Sensex ends flat on 1st day of 2014; midcap, smallcap shine

The first day of 2014 was completely listless for the market as institutional investors and big traders were away from the market after late night partying for new year celebration. After trading in a very tight range of 60-70 points, the Sensex closed at 21,140.48, down 30.20 points compared to previous day's value. The Nifty was down 2.35 points to 6,301.65. Total turnover of the market was Rs 50,031 crore as against Rs 68,000 crore in previous session. But the outperformance of broader markets continued for the second consecutive week. The BSE Midcap Index rose 0.47 percent and Smallcap gained 1.5 percent as nearly two shares advanced for every share declining.

Though it was a dull start for the year, the market is expected to see new highs going ahead and global growth is likely to accelerate, feel experts. UR Bhat of Dalton Capital Advisors says the market is likely to hit new highs in 2014, but it may not necessarily be a smooth ride getting there. He sees foreign fund flows into India slowing down. Also, given the changed political dynamics in Delhi after the recent elections, the probability of a stable government at the Centre after the 2014 election has reduced slightly. Meanwhile, Bharat Iyer of JP Morgan says the dependence on global liquidity and quantitative easing tapering linked volatility will likely continue over Q1CY14.

''The result of the national election in May would play an important role in H2CY (January-June 2014) growth revival, particularly for the investment cycle and also for the performance of Indian equities,'' Iyer adds. Banks, technology, capital goods, and oil and gas stocks were under pressure while FMCG, healthcare and telecom shares saw buying interest. Wipro and Tata Power fell more than a percent. Reliance Industries , TCS , Infosys , HDFC and Tata Motors declined between 0.4-0.7 percent. However, Bharti Airtel , Ranbaxy Labs , DLF , Asian Paints and Jaiprakash Associates topped the buying list, rising 2 percent each. Auto stocks were in focus today; Maruti Suzuki closed flat despite December sales declined 4.4 percent year-on-year (1.3 percent month-on-month) to 90,924 units due to lower exports. Mahindra and Mahindra reported weak auto sales due to sustained deceleration in economic activity and weakness in consumer sentiment.

Total auto sales fell 12.5 percent Y-o-Y to 39,611 units. However tractor sales rose 15.4 percent Y-o-Y to 17,037 units. In the broader space, shares of Viceroy Hotels gained 13 percent as the company said JW Marriatt deal had been concluded in favour of Ceebros Hotels, Chennai. Ashoka Buildcon surged 15 percent after the company received Rs 596.28 crore order from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company (TANGEDCO). Atul Auto sold 3,510 units in December, which was higher by 23.42 percent compared to 2,844 units in November. The stock gained 4 percent. HOV Services was locked at 5 percent upper circuit at Rs 83.25 apiece after SourceHOV LLC has appointed Morgan Stanley to explore various strategic options. HOV Services through its US-based wholly owned subsidiary owns stake in SourceHOV LLC. Lakshmi Vilas Bank will consider rights issue on Friday.

The stock rose 4.4 percent to Rs 73.35. Shares of Transport Corporation of India were up 6.55 percent after Derive Investments, an investment company run by Radhakishan Damani, picked up 3.5 percent stake in the company on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 10 paise to 61.90 against the US dollar on Wednesday versus 61.80 per dollar.

3:50 pm: Mutual fund industry has lost an estimated over 24 lakh investors, measured in terms of individual accounts or folios, in the first eight months of the current fiscal, mainly due to profit-booking and various merger schemes. According to Sebi data on total investor accounts with 45 fund houses, the number of folios fell to around 4.04 crore at the end of November 2013 from 4.28 crore in the last fiscal (2012-13) - indicating a decline of 24.23 lakh, reports PTI. Folios are numbers designated to individual investor accounts, although one investor can have multiple folios. Market participants attributed the sharp fall in the number of folios to profit-booking and various merger schemes in the mutual fund industry, among other reasons.

3:40 pm Market closing: After a listless trading, the market closed in red terrain. The Sensex closed down 30.20 points at 21140.48, and the Nifty shut at 6301.65, down 2.35 points. About 1591 shares have advanced, 879 shares declined, and 962 shares were unchanged. Bharti Airtel , NTPC , Sun Pharma , Coal India and Hero Motocorp were top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side were Wipro , Tata Power , TCS , Reliance and BHEL .

