Sensex declines 162 points, Nifty ends below 10,500; banks drag

3:30 pm Market Closing: The market closed lower for second consecutive session, with the Sensex falling 162.35 points to 34,184.04, dragged by private banks, auto and FMCG stocks.

The Nifty declined 61.40 points to 10,492.90. About three shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

3:18 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices extended losses again due to continued selling pressure in private banks and trimming of gains in Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 197.60 points at 34,148.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 66.30 points to 10,488.

3:15 pm Drug Approval: Zydus Cadila has received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to market Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride injection.

The drug is indicated for sedation of intubated and mechanically ventilated patients during treatment in an intensive care setting and for sedation of non-intubated patients prior to during surgical and other procedures.

The drug will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad.

3:01 pm Earnings: Rain Industries has posted strong consolidated profit of Rs 318.4 crore for quarter ended December 2017 against Rs 89.8 crore in same quarter last year.

Revenue from operations grew by 32.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,145 crore while operating profit shot up 58.1 percent to Rs 687.3 crore and margin expanded 350 basis points to 21.8 percent in October-December quarter.

2:55 pm Fiscal Deficit: Fiscal deficit for April-January period stood at Rs 6.76 lakh crore, which was much higher compared to Rs 5.64 lakh crore in same period last year.

The deficit was much higher than the estimated revised target of Rs 5.9 lakh crore announced by the government in Budget.

The spending for April-January period was at Rs 18.4 lakh crore against Rs 16.2 lakh crore while receipts were at Rs 11.6 lakh crore against Rs 10.5 lakh crore YoY.

2:45 pm Buzzing: ICICI Bank shares declined 2.6 percent intraday after the lender disclosed its loan exposure to Gitanjali Group that involved in PNB fraud case.

Chanda Kochhar-led ICICI Bank has informed that it has no exposure to Nirav Modi group of companies, but have given working capital loans along with a consortium to Gitanjali group. It has added that no LoUs have been issued to both the companies.

"We have not issued any Letter of Undertaking (LOU) nor do we have any buyer's credit exposure against LOUs with respect to the Nirav Modi group of companies as well as the Gitanjali group of companies,'' it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The statement comes amid questioning of ICICI Bank's Executive Director NS Kannan by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday relating to the Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam worth Rs 12,700 crore.

According to CBI officials, a loan totaling Rs 5,280 crore was given to the Gitanjali Group by a consortium of 31 lenders.

2:32 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices recovered some losses in last hour of trade as Infosys extended gains to nearly 3 percent, Reliance Industries turned positive and banks trimmed losses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 133.78 points at 34,212.61 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 46.80 points to 10,507.50.

2:18 pm Metals Trade: Prices of copper and nickel fell by by Rs 2 per kg at the non-ferrous metal market today owing to slackened demand from consuming industries amid a weak trend overseas.

Traders said tepid demand from consuming industries at domestic spot market and a weak trend overseas, mainly weighed on copper and nickel prices.

Globally, copper for delivery in three month fell 0.3 percent to USD 6,999 per metric tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

2:08 pm Asia Update: Asian markets closed lower after Chinese manufacturing data came in below expectations. Markets also digested comments from the new Federal Reserve chief made overnight.

Losses in Asia, which were initially slighter than declines seen stateside, steepened as the session progressed.

The Nikkei 225 declined 321.62 points, or 1.44 percent, to end at 22,068.24, paring some of its recent gains. The index slipped further into negative territory as the yen firmed during the session.

1:55 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices remained under pressure in afternoon, with the Sensex falling 221.58 points to 34,124.81, weighed by banks and FMCG stocks.
The 50-share NSE Nifty fell 78.90 points to 10,475.40 while the Nifty Midcap index was down half a percent.

About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Vedanta, Axis Bank, L&T, HPCL, ITC, HUL and Reliance Industries were down 1-3.6 percent while Infosys, UPL and Cipla gained 1-3 percent.

1:40 pm Europe Trade: European equities opened lower following comments from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell committing to a gradual increase in interest rates.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.10 percent lower with most sectors trading in negative territory.

US indexes saw declines above 1 percent impacted by Powell's testimony. The recently-appointed chairman said that it was possible the central bank could increase rates more than three times this year.

Expectations of a more hawkish Fed are traditionally harmful to stocks as higher rates increase firms' costs.

1:25 pm Buzzing: UPL shares gained over a percent after Motilal Oswal has initiated coverage with a Buy call and target price of Rs 945 per share, valuing the company at 17x FY20 EPS of Rs 55.60.

The research house expects the company to clock 12 percent revenue CAGR & 14 percent PAT CAGR over FY18-20.

Strong research & development and backward integration will help the company grab fungicide opportunity while new launches & branded products are expected drive growth.

1:10 pm Management Interview: "NASSCOM now represents a much wider variety, there are delivery centres of foreign companies here, there are captive units of other industries here, they are all getting clubbed and have been called part of the industry. In our competitive set, we are quite confident about outpacing our competitors," Rajesh Gopinathan, MD & CEO of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

The momentum is there as company enters FY19, he added.

