Sensex dives 563 points, posts biggest weekly loss in 4 years

The BSE Sensex crashed more than 2 percent on Friday to end at lowest closing level since July 2014. The sharp fall was mainly driven by consistent outflow of money on global worries. There was also a caution ahead of US jobs data due later today, which will decide whether Federal Reserve will hike rate or not.

The 50-share NSE Nifty saw worst closing level since July 2014, down 167.95 points or 2.15 percent to 7655.05. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 562.88 points or 2.18 percent to 25201.90, dragged by banking & financials, technology, oil and metals stocks.

The broader markets too saw heavy selling pressure with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices losing 1.9 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. About four shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Fears of lower agriculture output post widening monsoon deficit may also have caused selling pressure. Traders feel sovereign funds could be sellers in today's trade. According to them, 7500 on the Nifty may be next crucial level to watch out for.

The fall was driven mainly by global cues, says market expert Ajay Bagga. According to him, it is not a bear market correction as confidence is still there in market, supported by consistent buying from mutual funds & insurance companies and high networth individuals.

Even lack of trigger domestically to take market higher also drove indices lower. RBI policy (September 29) and Federal Reserve meet (September 16-17) may be next triggers, says Bagga, who advises staying on sidelines with cash.

3:30 pm Market closing: The Sensex ended down 562.88 points or 2 percent at 25201.90 and the Nifty tanked 165.45 points or 2 percent at 7657.55. About 585 shares advanced, 2112 shares declined, and 80 shares were unchanged.

Vedanta, GAIL, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Dr Reddy's Labs were major laggards while Bharti Airtel, Coal India were up 1 percent.

Sentiment was also dampened on fears of poor agriculture output as monsoon deficit widened, triggering selling activity, brokers said. Selling by funds intensified, tracking global sell-off as investors await the release of a US jobs report for August that could determine the Federal Reserve's timetable for
hiking interest rates.

3:20 pm Market outlook: Indian equity market is falling more on the back of global factors than domestic concerns, says Ambareesh Baliga, Market Expert.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he says this panic is unlikely to sustain and is a buying opportunity for people who have not invested so far.

With 'mouth watering valuations', retail investors should buy only largecap stocks in this bottom as midcaps are yet to see a further fall, he says. Baliga advises to buy 5-10 percent of bluechip stocks at every dip.

3:15 pm Gold price: Falling for the third straight day, gold prices dropped by Rs 80 to Rs 26,730 at the bullion market largely in tandem with weakening trend in global markets amid low demand from jewellers.

However, silver strengthened by Rs 275 to Rs 35,575 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers. Bullion merchants said a weak trend overseas after the European Central Bank signalled it could increase stimulus,which boosted the dollar and reduced demand for a safe haven, put pressure on the precious metal prices.

3:10 pm Fund raising: Wind turbine manufacturer Suzlon Energy's board has sought shareholders' approval to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore through the issue of securities.

"(It is proposed) to issue securities to the extent of Rs 5,000 crore," the company said in a notice to its shareholders for Annual General Meeting scheduled on September 28.

The decision to raise Rs 5,000 crore by offering securities was taken in the board meeting of the company on July 31.

3:05 pm Merger: Multiplex operator PVR today said it has approved an amalgamation scheme between Bijli Holdings Pvt Ltd and itself to simplify PVR's shareholding structure.

"The Board of Directors has considered and approved the Scheme of Amalgamation...between Bijli Holdings, based on the recommendation of the audit committee," the company said in a BSE filing.

The purpose of the amalgamation is to simplify the shareholding structure of PVR and reduction of shareholding tiers. It also envisages to demonstrate Bijli Holdings' direct engagement with PVR, it said.

"Bijli Holdings is part of the Promoter Group of PVR. Post-amalgamation, paid-up capital of the company will remain the same and there shall be no dilution for any shareholders including public shareholders," PVR said.

3:00 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained under pressure in afternoon trade. The Sensex dropped 524.76 points or 2.04 percent to 25240.02 and the Nifty fell 159.40 points or 2.04 percent to 7663.60.

The market is headed towards biggest weekly closing since November 2011.

About 445 shares have advanced, 2158 shares declined, and 78 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:55 pm USFDA nod: Aurobindo Pharma has received final approval from the USFDA to manufacture and market Telmisartan tablets USP 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg.

