Sensex falls 300 points, Nifty ends below 10,400; Tata Motors top loser

3:30 pm Market Closing: Benchmark indices continued to fall for fourth consecutive session, with the Sensex losing 300.16 points or 0.88 percent to 33,746.78 and the Nifty declining 99.50 points or 0.95 percent to 10,358.90.

About three shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

3:12 pm Trade Wars impact: Tata Motors shares plunged more than 5 percent on weak JLR US sales and after US President Donald Trump threatens to a slap retaliatory tariff on European cars.

3:01 pm Buzzing: BEML shares rallied 10 percent after CNBC-TV18 report quoting agencies that the Government of India has given an in-principle approval to sell its 26 percent stake in the company.

2:55 pm Crude Oil Update: Oil prices rose ahead of a meeting between OPEC and US shale firms in Houston, raising expectations that oil producers would discuss further how to clear a global oil glut.

Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other global oil players are set to gather in Houston as CERAWeek, the largest energy industry conference, begins today

International benchmark Brent crude was up 48 cents, or 0.75 percent, at USD 64.85 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 56 cents, or 0.91 percent, to USD 61.81 per barrel.

2:40 pm Buzzing: Vakrangee was locked at 5 percent upper circuit after hitting lower circuit in morning.

The stock price opened with a 5 percent loss but immediately bounced back in first half an hour of trade and continued to trade with 5 percent upper circuit.

2:30 pm Gold Update: Gold prices drifted lower by Rs 50 to Rs 31,450 per 10 grams at the bullion market owing to slackened demand from local jewellers despite a firm trend in the overseas markets.

However, silver advanced by Rs 70 to Rs 39,600 per kg due to increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Marketmen said, gold dropped due to a subdued demand from local jewellers and retailers but a firm trend overseas as the dollar remained pressured amid fears of a global trade war following US President Donald Trump's decision to impose tariffs on imports of aluminum and steel, capped the fall.

2:17 pm Buzzing: Shivam Autotech shares gained 2 percent as the company informed exchanges that the company has achieved approximately 22 percent increase in sales in the month of February 2018 compared to corresponding month in the previous financial year.

2:10 pm Market Update: The market continued to reel under selling pressure as benchmark indices and midcaps declined around a percent each.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 298.35 points at 33,748.59 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 107.60 points to 10,350.80.

About four shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

Hindalco, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Aurobindo Pharma, Ambuja Cements, Reliance Industries, Vedanta, HUL, ITC and L&T were down 1-4 percent.

TCS, Sun Pharma, M&M, SBI, Tech Mahindra, UPL and Kotak Mahindra Bank were only gainers among Nifty 50 stocks.

1:55 pm Europe Trade: European markets were mixed in morning trade, after an uncertain Italian election result left the country preparing for the prospect of a hung parliament.
France's CAC and Britain's FTSE were up 0.2-0.4 percent while Germany's DAX declined 0.1 percent.

1:40 pm Budget Session Update: The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after unrelenting protests by the opposition Congress over the Rs 12,700 crore PNB scam, and demands by the TDP for a special package for Andhra Pradesh.

On the first day of the second-leg of the Budget session, the House witnessed uproar as Congress, TDP, TRS as well as AIADMK members trooped into the Well.

Noisy protests disrupted the Question Hour which led to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourning the House till 12 noon.

As the House reassembled, Congress members trooped into the Well with placards demanding a reply from the prime minister on diamantaire Nirav Modi's whereabouts. Trinamool Congress members too were seeking to raise the same matter.

1:30 pm Auto sales: Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today said its highest selling model Alto has crossed the 35 lakh cumulative sales milestone.

Brand Alto has clocked a growth rate of 6 per cent in 2017-18, MSI said in a statement, adding that it has garnered a market share of 33 per cent in the ongoing fiscal.

The Alto has been the highest selling car in the domestic market for the past fourteen years, it said.

