.8 percent intraday.

Its current futures & options lot size reduced to 15 shares, which was used to be 125 shares earlier.

2:20 pm Anti-dumping duty: Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) may recommend provisional anti-dumping duty on the wire rod soon, sources tell CNBC-TV18. Wire rod anti-dumping duty may have a reference price for Chinese imports.
 
The recommended reference price for cooperating exporters is USD 499 a tonne while reference the price for other exporters is fixed at USD 538 a tonne.

The minimum import price (MIP) on wire rods is part of 66 items which lapses on October 4.

Investigations were iniciated on imports of wire rods from China in June 2016. SAIL, RINL, Usha Martin and JSW filed a case for wire rod anti-dumping duty. Anti-dumping duty will be implemented once the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) notifies DGAD recomendations.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks gained further in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 114.01 points to 28337.71 and the Nifty climbing 51.35 points to 8757.75, supported by banks, auto and infra stocks.

The broader markets continued to outperform with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 1 percent each on positive breadth. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

European stocks were higher with investor sentiment buoyed by higher oil prices and a rally in the banking sector. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE rose 1 percent each.

Oil markets were also in focus as major oil producers meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria. Brent crude futures were trading at USD 46.38 a barrel, up 0.89 percent.

1:55 pm Market outlook: Equity indices Nifty and Sensex have been trading range-bound in the last few days, while geo-political uncertainties pose discontent in the investor community. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Varun Goel of Motilal Oswal AMC said that there is some nervousness due to the condition in Europe and outcome of the US Presidential election. These factors will play out time and again, but the important thing is to focus on domestic earnings recovery, he said. Goel said that the housing finance space continues to be attractive and low interest rate will be a positive for the sector. He expects housing finance companies to grow more than 20 percent in this fiscal.

1:30 pm Interview: There is a little bit of uptick in demand and so expect the third quarter of FY17 to be good is the word coming in from Sunil Duggal, CEO of FMCG major DaburIndia . The demand uptick could be on the back of better monsoon and upcoming festival and marriage season, said Duggal. However, the sustainability of the demand beyond Q4 is questionable, he said. At present there is no fresh stimulus as such. For FY17 the blended volumes (staples and discretionary) would growth 5-7 percent, on back of promotional spends. However, if inflation goes up then promotions would have to be withdrawn, said Duggal.
The market is climbing gradually as the Sensex is up 75.27 points or 0.3 percent at 28298.97 and the Nifty is up 32.05 points or 0.37% at 8738.45. About 1579 shares have advanced, 893 shares declined, and 197 shares are unchanged.

SBI, Tata Motors, BHEL, Tata Steel and Adani Ports are top gainers while Reliance, HUL, HDFC Bank, Cipla and Sun Pharma are major losers in the Sensex.

European stocks were higher with investor sentiment buoyed by higher oil prices and a rally in the banking sector. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 index was higher with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

Deutsche Bank shares rose 3 percent, bouncing back after several sessions of heavy selling. This comes after it was asked to pay a settlement by the US Department of Justice and speculation that it was seeking help from the German government.

12:59 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices remained marginally higher. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 79.60 points at 28303.30 and the 50-share NSE Nifty up 29.45 points at 8735.85.

About 1570 shares advanced against 853 declining shares on the BSE.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened in positive territory as investors wait to see if any kind of oil output deal can be salvaged from a meeting of major oil producers in Algeria.

Oil markets are in focus for markets as major oil producers meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria.

12:20 pm Buzzing: Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers shares jumped nearly 17 percent intraday after shareholders, in annual general meeting on September 27, rejected transaction with Zuari Agro Chemicals.

It is controlled by Zuari Group chairman Saroj Kumar Poddar while earlier it was owned by Vijay Mallya-led UB Group.

Promoter Zuari Fertilisers and Chemicals, the wholly owned subsidiary of Zuari Agro, held 53.03 percent stake in Mangalore Chemicals as of June 2016. Its shareholding increased from 16.47 percent to 53.03 percent in 2015 after acquisition of shares through open offer.

Shareholders have given approval for re-appointment of Akshay Poddar as director, appointment of DA Prasanna as independent director, N Suresh Krishnan as managing director and K Prabhakar Rao as director-works while disapproved appointment of VS Venkataraman as director.

