Sensex ends 170 points lower; Axis Bank up 5%, Bharti falls 4%

3:30 pm Market close: The market ended a volatile session on a weak note. The Sensex was down 170.45 points or 0.6 percent at 27225.93, and the Nifty slipped 45.85 points or 0.5 percent at 8239.75. About 1526 shares advanced, 1186 shares declined and 157 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Airtel fell 4 percent while ITC, HDFC, Vedanta and Reliance were major laggards in the Sensex. Axis Bank gained 5 percent. Among the top gainers were Wipro, GAIL, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank.

3:10 pm Market chcek: The market is slipping away as the Sensex is down 180.62 points or 0.7 percent at 27215.76, and the Nifty slips 51.05 points or 0.6 percent at 8234.55. About 1504 shares have advanced, 1127 shares declined, and 165 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel is down 4 percent while ITC falls 3 percent. Vedanta, HDFC and Tata Motors are top losers in the Sensex. Among the gainers are Axis Bank, GAIL, Wipro, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank.

1:50 pm Market outlook: Straddled with long positions, market participants are looking to exit at higher levels and "so we are seeing selling each time index moves up, says Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities. He sees further 3-5 percent downside from current levels.

He continues to believe that individuals should look at bargains rather than entering at specific Nifty levels to make hay. He suggests looking at stocks falling under capital goods, engineering and steel sectors. He actively suggests Reliance Industries is a definite largecap buy for the next two years.

Speaking of revenues of corporate India that have either shrunk or remain flat, Dutt says the rupee-dollar equation remain a critical parametre and is going to play out for next few weeks or months. The government is taking right steps but recovery of macro economics take time. He sees revenue picking up after two quarters when the festive season dawns.

1:30 pm Results: Housing Development Finance Corporation's (HDFC) standalone profit increased 8 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,862.43 crore in March quarter, impacted by deferred tax liability.

The housing finance company said the deferred tax liability during January-March quarter was Rs 119.77 crore against Rs 87.29 crore in December quarter and nil in the year-ago period.

Total income from operations grew by 12.5 percent to Rs 7,448 crore for the quarter ended March compared to Rs 6,620.3 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

The market continued to be choppy but the broader markets outperformed equity benchmarks. The Sensex fell 62.67 points to 27333.71 and the Nifty declined 9.80 points to 8275.80.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5-1 percent. About 1535 shares have advanced, 1011 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities said he sees another 3-4 percent downside from current levels. Sectors like capital goods and infra are a good bet right now, he believes.

Global markets remained mixed as investors are eyeing US Federal Reserve's statement. The dollar hovered near an 8-week low.

Axis Bank topped the buying list on Sensex, up 3 percent as a CNBC-TV18 poll expects bank's net interest income growth at 18 percent and asset quality is expected to be better than FY15 total guidance. For HDFC, analysts expect gross NPAs to be steady this quarter.

Motherson Sumi climbed 3.5 percent as it got orders from Daimler to supply exterior & interior systems to Mercedes-Benz vehicle generations. The current orders will generate sales revenue of approximately Rs 15,400 crore and will support Daimler's expansion activities, the company said.

Sugar stocks like Bajaj Hindusthan, Dhampur Sugar, Dwarikesh Sugar, Rana Sugars, Triveni Engineering, Uttam Sugar and Shree Renuka gained 1-5 percent as the government will raise sugar import duty to 40 percent from 25 percent to prevent influx of cheap imports. Additionally, sources told CNBC-TV18 that the government cleared waiving off 5 percent excise duty on ethanol for blending with petrol.

1:30 pm Results: Ambuja Cements missed street expectations on Wednesday with the first quarter net profit falling 38.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 317.69 crore compared to Rs 520.01 crore in the year-ago period. A CNBC-TV18 poll had expected profit of Rs 340 crore on revenue of Rs 2,565 crore for the quarter.

Revenue declined 7 percent to Rs 2,463 crore for the quarter ended March against Rs 2,651.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year.

The company follows January-December as its financial year.