Chairman's message on simplification & synergy is very powerful, said Gopinathan.

Acquisition is not a specific focus area for the company currently, he further mentioned.

12:59 pm Gold Update: Gold prices were unchanged near a more than two-week low today, as the dollar held recent highs after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell vowed to prevent the economy from overheating while sticking with gradual rate rises.

US gold futures were up 0.09 percent at USD 1,319.80 per ounce.

12:52 pm USFDA nod: Granules India informed exchanges that the US Food and Drug Administration has issued establishment inspection report for Granules Pharmaceuticals Inc facility in Chantilly, USA.

The facility was inspected by USFDA in December 2017 and there was one observation during the inspection. The company had responded to the observation within stipulated timeframe.

12:40 pm Market Update: The market continued to trade lower on global weakness as benchmark indices slipped half a percent each. New Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in his first congressional testimony signalled that the Fed could keep raising interest rates to contain inflation.

Midcaps were also under pressure, with the Nifty Midcap index falling half a percent.

All Bank indices fell over 1 percent amid PNB fraud case.

The rupee continued to trade at 3-month low of 65.13 against the US dollar, down 24 paise.

12:28 pm SME IPO: Sarveshwar Foods, engaged in the business of processing and marketing of branded and un-branded basmati and non-basmati rice, entered the capital market with an initial public offer of 64, 67,200 equity shares. The company has fixed price band at Rs 83-85 per share.

The funds raised through the public issue are proposed to be utilised to part finance the working capital requirement, invest in subsidiary- Himalayan Bio Organic Foods Private Limited, meet issue expenses and for general corporate purposes.

Established in 2004 and headquartered in Gummat in Jammu & Kashmir, Sarveshwar Foods is primarily engaged in the business of processing and marketing of various types of rice in the domestic and international markets.

12:18 pm Dividend: CESC informed exchanges that the board of directors has declared an interim dividend for the year ending March 31, 2018 at Rs 12 per share on the paid up equity share capital.

12:05 pm Ex-Dividend: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation fell over 3 percent as the stock price adjusted for interim dividend.

The board of directors, on February 9, had declared an interim dividend of Rs 14.50 per share, for the financial year 2017-2018. The interim dividend is proposed to be paid on or before March 8.

11:50 am Buzzing: Share price of DLF rose more than 2 percent as company emerged as the highest bidder for a land parcel in Gurgaon.

Aadarshini Real Estate Developers, a subsidiary of DLF Home Developers, has emerged as the highest and successful bidder for an e-auction conducted by Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) for a freehold land parcel admeasuring approximately 11.76 acres in Gurgaon for a Rs 1496 crore.

This is the single highest bid for any site in Haryana, said Raja Sekhar Vundru, IAS, Managing Director of HSIIDC.

11:35 am Market Update: Benchmark indices continued to trade lower, following a negative lead from global peers.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 155.87 points at 34,190.52 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 50.80 points to 10,503.50.

About 1,414 shares declined against 910 advancing shares on the BSE.

PSU banks were under pressure after Finance Ministry directed managing directors of public sector banks to examine all non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans over Rs 50 crore for possible fraud.

Nifty Bank index slipped over a percent. ICICI Bank lost over 2 percent as the bank has exposure to Gitanjali Group, not Nirav Modi firms.

11:25 am Buzzing: Shares of Punjab National Bank slumped over 6 percent intraday and fell to a 20-month low on the bourses after Nirav Modi's Firestar Diamond filed a bankruptcy plea in the US and a local court in Mumbai issued summons to the accused diamantaire.

Meanwhile, media reports have surfaced that Nirav Modi is not coming back to India anytime soon.

Since February 14, when the scam broke, the stock has fallen as much as 37 percent on BSE.

11:05 am Order Win: Shares of ABC India surged 19 percent intraday on bagging order of Rs 142 crore.

The company has received order worth Rs 142 crore from BHEL for multimodal transportation of export project cargo from India to the MSTPP Rampal project in Bangladesh.

10:55 am Manufacturing PMI: India's manufacturing sector growth eased slightly in February as factory output and new business orders rose at a slower pace, says a monthly survey.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell from 52.4 in January to 52.1 in February, indicating a modest improvement in operating conditions.

This is for the seventh consecutive month that the index remained above the 50-point-mark that separates expansion from contraction.

10:45 am Market Update: Benchmark indices were off their opening lows, driven by buying in technology stocks and recovery in banks stocks.

ICICI Bank fell over 2 percent as the bank has exposure to Gitanjali Group, not Nirav Modi firms.

10:35 am Buzzing: Shares of Sadbhav Infrastructure added 2.6 percent intraday as the company has been declared lowest bidder by NHAI.

The company has been declared lowest bidder (L1) for HAM project by NHAI with a bid price of Rs 1,047 crore.

