Sensex ends lower, Nifty snaps 9150; HDFC Bank gains on strong Q4

3:30 Market at Close: Benchmark indices ended the day on a negative note, with the Nifty snapping 9150-mark it had achieved intraday.

The Sensex was down 57.09 points at 29365.30, while the Nifty was down 17.00 points at 9119.40. The market breadth was very narrow as 1,444 shares advanced against a decline of 1,420 shares, while 154 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharma, Adani Ports and Bank of Baroda were the top losers, while HDFC Bank, Bharti Infratel and Reliance gained the most.

The Bank Nifty was up nearly 0.30 percent, driven by a rally in HDFC Bank on the back of stellar results.

3:15 pm Management Speak: Mindtree reported a good set of fourth quarter earnings with dollar revenue and margins both beating street estimates.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Rostow Ravanan, MD & CEO and JC Narasimhan, CFO of Mindtree spoke about their fourth quarter performance and the outlook going forward.

Ravanan said although forex moves (sharp appreciation in rupee) impacted the bottomline in Q4. However, the company is not looking at changing its hedging policy,he said.

2:57 pm Rationalising sugarcane policy: Uttar Pradesh (UP) based sugar stocks are buzzing after the companies met the Chief Minister (CM) and discussed a host of issues including payment of sugarcane arrears.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Abinash Verma, Director General, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) shared his views and outlook for the sector.

"For the past fifteen years or so, UP government used to fix a very high sugarcane price, State Advisory Price (SAP), which was much higher to what the central government was fixing", he said.

That was the main burden that the sugarcane price arrears were getting picked up year-after-year and the UP mills were losing a lot of money, he further added.

2:45 pm Mutual Fund View: Mutual fund investments by retail investors witnessed a surge during March this year. Equity fund investments through ELSS schemes was to the tune of Rs 8,300 crore.

Sundaram Mutual Fund attributes this surge to people's confidence in the stable government post the assembly polls.

"The results gave a clear direction that the government was on track post demonetisation. The positivity in flows are related to the positivity towards the government," Sunil Subramaniam, CEO, Sundaram Mutual Fund told CNBC-TV18.

2:30 pm BS-III sales take a hit: Ashok Leyland today said 10,664 units of its commercial vehicles were impacted by the Supreme Court ban on BS-III vehicles but the financial hit will be minimal as the affected engines would be upgraded for aftermarket sales.

The Hinduja flagship firm said the BS-III engines would be upgraded to BS-IV standard using its new intelligent exhaust gas recirculation (iEGR) technology.

"Out of a total of 10,664 units of BS-III vehicles, 95 per cent were with us, not with dealers. So we will be upgrading the engines of those vehicles using our indigenously developed iEGR," Ashok Leyland Managing Director Vinod Dasari told PTI here.

2:06 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses in afternoon, with the Nifty breaking 9100 level, dragged by ITC, HDFC and ICICI Bank that lost 1-2 percent. However, HDFC Bank (up 1.6 percent) after earnings and Reliance Industries (up 2.3 percent) continued to support the market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 120.58 points at 29,301.81 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 36.15 points to 9,100.25. Even the market breadth turned in favour of declines.

1:44 pm RIL regains 'most valued firm' status: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries regained its status as India's most valued firm by market capitalisation, overtaking Tata Group's crown jewel TCS.

Shares of RIL were trading 3.43 per cent higher at Rs 1,416.40 on BSE at 1236 hrs, giving the company a market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 4,60,291.20 crore -- the highest for any listed firm in the country. This was Rs 3,151.92 crore more than TCS' Rs 4,57,139.28 crore valuation at the time.

1:32 pm HDFC Bank posts stable Q4: HDFC Bank, the country's second largest private sector lender, has reported stable set of quarterly earnings on Friday as profit grew by 18.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,990 crore in the quarter ended March 2017.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, increased higher-than-expected 21.5 percent to Rs 9,055 crore compared with Rs 7,453.3 crore reported in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

1:24 pm Nomura on RBI minutes: The minutes of the RBI's April 6 policy meeting suggest that the next move of the Central bank will likely be a hike in key policy rates, says a report.

According to the Japanese financial services major Nomura, all members expressed concern about stickiness in core inflation and believed that the disinflationary effect of demonetisation will be transient.

The minutes of the MPC meeting was made public yesterday.

Overall, the minutes suggest that there are growing divergences within the MPC with two out of six members biased towards rate hikes.

1:10 pm Market Check: Driven by a drag in index heavyweights, the market reversed its morning gains and slipped into the red zone during the afternoon session. The Nifty breached its 9150-mark and was around 9100.

The 30-share Sensex was down 71.90 points at 29350.49, while the Nifty was down 18.65 points at 9117.75. The market breadth was narrow as 1,439 shares advanced against a decline of 1,247 shares, while 141 shares were unchanged.

ITC and HDFC dragged the indices lower, which, until now, was holding on to gains on the back of a rally in Reliance Industries.

Sun Pharma, ITC and Bank of Baroda were top losers on both the indices, while Reliance, NTPC and Bharti Infratel gained the most.

1.03 pm Market Check: The market erased all its gains in afternoon, weighed by ITC, HDFC and ICICI Bank shares that extended losses. However, Reliance Industries (up 2.6 percent) and HDFC Bank (up 0.2 percent) ahead of earnings, continued to support the market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 81.42 points at 29,340.97 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 22.45 points to 9113.95.

The broader markets were also off day's high, with the BSE Midcap index trading flat and Smallcap rising 0.3 percent. The gap between advances and declines narrowed as about 1442 shares advanced against 1244 declining shares on the exchange.

