Sensex loses 96 points, Nifty above 7500; Tata Power falls 3%

03:55 pm FII betting on India
Foreign investors in India are changing investment strategies to favour domestic-oriented companies, mid-cap stocks and state-owned enterprises, based on hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new government will revive Asia's third-largest economy.

These sectors have underperformed the wider market over the past year and are seen having far more upside potential if the economy picks up thanks to Modi's reformist agenda.

"There is a positive structural change underway in the Indian economy. Indian financials and cyclical stocks look attractive," said Gaurav Patankar, a fund manager in New York at The Boston Company Asset Management, which oversees USD 50 billion in assets.

03:45 pm World markets
Global stocks traded just off record highs on Friday, still largely undeterred by a second week of violence in Iraq that has sent oil prices to nine-month highs.

Buoyed by the billions of dollars the US Federal Reserve is still pumping into the global economy under its quantitative easing programme, equity markets took heart from a sanguine message this week on inflation from Fed chief Janet Yellen.

"The goldilocks scenario of low rates and a slowly improving economy continues, with markets unmoved by continued geopolitical concerns," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in London.

03:35 Market closing
The market saw a gap down closing with Nifty just above the 7500-level. The Nifty was down 29.25 points at 7511.45 while the Sensex was down 96.29 points at 25105.51.

Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto,Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel and Coal India were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Tata Power, M&M, Hindalco, Sun Pharma and SBI.

03:25 pm Power packed ministry
Union power minister Piyush Goyal met private power producers to take stock of the power situation and discuss issues related to power generation, fuel supply, transmission and distribution.

Speaking to the press after the meeting, Goyal said a task force has been formed to look into rationalising coal linkages.Goyal said there is a need to enhance supply of coal and in this regard requested Coal India to increase its supply to power companies. He also requested Coal India to reduce e-auction for additional supply and allow third party inspection for coal quality.

03:15 pm Sebi norms
To usher in more transparency, capital market regulator Sebi has revised certain guidelines for alternative investment funds, including stricter disclosure requirements.

Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) are basically funds established or incorporated in India for the purpose of pooling in capital from Indian and foreign investors for investing as per a pre-decided policy. It has been decided to "provide certain clarifications on the AIF regulations, increase transparency to the investors and provide reporting norms for AIFs," the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said in a circular on Thursday.

Sebi has asked all AIFs to disclose the "disciplinary history" of the fund, its sponsor, manager, directors, partners, promoters and associates. The details should be included in the AIF's placement memorandum. These funds are required to provide details of pending and past cases (where the person has been found guilty) of litigations, criminal or civil prosecution, disputes and non-payment of statutory dues, among others.

03:00 pm Market alert: The marklet slips further. The Sensex is down 100.43 points at 25101.37 and the Nifty is down 30.70 points at 7510.00. About 1223 shares have advanced, 1679 shares declined, and 104 shares are unchanged.

02:55pm MTNL surges 7%
Telecom minister Ravi Shankar Prasad says the ministry has discussed MTNL and BSNL revival with companies' management. "We set strict timelines for BSNL's expansion and upgrade," he adds.

02:45pm Jewellery stocks gain
Titan Company rallied 3.5 percent,, Gitanjali Gems 6 percent, PC Jeweller 2 percent, Shree Ganesh Jewellery rose 5 percent and Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri jumped 7 percent.

02:35pm PFC in news
State-owned Power Finance Corporation, the leading lender to the power sector, has received shareholders' approval for raising up to Rs 44,000 crore through issue of securities in the current financial year.

Another proposal, that has been cleared by shareholders, is increasing the limit for raising funds in Indian rupees to Rs 4,00,000 crore from the existing level of Rs 2,00,000 crore, and in any foreign currency equivalent to USD 8 billion from the present level of USD 4 billion.

02:25pm Interview
Entertainment Network India  (ENIL), a subsidiary of Times Infotainment Media (TIML), finds the recent statements made by Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar encouraging.

Javadekar's promise of extension of Phase 2 licences and timely FM radio Phase 3 auction bodes well for the industry.

Prashant Panday, ED & CEO, ENIL sees benefits accruing by end-FY16 and FY17, especially for the media sector. He reasons that the economy will take time to pick up.

Post the policy clearances, he sees radio companies making a lot of investments and most of it will go towards expansion as there is very little maintenance involved. He says if Phase 3 auction happens by December, capex expansions will start in three or six months. ''Our capex plans linked to what happens in Phase 2 and Phase 3,'' he told CNBC-TV18.