12:00 pm Market Check
Benchmark indices continue to consolidate in noon trade ahead of expiry of September derivative contracts on Thursday while the broader markets consistently outperformed.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 31.43 points at 28255.13 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was up 17.35 points at 8723.75 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbed over 0.7 percent.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1502 shares advanced against 815 declining shares on the BSE.

Market is expected to move sideways till Thursday, with Nifty hovering around 8680-8750 points amidst volatility, Mitesh Thacker of miteshthacker.com said.

Tata Motors and SBI were top gainers on the Sensex, up over 1.5 percent whereas Reliance Industries fell nearly 2 percent.

11:55 am Aurobindo Pharma shares gained nearly 3 percent intraday Wednesday after it received approvals from the US health regulator for three drugs, including Zoledronic filed from unit IV that inspected during the month. The Hyderabad-based pharma company has received approval from US Food and Drug Administration for Levonorgestrel- Ethinyl Estradiol oral and Norethindrone tablets, which both are contraceptive pill. It also received approval for Zoledronic acid (also called Zometa) that is used to treat paget's disease of bone due to high levels of calcium.

11:45 am Interview: The non-banking financial companies' (NBFCs) stocks have been outperforming now for over two years but over the last six months their performance has really shot up because from April 2016, yields have fallen resulting in lower cost of funds. Also, the money flow into the lower-end of the consumer segment is expected to drive demand for loans from NBFCs, as they are difficult to get from banks.

Speaking on the outlook for the sector and the company going forward Vellayan Subbiah, Managing Director, Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company said everybody in the space has seen a decrease in the cost of funds and the company per se has shifted their mix more towards debentures.

''When we raise via debentures it is at least 100 basis points cheaper than term-loans for the same tenure, which has helped pricing,'' he said.

11:30 am Global markets view: Deutche Bank shares hit a lifetime low after the US Justice Department suggested the bank pay USD 14 billion to settle investigations related to mortgage securities. The bank is a lever to all the major institutions in Europe, which is a continent with already fragile banks and practically no economic growth. So if Deutsche Bank would debilitate then would this have a rippling effect on banks and weaken Europe further and impact global markets too is the big worry. Michael Every of Rabobank said it is difficult to say if the Germany will bail it out because although the hundred-year history of Central Banks tell you how to handle these things but currently politics seems to rule over economic logic in Europe.

The market is absolutely flat with the Nifty holding 8700 somehow. The Sensex is up 12.14 points at 28235.84 and the Nifty is up 9 points or 0.1 percent at 8715.40. About 1425 shares have advanced, 728 shares declined, and 154 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Steel and SBI are top gainers while Reliance, Sun Pharma, Wipro, HUL and Infosys are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices posted marginal gains as an industry report showing a decline in US stockpiles was offset by worries about the chances of this week's key producers meeting ending with a deal to limit output.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said yesterday that US supplies fell by 752,000 barrels last week, fuelling hopes official figures Wednesday will also show lower inventories in the world's top economy and oil consumer.

However, there are fears a deal between Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia this week will not be struck when they meet in Algeria to discuss a global supply glut and overproduction that has hammered prices for two years.

10:50 am Buzzing: Aurobindo Pharma shares gained nearly 3 percent intraday after it received approvals from the US health regulator for three drugs, including Zometa filed from unit IV that inspected in during the month.

The Hyderabad-based pharma company has received approval from US Food and Drug Administration Levonorgestrel- Ethinyl Estradiol oral tablets and Norethindrone tablets, which both are contraceptive pill.

It also received approval for Zoledronic acid (also called Zometa) that is used to treat paget's disease of bone due to high levels of calcium.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that Zoledronic acid drug was filed from it unit IV that was inspected by US FDA in September and had received 2-3 observations.

10:37 am India's ranking in WEF index: India jumped 16 places to the 39th position in the last year in the WEF's Global Competitiveness Index.

This constitutes the biggest improvemen in competitiveness among all countries, according to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) latest Global Competitiveness Report for 2016-17. It is the second consecutive year that India has gone up 16 ranks in the WEF index.

India has made strides in improvin its institutions and infrastructure on the back of reforms such as opening the economy to foreign investors and increasing transparency in the financial system.

Switzerland has set a record in global economic competitiveness even as mounting political tension and uncertainty is contributing to sluggish growth worldwide, the World Economic Forum's annual rankings showed on Wednesday.

