Sensex gains over 100 points, Nifty ends above 8550; pharma rallies

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended higher on support from pharma, FMCG and energy stocks. The Sensex ended up 128.27 points or 0.5 percet at 27915.89, and the Nifty was up 37.30 points or 0.4 percent at 8565.85. About 1663 shares have advanced, 1039 shares declined, and 173 shares are unchanged.

BHEL, Coal India, GAIL, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were top gainers while Wipro, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki were losers in the Sensex.

3:00 pm Exclusive: London-listed OPG Power Ventures is in advanced talks with Lanco Power to buy out its Anpara, Amarkantak, Vidarbha and Babandh units, sources have told CNBC-TV18.

The units have a cumulative power capacity of 5,760 megawatt.

It is learnt that OPG, which currently has power plants in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, will infuse Rs 150 crore into Lanco's power business while the units' Rs 5,200 crore debt will be transferred to the power vertical.

Following the deal, Lanco promoter Madhusudhan Rao's equity stake will fall below 25 percent, from 70.5 percent. Banks, however, have sought more comfort from OPG Power in personal and corporate guarantees. Lanco has a conslidated debt of over Rs 41,000 crore with ICICI, IDBI, Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank being major lenders.

2:50 pm Earnings: Private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank's first quarter (April-June) profit shot up 50.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 60.7 crore on higher net interest income and lower provisions.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 22.2 percent to Rs 177.5 crore in the quarter ended June 2016 from Rs 145.2 crore in same period of last fiscal.

Other income (non-interest income) increased 12.9 percent to Rs 89.2 crore and operating profit was up by 16.9 percent at Rs 125.8 crore compared with corresponding period of last fiscal.

Provisions for bad loans fell 39.7 percent year-on-year (up 29.7 percent quarter-on-quarter) to Rs 35.15 crore in June quarter.

Asset quality slightly weakened as gross non-performing assets (NPA) increased 17 basis points sequentially to 2.14 percent and net NPA 12 basis points to 1.30 percent in Q1.

2:40 pm NGT order: Diesel vehicles in the city which are 15 years old should be deregistered first and will not get NoC for plying outside Delhi-NCR, the National Green Tribunal today said.

Only deregistered diesel vehicles which are less than 15 years old can get No Objection Certificate for plying in select areas outside Delhi-NCR to be decided by states where vehicle density is less.

"All diesel vehicles which are more than 15 years old and are BS-I, BS-II to be scrapped and no NOC will be issued," a bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar said as it clarified its earlier order directing the Delhi government to cancel the registration of all diesel-powered vehicles which are more than 10 years old from plying in the city.

2:20 pm FDI: The Centre has decided not to raise the foreign direct investment limit on newspapers and periodicals to 49 percent from 26 percent.

Currently, the FDI policy permits 26 percent foreign direct investment in publishing of newspapers and periodicals dealing with news and current affairs via approval route.

The issue of relaxing FDI policy in print media has been pending for long.

The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) had recently asked the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to have a look at the proposal.

In a communication to DEA, the DIPP said a "considered view" was taken against increasing the FDI cap in print media sector, sources said.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market remained in a positive territory in afternoon trade with the Nifty holding 8550 level, supported by healthcare, energy and FMCG stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 85.02 points at 27872.64 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 26.35 points to 8554.90 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8 percent each.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1539 shares advanced against 986 declining shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, European stocks traded slightly higher as markets digested a slew of earnings but mining stocks underperformed. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were up 0.4-0.6 percent.

Oil futures were lower in Asian trading. Brent crude was down 0.1 percent at USD 46.61 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 0.34 percent at USD 44.50 a barrel.

1:50 pm Result poll: Vedanta Resources subsidiary Hindustan Zinc's first quarter (April-June) profit is likely to decline 32 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,125 crore and revenue may fall 30 percent to Rs 2,540 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit (EBITDA) is expected to slip 35 percent to Rs 1,076 crore due to lower volume on ongoing mine development. Margin may contract by 330 basis points at 42.4 percent on annual basis.

LME zinc price rose 14 percent on sequential basis and 13 percent on yearly basis due to closure of some large mines in Q4FY16 and demand growth from China.