He believes growth for the sector will continue in line with the last two years – early double digits.

02:10pm Market Expert
Ambit sees a heavy foreign investor interest in Indian mid-caps going forward. In its India strategy note, the brokerage said it ''believes the market's rally over the past nine months has more to it than just expectations on the political front''.

Ambit has raised its FY15 GDP estimate from 5.1 percent to 5.6 percent (vs 4.7 percent in FY14) after Narendra Modi's decisive victory. It has also raised the end-FY15 Sensex target from 24,000 to 30,000.

Ambit, which is holding a two-day conference in London next week, will be showcasing 10-12 quality midcap companies, including DCB and L&T Finance.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks continued to be choppy in trade today. The Sensex declined 29.66 points to 25172.14 and the Nifty slipped 13.10 points to 7527.60. About 1288 shares have advanced, 1575 shares declined, and 91 shares are unchanged.

Reliance Capital, United Spirits, Godrej Consumer, SBI, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Jaiprakash Associates and Infosys were the most active shares on exchanges.

Sun Pharma and Tata Power topped the selling list, falling over 2 percent followed Mahindra & Mahindra with 1.6 percent. L&T, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India, ITC and HUL declined 0.2-0.6 percent.

However, Infosys, ONGC, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Hero Motocorp and BHEL gained 0.4-1.2 percent.

1:50 pm Gold slips: Gold eased on profit taking after posting its biggest one-day rise in nine months, but the safe-haven metal was trading near April highs and set for its best week in three months on geopolitical tensions and a softer dollar.

Gold posted its biggest jump since September on Thursday, as technical buying picked up on tensions in Iraq and was supported by the Federal Reserve's lack of commitment to raise interest rates.

"The move is largely short covering, but the investment buying interest is not aggressive," said Ronald Leung, chief dealer at Lee Cheong Gold Dealers in Hong Kong.

"Geopolitical tensions and a softer dollar have prompted some to cover their short positions. But this is unlikely to last."

1:40 pm NPA woes: P Rudran, managing director & chief executive officer, Asset Reconstruction Company of India says banks have offered to divest non-performing assets (NPAs) worth Rs 25,000 crore for reconstruction this quarter.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rudran says that Q1FY14 saw very nominal asset sales, while this year infrastructure, iron and steel and textile sector assets are being put on the block.

''But we try to stay away from infra and agricultural assets,'' adds Rudran who prefers to lend to companies whose assets are backed by tangible securities.

In what reflects the current situation of the Indian economy, marred by high interest costs and slowdown in production, the asset reconstruction company says it usually sees business in the second half of any financial year, but has currently seen over Rs 25k crore-worth business.

''If this is anything to go by, we just might see banks divest nearly Rs 100,000 crore by the end of FY15,'' he further adds.

1:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Sun Pharma slipped over 2 percent intraday as investors were worried that merger with Ranbaxy may still be stuck in some roadblocks. According to a media report its merger with Ranbaxy Laboratories may take longer than usual to secure all regulatory clearances.

Earlier in May, Andhra Pradesh High Court had cleared the decks for the USD 4-billion deal by lifting the stay it had imposed. The deal, however, needs to be approved by regulatory bodies such as CCI, BSE, NSE and Sebi which were investigating the insider-trading allegations.

On April 6, Sun Pharma had announced to fully acquire Ranbaxy in an all-stock transaction with a total equity value of USD 3.2 billion, along with debt of USD 800 million, taking the overall deal value to USD 4 billion.

1:20 pm FII view: Chris Wood, CLSA says if an inflation scare hits markets in coming months, it will cause a correction almost everywhere. ''This would set up a huge buying opportunity in Greed & Fear's favourite stock market globally which is now India. This is because Greed & Fear's expectation of a renewed investment cycle in India means that it will no longer be as vulnerable to such "tapering" scares,'' he adds.

According to him, given Greed & Fear's view that India has begun a multi-year bull market, dedicated Asian and emerging markets investors should use any correction to build positions in the "mid-cap" area where foreign investor ownership is much lower than in the blue chips.

Markets trade mildly in the green with Nifty hovering around 7,550. The Sensex is up 34.95 points at 25236.75 and the Nifty is up 11.30 points at 7552.00.

About 1372 shares have advanced, 1386 shares declined and 106 shares are unchanged. Banks, oil & gas and metals support markets while capital goods stocks drag.

Tata Steel, Axis Bank, BHEl, ONGC and Bajaj Auto are top gainers in the Sensex while Sun Pharma, M&M, Tata Power and Wipro are major losers.

