Sensex ends on a sluggish note, Nifty below 9900; Kotak Bank, Canara Bank fall

3:30 pm Market Check: Equity benchmark indices ended the day on a subdued note, with the Nifty closing below 9900, while the Sensex ended one-fifth of a percent lower.

The Sensex closed down 50.95 points at 31904.40, while the Nifty ended 26.30 points lower at 9873.30. The market breadth was negative as 1277 shares advanced against a decline of 1440 shares, while 153 shares were unchanged.

Axis Bank and ONGC gained the most on both indices, while Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, VA Tech Wabag and Canara Bank were the top losers.

3:00 pm Earnings: Alembic Pharmaceuticals' first quarter consolidated profit fell 35.7 percent to Rs 66.67 crore year-on-year, impacted by transition related to GST and high base of US business in the year-ago quarter. The sale of Abilify boosted US sales in Q1FY17.

Revenue during the quarter fell 12 percent to Rs 648 crore compared with Rs 737 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Operating profit slipped sharply by 36 percent year-on-year to Rs 101.4 crore and margin declined 530 basis points to 16 percent, dented by research & development expenses. The decline is also due to unfavorable business mix with the decline in the India business.

2:41 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks fell further amid consolidation in afternoon, with the Nifty struggling below 9900 level, dragged by ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Infosys.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 66.44 points at 31,888.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 29.85 points to 9,869.75.

Kotak Mahindra Bank dropped 1.5 percent after lower-than-expected profitability in June quarter. Infosys and ITC were down 0.6-1 percent.

Axis Bank extended gains to 4 percent on value buying and HDFC Bank was up 0.8 percent, which both helped Nifty Bank trade higher.

2:25 pm Global growth: Willem Buiter of Citi said global growth continued to be on track and downside risks have marginally diminished over the last month.

"We keep global growth forecasts for 2017 and 2018 unchanged and remain slightly more positive on growth than consensus as global forecasts have remained stable or been revised up over the last 12 months," he said.

2:00 pm Results: Kansai Nerolac Paints declared gross sales of Rs 1,442.75 crore in June quarter, marking a growth of 10.9 percent  over the same quarter of the previous year. Net profit was Rs 140.8 crores a growth of 11.3 percent over the same quarter of the previous year.

"Company has registered a double digit growth in decorative and industrial. The effect of higher input costs is reflected in the profitability," HM Bharuka, Managing Director said in its filing.

According to the firm, the good growth in infrastructure, core sector as well as automobile and real estate is likely to have a positive effect on the overall demand of paint for the industry.

1:40 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices continued to consolidate in afternoon session as investors look for more corporate earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 20.10 points at 31,935.25 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 13.55 points to 9,886.05.

ABB India shares gained more than 3 percent after its profit grew by nearly 35 percent year-on-year to Rs 75 crore in April-June quarter, backed by strong operational growth. The stock already rallied 48 percent so far in the year 2017.

Axis Bank retained its top position in the buying list among Sensex stocks, up over 3 percent followed by ONGC, Cipla and BHEL whereas Tata Steel was top losers, down over 2 percent.

1:10 pm Europe update: European bourses were higher, supported by a surge in global stocks, as investors awaited a rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB).

France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE gained 0.4-0.8 percent.

12:55 pm Bajaj Auto in focus: Two-wheeler and three-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto has reported mixed set of earnings on Thursday. Profit fell by 5.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 924 crore in the quarter ended June 2017, which was almost in line with expectations. Bottomline was partly supported by other income.

Revenue was ahead of estimates, though it fell 3.9 percent to Rs 5,854 crore compared with Rs 6,089 crore in same quarter last year following decline in sales volumes.

The company sold 8.88 lakh units during the quarter, which slipped 10.7 percent compared with 9.94 lakh units sold in year-ago quarter.

The company missed expectations on operational front. Operating profit dropped 20.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 938.3 crore and margin declined 330 basis points to 17.2 percent in June quarter, which was much lower than CNBC-TV18 poll estimates of Rs 1,075 crore and 20 percent, respectively.

12:25 pm Earnings: ABB India has reported a solid earnings performance as profit grew by nearly 35 percent year-on-year to Rs 75 crore in April-June quarter, backed by strong operational growth. The stock price rallied 6.6 percent intraday.

Revenue during the quarter increased 6 percent to Rs 2,361.50 crore compared with Rs 2,226.2 crore in same quarter last fiscal, with order inflow growth of 13 percent YoY.

Operating profit shot up 29.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 147.3 crore and margin expanded by 120 basis points to 6.6 percent in June quarter.

12.02 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to trade in a tight range in noon, with the Nifty hovering around 9900 level and the Sensex around 32000-mark. Investors look for more corporate earnings. Reliance Industries, Wipro and Bajaj Auto will announce June quarter earnings later today.

The 30-share Sensex was up 15.53 points at 31,970.88 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 1.60 points to 9,898.

The market breadth was moderately positive as about 1,251 shares advanced against 1,146 declining shares on the BSE.

Axis Bank topped the buying list among Sensex stocks, up 3 percent followed by L&T, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and ONGC while Infosys, Asian Paints, TCS, Tata Steel, HDFC and ITC were under pressure.

Kotak Mahindra Bank trimmed gains to 0.4 percent from 2 percent after missed analysts' expectations on profit front.