Hindustan Zinc may report muted performance for Q1FY17 on account of subdued zinc volumes.

1:30 pm Views on IT: That the Indian IT industry is struggling with slowing growth on account of structural challenges is a view that is not new but those fears got reinforced lately after top IT companies posted tepid June quarter results.

Late last week and early this week, Infosys, Wipro and Mindtree said their sequential profits fell 4.5 percent, 7.1 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

Some analysts say that IT companies -- whose bread-and-butter enterprise application development and maintenance models face challenges from market saturation in the West, lower IT spend from key clients such as banks and challenges from smaller, nimbler companies focusing on newer technologies like automation -- are staring down the barrel over the long term.

The market is still gaining with the Nifty above 8500. The 50-share index is up 26.90 points or 0.3 percent at 8555.45 and the Sensex is up 85.68 points or 0.3 percent at 27873.30. About 1509 shares have advanced, 982 shares declined, and 179 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, GAIL, BHEL, Hero MotoCorp and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gainers while Wipro, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank , HDFC and Maruti are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices rose on bargain-buying in Asia today after hitting two-month lows but gains were hobbled by concerns about an oversupply and weak demand after the IMF lowered its global economic growth forecasts.

Investors are playing a holding game ahead of the release later in the day of official US stockpiles figures, which will provide a better handle on the outlook in the world's top oil consumer.

Supply disruptions that lifted prices from near 13-year lows in February have eased and the situation in Turkey is stabilising after the weekend's failed coup attempt, turning attention back to the supply issue.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained higher in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 85.31 points to 27872.93 and the Nifty climbing 25.10 points to 8553.65.

About 1490 shares advanced against 938 declining shares on BSE.

12:45 pm Joint Venture: State Bank of India (SBI), India's largest lender, as a part of its ongoing stress asset resolution process, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Brookfield Asset Management Inc to collaborate on investments in stressed assets.

"SBI and Brookfield propose to form a joint venture (JV), whereby Brookfield will commit approximately Rs 7000 crore and SBI up to 5% of total investments into stressed assets. The proposed JV will independently evaluate and invest in various stressed assets, and will rely upon Brookfield's operational expertise to manage recapitalized businesses. The proposed JV may, at a later stage, seek participation from other lenders in the identified assets," the bank said.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened higher as markets digest a slew of earnings. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.42 percent.

In Asia, markets lost momentum after a mixed finish in the US as investors digested second-quarter earnings.

12:35 pm Buzzing: ACC has commenced commercial production from new 2.79 million tonne per annum clinker facility in Jamul, Chhattisgarh with effect from July 19. The stock gained nearly 2 percent.

The cement major said two new cement grinding facilities, one each at Jamul in Chhattisgarh and Sindri in Jharkhand state, are expected to be commissioned within Q3-2016.

This project will facilitate the company to expand customer base in East India, offering premium quality products like ACC F2R, ACC Plus and hi-performance PSC cements.

12:20 pm RComm-Aircel merger: The merger between Anil Ambani-led telco Reliance Communication and Maxis-run Aircel Wireless Business announced earlier this year is likely to conclude next week.

CNBC-TV18 learns that the two companies, in a 50-50 deal, will together infuse Rs 5,000 crore of equity funding in the merged entity.

With a net worth of approximately Rs 50,000 crore, both RCom and Aircel are likely to transfer Rs 14,000 crore debt to the merged entity.

The deal, which was to materialise in May, was delayed by a month due to a disagreement over debt component. It was for the second time the companies had extended the discussion period for the merger last month.

12:00 pm Market check: Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets extended rally in noon trade with the Sensex rising over 100 points. Healthcare, FMCG, oil and select infra stocks gained strength.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 121.15 points to 27908.77 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 34.10 points to 8562.65.

The broader markets like BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8 percent each as about two shares advanced for every share declining on the exchange.

Aurobindo Pharma, Glenmark and Sun Pharmaceutical gained 2-4 percent intraday after the US health regulator has given approval for antihyperlipidemic drug Rosuvastatin calcium tablets. The approved ANDA, which is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product Crestor tablets of IPR Pharmaceuticals Inc, has an estimated market size of USD 6.7 billion for the twelve months ending May 2016, according to IMS.