Brent crude trades around 115 dollar a barrel, headed for a second weekly gain on increased risks of supply disruptions from Iraq.

Ahead of the Budget, power producers will meet Minister Piyush Goyal. Sources indicate that the power producers may discuss issues including compensatory tariff, coal and fuel supply for power plants.

01:00pm Gold Update
Gold eased today on profit taking after posting its biggest one-day rise in nine months, but the safe-haven metal was trading near April highs and set for its best week in three months on geopolitical tensions and a softer dollar.

Gold posted its biggest jump since September on Thursday, as technical buying picked up on tensions in Iraq and was supported by the Federal Reserve's lack of commitment to raise interest rates.

Spot gold fell 0.6 percent to USD 1,311.30 an ounce by 0649 GMT, after jumping 3.3 percent in the previous session, when it hit mid-April highs of USD 1,321.70. The metal has gained about 3 percent for the week, reports Reuters.

12:50pm Sintex Industries in news
Sintex Industries says it has allotted 2,50,801 equity shares of Re 1 each to foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) holders on the exercise their conversion right.

With the said allotment, the paid up equity share capital of the company as on June 20, 2014 stands increased from Rs 33,03,45,985 to Rs 33,05,96,786 divided into 33,05,96,786 equity shares of Re 1 each.

12:40pm Jayaswal Neco Industries gains 2%
Jayaswal Neco Industries says a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on June 25, 2014, to consider and approve proposal for issue of equity shares on preferential basis to select group of companies.

12:30pm CLSA advises buying midcaps on every dip
Chris Wood, CLSA says if an inflation scare hits markets in coming months, it will cause a correction almost everywhere. ''This would set up a huge buying opportunity in Greed & Fear's favourite stock market globally which is now India. This is because Greed & Fear's expectation of a renewed investment cycle in India means that it will no longer be as vulnerable to such "tapering" scares,'' he adds.

According to him, given Greed & Fear's view that India has begun a multi-year bull market, dedicated Asian and emerging markets investors should use any correction to build positions in the "mid-cap" area where foreign investor ownership is much lower than in the blue chips.

12:15pm Interview
For Speciality Restaurants, the fourth quarter of the previous year was not the best it has had and add to that food inflation, which is obviously a major concern for the sector, says Anjan Chatterjee, founder and managing director, Speciality Restaurants.

''When you try to hold on to footfalls, you cannot pass every price rise to the consumer,'' he told CNBC-TV18.

Seasonal issues such as monsoon are also a major worry for Chatterjee. He says Speciality Restaurants is trying to absorb as much of the price rise as possible.

He says the company has a strong balancesheet with cash at disposal for expansion. It has Rs 100 crore plus cash on its books.

The company had added 15-16 restaurants last year and hopes to continue with the same this year too, he adds.

12:00pm Benchmark as well as broader indices remained listless. The Sensex rose 28.15 points to 25229.95 and the Nifty advanced 8.40 points to 7549.10. About 1248 shares have advanced, 1294 shares declined, and 107 shares are unchanged.

United Spirits and Axis Bank topped the buying list, rising 2-3 percent followed by ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Coal India, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Cairn India with 1-1.5 percent.

However, Sun Pharma lost 2 percent on reports that its merger with Ranbaxy Laboratories might take longer than usual to secure all regulatory clearances for their proposed merger.

Tata Power fell 1.6 percent. Citi has downgraded it to sell with a reduced target price of Rs 87 per share due to high valuations and tariff hike uncertainty in Mundra UMPP.

Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, BPCL and HCL Technologies declined 0.6-1.5 percent.

In the broader space, IFCI said it will divest entire stake in IFCI Financial Services and will partially divest stake in NSE. IFCI holds 5.44 percent stake in NSE. The stock rallied 7 percent.

Natco Pharma shot up 14.43 percent. Rajesh Exports, Mindtree and Pfizer ralied 5-6 percent while Ramco Cements, NIIT Technologies, Punj Lloyd, Bombay Rayon and Supreme Industries lost 3-5 percent.

11:55 am More power: The power minister has finalised his note for the Prime Minister, CNBC-TV18 learns from sources. Its five-point agenda includes ensuring 24 hours of power supply, financial viability of the discoms and mitigating fuel shortages. The government is expecting to bring in the next wave of reforms by amending Electricity Act of 2003. It also plans to tap the vast hydro potential in the country.