12:40 pm Europe opening: European bourses hovered around the flatline after a suspected terrorist attack in France, just two days ahead of a key presidential vote.

One policeman was killed in central Paris and two were wounded after a gunman opened fire on Thursday night. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. The shooting raised further concerns ahead of what's described as one of the most uncertain presidential elections in French history.

12:34 pm Tata Power in action: Tata Power today said it has signed an agreement with Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (AVVNL) for electricity distribution in Ajmer for 20 years.

Tata Power signed the Distribution Franchise Agreement (DFA) with AVVNL to cater to power requirements of customers in Ajmer for a period of 20 years, Tata Power said in a regulatory filing.

Subsequent to winning the bid for distribution franchise of Ajmer circle, Tata Power has formed a special purpose company (SPC), TP Ajmer Distribution Ltd.

12.19 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets erased morning gains, with the Nifty falling below 9150 level amid consolidation that continued for seventh consecutive session today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex gained 13.35 points at 29,435.74 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 5.60 points at 9,142. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.3-0.7 percent on weak breadth.

About three shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Reliance Industries, which gained 3.5 percent ahead of earnings, continued to help the market trade in positive terrain.

HDFC Bank and Axis Bank also supported the market but the correction in HDFC, ICICI Bank and ITC restricted market's gains.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries owns Network 18 that publishes Moneycontrol.com.

11:31 am Market Outlook: With the government's larger push on rural India, Emkay Global Financial Services expects the agri space to perform well going forward.

Within this sector, Krishna Kumar Karwa, its MD and CFO, is positive on the fertiliser consumption space. "There are positive tailwinds expected going forward for the sector ahead," he told CNBC-TV18, adding, government policies on urea consumption, subsidies should aid the segment. Additionally, he believes that if the monsoon situation is good in the country, agro chemicals will perform better too.

However, sugar sector may not be compounders for the long term, he said. While the sector has had a good run in the past 12-18 months, it has deep political intervention, which makes Karwa stay away from the sector.

11:15 am Market Check: Benchmark indices were trading higher, driven by a rally in index heavyweight Reliance ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement on Monday.

The Sensex was up 73.10 points at 29495.49, while the Nifty was up 23.80 points at 9160.20. The market breadth was positive as 1,654 shares advanced against a decline of 823 shares, while 112 shares remain unchanged.

NTPC, Reliance and Tech Mahindra gained the most on both indices, while Sun Pharma, Cipla were the top losers.

10:47 am Debt refinancing: Nearly Rs 56,000 crore out of the total debt of Rs 1.73 trillion can be refinanced at lower borrowing cost across various infrastructure sub-sectors in India Ratings (Ind-Ra) portfolio till fiscal 2019.

According to the ratings agency, there could be a shift in the type of instruments issued for the purpose of raising capital in the sector largely to the capital market instruments like bonds, from the conventional term loans.

"For each one per cent reduction in interest rate, the incremental surplus as a percentage of cash flow available for debt service would be highest in toll roads, followed by solar and wind energy. This could mainly be because the interest burden on these sectors is high as most of these projects are in the ramp-up stage," it said.

10:25 am Fund raising: Tata Steel board has given its approval for issuing debt securities worth up to Rs 9,000 crore to meet working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

"The Board of Directors...based on the review and pursuant to the existing shareholders approval, approved issue of debt securities of up to Rs 9,000 crore in the form either of Non-Convertible Debentures on private placement basis or Foreign Currency or Rupee Denominated Bonds or a combination thereof in one or more tranches," the company said in a filing.

The funds will primarily be deployed towards re-financing the existing debt, capex and working capital requirements and general corporate purposes.

10.01 am Market Check: Benchmark indices remained steady in morning while the broader markets continued to outperform for third consecutive session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 84.35 points at 29,506.74 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 25.85 points at 9,162.25.

The Nifty Midcap index was up 0.5 percent and Smallcap rallied 1 percent on strong breadth. About three shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

Hosiery & garments manufacturer Dollar Industries was locked at 5 percent upper circuit on debut, at Rs 1379.70 on the National Stock Exchange.

9:50 am USFDA report: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries share price fell nearly 3 percent intraday Friday after CNBC-TV18 reports quoting agencies that the company has received 11 observations from the US health regulator for its Dadra unit.

While inspecting the plant, the US Food & Drug Administration found incomplete lab records at the pharma major's Dadra plant.

These observations include failure to produce appropriate master or control record for each batch of drugs and failure to properly investigate batches that don't meet specifications.

Dadra site is the biggest unit for the compay after Halol plant, for supplying drug in the United States.

9:30 am FII View: Sakthi Siva of Credit Suisse says historically, the percentage of negative returns in May over the last ten years varies from 62 percent for Japan to 77 percent for ASEAN.

Over the past six years in particular, the average fall in MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan was 4.5 percent in May, she adds.

While calling tactical corrections are extremely difficult and key risks remain, Credit Suisse continues to suggest buying the dips, Siva says.

9:15 am Market Check: The market extended its previous day's gains, with the Nifty reclaiming 9150 level on positive Asian cues, backed by banking & financials, FMCG and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 110.76 points at 29,533.15 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 43.25 points at 9,179.65. About 754 shares advanced against 132 declining shares on the BSE.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 8 paise at 64.64 per dollar versus previous close of 64.56.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The markets are keenly watching the upcoming French elections, which should decide the future risk tone."

He expects the USD-INR currency pair to trade in the 64.50-64.80/dollar range for today.

The dollar remained weak against a basket of major currencies as the latest data on domestic jobless claims.

Asia markets were mostly higher today after a strong session in the US amid caution following a suspected terrorist shooting in Paris ahead of the first round of the presidential election at the weekend.