The market is flat as the Sensex is up 8.67 points at 27405.05. The Nifty is up 6.15 points at 8291.75. About 1441 shares have advanced, 956 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged.

IT, pharma and bank stocks are lending support to the benchmark indices. Axis Bank is up 3 percent while Wipro, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and GAIL were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Vedanta, ITC, Tata Motors, Hindalco and HDFC.

Gold prices fell by Rs 53 to Rs 27,326 per 10 gm in futures trade today largely in tandem with a weak trend overseas and profit-booking by speculators. Analysts said the fall in yellow metal prices at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend overseas and profit-booking by speculators at prevailing levels.

12:58pm Market Update: The Sensex recouped its losses in afternoon trade, up 16.34 points at 27412.7 and the Nifty climbed 6.85 points to 8292.45. About 1433 shares have advanced, 966 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:30pm IVRCL in News: Infrastructure major IVRCL has received two orders worth Rs 405.23 crore from Dream World Landmarks LLP and Orissa Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB).

It has received an order worth Rs 110.02 crore from Dream World Landmarks LLP for residential development project in Pune and another order worth Rs 295.11 crore from OWSSB for execution of sewer construction in Bhubaneswar, IVRCL said in a filing to the BSE.

12:00pm Market Check
Dalal street succumbed to some selling pressure. The Sensex fell 139.70 points to 27256.68 and the Nifty shed 42.95 points to 8242.65, dragged by FMCG, technology, capital goods, HDFC Twins and select oil stocks.

The broader markets continued to outperform. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. About 1302 shares have advanced, 1016 shares declined, and 149 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Globally, Asian markets traded mostly lower as investors in a wait and watch mode ahead of the US Federal Reserve's statement.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank extended rally today, up 2 percent on top of 8 percent rally in previous session post earnings. In results impact, Idea Cellular slipped 2.7 percent despite the company delivered a beat on margins and profits. Bharti Airtel declined 0.6 percent as revenues missed estimates and Africa operations continued to drag.

Axis Bank surged 3 percent ahead of fourth quarter earnings today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects bank's net interest income growth at 18 percent. Asset quality is expected to be better than FY15 total guidance. For HDFC, analysts expect gross NPA to be steady this quarter.

In midcaps, Motherson Sumi gained 4 percent as the company got biggest ever order from German company Daimler. Alembic Pharma and Torrent Pharma surged 4-7 percent post USFDA nod for Abilify Generic.

11:30 am Market outlook: Indian stocks in the very near term look a bit oversold given the sharp rundown in the past few weeks, believes market expert Anand Tandon, who said he expects the market to move with a positive bias for the next few days. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Tandon, however, said that frontline shares still did not offer any margin of safety and it would be still some time till they were in the "buying range". "For now, the market looks reasonably expensive," he said. "But in the broader market, you may get some chances to buy." 

The market is slipping away as the Sensex is down 191.47 points or 0.7 percent at 27204.91. The Nifty is down 57.20 points or 0.7 percent at 8228.40. About 1147 shares have advanced, 895 shares declined, and 143 shares are unchanged.

Wipro, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, GAIL and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Vedanta, HDFC, Tata Motors, ITC and TCS.

The dollar wallowed near a two-month low against a basket of major currencies as the market hedged the risk that the Federal Reserve might adopt a more dovish tone in statements following the two-day policy review.

The dollar index last stood at 96.141. On Tuesday it fell as far as 96.011, reaching a low last seen on March 5.

The key risk for the dollar is the Fed's post-meeting policy statement due at 1800 GMT. The Fed is widely expected to keep policy unchanged and the focus will be on its economic assessment. The central bank is considering monetary policy at a time when the US economy has hit a soft patch, blamed largely on harsh winter weather, a strong dollar and disruptions at West Coast ports.

10:40am Market Update: The Sensex extended losses, falling 207.04 points to 27189.34 and the Nifty lost 57.65 points to 8227.95. About 1122 shares have advanced, 846 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:30am Market Expert: Indian stocks in the very near term look a bit oversold given the sharp rundown in the past few weeks, believes market expert Anand Tandon, who said he expects the market to move with a positive bias for the next few days.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Tandon, however, said that frontline shares still did not offer any margin of safety and it would be still some time till they were in the "buying range".