The approved ANDA is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product Micardis tablets of Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals. This drug is used in the treatment of essential hypertension and has estimated market size of USD 92 million for 12 months ending July 2015, according to IMS.

2:50 pm Angel on Cipla: Cipla's acquisitions are likely to get completed by end of December 2015 and thus will fully reflect in FY2017 financials. Thus, in FY2017, the acquisitions will contribute around 10 percent of the overall sales (estimated to be around of Rs 1,550 crore) of the company, says Sarabjit Kour Nangra, VP Research - Pharma) at Angel Broking.

Cipla announced that its UK arm, Cipla EU, has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two US-based companies, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals and Exelan Pharmaceuticals. The transaction being subject to certain closing conditions is valued at USD 550 million and will be an all cash transaction.

On the operating front, the acquisitions could have OPM of 18-20 percent, thus yielding around Rs 150 crore of net profit. Thus, the EPS could see an enhancement of around 7-8 percent in FY2017E (assuming the acquisition is debt and cash funded), she says. Thus leaving little scope for an upside, she maintains neutral rating on the stock.

According to her, acquisitions will enhance Cipla's US presence and are likely to be EPS accretive.

2:40 pm PMJDY in focus: India aims to utilise bank accounts created under Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana to extend insurance, pension and credit facilities to those excluded from these benefits, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said, as the country joined a UN initiative to enable nations transition to electronic payments.

Taking a step closer to becoming a cashless economy, India has joined the 'Better Than Cash Alliance', a United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) initiative that helps enable countries transition to electronic payments.

The announcement comes on the first anniversary of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY).

2:30 pm Rajesh Exports bags order: Rajesh Exports has bagged an export order worth Rs 1,123 crore of designer range of gold and diamond studded jewellery and medallions from Singapore.

The order is to be completed by December 31, 2015.

Execution of this order will significantly add to the bottomline of the company, says the company in its filing.

It adds that this order will be executed at the company's manufacturing facility at Bangalore, the world's largest jewellery manufacturing facility spread over 12 acres of land.

2:20 pm Mindtree in News: MindTree has completed the closing conditions and obtained necessary regulatory approvals with respect to the acquisition of entire ownership interest in Bluefin Solutions, a leading UK based IT solutions provider specializing in SAP HANA solutions.

2:10 pm GVK wins case: India's GVK group and Australian mining magnate Gina Rinehart today won a court battle against a conservation group which had sought cancellation of environmental approval of their 10 billion dollars joint coal mine project in the Galilee Basin in Queensland province.

The Alpha mine, rail and port project, which is expected to produce 30 million tonnes of coal per year and create up to 3,600 construction jobs and 990 operational jobs, was challenged by Conservation group Coast and Country. The group, originally working for three farmers, had claimed that the project would adversely affect the groundwater and biodiversity in the region.

2:00 pm Market Check
Slaughter at Dalal Street continues. The Sensex is down 563.62 points or 2 percent at 25201.16 and the Nifty slips 170.75 points or 2 percent at 7652.25. About 397 shares have advanced, 2155 shares declined, and 72 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Lupin are top gainers while Vedanta, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Dr Reddy's Labs are major losers. Ruppee extends losses and is currently at 66.50 per dollar.

Global markets are nervous ahead of US jobs data to be released later today. The street expects US non-farm payrolls to increase by 220,000 in August versus 215000 rise in July. A strong jobs data would increase the chances of Fed hiking rates in the September FOMC policy.

2:00 pm Market check: The Sensex is down 601.63 points or 2.3 percent at 25163.15, and the Nifty slips 183.90 points or 2.3 percent at 7639.10. About 371 shares have advanced, 2137 shares declined, and 78 shares are unchanged.

1:50 pm Rate cut: Medium-sized public sector lender Vijaya Bank today cut its base rate by 0.15 percent to 9.85 percent effective today.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 managing director and chief executive officer Kishore Sansi says the bank has reduced its base rates by 40 basis points (bps) in the last three months itself.

Base rate is the minimum rate at which banks can lend to customers.

This is the third base rate cut this week with HDFC Bank paring rates to 9.35 percent effective Tuesday and Canara Bank trimmed rates to 9.9 percent effective Thursday.

1:40 pm GST:  Joining the chorus of industry leaders disappointed by stalemate on GST, Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava Friday said political establishment must "re-look at measures" that are clearly in national interest.