11:55 am Interview: Realty player DLF has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Ridgewood Holding Ltd to develop seven residential projects in Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi and Indore.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Saurabh Chawla, Senior ED of Finance at DLF said that the rationale behind this JV is to increase focus on premium and luxury projects and Ridgewood will take 100 percent control in certain projects post re-alignment.

He added that post project completion, the leftover land will be taken under full control by either of the companies.

11:45 am Exclusive: Fortis Healthcare is likely set to demerge SRL Diagnostics in to a separate entity within the next 2-3 weeks.

Sources say that SRL Diagnostics will be listed in to a separate entity and Fortis shareholders will receive shares of SRL Diagnostics.

The valuation of SRL Diagnostics is estimated to be around Rs 6,000 crore.

Fortis is also exploring the option of a reverse merger of SRL Diagnostics into the group company, as per sources.

When contacted for comment, Fortis Healthcare told CNBC-TV18 that it was evaluating demerger of its diagnostics business to unlock value and plans to present demerger proposal before the board once its analysis is done.

11:30 am Buzzing: Aurobindo Pharma and Glenmark shares rallied 3-4 percent intraday on approval from the US health regulator for antihyperlipidemic drug. "....has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Rosuvastatin calcium tablets, 5 mg, 10 mg, 20 mg and 40 mg," says Hyderabad-based Aurobindo in its filing. The company has launched this product in the US market. The approved ANDA, which is bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug product Crestor tablets of IPR Pharmaceuticals Inc, has an estimated market size of USD 6.7 billion for the twelve months ending May 2016, according to IMS.

The market continues to be in green with IT stocks exerting pressure. The Sensex is up 75.23 points or 0.3 percent at 27862.85, and the Nifty up 20.85 points or 0.2 percent at 8549.40. About 1387 shares have advanced, 697 shares declined, and 133 shares are unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp, Dr Reddy's, Coal India, HDFC Bank and GAIL are gainers while Wipro, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Asian Paints and HDFC are losers in the Sensex.

Oil futures rose in Asian but gains were limited and U.S. crude traded sideways in advance of the release of official weekly inventory figures later in the day. US crude rose earlier after industry group the American Petroleum Institute reported crude stockpiles fell by 2.3 million barrels last week. That was just above a 2.1 million-barrels draw forecast in a Reuters poll.

10:45 am M&M's investment in tech: Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra 's investment in technology and product development has risen over 16-fold in ten years to touch Rs 1,938 crore in 2015-16.

The company, which is betting big on innovation and aims to be among the top 50 'Most Admired' brands in the world by 2021, also filed 173 patents in 2015-16.

"Our investment in technology and product development has grown from Rs 115 crore in FY 2005-06 to Rs 1,938 crore in FY 2015-16," Mahindra & Mahindra said in its annual report for 2015-16.

"We filed 173 patents in FY16, compared to 156 in the previous year," it said.

10:25 am FII View: Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley says June 2017 BSE Sensex base case of 30,000 (up from 26,000 previously) implies rupee and US dollar upside of 8 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

He further says the likely single-digit returns are consistent with the position of India as one of his top picks in emerging market equities and cautious view on global equities, where he is expecting downside in the coming months.

Desai likes discretionary consumption, retail banks and select industrials. He is underweight on telecom, materials, consumer staples and healthcare.

10:10 am Interview: Realty player DLF has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Ridgewood Holding Ltd to develop seven residential projects in Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi and Indore.

In a BSE filing the company said, ''It has been jointly decided by DLF and the Investor to realign the current shareholding arrangement in the JV companies in order to maintain continued focus of future development of various projects.''

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Saurabh Chawla, Senior ED of Finance at DLF said that the rationale behind this JV is to increase focus on premium and luxury projects and Ridgewood will take 100 percent control in certain projects post re-alignment.

