Sensex closes flat, Nifty holds 6200; Sun Pharma up 2%

Equity benchmarks closed lacklustre session on a flat note, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks. The Nifty managed to hold the 6200 level, closing at 6202.80, down 2.15 points from previous close. The Sensex was down 28.92 points to 20864.97. However, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained between 0.7-1 percent as advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 1479 to 1038 on the exchange.

As consolidation continued for the second consecutive session, experts believe the market is preparing ground for the next upmove. They feel it may touch a new record high in short term as September quarter earnings so far have been good and inflow of foreign money remained. JPMorgan AMC's Richard Titherington foresees the rally in the Indian market to continue till the year-end. The current market is attractively valued, he adds.

Delayed taper of asset purchase programme by the US Fed and economic recovery in countries like China have been the reasons behind it, he reasoned for inflow of foreign money. Generally, flows in Indian equities have been by long-term investors who see opportunity due to the weak rupee, Titherington says.

Meanwhile, Tushar Mahajan, Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities says the Nifty could hit the levels of 6350 by year-end but not in the next 6-7 days. Among largecaps, Sun Pharma, L&T, Coal India, Wipro, GAIL and Tata Steel gained 1-2 percent while Reliance Industries, ITC, HDFC, M&M and Hero Motocorp lost more than a percent.

4:00 pm Market closing: The market seemed to be in deep slumber as trading was muted today. The Sensex ended down 28.92 points at 20864.97 while the Nifty managed to close above 6200 at 6202.80, Nifty down 2.15 points at 6202.80.

About 1480 shares have advanced, 1037 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged. Tata Power , Sun Pharma , Coal India , GAIL and Wipro were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the laggards were Hindalco , HDFC , M&M, Hero MotoCorp and Reliance. Smallcap stocks outperformed market with a gain of over 1 percent from previous close. Kirloskar, Steel Exchange , Welspun Corp , Usha Martin and Tinplate were top gainers among smallcap stocks.

3:50 pm Results: Mumbai-based real estate firm Indiabulls Real Estate impressed the street with second quarter (July-September) consolidated net profit growing 2.5 times year-on-year to Rs 81.2 crore on strong sales. Consolidated total income rose 31.6 percent to Rs 450.6 crore during September quarter from Rs 342.3 crore in a year ago period.

Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 39.7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 169 crore and operating profit margin jumped 210 basis points to 37.4 percent in the quarter gone by

3:35 pm Management interview: Pharma player Lupin received nod from the US Food and Drug Administration for its supplemental new drug application Antara 30 mg and 90 mg capsules. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nilesh Gupta, MD, Lupin says right now market for the new drug is at its lowest point and that will favour the positioning of the product and so the company will now focus on building back its lost brand in the market. 

Gupta further adds that Lupin, at the moment, will not apply for the different strengths of the capsule as there is a possibility of confusion in the market. The company's main intention now would be to build the product sensibly so that physicians are able to recall and patients can identify the product and the brand.

3:10 pm FM speaks: The rise in bad loans at Indian banks is "unacceptable," the finance minister said , adding he expects their non-performing assets (NPAs) to come down when the pace of economic growth picks up, reports Reuters. Indian state-run banks' credit growth has been "satisfactory" and is expected to remain so for the rest of the fiscal year, while housing loans have shown a "very healthy" growth, P Chidambaram said.

3:00 pm FII view: JPMorgan AMC's Richard Titherington foresees the rally in the Indian market to continue till the year-end. The current market is attractively valued and IT companies are still preferred, he tells CNBC-TV18. Meanwhile, PSU banks look extremely cheap and may not see further de-rating, he adds.

The market has also witnessed consistent foreign inflows in the recent past. Delayed taper of asset purchase programme by the US Fed and economic recovery in countries like China have been the reasons behind it, he elaborates. Generally, flows in Indian equities have been by long-term investors who see opportunity due to the weak rupee, Titherington says. However, he also expects the Fed to begin tapering by December 2013.