"For now, the market looks reasonably expensive," he said. "But in the broader market, you may get some chances to buy."

10:00am Market Check
The market continued to see marginal selling pressure in morning trade. The Sensex fell 46.12 points to 27350.26 and the Nifty slipped 18.40 points to 8267.20, dragged by technology stocks, and HDFC & ITC.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed benchmarks, rising 0.2 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. About 1150 shares have advanced, 570 shares declined, and 120 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Shares of HDFC, ITC, TCS, Tata Motors and Vedanta fell 1-2 percent followed by SBI, Infosys, M&M and Bharti Airtel with marginal losses.

However, Axis Bank topped the buying list on Sensex, up over 2 percent ahead of Q4 earnings. The private sector lender's profit is expected to grow 17.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,166 crore and net interest income may jump 18.1 percent to Rs 3,737 crore in March quarter.

9:55 am Buzzing: Shares of KPIT Technologies tanked 20 percent intraday, hitting lower circuit at Rs 124.05 per share on poor March quarter results. Its disappointing Q4FY1 earnings were dragged by revenue de-growth and a sharp drop in margins. Revenue de-growth was led by the US, manufacturing, energy & utilities, IES and SAP SBU, says ICICIdirect.com. Also, what led to the drag is management’s mis-matched outlook. In March, the management had indicated that dollar revenue in January-March quarter to be flat quarter-on-quarter due to cross currency but it reported a 3.5 percent decline in the period. KPIT Technologies' Q4FY15 result was bleak, with revenues declining 3.2 percent Q-o-Q to USD 122 million

Antique has downgraded the stock to sell with a target price of Rs 113 per share.

9:40 am Market check: The Sensex is up 15.04 points at 27411.42 and the Nifty is up 0.05 points at 8285.65. About 1015 shares have advanced, 463 shares declined, and 113 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel and HUL are top gainers while Vedanta, ITC, TCS, Infosys and Tata Motors are laggards in the Sensex.

9:30 am FII view: Geoffrey Dennis, Head-Global Emerging Market Strategy at UBS expects the US Fed to start raising rates in September. He remains invested in emerging markets and feels the India story stays intact in long-term. However, he sees some profit-taking. According to Dennis, India is unlikely to give 35 percent returns as other countries like Korea and China are attracting some money out of the country. He, however, advises Indian investors to put money into market now and expects a 10-15 percent upside in the market by 2015-end.

The market has once again opened in negative terrain. The Sensex is down 39.55 points at 27356.83 and the Nifty is down 10.80 points at 8274.80. About 309 shares have advanced, 121 shares declined, and 77 shares are unchanged.

Sun Pharma, Maruti, Wipro, Bajaj Auto and ICICI Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Bharti Airtel, HUL, Vedanta, Cipla and Tata Motors.

Bharti Airtel's earnings disappointed after profits and revenues missed estimates. The Indian operations of the company remain steady while Africa continues to drag.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 63.22 per dollar against 63.15 Tuesday. The dollar dropped to an eight-week low after a weak US consumer confidence report, with investors cautious about a Federal Reserve meeting.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said, "The USD-INR pair is expected to trade lower today on expectations that Greece will reach a bailout agreement soon. Improved risk appetite along with surging equities may dampen demand of dollar. Further, World Bank's statement that India is less vulnerable now than it was in 2013, may also support the rupee in the short term.”

Among global markets, US markets close mixed as investors digested the raft of earnings and awaited the Federal Reserve's statement due later today.

In Europe, equities closed lower as investors took a breather from a stellar rally in the previous session and looked ahead to meeting by the US Federal reserve policymakers.

Among commodities, Brent crude prices hovered near USD 64 per barrel on expectations that US crude stockpiles could be at record highs for the 16th consecutive week. Gold prices rise to USD 1210 an ounce on soft dollar.