3:30 pm FDI policy update: The government is likely to allow Foreign Direct Investment in high speed trains and other projects including development of rail lines between project sites and existing network. "The Commerce and Industry Ministry has sent the cabinet note on the matter and a decision is likely to be taken this this month only," a government official told reporters. Besides, proposing 100 per cent FDI through automatic route in the cash-starved railway sector, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has also proposed to de-license and de-reserve few areas of the sector.

The market continues to drag in the last trading hour as the Nifty holds on to 6300. The Nifty is down 3.10 points at 6300.90. The Sensex is down 21.38 points at 21149.30. About 1552 shares have advanced, 811 shares declined, and 1069 shares are unchanged. Realty index is up over 2 percent as the municipal corporation has raised ready reckoner rates on an average by 10-20 percent across Mumbai and suburbs effective today. This will mean higher stamp duty, vat and service tax for all property transactions. Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Coal India, Sun Pharma, Hero Motocorp are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are Wipro, Tata Power, TCS, Axis Bank and Reliance. The rupee is slightly lower. Government bond yields rise as the US 10-year yield holds above 3 percent. China official manufacturing data shows a dip in growth in December. Most global markets are on holiday.

02:55pm ONGC speaks to CNBC-TV18 With diesel under-recoveries still at a steep Rs 10.5 per litre, it is only a matter of time before the government does away completely with price controls, believes Sudhir Vasudeva, CMD, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation. ''There is absolutely no other way because the government cannot give more [subsidy] -- with both the current account and fiscal deficits being under pressure,'' Vasudeva said in an interview with CNBC-TV18. ''Oil marketing companies cannot borrow more, the interest burden is back-breaking. Where is the choice?'' While the government has allowed oil marketing companies to raise diesel prices by 50 paise a litre every month, a price hike did not take place today. But Vasudeva termed it as an ''aberration'' and said he did not believe the government would have called for it.

02:40pm Religare sees new launches by 4-wheeler companies Mihir Jhaveri, Director-Institutional Research, Religare Capital Markets expects 2014 to be a year of new launches by four-wheeler companies. He believes whoever launches new models will be garnering volume share. However, he prefers two-wheeler companies over four-wheeler ones. For the passenger vehicle market, he believes the macroeconomics is not good and therefore the discretionary spend is going to be low unless there is clarity in terms of politics.  Maruti's domestic sales are in line. But exports have gone down on the back of some of the international markets imposing higher duties.

02:30pm Viceroy Hotels in bull grip Viceroy Hotels shares gained 15 percent to Rs 22 apiece as the company says JW Marriatt deal had been concluded in favour of Ceebros Hotels Private Limited, Chennai as per the resolution passed by the shareholders. This is after reaching a settlement with the bankers of Chennai project division.

02:14pm Equity benchmarks are directionless in afternoon trade on Tuesday due to lack of trigger and low volume, but midcap and smallcap continued to see buying interest. The Sensex fell 17.34 points to 21,153.34, and the Nifty declined 0.90 points to 6,303.10. About 1467 shares have advanced, 817 shares declined, and 1148 shares are unchanged on the BSE. The BSE Midcap Index is up 0.35 percent and Smallcap gained 1.3 percent. Lupin shares gained 1.5 percent as the company obtained USFDA tentative approval for Niacin generic. Lupin is expected to launch in March and it is expected to have 100 days before other generic players come. In the midcap space, Punj Lloyd , Jindal Saw , Godrej Properties , Sadbhav Engg and DB Realty rallied 7-12 percent. Among smallcaps, UB Holdings topped the buying list, rising 17.85 percent. Ashoka Buildcon gained 15.08 percent as the company received Rs 596.28 crore worth of order from Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company. Elder Pharma , Patel Engineering and Transport Corporation surged 8-12 percent.

1:50 pm: Banks will continue to accept currency notes with scribbling, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said dismissing rumours that it has stopped banks from accepting such notes from Wednesday, reports PTI. "In the wake of rumours circulating in the market that from January 1, 2014, banks will not accept banknotes with anything written on them, the RBI has urged members of public not to fall prey to such rumours and to use their banknotes without any fear," RBI said in a notification. RBI said it has not issued any such instructions.

1:40 pm Buzzing: Shares of Adani Power rallied 2 percent intraday after the company announced that its Mundra plant has set a record by attaining the highest generation of 4,644 megawatts. This makes it the only power station of such a size to reach a significant milestone in electricity production, according to the company. Adani Power has a total thermal power generating capacity of 7,920 MW, consisting of 4,620 MW at Mundra, 1,980 MW at Tiroda and 1,320 at Kawai. The Mundra plant, which is one of the world's largest private coal-based power stations at a single location, has five units of 660 MW and four units of 330 MW each. All the 660 MW units are based on environment-friendly supercritical technology.