The construction period is 910 days from appointed date.

The project includes upgradation of 4 lane with paved shoulder of Bhimasar junction of NH-41 to Anjar-Bhuj up to Airport junction in the state of Gujarat on hybrid annuity basis.

10:25 am Moody's on Indian Economy: Moody's Investors Service today estimated that India will grow 7.6 per cent in calendar year 2018 and 7.5 per cent in 2019, amid signs of economic recovery from impact of demonetisation and GST.

"There are some signs that the Indian economy is starting to recover from the soft growth patch attributed to the negative impact of the demonetisation undertaken in 2016 and disruption related to last year's rollout of the Goods and Service Tax," it said.

The Budget for 2018-19 includes some measures that could stabilise the rural economy that was disproportionately hit by the demonetization policy and is yet to recover, it said.

"As we have said before, the bank recapitalisation plan should also help credit growth over time, thereby supporting growth," Moody's said.

10:10 am Crude Update: US oil prices extended declines into a second day after industry data showed an increase in US crude and gasoline stockpiles, with surging production in the country hampering OPEC attempts to end a global glut.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 35 cents, or 0.56 percent, at USD 62.66, after falling 90 cents the previous session.

Brent crude contract fell 40 cents or 0.6 percent to USD 66.23 a barrel.

9:58 am Market Update: Benchmark indices continued to trade lower, with the Sensex falling 215.61 points to 34,130.78, weighed by banks stocks.

The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 69.50 points or 0.66 percent to 10,484.80.

The gap between advances and declines narrowed as about two shares declined for every share rising against 1:4 in the opening.

9:52 am Rupee Trade: Falling for the third straight session, the rupee weakened by 22 paise to 65.09 against the US dollar to hit its three-month low in morning trade at the forex market.

The dollar firmed up against select global currencies as US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's upbeat views on the economy bolstered bets on further Fed interest rate hikes this year.

Forex dealers said sustained month-end demand for the American currency from importers, foreign fund outflows and the dollar's gains against other global currencies weighed on the rupee.

Investors were also cautious ahead of GDP and IIP numbers to be released later in the day.

Yesterday, the local currency had lost by 8 paise to end at 64.87 against the American unit on sustained dollar demand from importers and banks amid heavy capital outflows.

9:40 am Order Win: Shares of Dilip Buildcon rose 1 percent as the company has been declared as lowest bidder for a project by NHAI.

The company has been declared L-1 bidder for a new hybrid annuity project valued at Rs 2013 crore by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

The project includes six laning of Anandapuram-Pendurthi-Anakapalli section of NH-5 in the state of Andhra Pradesh under Bharatmala pariyojana on hybrid annuity mode.

The construction period of said project is 30 months.

9:30 am Joint Venture: Auto components major Bharat Forge said it has completed divestment of balance 26 per cent stake in power equipment JV with GE, Alstom Bharat Forge Power Pvt Ltd.

With this, the company has completed divestment of its shareholding in Alstom Bharat Forge Power Pvt Ltd to GE, Bharat Forge said in a regulatory filing.

The consideration received from the disposal was USD 35 million, which was received in March last year, the company said.

9:22 am Buzzing: Shares of Cipla rose 1 percent on partnership with Roche Pharma.

The company entered in to an agreement with Roche Pharma under which Cipla will promote and distribute Tocilizumab (Actemra) and Syndyma, the 2nd brand of Roche's cancer therapy, bevacizumab (Avastin) in India.

This partnership is in line with Cipla and Roche's efforts to improve healthcare and increase access to innovative, life-changing medicines in India, particularly to patients who currently do not have access to them.

9:18 am Asia Update: Asian markets edged down following a congressional testimony from the Federal Reserve's new chief.

Japan's Nikkei, China's Shanghai Composite, Hong Kong's Hang Seng, Australia's ASX 200 and South Korea's Kospi were down 0.6-1.6 percent.

9:15 am Market Check: Benchmark indices extended losses in opening on Wednesday, tracking weakness in global peers and due to selling pressure in banking & financials.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 265.86 points or 0.77 percent at 34,080.53 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 86.60 points or 0.82 percent to 10,467.70.

HPCL, ICICI Bank, Hindalco Industries, Eicher Motors, Axis Bank, Indiabulls Housing, Vedanta, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Auto were losers in early trade.

PNB plunged 5 percent. Nifty Midcap fell over a percent.

About four shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

PSU Bank index slipped over 2 percent as Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Dena Bank, Canara Bank, IDBI Bank and Syndicate Bank were under pressure.

Oberoi Realty, VIP Industries, Chennai Petroleum, Vakrangee and Bharat Forge were down 1-5 percent.

On the global front, US stocks fell for the first time in four days Tuesday after comments from new Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell sent rates higher.

The new chair signaled the central bank could hike rates more than three times this year in an effort to keep the economy from overheating, sparking anxiety among equity traders.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 299.24 points Tuesday to close at 25,410.03.