"I am sure people at large, who are concerned about the economy, will be very disappointed that due to purely political reasons, with no clear economic considerations being apparent, the GST (Goods and Service Tax) has not been approved," he said addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting.

He further said: "I think that is very disappointing and as industry we believe that the entire political establishment must re-look at measures, which are clearly in national interest."

1:33 pm Outloook: There is no sign of market discounting China issues and resultant slowdown as yet, says Nick Parsons of National Australia Bank.

He also sees a very slim chance of a Fed announcing a hike during its September FOMC meet. He, however, does not feel that will spell the end of volatility; hence emerging market will continue to see selling pressure. To soothe fraying nerves, Parsons said one in the current situation, a zero return in a falling  market may not be too bad.

1:27 pm Global markets: The European Central Bank (ECB) surprised markets when its President Mario Draghi downgraded inflation forecast and pledged more quantitative easing (QE) if needed. Micheal Every of Rabobank believes this will have a near-term impact on equities and the markets will rally as long as some central bank or the other continues to pump in money. He expects the United States non-farm payroll data, which is expected to come out later in the day, to come in at 217,000 in August versus 215,000 In July. He says if the data is strong, then the US Federal Reserve may increase interest rates on September 18.

1:20 pm Interview: Pharmaceutical major Cipla Friday said it has acquired US-based companies InvaGen Pharma and Exelan Pharma for USD 550 million in an all cash deal. Subhanu Saxena, Global Chief Executive Officer at Cipla told CNBC-TV18 that a bulk of this transaction would be financed through internal accruals. He said both acquisitions would add to Cipla's earnings from Day One, and that the acquisition would give the company a strong platform to accelerate growth in US.

The market is still struggling with the Nifty falling below 7770. The 50-share index is down 154.00 points or 1.9 percent at 7669. The Sensex is down 511.10 points or 1.9 percent at 25253.68. About 380 shares have advanced, 2083 shares declined, and 73 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Lupin are top gainers. Vedanta, Tata Steel. Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindalco and Axis Bank are major losers in the Sensex.

Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE will next week shift a total of 88 companies to the restricted trading segment to ensure safety of investors in the capital markets. BSE said it would be shifting scrips of 80 firms to the trade-to-trade or the 'T' group segment, while National Stock exchange (NSE) has decided to move stocks of eight companies to this category, the bourses said in separate notices. The stocks would be transferred to the restricted trade segment with effect from September 8.

12:55 pm Maruti AGM: With regulatory norms in place, country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) expects the delayed minority shareholders' voting on allowing parent Suzuki to own and invest in the Gujarat plant to happen soon.

"The minority shareholder voting on the Gujarat plant which was delayed because we first found that the government had moved some amendments in 2013 Companies Act... We thought it would be imprudent of us to vote on under an Act which is under an amendment. So, we postponed that," Maruti Suzuki India Chairman RC Bhargava said while addressing shareholders at the company's annual general meeting here.

As the Act was under amendment, other people who had to make changes, including SEBI and the Gujarat government, held back their actions, he said, adding that SEBI has now taken note of change in the law and amended the listing requirements.

"So one part of that is done. We expect that the Gujarat government's action would also be completed possibly in the next one week or ten days. After that we will come to all of you to vote in the support of the project," Bhargava said.

12:45 pm Market Update: The Sensex fell 552.63 points or 2.14 percent to 25212.15 and the Nifty declined 170.40 points or 2.18 percent to 7652.60.

About 375 shares have advanced, 1999 shares declined, and 78 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European markets fell at the open today, after rallying Thursday afternoon following European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's reiteration of his "willingness to act" to protect the euro.

London's benchmark FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC all opened around 1 percent lower.

It comes after Draghi on Thursday spoke of his "willingness to act" as he left the door open for further policy action, after the ECB downgraded its forecast for growth and inflation.

Investors' focus is expected to be on the US nonfarm payrolls report for August, due later today, and likely to be one of the key pieces of data determining whether the US Federal Reserve raises interest rates later in the month.

12:30 pm Stake sale: UK-based investment management firm Genesis Asset Managers LLP has sold 2.01 percent stake in Ambuja Cement by selling 3.07 crore shares for over Rs 646 crore in open market.

Genesis Asset Managers LLP, which had 5.39 percent stake earlier, brought down its shareholding in the company to 3.38 percent by selling shares on September 2, Ambuja Cement said in a filing to the BSE.