1:30 pm Exclusive: Pinning hopes on its various value added services like Reduce (diet plans), Zumba (fitness dance), Nuform, Anant Gawande, chief financial officer and wholetime director, Talwalkars , says the company will achieve 30 percent bottomline in FY15. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gawande says the new value added services are being lapped up by customers and Zumba, specifically is likely to be the gym chains' focus area going ahead. On the road ahead, Gawande is aiming at providing Zumba in 100 more gyms. He further adds that fee hikes are likely post April 1, 2014.

The market started the new year on a positive note but is going directionless in intraday day.  The Sensex is down 2.79 points at 21167.89, and the Nifty is up 1.80 points at 6305.80. About 1474 shares have advanced, 783 shares declined, and 1175 shares are unchanged. Mumbai based real estate companies are in focus as the municipal corporation has raised ready reckoner rates on an average by 10-20 percent across Mumbai and suburbs effective today. This will mean higher stamp duty, vat and service tax for all property transactions. Meanwhile, overall sales of Maruti in December have degrown by about 4.5 percent. The sales came in at around 90,900 units versus about 95,000. Domestic sales during the month stood at 86,613 units, up 5.5 percent from 82,073 units in December previous year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Sales of mini passenger cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, were up 16.7 percent at 38,286 units in December as against 32,797 units in the year-ago period.

12:59pm Lupin on buyers' radar Shares of Lupin jumped 2 percent as the company obtained US FDA tentative approval for Niacin generic drug. Lupin is expected to launch it in March and is likely to have 100 days before other generic players are in the market. The drug Niacin is used in treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Lupin has semi-exclusivity for the drug and will launch the product after getting final approval from the USFDA.

12:50pm Atul Auto surges 5% Company's sales jumped 23.42 percent in December compared to earlier month. It sold 3,510 units in December as against 2,844 units in November. During April-December, the company's sales jumped 18.29 percent year-on-year to 27,908 units. The company offers wide range of three wheeler diesel auto rickshaw, CNG auto rickshaw and PNG auto rickshaw in series.

12:40pm FII View Bharat Iyer of JP Morgan says the dependence on global liquidity and quantitative easing tapering linked volatility will likely continue over Q1CY14. "The result of the national election in May would play an important role in H2CY (January-June 2014) growth revival, particularly for the investment cycle and also for the performance of Indian equities," Iyer adds.

12:30pm GMR in focus GMR may exit part of its Nepal assets, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. It is learnt that the company is assessing valuation of Nepal assets. Sources say GMR Energy and GMR Infra may exit Upper Karnali project and the valuation of Nepal assets is up to Rs 1,000 crore. Meanwhile, the promoter of GMR Infrastructure has creates pledge on 25 crore equity shares.

12:20pm Maruti December sales Country's largest carmaker  Maruti Suzuki India today reported 4.4 percent decline in its total sales at 90,924 units in December 2013 as against 95,145 units in the same month previous year. Domestic sales during the month stood at 86,613 units, up 5.5 percent  from 82,073 units in December previous year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement. Exports in December were down 67 percent to 4,311 units from 13,072 units in the same month previous year, the company said.

12:10pm Talwalkars talks to CNBC-TV18 Pinning hopes on its various value added services like Reduce (diet plans), Zumba (fitness dance), Nuform, Anant Gawande, chief financial officer and wholetime director, Talwalkars, says the company will achieve 30 percent bottomline in FY15. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Gawande says the new value added services are being lapped up by customers and Zumba, specifically is likely to be the gym chains' focus area going ahead. On the road ahead, Gawande is aiming at providing Zumba in 100 more gyms.  He further adds that fee hikes are likely post April 1, 2014.