The market is marginally under pressure amid choppy trade on the back of profit booking in heavyweights Reliance Industries , ITC and HDFC. The Sensex is down 42.43 points at 20851.46, and the Nifty is down 7.90 points at 6197.05. After the current consolidation, the market may touch new record high in near term, feel experts.

With the market currently being driven by momentum, Nifty could hit the levels of 6350 by year-end but not in the next 6-7 days, says Tushar Mahajan, Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities. The market could continue to inch gradually higher, so the trend for the market is definitely up, he adds. He thinks the good momentum seen in October series is likely to continue in November series too.

YES Bank, Axis Bank , IndusInd Bank and ICICI Bank are the most active shares on exchanges. Shares of YES Bank rallied 3 percent after the private sector lender's second quarter (July-September) net profit grew 21.2 percent - better than analysts' forecast - year-on-year to Rs 371 crore, driven by strong growth in net interest income and other income.

1:55 pm Opinion: The government is close to approving a new merger and acquisition (M&A) policy for Indian telecom service providers that proposes to allow arrangements or amalgamations that would have a market share of up to 50 percent.

GV Giri, Telecom Analyst, IIFL says raising of the market share limit incrementally makes a difference only to the big companies, because if you look at small companies, none of them even have double-digit market shares.

"The market share limit being raised from 35 percent to 50 percent incrementally makes a difference only to the big companies because if you look at small companies, none of them even have double-digit market shares," he said in an interview.

1:45 pm Buzzer: Shares of Radico Khaitan is in high spirits , as it touched 34-month high in intraday. The stock jumped 5 percent in early morning trade on the BSE. Investors are excited about the stock as its board approved the decision to hive off its Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) business undertaking to a subsidiary.

1:35 pm Results: YES Bank's net profit jumped 21.3 percent to Rs 371.1 crore in the quarter ended September,2013. During the period, net interest income (NII) was at Rs 672.1 crore, a growth of 28.2 percent year-on-year.

Net interest margin (NIM) stood at 2.9 percent. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit after tax was seen to rise 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 337 crore in the quarter gone by. Net interest income was expected to grow 26 percent to Rs 658 crore in September quarter from Rs 524 crore in a year ago period. The stock is up over 2 percent on the BSE.

1:30 pm Market outlook: With the market currently being driven by momentum, Nifty could hit the levels of 6350 by year-end but not in the next 6-7 days, says Tushar Mahajan, Nomura Financial Advisory & Securities. The market could continue to inch gradually higher, so the trend for the market is definitely up, he adds.

He thinks the good momentum seen in October series is likely to continue in November series too. According to him there is likelihood of repo rate hike accompanied by a cut on the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its October policy but does not see a big correction post policy.

The market looks stuck in a range, as it is moving directionless. The Sensex is down 44.67 points at 20849.22, and the Nifty is down 8.75 points at 6196.20. About 1328 shares have advanced, 974 shares declined, and 154 shares are unchanged. Tata Power , Coal India , Wipro , Tata Steel and GAIL are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are HDFC , Hero Motocorp , Reliance , Cipla and Hindalco .

The government is likely to announce equity infusion into public sector banks today. All 26 banks are likely to be get capital from the government and banks with over 58 percent government holding will be asked to raise capital via the qualified institutional placement (QIP) route.

12:59pm Market Update Equity benchmarks continued to trade lower in afternoon, but the broader markets stayed positive. The Sensex is down 58.97 points at 20834.92, and the Nifty is down 14.40 points at 6190.55 while the BSE Midcap Index rose 0.6 percent and Smallcap gained 0.9 percent. Shares of HDFC, Reliance Industries, Hero Motocorp, Cipla and Hindalco lost 1-2 percent whereas Wipro, Tata Steel, Coal India and Tata Power gained more than 1.6 percent.

12:55pm Europe opens lower European markets are trading lower as investors cautious ahead of US jobs data, which was delayed due to the partial US government shutdown. France's CAC and Germany's DAX fell 0.1 percent each while Britain's FTSE gained 0.1 percent.