11:45 am Earnings Estimates: Reliance Industries is all set to announce its earnings for the quarter ended June 2017 today.

The Mukhesh Ambani Group company is expected to report consolidated net profit at Rs 7,960 crore for the quarter against Rs 8,053 crore in previous quarter. Appreciation in rupee against US dollar may hurt net numbers, analysts feel.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, gross refining margin is seen at USD 11 a barrel for the quarter against USD 11.5 a barrel in March quarter, impacted by a reduction in light-heavy differential.

Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.

11:26 am IPO: HDFC Life, the part of country's largest housing finance company HDFC, has filed a draft for initial public offering with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, according to CNBC-TV18 reports quoting unnamed sources.

The insurance regulator is likely to issue in-principle approval to HDFC Life IPO by next week.

Both shareholders mortgage lender HDFC & Standard Life Plc are likely to dilute stake in ratio of 3:1 through IPO.

HDFC owns 61.65 percent stake and Standard Life holds 35 percent in HDFC Life Insurance.

After failure to get approval from shareholders as well as insurance regulator for the merger of HDFC Life and Max Life, HDFC decided to go for IPO of its life insurance business.

11:09 am Earnings: Private banking major Kotak Mahindra Bank posted 23 percent year-on-year rise in its standalone June quarter net profit at Rs 913 crore.

The number came in lower than a poll of analysts done by CNBC-TV18, which pegged the profit growth at 40.3 percent at Rs 1,041.1 crore for April-June quarter.

Standalone net interest margin came marginally higher at 4.5 percent against 4.4 percent in the same quarter last year. The loan growth for the bank grew to Rs 1,42,359 crore against Rs 1,20,765 crore in the June quarter last year. Net non-performing assets, meanwhile, saw declining at 1.25 percent from 1.26 percent QoQ.

The net interest income (NII) for Q1FY18 was up 17 percent at Rs 2,246 crore from Rs 1,919 crore in Q1FY17. During the quarter, it spent Rs 63 crore towards marketing and other expenses in relation to Rs 811 crore.

10:45 am Buzzing: Share price of Natco Pharma advanced nearly 3 percent intraday as EIR received from USFDA for its drug formulations facility.

The company has received the successful Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the inspection conducted at its drug formulations facility at Kothur Unit, Telangana, India, during the period January 16-24, 2017.

The Kothur formulation facility predominantly caters to regulated international markets, including USA.

The company's Kothur plant had received 6 observations from USFDA.

10:35 am IPO: Godrej Industries arm Godrej Agrovet filed draft papers with markets regulator Sebi to raise an estimated Rs 1,000-1,200 crore through an initial public offering.

The public issue comprises fresh issue of shares worth Rs 300 crore besides an offer for sale of scrips of up to Rs 300 crore by Godrej Industries and up to 1.23 crore shares by V- Sciences, as per the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP).

Besides, the company is considering a pre-IPO placement of up to 5.6 lakh equity shares worth up Rs 252 crore.

Godrej Industries owns 60.81 per cent in Agrovet, which is in businesses such as agri-inputs, animal feeds, palm oil manufacturing, dairy and poultry.

Proceeds of the IPO will be utilised towards repayment of loans and for other general corporate purposes.

10.14 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks erased early gains, with the Sensex falling below 32,000 level and the Nifty hovering around 9900.

Ahead of June quarter earnings, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and Wipro gained up to 1.7 percent while Bajaj Auto fell 0.4 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 1.26 points at 31,954.09 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 3.45 points to 9,896.15 whlie the broader markets were flat with a positive bias.

About 1,155 shares advanced against 897 declining shares on the BSE.

9:53 am Buzzing: Share price of Sutlej Textiles and Industries declined 7.6 percent intraday on the back of poor numbers declared by the company in the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1FY18).

The company has reported 47.7 percent declined in its net profit at Rs 23.6 crore against Rs 45.1 crore, in the same quarter last fiscal.

The operating profit (EBITDA) was down 10.5 percent at Rs 69.5 crore and EBITDA margin slipped 330 bps at 10.7 percent.

However, the revenue has increased by 18 percent to Rs 652 crore versus Rs 552.7 crore.

9:40 am FII View: Derek Higa of William O'Neil said the MSCI Asia continued to trend near all-time highs constructively despite distribution days being at an elevated level across markets.

He remained bullish on the region.

According to him, the strongest in the region are India, South Korea and Hong Kong which he continued to advise being overweight on.

9:29 am Buyback: Shares of Just Dial rose 5 percent in morning as the company will consider buyback of its equity shares.

The meeting of board of directors of the company is scheduled to be held on July 24, to consider the unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 2017.

In the said meeting the board will also consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened moderately higher, with the Sensex reclaiming 32,000 level, backed by Reliance Industries and ITC. Nifty Bank also started off with 100 points gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 62.88 points at 32,018.23 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 14.40 points at 9,914.00. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

HPCL was down 4 percent while ONGC gained 1.6 percent after cabinet gave ONGC in-principle approval to buy government's stake in HPCL.

Coal India, ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bharti Airtel were early gainers among largescaps.

In the broader space, Canara Bank, Mindtree, KPIT Technologies and Marico fell up to 4 percent while Just Dial, Sintex Industries, Balrampur Chini, Triveni Engineering, Bajaj Hindusthan, Mastek, Tata Elxsi, Jain Irrigation, Sterlite Technologies and MRPL gained nearly 7 percent.