Based on the closing price of the stock on September 2, at Rs 210.45 apiece, the transaction is estimated to have been valued at Rs 646.96 crore.

12:20 pm Rajan completes 2-year term: As Governor Raghuram Rajan, known for his hawkish approach to inflation, completes tumultuous two years at RBI today, calls for rate cuts have become shriller with the Finance Ministry raising alarm bells over a possible deflation demon gobbling up the economy.

Raghuram Govind Rajan took charge as the 23rd Governor of RBI on September 4, 2013 for a three-year term, amid a bleeding rupee threatening to plunge to 70 levels, very high current account deficit, growth screeching south and rating agencies threatening to junk the sovereign.

On his inauguration, the noted monetary economist made several big-bang announcements that promised to change the financial sector landscape radically and to his credit he has successfully implemented many of them in the past two years.

The Governor successfully brought down retail inflation to 3.8 per cent in July from 9.8 per cent in September 2013.

Also, many analysts and marketmen described chief economic advisor Arvind Subramanian's yesterday's statement that Rajan should start fearing deflation and not inflation, as a political statement to arm-twist the Governor and devoid of any merit.

The only few big misses of Rajan are the sudden fall of the rupee following the China crisis, and the massive spike in bad loans that almost doubled. But his achievements, on every other front dwarf these shortcomings.

12:10 pm Losers and gainers: Banking stocks led the losses with Bank Nifty sliding almost 3 percent today. Heavyweights like ICICI Bank, PNB, Axis Bank fell between 3-4 percent.

Cipla bucked the trend in an otherwise weak market, seeing marginal gains on acquisition of US based companies InvaGen Pharma & Exelan Pharma for USD 550 million. Management told CNBC-TV18 that the acquisition will be EPS accretive from day 1.

Lupin gained 0.7 percent after it launched Duloxetine 40 mg delayed-release capsules in US. Duloxetine is used to treat depressive disorder.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market remained under immense selling pressure. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 468.62 points or 1.82 percent to 25296.16 and the 50-share NSE Nifty shed 147 points or 1.88 percent to 7676, dragged by banks, metals & oil and gas stocks. Asian markets, too, declined ahead of US jobs data due later today.

The broader markets are also caught in the bear grip with the CNX Midcap tumbling more than 2 percent. Stocks like IRB Infra and JSPL saw cuts of around 6-7 percent. Advance-decline ratio is extremely weak at 1:10 in favour of the declines.

11:55 am Brokerage view: Credit Suisse has initiated coverage on Arvind with an outperform rating and a target price of Rs 360 apiee. It believes improving margins in brands and retail (B&R), faster growth in relatively low capital-intensive businesses, and improvement in working capital should gradually help free cash flows.

The brokerage expects revenue/EPS CAGR of 15 percent/27 percent over FY16-18 (management expectations are higher).

After June quarter earnings, Arvind had said for the full year, revenue growth was likely to be 14-15 percent with improvements in margin in brands & retail segment.

11:50 am OROP finally: It seems the Centre has decided to announce the implementation of One Rank One Pension for defence veterans and widows of soldiers within the next 48 hours.

According to the OROP draft accessed by CNN-IBN, the date of effectiveness of the scheme will be July 1, 2014 and the base year will be 2013. The veterans had been demanding that the scheme be implemented from April 1, 2014.

But the biggest sticking point is the time duration for equalisation of pension. While the government draft says equalisation of pension will take place every five years but defence veterans have made it clear that it should happen every year and if that is not possible then at least once in two years.

11:43 am Market check: The Sensex is down 503.51 points or 1.9 percent at 25261.27 and the Nifty slips 159.65 points or 2 percent at 7663.35. About 335 shares have advanced, 1902 shares declined, and 65 shares are unchanged. Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank.

11:35 am Royal Dutch Shell is in talks to lease India's new strategic oil caverns at Mangalore on the country's southwest coast, two sources said, giving it increased storage in a market where oil demand is increasing.

A decision on the Mangalore site, which has total capacity of around 11 million barrels of oil, depends on Shell winning relief from local sales tax, the sources said, while commissioning has been pushed back by two months to December.

India, the world's No.4 crude consumer and one of the few major economies which is still seeing strong demand growth, is building up strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) facilities at three locations in the country's south that will hold a total 36.87 million barrels of oil, enough to cover almost two weeks of its needs.