12:00pm The market remained rangebound in noon trade, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap index rising 0.55 percent and Smallcap gaining 1 percent. The Sensex rose 4.05 points to 21,174.73, and the Nifty soared 5.90 points to 6,309.90. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1322 to 660 on the BSE. Asian Paints , DLF and Ranbaxy Labs are the biggest gainers in the Nifty, rising 2-2.5 percent followed by Lupin, Punjab National Bank and Cipla with 1-1.5 percent upmove. However, Tata Power , Wipro , TCS , HDFC , Infosys , HCL Technologies and BHEL are under pressure. Elder Pharma , Wockhardt , Bayer CropScience, United Spirits , SBI , Asian Paints, IDFC and Apollo Tyres are the most active shares on exchanges. In the midcap space, Godrej Properties , Jindal Saw , Gujarat Flourochemical, Amtek India and Indiabulls Real rallied 4-11 percent. Among smallcaps, UB Holdings spiked 18.65 percent followed by Elder Pharma, Transport Corporation, OnMobile Global and Riddhi Siddhi with a 7-13 percent upmove. Shares of Atul Auto rallied 5 percent to Rs 305.55 apiece as company's sales jumped 23.42 percent in December compared to earlier month. Atul Auto sold 3,510 units in December as against 2,844 units in November. During April-December, the company's sales jumped 18.29 percent year-on-year to 27,908 units.

11:50 am Buzzing: Shares in Lupin gain after US Food and Drug Administration gave a tentative approval for generic version of cholesterol drug niacin, a form of vitamin B, on Monday. Analysts tracking the sector say niacin's US sales are USD 1.2 billion, out of which Lupin can make USD 30 million in sales annually.

11:40 am Market outlook: The market is likely to hit new highs in 2014, but it may not necessarily be a smooth ride getting there, says UR Bhat of Dalton Capital Advisors. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he sees foreign fund flows into India slowing down. Also, given the changed political dynamics in Delhi after the recent elections, the probability of a stable government at the Centre after the 2014 election has reduced slightly. Bhat sees the RBI hiking rates twice by March, and he sees inflation continuing to be a concern.

11:30 am Fundraiser: State Bank of India ( SBI ) has got shareholders' approval for raising up to Rs 11,500 crore by way of Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) or public offer. "Shareholders have passed special resolution to create offer to issue and allot by way of QIP/FPO or any other mode, as may be approved by the government and RBI, such number of shares of Rs 10 each as decided by the board in their discretion, up to Rs 11,500 crore or such amounts," SBI said in a filing with the BSE. The dilution of the government shareholding will be to the extent of the level approved, it said.

The Sensex is up 17.06 points at 21187.74, and the Nifty is up 4.35 points at 6308.35. About 1323 shares have advanced, 638 shares declined, and 1471 shares are unchanged. Major Asian markets are shut today on account of the New Year. Yields on US treasuries rose, with the benchmark 10-year bond ending above 3 percent, as data released Tuesday gave further indications of an economic recovery. Data from the conference board showed that US consumer confidence index rose to 78.1 in December from 72.0 in November. With no major global cues to track, the rupee is seen moving in a tight range intraday. Gold fell to a six-month low in thin year-end trade on Tuesday, notching up its biggest annual decline in 32 years as prospects for global economic recovery prompted investors to switch to riskier assets. After a 12-year bull run, gold has shed 28 percent in 2013, with the US Federal Reserve's plan to step away from ultra-loose monetary policy undermining the investor rationale for holding bullion.

10:59am Maruti Suzuki up 0.5% to Rs 1,772.50 apiece Country's largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki's sales declined 1.3 percent to 90,924 units in December from 92,140 units in November, impacted by lower exports. During the same period, domestic sales climbed 1.3 percent to 86,613 units from 85,510 units whereas exports dropped 35 percent to 4,311 units from 6,630 units.

10:50am Atul Auto up 4% to Rs 303.50 apiece Atul Auto sold 3,510 units in December, which was higher by 23.42 percent compared to 2,844 units in November. During April-December, the company's sales jumped 18.29 percent year-on-year to 27,908 units.

10:45am FII View Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse expects the divergence between the investment cycle and middle-income consumption on one hand and low-end consumption on the other to continue. "Growth in the informal economy though should continue to drive wage growth for the poor. Indices have already started to reflect this divergence," he adds.

10:45am FII View Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse expects the divergence between the investment cycle and middle-income consumption on one hand and low-end consumption on the other to continue. "Growth in the informal economy though should continue to drive wage growth for the poor. Indices have already started to reflect this divergence," he adds.

10:30am Adani Power gains ground Adani Power on Tuesday announced that its 4620 mw project at Mundra has set a record by attaining the highest generation of 4,644 MW, making it the only power station of such a gigantic size to reach a significant milestone in electricity production. Adani Power has a thermal power generating capacity of 7,920 MW, consisting of 4620 MW at Mundra, 1980 MW at Tiroda and 1320 at Kawai. "We are confident of achieving a target of generating 9,240 MW of electricity by March 2014," Gautam Adani, chairman said. Adani Power stock rose 1.4 percent to Rs 39.55 on the BSE.