The government aims to add capacity by ensuring fuel availability and create faster clearances of projects and coal blocks. It also aims to have 100 percent metering of electricity consumers. As many as seven discoms are currently under financial restructuring given by the government. It also plans to ask state regulatory commissions to rationalise tariff and make upfront payment of subsidy by the state government.

11:45 am Big rise: Shares of rating agency ICRA touched a record high of Rs 2,779.40 after its promoter Moody's increased stake to 50.06 percent in the company via open offer. The stock rallied as much as 17.7 percent intraday.

Moody's Singapore, Moody's Investment Company India Private Limited and Moody's Corporation collectively raised stake in ICRA by 21.55 percent, representing 21,54,722 equity shares through the open offer. The value of this transaction was Rs 517.13 crore.

Moody's had proposed to acquire 26.5 lakh equity shares of the company at a revised open offer price of Rs 2,400 apiece and intended to raise stake upto 56.01 percent from 28.51 percent. Promoter, on May 28, had increased its open offer price to Rs 2400 per share from Rs 2000 per share.

11:35 am Market outlook: The Indian equity market is currently awaiting fresh signals from the government in terms of reforms before taking any direction, believes Dipen Sheth, head-Institutional Equities, HDFC Securities.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sheth says that while Indian markets are siting on the cusp of a golden decade, large resets are likely to come in on short-term.

''Geopolitics, like the current situation in Iraq will have an effect on our market,'' says Sheth.

On sectoral preferences, Sheth says investors shouldn't write off fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) or IT stocks. His best bets from the same are Pidilite and ITC. A lot of high quality midcap stocks still exist in the market, Sheth adds.

11:25 am Fund raising: Mid-sized IT firm Mindtree is all set to raise up to USD 1 billion (about Rs 6,000 crore) after receiving nod from shareholders.

Shareholders have also authorised the company's board to sell, lease or mortgage movable as well as immovable properties. These proposals were approved by the shareholders through a postal ballot, according to a regulatory filing made by the company today.

Mindtree has received the go-ahead from shareholders to "borrow up to USD 1 billion" and to issue "bonus shares". Besides, the company has been authorised to "sell, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose off the whole or substantially the whole of the undertaking(s), the moveable and immoveable properties of the company, both present and future."

11:15 am Buzzing: Shares of Tata Power fell over 3 percent intraday as the stock appears to be expensive even in an optimistic market scenario. Citi has downgraded it to sell with a reduced target price of Rs 87 per share due to high valuations and tariff hike uncertainty in Mundra UMPP.

The stock is up 42 percent, outperforming the Sensex by18 percent in the last four months after the CERC tariff hike for Mundra UMPP. However, the procurers have not started to pay higher tariff as it they have appealed against it. So, according to Citi, even after accounting for the hike from FY15 onwards the stock looks expensive.

The brokerage advises to switch to CESC, instead.  ''Our FY14E EPS is cut sharply by 83 percent given Tata Power has not accounted for the Mundra tariff hike in the FY14e numbers. We assume this will be factored in from FY15e onwards,'' it said in a report.

It is another day of lacklustre trade. The Sensex is down 14.99 points at 25186.81 and the Nifty is down 6.60 points at 7534.10. About 1101 shares have advanced, 1181 shares declined, and 81 shares are unchanged.

Cipla, Axis Bank, Coal India, ONGC and Bajaj Auto are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Tata Power, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Sesa Sterlite and Wipro.

The rupee is down on poor global cues. Likely dollar demand from importers is weighing on sentiments. Gilts trade with a weak bias, tracking rupee as appetite subdued ahead of weekly gilt auction.

Gold prices crossed the USD1300 per ounce mark but are consolidating today after posing the biggest one day rise in 9-month yesterday

Brent crude futures rose to highest levels since September last year. News reports said Iraqi government forces continued to battle Sunni militants for control of the country's biggest oil refinery in northern town of Beiji. Currently Brent is trading above USD 115 per barrel.

Asian markets trade with a downward bias as geopolitical tensions in Iraq dominate sentiment. On Thursday US president Barack Obama said the government will send 300 military advisors to Iraq. Japanese markets trade at 4-month high.

10:55am FII View
Chris Wood, CLSA says if an inflation scare hits markets in coming months, it will cause a correction almost everywhere. ''This would set up a huge buying opportunity in Greed & Fear's favourite stock market globally which is now India. This is because Greed & Fear's expectation of a renewed investment cycle in India means that it will no longer be as vulnerable to such "tapering" scares,'' he adds.

According to him, given Greed & Fear's view that India has begun a multi-year bull market, dedicated Asian and emerging markets investors should use any correction to build positions in the "mid-cap" area where foreign investor ownership is much lower than in the blue chips.