11:30 am Market outlook: Investor concerns in the US stock market of a "crash-landing scenario" for the Chinese economy are misplaced, former Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach said. "I think those fears are vastly overblown," he said.

Growth in China has slowed, Roach acknowledged in a CNBC "Squawk Box" interview, "but it's not going in for a crash … and that will present, I think, an opportunity for shares to re-evaluate the China threat, big time." The influential Yale economist did fault the Chinese for poorly handling the turmoil in its financial markets. "They did not do a great job of handling the equity market bubble on the upside by encouraging it and fighting it on the downside," Roach said.

11:22 am Market check: The market sees a bit of recovery. The Sensex is down 429.33 points or 1.7 percent at 25335.45 and the Nifty slips 136.60 points or 1.7 percent at 7686.40. About 323 shares have advanced, 1855 shares declined, and 71 shares are unchanged.

11:15 am Base rate computation: The Reserve Bank is mulling changing the way base rates are computed by banks. The RBI issued draft guidelines on the computation of the same, based on marginal costs of funds, which may be effective from April 1, 2016. At the moment, banks pick any kind of cost of funds as a reference.

RBI suggested the move in its first bi-monthly policy on April 7 in a bid to ensure that banks pass on policy transmission effectively. RBI has lowered repo rates by 75 basis points since January this year. But, banks are yet to lower their base rates by as much.

However, if implemented in its current form (draft guidelines), it may have a significant impact on profits of banks because return on assets (RoA) will fall by 20 basis points in fiscal year 2017, says Pawan Agrawal, chief analytical officer at Crisil Ratings.

11:10 am Is it time to panic again? "This too shall pass," is how Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE chooses to describe the current distress. Indian equities have three key factors to watch for, namely, US Fed meet, China and RBI. The market will start rebounding once Fed meet is out of the way, a confident Damani told CNBC-TV18.

Another market guru who is not ready to believe in the doom story is Madhu Kela, Chief Investment Strategist at Reliance Capital. Of course he knows that a fall of this magnitude in a very short time unnerves even a very sophisticated investor, let alone retail investors, yet he urged retail investors not to miss the bus. One must remember India story is well discovered and a correction of this scale is extremely beneficial for long-term investors, he said.

Continous heavy selling keep the market wobbly on Friday. The Sensex is down 516.71 points or 2 percent at 25248.07 and the Nifty is down 163.60 points or 2 percent at 7659.40. About 293 shares have advanced, 1809 shares declined, and 56 shares are unchanged.

Cipla and Lupin are only the two Sensex gainers. Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Vedanta, Hindalco and ICICI Bank are major laggards in the Sensex.

Oil prices edged lower in cautious Asian trade today as investors await the release of a US jobs report for August that could determine the Federal Reserve's timetable for hiking interest rates. A rate hike would likely strengthen the greenback, making dollar-priced oil more expensive to holders of weaker currencies, hurting demand and prices. However, Ang said crude retained some support after the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday indicated more stimulus could be on its way for the eurozone.

10:55 am Nifty can test 7450?: "We are expecting further sell off in the market due to continuous selling from FII's & negative global sentiments, leading to a downside movement," says Rohit Gadia, Founder & CEO, CapitalVia Global Research.

Technically, he feels Nifty can test the levels of 7450 and if this level is breached the next level for Nifty can be 7000.

For new investors, he suggests to stay away from market for time being till slight recovery is seen. "For existing investors we will suggest wait for further correction of 4-5 percent and post that add positions from those levels," he says.

10:50 am Market Update: The Sensex declined 472.01 points or 1.83 percent to 25292.77 and the Nifty fell 151.55 points or 1.94 percent to 7671.45.

About 296 shares have advanced, 1746 shares declined, and 61 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:40 am Market Veterans: Indian equities have three key factors to watch for, namely, US Fed meet, China and RBI. The market will start rebounding once Fed meet is out of the way, a confident Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE told CNBC-TV18.

Another market guru who is not ready to believe in the doom story is Madhu Kela, Chief Investment Strategist at Reliance Capital. Of course he knows that a fall of this magnitude in a very short time unnerves even a very sophisticated investor, let alone retail investors. But one must remember India story is well discovered and a correction of this scale is extremely beneficial for long-term investors, he said.