10:15am HOV Services locked at 5% upper circuit SourceHOV LLC has appointed Morgan Stanley and Company LLC to explore various strategic options. HOV Services through its US-based wholly owned subsidiary owns stake in SourceHOV LLC. HOV Services stock gained 4.98 percent to Rs 83.25 on the BSE. There were pending buy orders of 26,350 shares, with no sellers available.

10:00am The market is listless with the benchmarks gyrating around their previous closing values as traders' participation is very less on the first day of the year 2014. The Sensex rose 11.49 points to 21,182.17, and the Nifty added 4.80 points to 6,308.80. About 881 shares have advanced while 313 shares declined on the BSE. The market is likely to hit new highs in 2014, but it may not necessarily be a smooth ride getting there, says UR Bhat of Dalton Capital Advisors. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he sees foreign fund flows into India slowing down. Also, given the changed political dynamics in Delhi after the recent elections, the probability of a stable government at the Centre after the 2014 election has reduced slightly. Bhat sees the RBI hiking rates twice by March, and he sees inflation continuing to be a concern. Coal India is the top gainer in the Sensex, rising more than a percent while Asian Paints , Ranbaxy Labs , DLF and Lupin are top gainers in the Nifty, climbing 1.5-2 percent. Sesa Sterlite, Hero Motocorp , Sun Pharma and Cipla rose over 0.6 percent whereas Tata Power topped the selling list, falling 1 percent. Wipro , Infosys , Axis Bank , BHEL , UltraTech Cement and ACC are under pressure. Most active shares are Wockhardt , Elder Pharma , United Spirits , Tata Elxsi , SBI , Apollo Tyres , IDFC and Asian Paints.

9:50 am Macro data check: The output of eight core sector industries slowed to 1.7 per cent in November due to poor showing by natural gas, fertiliser and petroleum refinery sectors. The eight core sector industries -- coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement, electricity -- grew by 5.8 percent in November 2012. According to the data released by the government today, the output of eight infrastructure industries in April-November grew by a mere 2.5 percent against 6.7 percent in the same period of the last fiscal. The eight core industries have a combined weight of about 38 percent in the Index for Industrial Production (IIP). The November IIP numbers would be released in the second week of January.

9:40 am Interview: Just hours after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that power tariffs will be slashed by 50 percent, Tata Power has welcomed the move terming it a very strong and positive step. "It's a very good and positive step because at the end of the day the consumer will get the benefit of it. It's good that the Delhi government has decided to give subsidy to the consumer. The decision doesn't impact us, the balance after subsidy will be paid by the government," Tata Power CEO Pravin Sinha said.

9:30 am FII view: Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse expects divergence between the investment cycle and middle-income consumption on one hand and low-end consumption on the other to continue. "Growth in the informal economy though should continue to drive wage growth for the poor. Indices have already started to reflect this divergence. Our model portfolio stays defensive with Reliance Industries , Godrej Consumer , HCL Technologies and ITC as top longs and Larsen and Toubro , Tata Steel and SBI as top shorts," he said.

9:20 am Realty weak: Realty stocks react negatively to hike in ready reckoner rates in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government has hiked ready reckoner rates by up to 20 percent in Mumbai. The revision in ready reckoner rates will be applicable from January 1, 2014, said a state government official. Ready reckoner is an annual statement of rates on which the registration department collects the stamp duty from buyers.

The market started off the year 2014 with marginal gains supported by FMCG, auto and capital goods stocks. The Sensex advanced 47.51 points to 21,218.19, and the Nifty rose 10.40 points to 6,314.40. About 549 shares have advanced, 137 shares declined, and 2746 shares are unchanged. Coal India , L&T, Sun Pharma , Cipla and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata Power, Axis Bank , Wipro , TCS and Infosys . Bharat Iyer of JP Morgan says the dependence on global liquidity and quantitative easing tapering linked volatility will likely continue over Q1CY14. "The result of the national election in May would play an important role in H2CY (January-June 2014) growth revival, particularly for the investment cycle and also for the performance of Indian equities," he adds. Indian rupee opened flat at 61.79 against the US dollar on Wednesday versus previous day's closing value of 61.80 to the dollar. According to Vivek Murarka, Chief Currency Strategist at Kshitij.com, the rupee is seeing volatility collapse for the last two months after the very large 2-way movement from May to October. Technically, it appears to be ranged between 61.50 - 62.59 for some more days, he believes. He feels, the longer term bias may be towards weakness based on high Inflation and possible weakness in the Euro.