1:15 pm Buzzing Stock: Shares of Thomas Cook rose around 11 percent intraday on Monday as investors bet on the likely internal management rejig prospects.

The company's Board on March 1 gave its nod to explore internal corporate restructuring exercise. The move is aimed at enabling the company to focus on travel-related business.

Further, the rejig exercise could also be aimed at giving shareholders the direct exposure and shareholding of Quess Corp as well as enhancing shareholder value.

12:56 pm Market Update: The market remained under selling pressure as benchmark indices fell 1 percent each while midcaps also declined in line with frontliners on weak Asian cues.
All sectoral indices were in the red.

Metals stocks extended losses, with the Nifty Metal index falling more than 3.5 percent after US President Donald Trump's announcement to impose 25 percent tariff on steel imports and 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports. However, HSBC note says that direct impact on India is likely to be minimal.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 354.27 points or 1.04 percent at 33,692.67 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was down 122.70 points or 1.17 percent at 10,335.70.
About four shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

12:45 pm Dividend: Kewal Kiran Clothing informed exchanges that the meeting of the board of directors is scheduled to be held on March 10 for considering the declaration of 4th interim dividend for the financial year 2017-18.

12:25 pm Fundraising: UPL Limited informed exchanges that wholly-owned subsidiary, UPL Corporation (formerly Biowin Corporation Limited) has successfully completed the pricing of its USD 300 million senior unsecured notes at 4.5% per annum, due 2028.

The Notes have been rated 'BBB-' by Fitch, and 'BBB-' by S&P. An application is filed to the Singapore Stock Exchange for the listing of the Notes.

The offering is scheduled to close on March 8, 2018, the company said.

12:10 pm Board Meeting: Goodluck India said a meeting of the board of directors will be held on March 8 to consider and approve, in-principle, the proposed corporate restructuring.

11:55 am Ruckus at Parliament: The Rajya Sabha witnessed repeated adjournments of proceedings in the morning session after opposition parties created a ruckus over the PNB scam and constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board.

Slogan shouting from the Well resulted in proceedings being adjourned first for 10 minutes and then till 1400 hours, which resulted in the Question Hour not being taken up.

While the TMC led the charge against India's biggest bank fraud, Tamil parties - the AIADMK and the DMK came together to demand implementation of the court order on constitution of Caurvey Water Management Board.

The TDP and a Congress member demanded implementation of the promise to give special status to Andhra Pradesh after Telengana was carved out of it.

11:40 am Buzzing: Shares of Aurobindo Pharma slumped more than 5 percent intraday amid reports that the company has received observations from the US health regulator for one of its Hyderabad units.

According to a media report, the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued Form 483 with 9 observations to Aurobindo Pharma's unit 4 in Hyderabad, citing serious deficiencies in maintaining the manufacturing quality standards.

11:30 am Acquisition: Wipro traded with mild gains after the company signed a definitive agreement with Denim Group, a leading independent application security firm, to acquire a minority stake in the US based company.

This partnership will bring together Wipro's strong digital transformation and cybersecurity capabilities with Denim Group's application security consulting, assessments and implementation services including DevSecOps and secure development training services.

This, coupled with Denim Group's flagship product ThreadFix, the premier application vulnerability correlation and resolution platform, will offer customers significant value in mitigating cybersecurity risks.

11:16 am Buzzing: Shares of TVS Motor Company added 1.5 percent as company reported strong sales number for the month of February 2018.

The company reported 37 percent growth in its total February 2018 sales numbers increasing from 2,11,470 units in February 2017 to 290,673 units in the month of February 2018.

The company's two-wheeler sales were up 36.2 percent at 2.80 lakh units and three-wheeler sales were up 86.3 percent at 9,731 units.

The export was up 53.2 percent at 58,564 units. Its domestic 2-wheeler sales were up 33.5 percent at 2.30 lakh units. Scooter sales jumped 35.6 percent at 93,573 units and motorcycle sales rose 92 percent at 1.13 lakh.