12:45pm Buyback buzz in NHPC Shares of NHPC rallied 4 percent in intraday trade on Tuesday ahead of board meeting for buyback of equity shares this week. "A proposal for buy-back of equity shares is to be considered by the board of directors of the company in its board meeting scheduled to be held on October 24," the company said in its filing.

12:35pm Polaris hits 18-month high Shares of Polaris hit 18-month high, gaining around 8 percent in intraday trade on Tuesday. Reports indicate that L&T Infotech may be the front-runner to buy Polaris Financial Technologies' services unit.

The company is looking to sell its services unit, in a deal estimated to be about USD 400 million. According to PTI, others who had been in talks with Polaris FT for this deal include Tech Mahindra and NEC.

However, the discussions are now moving towards possible closure with L&T Infotech emerging as the frontrunner, investment banking sources involved in the deal said. The Chennai-headquartered company will declare its second quarter earnings today. The stock is up 3.5 percent.

12:24pm The market remained listless in noon trade with the Nifty hovering around the 6200-level. Experts believe the earnings so far has been positive amid weak economic environment, which already discounted by the market.

Also the market is largely supported by foreign money, they add. Generally, flows in Indian equities have been by long-term investors who see opportunity due to the weak rupee, JPMorgan AMC's Richard Titherington says.

Delayed taper of asset purchase programme by the US Fed and economic recovery in countries like China have been the reasons behind it, he elaborates. The Sensex is down 38.48 points at 20855.41, and the Nifty is down 9.35 points at 6195.60.

Titherington foresees the rally in the Indian markets to continue till the year-end. The current market is attractively valued and IT companies are still preferred, he tells CNBC-TV18. Meanwhile, PSU banks look extremely cheap and may not see further de-rating, he adds. Oil & gas, healthcare and auto stocks are under pressure while top lenders, technology and Tata pack are in bull grip.

12:00 pm Big deal: IT services major TCS has bagged a multi-million dollar deal from leading rail vehicles maker Bombardier Transportation for managing IT infrastructure of its newly-commissioned data centres.

 "The multi-year, multi-million deal, is the first that TCS has signed with a rail-transportation technology provider," TCS said in a release, without revealing financial details of the deal. Germany-based firm Bombardier Transportation is a world leader in rail transportation with operations in over 60 countries. TCS is up around 1 percent on the BSE.

11:50 am Update: CBI is likely to file its status report in the coal scam before the Supreme Court today stating details of its 14th FIR against Hindalco and others and also progress in the remaining 13 cases, reports PTI.

Highly-placed sources said the Supreme Court would be given the details of fresh FIR filed against Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Hindalco and former Coal Secretary P C Parakh.

They said the status of probe in remaining matters including those in which investigation has been completed will be conveyed to the apex court on October 22. CBI has registered 14 FIRs so far in connection with the alleged graft in allocation of coal blocks in which AMR Iron and Steel, JLD Yavatmal Energy, Vini Iron and Steel Udyog, JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt Ltd, Vikash Metals, Grace Industries, Gagan Sponge, Jindal Steel and Power, Rathi Steel and Power Ltd, Jharkhand Ispat, Green Infrastructure, Kamal Sponge, Pushp Steel and Hindalco have been named as accused.

11:40 am Results poll: ING Vysya Bank will announce its second quarter (July-September) results today. Analysts on an average expect the private sector lender to maintain its strong numbers. Its asset quality will be closely watched as there was slight deterioration in asset quality in June quarter (slippages in Q1 were Rs 140 crore, slightly higher than previous quarter). According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit after tax is expected to increase 7.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 161.4 crore and net interest income may surge 21 percent on yearly basis to Rs 448 crore in the quarter gone by.

11:30 am FII view: Citi is neutral on India because valuation wise there is more value in economies like Taiwan, South Korea China says Markus Rosgen, Managing Director and Head of Regional Strategy. Although India, he adds, continues to be a consensus overweight for foreign institutional investors (FIIs).

He is doubtful of India getting incremental flows from here on. "Overall for emerging markets in aggregate, the flows are still quite small compared to the outflows that we have seen," Rosgen told CNBC-TV18. On the tapering front he says, tapering by Fed has been delayed, not abandoned and will happen in first quarter of next year.