Damani does not want to blame China alone for the market plight. The real fear is of money going out of emerging markets if Fed raise rates. "And that is the fear, not yuan depreciation." Kela too thinks too much noise is being made of a 4 percent depreciation in rupee. Regarding Chinese dump, Kela knows  the government will not allow destruction of Indian businesses and take "adequate steps."

10:30 am Asia Update: Asian stocks declined on the final trading day of the week, as investors awaited the US nonfarm payrolls report for August that may play a crucial role in the Federal Reserve's decision about when to lift interest rates.

A strong jobs number could allay fears over global growth, but it could rekindle speculation of an interest rate hike in the US as soon as this month, which could hurt risk assets, particularly in emerging markets.

According to a Reuters survey, US nonfarm payrolls likely increased by 220,000 jobs in August, after July's 215,000 rise.

Japan's Nikkei plunged 2.7 percent and Hang Seng lost 0.6 percent. Kospi fell 1.5 percent.

10:25 am Acquisition: A promoter group firm of Hitachi Home and Life Solution (India) will acquire 72.41 percent stake in the company for over Rs 1,616 crore to facilitate Hitachi Appliances' deal with Johnson Controls.

JCHAC India Holdco, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese giant Hitachi Appliances, would acquire the said stake.

"The shares are proposed to be transferred at the value of Rs 821 per share and settled in JPY (Japanese Yen) at an exchange rate applicable on the date of agreement for the proposed transfer," Hitachi Home said in a filing to BSE.

JCHAC India would acquire 19,689,894 shares of Hitachi Home on September 10. Based on the price of Rs 821 apiece, the stake would be worth Rs 1,616.54 crore.

"The transfer is proposed to be made as a step to facilitate the global acquisition of air conditioning business of Hitachi Appliances by Johnson Controls," the filing said.

10:20 am Oil Update: Oil prices edged lower in cautious Asian trade today as investors await the release of a US jobs report for August that could determine the Federal Reserve's timetable for hiking interest rates.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for October delivery fell 17 cents to USD 46.58 while Brent crude for October eased 16 cents to USD 50.52 in late-morning trade.

"With the Federal Reserve closely eyeing employment figures in order to gauge the strength of the economy, US non-farm payrolls should be crucial," said Daniel Ang, investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.

"If non-farm payrolls turn out lower than expected, this could suggest a December 2015 rate hike instead," Ang said.

A rate hike would likely strengthen the greenback, making dollar-priced oil more expensive to holders of weaker currencies, hurting demand and prices. However, Ang said crude retained some support after the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday indicated more stimulus could be on its way for the eurozone.

10:15 am FII View: The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday surprised markets when its President Mario Draghi downgraded inflation forecast and pledged more quantitative easing (QE) if needed. Micheal Every of Rabobank believes this will have a near-term impact on equities and the markets will rally as long as some central bank or the other continues to pump in money.

He expects the United States non-farm payroll data, which is expected to come out later in the day, to come in at 217,000 in August versus 215,000 In July. He says if the data is strong, then the US Federal Reserve may increase interest rates on September 18.

Also, he adds that if the Fed hikes it rates, there will be further downside to emerging markets (EMs).

10:10 am GVK wins court fight: Green groups lost a fight to stop billionaire Gina Rinehart and India's GVK from building a giant coal mine in Australia, as a court today dismissed an appeal against the state of Queensland's environmental approval for the project.

Conservation group Coast and Country, originally working for three farmers, had sought to have the state environmental approval for GVK-Hancock's 30 million tons a year Alpha mine overturned based on the impact it would have on water supply and climate change.

The state Land Court last year ruled that the mine should be approved with strict water management conditions or rejected.

But the green group appealed that decision to the Supreme Court saying the Land Court did not have the right to issue two alternative recommendations and should have rejected the mine outright.

The Queensland Supreme Court dismissed the appeal today.

10:05 am Gainers & Losers: Tata Motors topped the selling list on Sensex, down more than 4 percent followed by HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, SBI and L&T with 1-3.6 percent losses.

However, Lupin, Cipla and Wipro bucked the trend, up 0.2-1 percent.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended losses in morning trade with the Sensex falling 555.04 points or 2.15 percent to 25209.74. The Nifty fell 175.35 points or 2.24 percent to 7647.65.

The broader markets, too, caught in bear grip as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices tanked more than 2 percent. The market breadth is pathetic as about 1523 shares have declined against 257 shares advanced on the BSE.