11:06 am Services Industry Growth: Business conditions in India's service sector deteriorated modestly in February. Activity and new work declined for the first time since November, with rates of contraction the fastest since August, Nikkei IHS Markit said in its report.

The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell from 51.7 in January to 47.8 in February, its lowest level since August.

The headline figure signalled the first fall in output for three months, but one that was modest, the report said.

The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index fell from 52.5 in January to 49.7 in February, as the fall in service sector activity outweighed an upturn in manufacturing production.

This index was consistent with a marginal decline in overall output.

11:04 am Buzzing: Shares of Gitanjali Gems cracked another 5 percent after the CBI made four arrests in connection with the alleged Rs 12,636-crore fraud at Punjab National Bank (PNB) perpetrated by billionaire jewellers Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

The agency has also arrested two employees and an auditor of the Nirav Modi group of companies, while a director of the Gitanjali group of companies (owned by Choksi) has also been taken into custody.

Reacting to the development, shares of Gitanjali Gems slumped 5 percent, to hit its 52-week low of Rs 19.30.

This is the 13th straight session of fall for the stock. It has lost as as much as 70 percent since February 14, the day the PNB fraud came to light.

10:50 am Cut in Exposure: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has reduced its stake in Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland by 2.04 percent after selling 5.97 crore shares in the open market.

As per a BSE filing, LIC, which held 5.16 percent stake in Ashok Leyland earlier, brought down the shareholding in the company to 3.11 percent.

LIC sold the stake between October 16, 2015, and March 1, 2018.

10:40 am Arbitration Notice: Reliance Infrastructure, along with its subsidiary issued an arbitration notice against founder promoters of Pipapav Defence and Engineering for claims aggregating to Rs 5,440.38 crore for breach of warranties under the purchase agreement.

On March 4, 2015, RInfra, its subsidiary Reliance Defence Systems (RDSPL) and the founder promoters of Pipapav Defence and Engineering entered an agreement for acquisition of shares of Pipapav Defence and Engineering, which is now being named Reliance Naval and Engineering Ltd (RNEL).

"The company, along with its subsidiary, RDSPL has issued an arbitration notice against Nikhil Gandhi, Bhavesh Gandhi and their companies, i.e. SKIL Infrastructure Ltd, Grevek Investments and Finance Pvt Ltd and SKIL Shipyard Holdings Pvt Ltd, all being the founder promoters of Pipapav Defence and Engineering Ltd... asserting the claims for breach of warranties under the purchase agreement dated March 4, 2015," Reliance Infrastructure said in a regulatory filing.

"The claims aggregate to Rs 5,440.38 crore," it added.

10:28 am Rupee Trade: The rupee firmed 14 paise to 65.02 against the dollar after the greenback came under pressure as US President Donald Trump's comments raised concerns of a global trade war.

Trump on Friday said trade wars were good and easy to win. His plan to put tariffs on steel and aluminium imports triggered a negative sentiments across overseas markets.

Forex dealers said weakness in the dollar against some other currencies overseas and foreign capital inflows in the domestic equity markets supported the rupee.

10:18 am Market Update: Benchmark indices extended sell-off on heavy losses in metal, auto, oil and Gas, banking and PSU stocks after US President Donald Trump fuelled concerns of a global trade war.

Asian markets too turned negative as the fallout from Trump's steel and aluminium tariffs continued to spook investors and dampen market sentiment here, brokers said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 295.79 points or 0.87 percent at 33,751.15 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 102.30 points or 0.98 percent to 10,356.10.

All sectoral indices led by metal, auto, oil & gas banking and PSU stocks were trading in the negative terrain.

The laggards were Yes Bank, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Coal India, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's HDFC, Asian Paint, Power Grid, M&M and SBI.

10:05 am Buzzing: Shares of Fortis Healthcare declined nearly 5 percent as SFIO is seeking certain information and documents from the company by March 9, 2018.