The market is going directionless as the Nifty is hovering around 6200. The Nifty is up 4.55 points at 6209.50 while the Sensex is up 9.65 points at 20903.54. About 1081 shares have advanced, 621 shares declined, and 87 shares are unchanged. Coal India , Tata Power , Wipro , Tata Steel and TCS are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are HDFC , Hero MotoCorp, ITC , Reliance and Cipla . Asian equities trade lower as investors stay on the sidelines before the US September jobs report.

Commodities saw Nymex hit a 3.5-month low to below USD 100 per barrel while Brent was little changed at USD 109/bbl. Gold prices are rangebound. The dollar index has strengthened a bit holding above 8-month lows. The euro went to 1.36 retreating from its 8.5 month high. Back home, the rupee is at a one-week low tracking the broad strength in the dollar on expectations of strong US non-farm payrolls data. Meanwhile, government bond prices are slightly lower tracking the rupee's weakness.

10:59pm Market Expert An investor should not reallocate funds to cyclical stocks over defensives just yet advises Girish Nadkarni, executive director, Avendus Capital. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nadkarni says the earnings season, that has been relatively positive till now, is likely to disappoint in the days to come. Public Service Banks are most likely to cause pain, he adds.

However, on a more optimistic note, Nadkarni says the Sensex is likely to rally over 21000 in the short-term. "The momentum in the market and the foreign institutional investors (FII) flows have been pushing it (the market) up.

The macro economic indicators do not justify a significant rise in the market right now so probably in the short-term the momentum and the liquidity will carry it beyond the earlier highs that the market had seen close to 21,000 and carry it a little further," he adds.   On sectors that seem hopeful, Nadkarni says metals will emerge as the dark horse aided by a fall in rupee and inflation.

10:45am Sintex on fire Sintex Industries remained in bull grip for the 11th consecutive session today, rallying nearly 60 percent in these sessions. The rally is attributed to its surprised Q2 earnings and buyout of equity shares by promoters last week post results announcement. The stock gained more than 10 percent today.

10:40am Hero Motocorp to declare Q2 nos tomorrow Hero MotoCorp may miss the consensus operating profit forecast for the July-September quarter when it reports results on Wednesday, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data.

StarMine's SmartEstimates, which places greater emphasis on forecasts by top-rated analysts, expects Hero MotoCorp to report an operating profit of Rs 7.20 billion for the quarter, compared with a consensus mean estimate of Rs 7.60 billion, reports Reuters. The stock is down 1.4 percent.

10:29am Gainers & Losers Tata pack is on buyers' radar today. TCS shares gained 1 percent as the software services exporter won a multi-year, multi-million deal from Bombardier Transportation. Tata Steel too rose 1 percent on reports that company's European arm received 5-year order from UK's Network Rail.

Tata Power jumped 2 percent while Tata Motors climbed nearly a percent. Among others, Infosys , ICICI Bank , ONGC , Hindustan Unilever and State Bank of India are marginally in green. However, HDFC , ITC , Reliance Industries , Hero MotoCorp and Cipla fell 0.5-1.5 percent.

10:13am Equity benchmarks remained lacklustre from early trade due to lack of trigger in earnings season, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks. The Sensex is up 19.45 points at 20913.34, and the Nifty is up 5.05 points at 6210 while BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent each. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 833 to 382 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of Cairn India gained more than a percent ahead of its second quarter numbers . Analysts feel the oil & gas explorer is likely to come out with blockbuster earnings due to crude rally, weak rupee and dollar denominated cash during September quarter.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts expect reported net profit to increase 12 percent sequentially to Rs 3,500 crore on forex gains while adjusted net profit to increase 25.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 3,070 crore in the quarter gone by.

IT services exporter Wipro jumped 1.7 percent ahead of September quarter results . According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect revenues to grow 13.2 percent sequentially to Rs 10,115 crore in the quarter gone by.