10:20 am FII View: Prabhat Awasthi of Nomura Financial Advisory said that public sector banks have their own asset problems. He says that the capital issues still exist, but incrementally the news on non-performing assets has been better.

He believes Sensex to touch 30,500 in 2017. The lower end will be 29,000, he maintained. ''We are sticking with that because the earnings have gotten better, and there has been no major cut in earnings.''

As regards earnings, he said the overall growth profile is good.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained rangebound with the Nifty holding 8700 level ahead of expiry of September futures & options contracts due on Thursday. The market shrugged off weak Asian cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 54.32 points at 28278.02 and the 50-share NSE Nifty up 20.40 points at 8726.80 while the broader markets outperformed with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.7 percent each on strong breadth

More than two shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

Asian markets were mostly lower, despite gains in the US market on the back of the first presidential debate and a beat on consumer confidence. Japan's Nikkei fell 1.6 percent followed by China's Shanghai and Hong Kong's Hang Seng.

9:55 am FM speaks on PSU banks' asset: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said banks, especially the public sector ones, will be armed better soon to resolve the stressed assets as he expects the winter session of Parliament to clear amends to the Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA).

"We need to give public sector banks level-playing field with others. The ability of private sector banker to settle on a stressed loans would depend entirely on banking considerations but a state-run bank is still constrained by some of the obsolete laws which exist", Jaitley said.

While addressing the SBI Economic Conclave, he said, "unlike the private sector bankers the state-run banks are constrained by being public servants and the present laws on corruption (PCA of 1988) makes them wary of settling issues purely on commercial considerations".

9:45 am Market news: Emphasising the need for better coordination among financial regulators globally, Sebi Chairman UK Sinha today said markets have gone beyond the control of policymakers post 2008 credit crisis. Addressing the BRICS bond markets summit here, Sinha said after the 2008 financial crisis, the unconventional policies that global central banks are following have created serious challenges and uncertainties in global bond markets. The uncertainties have become so large that "today financial markets are beyond the control of national policymakers," he opined.

The Sebi chief noted that balance sheets of major banks like that of the US Fed, the European Central Bank, Bank of England and Bank of Japan, which have been following near-zero or even negative interest policies, have become too large.

9:30 am FII view: Gautam Chhaochharia of UBS says global macro strategy team believes that a low risk-free yields regime is likely to persist. That suggests hunt for yield and hopes of growth recovery are both playing a role in driving Indian markets, he feels.

According to him, H2FY17 growth recovery hopes will likely be dampened though as 7th Pay Commission and monsoon impact is over-estimated by street.

He says while earnings recovery will continue mildly in FY17-18, policy stance change is needed to meet street's optimistic estimates.

"Our base case is no policy stance change till early 2018 and upside scenario is one of boost by mid-2017. This gives us base case scenario of 8,000 and upside scenario of 8,800 for Nifty for 2016-end," Chhaochharia says.

The market has made a flat opening with the Sensex up 49.91 points or 0.2 percent at 28273.61. The Nifty is up 6.25 points at 8712.65. About 180 shares have advanced, 58 shares declined, and 15 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and GAIL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among losers are HDFC, Lupin, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and Infosys.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 4 paise at 66.44 per dollar on Wednesday versus previous close of 66.48.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "The rupee will continue to trade with a positive bias on the back of an overall weak outlook for dollar and in anticipation of rebound in the domestic equity market."

Among global peers, Asian stocks edged up early following an overnight rise for US stocks, while reduced hopes that a meeting of major producers would reduce a oversupply weighed heavily on crude oil prices.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.1 percent. Australian stocks were up 0.5 percent while South Korea's Kospi was flat. Japan's Nikkei was last down 1.1 percent.

Overnight, the Dow rose 0.7 percent and Nasdaq added 0.9 percent. A perceived win by Democrat Hillary Clinton over Republican Donald Trump at the first presidential debate gave broader support to equities, although sliding oil prices were a drag on the energy sector.

Oil fell about 3 percent on Tuesday after Saudi Arabia and Iran dashed market expectations that the two major OPEC producers would find a compromise this week at a meeting in Algiers to help ease a global glut of crude.

Gold fell as the dollar and stocks gained ground on the view that US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton got the better of rival Donald Trump in their first debate.