The company has received a notice from Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), Ministry of Corporate Affairs, New Delhi, seeking certain information and documents as mentioned therein to be submitted by March 9, 2018.

The company is in process of collating the said information and will be sharing the same in due course.

The financial implication/compensation/penalty and quantum of claims has not been referred in the aforesaid letter and hence cannot be ascertained, company said.

9:55 am Market Outlook: "This the fifth year of a bull market which has been a slow steady one with very little volatility. There have been a few corrections and we are in the middle of one at present. For the long-term investor, this is still a buy on dips market," Dipan Mehta, Director, Elixir Equities Pvt. Ltd said in an exclusive interview with Moneycontrol's Kshitij Anand.

"Whether this correction will deepen or not will become evident over the next 2-3 weeks. If a lower tops/lower bottoms formation get created and broad market indices trade below their 200 DMA (which they are not at present) then we may be in for an extended sell-off or a mild bear market."

9:46 am Market Update: The market extended opening losses despite BJP's landslide victory in Tripura. Weak Asian cues weighed on India.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 262.34 points or 0.77 percent at 33,784.60 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 91.10 points or 0.87 percent to 10,367.30.

About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

The Nifty Midcap declined nearly a percent.

All sectoral indices were in the red, with Nifty Metal index falling most - down nearly 3 percent after Trump's import tariff order on steel, aluminium in US

9:40 am Buzzing: Shares of Laurus Labs advanced 3 percent as the company has received Form 483 with zero observations for Unit 2.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has successfully completed the audit without observations - Zero 483 for its Unit 2 (the formulations unit).

The inspection was carried out from February 23 - March 1, 2018.

The company also received its maiden approval from USFDA for Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate tablets 300mg.

The tablet is therapeutically equivalent to VIREAD tablets 300mg of Gilead Science (GILEAD).

The tablets is used for treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and paediatric patients 2 years of age and older.

9:30 am Asia Update: Markets in Asia traded lower as Chinese leaders headed into an annual parliament meeting while in Italy, exit poll projections indicated that no party is emerging with a clear majority in Sunday's election.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.68 percent while the Kospi index was down 0.75 percent.

Chinese mainland markets fell, with the Shanghai composite down 0.16 percent while Heng Seng declined 1.3 percent.

9:21 am US Import Tariff: Shares of metal companies were trading weak in morning as investors were wary of US President Donald Trump's decision to impose import tariffs.

Steel stocks such as SAIL, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Tata Steel, among others, corrected up to 2.5 percent. Aluminium stocks such as NALCO fell close to 3 percent. Meanwhile, firms involved in the business of other metals such as Hindalco, Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc, MOIL also fell up to 2 percent. The Nifty Metal index fell close to 2 percent.

The US President, on Friday, said that he would impose a 25 percent import tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminium to protect US producers, a move that could trigger a trade war with China and Europe.

An executive order in this regard would be signed this week, Trump said after a meeting with executives of steel and aluminium companies.

"It'll be for a long period of time...And you'll have protection for a long time in a while. You'll have to regrow your industries, that's all I'm asking," Trump said in the presence of a pool of reporters.

Trump said the import tariff hike would create jobs in the US and benefit its industries.

9:15 am Market Check: Benchmark indices started off the week on a negative note despite BJP won Tripura elections, weighed by weak Asian cues and import tariffs on steel & aluminium in the US.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 193.88 points at 33,853.06 and the 50-share share NSE Nifty fell 66.10 points to 10,392.30.

Hindalco, Vedanta, Tata Steel, Aurobindo Pharma, Tata Motors, SBI, Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India and Ambuja Cements declined 1-3 percent.

TCS, Infosys and IOC were early gainers.

Nifty Midcap was down half a percent.

PFC, Bank of India, Vakrangee, Bajaj Hindusthan, SAIL, JSW Steel, NALCO, Union Bank and Motherson Sumi were down 1-5 percent.

TVS Motor, Dilip Buildcon and VST Tillers gained 1-2 percent.