9.55 am Market check: The Sensex is up 50.03 points at 20943.92, and the Nifty is up 12.90 points at 6217.85. About 797 shares have advanced, 361 shares declined, and 50 shares are unchanged. Coal India is up 2 percent on the BSE.

9:50 am Result poll: Cairn India , a subsidiary of London-listed Vedanta Resources, will announce its second quarter (July-September) results today. Analysts feel the oil & gas explorer is likely to come out with blockbuster earnings due to crude rally, weak rupee and dollar denominated cash during September quarter.

The quarter is likely to be peak earnings for next few quarters. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts expect reported net profit to increase 12 percent sequentially to Rs 3,500 crore on forex gains while adjusted net profit to increase 25.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 3,070 crore in the quarter gone by. The stock is up 1.6 percent on the BSE.

9:40 am View on international market: Marc Faber, publisher of The Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, told CNBC that investors are asking the wrong question about when the Federal Reserve will taper its massive bond-buying programme. They should be asking when the central bank will be increasing it, he argued.

"The question is not tapering. The question is at what point will they increase the asset purchases to say USD 150 [billion], USD 200 [billion], a trillion dollars a month," Faber said. The Fed - which is currently buying USD 85 billion worth of bonds every month - will hold its October meeting next week to deliberate the future of its asset purchases known as quantitative easing.

9:30 am Buzzer: Wipro is up around 1.4 percent on the BSE ahead of its September quarter results. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll , analysts on an average expect revenues to grow 13.2 percent sequentially to Rs 10,115 crore in the quarter gone by.

Dollar revenues are expected to increase 2.8 percent to USD 1,634 million during September quarter from USD 1,588.3 million in June quarter. Analysts see a 50-70 basis points adverse impact of cross-currencies. So constant currency growth is expected to be at around 3.5 percent as against guidance of 2-4 percent at USD 1,620-1,650 million (guidance was given at USD/INR at 57.24).

The market has once again opened on a flat note. The Sensex is down 22.30 points at 20871.59, and the Nifty is down 12.65 points at 6192.30. About 217 shares have advanced, 116 shares declined, and 14 shares are unchanged. 

Banking stocks are under pressure with ICICI Bank and HDFC as major laggards. Reliance, ITC and NTPC are other losers in the Sensex. Wipro, ONGC , TCS , Maruti and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. The Indian rupee slipped 19 paise in the early trade to 61.71 per dollar against 61.52 yesterday. Some relief for the dollar as investor's hedge bets in case the delayed US payrolls report for September was stronger than expected.

NS Venkatesh, IDBI Bank said, "Rupee is expected to move in a narrow range taking cues from the movement of equity markets. FII inflows likely to remain strong, which would provide support on the downside." "However, regular demand from the importers will continue to cap any extra gains. The range for the day is seen between 61.20-61.70/USD," he added.

Globally, the US markets finished narrowly mixed in a lackluster trading. The S&P 500 hit another record high and the NASDAQ too hit a 13-year high even as investors appeared reluctant to make big bets ahead of the September government jobs report. The 10-year US treasury yields also retraced higher to 2.6 percent. Also, nonfarm payrolls data is awaited on Tuesday. The unemployment level is expected to remain unchanged from the august reading of 7.3 percent

European markets closed near five-year highs, helped by gains from Philips and SAP, as well as encouraging US housing data. Eurozone data also aided sentiment with German producer prices coming in better-than-expected and industrial production data for Italy also showed a gain of 2 percent in August. In Asia, South Korea's benchmark index retreated from its previous one-and-a-half year high on the back of steep falls in heavyweight tech stocks ahead of Apple's iPad event.

Samsung electronics skidded 1.4 percent while LG electronics fell 0.8 percent. In commodities, crude oil prices were lower with Nymex breaking below USD 100 a barrel for the first time since early July as US inventories rose. From precious metals space, gold hovered in a tight range as traders awaited the release of US jobs data to gauge the strength of an economic recovery, while the market was also on edge as holdings in the biggest gold exchange-traded fund dropped the most in 15 weeks.