9:55 am Market tanks: The Sensex is down 555.04 points or 2.1 percent at 25209.74 and the Nifty slips 175.35 points or 2 percent at 7647.65. About 257 shares have advanced, 1523 shares declined, and 47 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors is down 5 percent while Tata Steel, Vedanta and ICICI Bank are down 4 percent.

9:50 am Bond market: Dhawal Dalal, DSP BlackRock said, "Bond market participants will keenly watch U.S non-farm payroll data due in the evening for further cues on Fed's decision on Sep 17. It will be an important data to watch after the ECB's cautious assessment and prospects of lower inflationary pressures. We expect the 10-year benchmark yield to trade between 7.70-7.80 percent in the near term."

9:45 am Market check: The Sensex is down 481.13 points or 1.9 percent at 25283.65 and the Nifty slips 142.05 points or 1.8 percent at 7680.95.About 238 shares have advanced, 1395 shares declined, and 51 shares are unchanged. Only Cipla and Wipro are green in the Sensex. Vedanta, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Axis Bank are major laggards in the Sensex.

9:40 am State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has bought a 15 percent stake in Russia's second- largest oil field from Rosneft for about USD 1.35 billion.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of the state explorer, signed agreements in Moscow to buy 15 per cent stake in the Vankor oil field in East Siberia, sources said.

The 15 per cent stake will give OVL about 3.5 million metric tonnes of oil a year.

Under the terms of the agreement, OVL will get two seats on the Board of Directors of Vankorneft - a Rosneft subsidiary that operates the Vankor field. Rosneft will retain full control of infrastructure of the Vankor cluster, they said.

9:35 am Acquisition: Cipla is set to buy 100 percent of generic businesses of two pharmaceutical companies in the US for USD 550 million. It is the second landmark acquisition in Cipla's 80 years of history. "Cipla today announced that its UK arm, Cipla EU has entered into definitive agreements to acquire two US-based companies, InvaGen Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Exelan Pharmaceuticals Inc," said the Mumbai-based pharma company in its filing.

9:30 am Views: The European Central Bank (ECB) on surprised markets when its President Mario Draghi downgraded inflation forecast and pledged more quantitative easing (QE) if needed. Micheal Every of Rabobank believes this will have a near-term impact on equities and the markets will rally as long as some central bank or the other continues to pump in money.

He expects the United States non-farm payroll data, which is expected to come out later in the day, to come in at 217,000 in August versus 215,000 In July. He says if the data is strong, then the US Federal Reserve may increase interest rates on September 18.

Also, he adds that if the Fed hikes it rates, there will be further downside to emerging markets (EMs).

9:22 am Market slips: The market has started to slip. The Sensex is down 223.05 points or 09 percent at 25541.73 and the Nifty slips 74.35 points or 0.9 percent at 7748.65. About 284 shares have advanced, 791 shares declined, and 33 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, BHEL and ICICI Bank are major losers while Cipla is up 2 percent.

The market has once again opened lower. The Sensex is down 146.17 points or 0.6 percent at 25618.61, and the Nifty is down 48.75 points or 0.6 percent at 7774.25. About 229 shares have advanced, 434 shares declined, and 30 shares are unchanged.

Cipla, Infosys, Lupin, Wipro and ONGC are top gainers while M&M, Axis Bank, Vedanta, Dr Reddy's Labs and Tata Steel are major laggards in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee gained 9 paise in the early trade. It has opened at 66.15 per dollar against 66.24 a dollar in previous session.

NS Venkatesh of IDBI Bank said, "Rupee ended marginally weaker yesterday breaking a 2-day gain. The market today will take cues based on equity market movement as well as expectations from the non-farm payroll data."

"European Central Bank's (ECB) action of continuing Quantitative easing (QE) beyond September 2016 has also strengthened the dollar. The range today is seen between 66.15-66.45/dollar," he added.

The euro fell more than 1 percent against the dollar after the ECB cut economic growth targets and left interest rates unchanged. The dollar index rose above the 96 mark.

Asian stocks are mixed on the final trading day of the week, mirroring the lead from Wall Street overnight. Market volatility was high in early trade as investors awaited the nonfarm payrolls report for August that may play a crucial role in the Federal Reserve's decision about when to lift interest rates.

Overnight, major US indexes ended mostly higher. The Nasdaq Composite shed 0.4 percent, while the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 ticked up 0.1 percent each.