He added that post project completion, the leftover land will be taken under full control by either of the companies.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks maintained early gains while the broader markets outperformed after two-day consolidation. Healthcare, FMCG and select auto stocks gained while Wipro remained top loser, down 4 percent after disappointing on Q2 guidance and Q1 margin front.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 93.90 points at 27881.52 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 22.75 points to 8551.30. The BSE Midcap gained 0.6 percent and Smallcap rose 0.4 percent as about two shares advanced for every share falling on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hero Motocorp gained more than 1 percent followed by Reliance Industries, ITC and TCS while ICICI Bank, Infosys and Tata Motors were losers.

9:55 am Buzzing: Shares of 63 Moons Technologies (formerly known as Financial Technologies India (FTIL)) tumbled 18 percent intraday Wednesday as Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police attached assets of the company in connection with the Rs 5,600 crore National Spot Exchange (NSEL) scam. Its founder Jignesh Shah was arrested a week ago in a money laundering case.

The EOW of Mumbai police attached assets of FTIL, under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act (MPID) Act. All the offices of FTIL will be taken over by EOW. Over and above physical real estate assets, they have also attached liquid assets as well as bank accounts of FTIL worth about Rs 2200 crore.

Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies (India) (FTIL) was incorporated as company in April 1988.

9:45 am Telcos under scanner: Department of Telecom has started issuing demand notices to six telecom firms including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communication and Vodafone, who the CAG had alleged to have under-reported revenues to the tune of Rs 46,000 crore between 2006 and 2010.

The demand notices that have been sent out pertain to Delhi telecom circle, sources said, adding that this will be followed up by similar notices for other circles over the next fortnight.

The notices have given out for one circle for one year for each operator, sources added.

The six service providers who came under the spotlight following CAG report included Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, Reliance Communications, Tata Tele and Idea.

9:30 am New IPO: Advanced Enzyme Technologies initial public offering (IPO) has opened for subscription on July 20. Price band has been fixed at Rs 880-Rs 896 per equity share to raise over Rs 411 crore through its issue. The IPO comprises fresh issue of equity shares worth Rs 50 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) for up to 4,034,470 scrips by promoter group shareholders, along with Kotak Employees Investment Trust, Kotak India Venture Fund I and Kotak India Venture (Offshore) Fund. It has already garnered around Rs 123 crore from as many as 15 anchor investors. Little over 13.71 lakh shares were allotted to the anchor investors at Rs 896 apiece, the upper end of the price band for the Rs 411 crore IPO.

After a slow opening, the market has quickly picked pace on Wednesday. The Sensex is up 86.99 points or 0.3 percent at 27874.61 and the Nifty is up 22.60 points or 0.3 at 8551.15. About 507 shares have advanced, 233 shares declined, and 35 shares are unchanged.

Reliance, GAIL, M&M, Coal India and Cipla are top gainers in the Sensex while Wipro is down 5 percent. Other losers in the Sensex are ICICI Bank, Infosys, ONGC and Axis Bank.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 5 paise at 67.15 per dollar versus previous close of 67.10. The dollar at four-month high against a basket of major currencies after data showed US housing starts rose more than expected in June, underpinning a theme of strength in the US economy.

NS Venkatesh, ED of Lakshmi Vilas Bank said, "The rupee closed at 67.11/dollar levels supported by custodial banks supplying dollars in the markets. Though gains were limited by dollar demand from importers."

Among global peers, Asia markets opened mostly lower on Wednesday, following a mixed finish in the US as investors digested second-quarter earnings. In Japan, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.85 percent, after finishing the Tuesday session at a six-week high. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi was off by 0.54 percent.

Australia's ASX 200 traded flat at 5,452.80, with the materials sub-index lagging, down 1.48 percent. Miners remain in focus on the broader index as they release production reports.

The S&P 500 pulled back from record highs on Tuesday, while the Dow industrials edged up for an eighth straight day of gains, as investors digested mixed earnings reports amid lowered expectations for global economic growth.

In other asset classes, the dollar is at four-month high against a basket of major currencies after data showed US housing starts rose more than expected in June, underpinning a theme of strength in the US economy. Crude prices fall overnight as a rallying dollar and a global fuel glut offset forecasts for lower US crude stockpiles. Gold continues to trade flat around USD 1330 an ounce.