10:40am Oil India, ONGC bounce back
CLSA says Oil India is attractively priced and is one of their top picks in the state-owned space, with a target price of Rs 800, while ONGC has a target price of Rs 530. The brokerage expects subsidies to fall to a historical low and also it expects the government to implement oil & gas reforms.

10:30am Atul Auto hits 52-week high
Atul Auto says a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on June 26, 2014, to consider and approve the sub-division of nominal value of equity shares.

10:20am Orchid in news
Chennai-based pharmaceutical company Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received approval from US FDA for its ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) for Eszopiclone tablets (to treat insomnia), 1mg, 2mg and 3mg strengths. The stock rallied 7 percent.

10:10am Market Expert
The Indian equity market is currently awaiting fresh signals from the government in terms of reforms before taking any direction, believes Dipen Sheth, head-Institutional Equities, HDFC Securities.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sheth says that while Indian markets are siting on the cusp of a golden decade, large resets are likely to come in on short-term.

''Geopolitics, like the current situation in Iraq will have an effect on our market,'' says Sheth.

10:00am Equity benchmarks continued to see consolidation for the second consecutive session. The Sensex rose 35.78 points to 25237.58 and the Nifty climbed 7.45 points to 7548.15. About 1015 shares have advanced, 850 shares declined, and 63 shares are unchanged.

Cipla, ONGC, Axis Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Cairn India topped the buying list, rising 0.7-1.7 percent while Sun Pharma, Tata Power, M&M, Tata Motors, HUL and Asian Paints lost 0.6-2 percent.

Among midcaps, Natco Pharma surged 16 percent followed by Mindtree, CARE, Ajanta Pharma and Hindustan National Glass with 3.5-6.5 percent. However, Solar Industries, Bombay Rayon, KSK Energy Ventures, Standard Chartered and Punj Lloyd declined 2-6 percent.

The Indian rupee fell 18 paise to 60.26 a dollar compared to previous day's closing value.

10:00 am Market outlook: The Indian equity market is currently awaiting fresh signals from the government in terms of reforms before taking any direction, believes Dipen Sheth, head-Institutional Equities, HDFC Securities.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sheth says that while Indian markets are siting on the cusp of a golden decade, large resets are likely to come in on short-term.

''Geopolitics, like the current situation in Iraq will have an effect on our market,'' says Sheth.

On sectoral preferences, Sheth says investors shouldn't write off fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) or IT stocks. His best bets from the same are Pidilite and ITC.

9:50 Houseview: Shares of Tata Power slipped over 3 percent intraday on Friday. Citi has downgraded the stock to sell with a reduced target price of Rs 87 per share. It says that the stock is up 42 percent, outperforming the Sensex by18 percent in the last 4 months after the CERC tariff hike for Mundra UMPP.

''The procurers are not paying the higher tariff and have appealed against the same to APTEL (Appellate Tribunal of Electricity). Even after accounting for the hike from FY15E onwards the stock appears expensive,'' it said in a note.

9:40 am Monsoon update: The monsoon has covered half of India's landmass four days behind the usual schedule, failing to recover from a late start that has slowed sowing of summer crops in a country where half of the farmland still lacks irrigation.

Inadequate rains can not only hurt farm output but also stoke inflation, a cause of major concern for the new government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The annual rains arrived over the southern Kerala coast five days behind the normal June 1 start and then entered a lull, with poor rains over the interior parts of southern India.

Rainfall was 45 percent below average for the week ended June 18, compared with 48 percent below average the previous week, weather office data showed on Thursday.

9:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, the Chennai-based pharmaceutical company, rallied as much as 8 percent in early trade on getting US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) approval for Eszopiclone tablets.

"Orchid Chemicals today announced that it has received approval from US FDA for its ANDA (abbreviated new drug application) for Eszopiclone tablets, 1mg, 2mg and 3mg strengths," says the company in its filing.

Eszopiclone is used for the treatment of insomnia.

The market opened on a flat note. The Sensex is up 22.72 points at 25224.52 and the Nifty is up 2.60 points at 7543.30. About 410 shares have advanced, 154 shares declined, and 19 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Cipla, Wipro, GAIL and Reliance are top gainers while Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite, Coal India, Axis Bank and HUL are among losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 13 paise at 60.21 per dollar on Friday as against previous day's closing value of 60.08 a dollar. The dollar stayed under pressure, but managed to reverse some of its losses after upbeat US data.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said, "USD-INR pair is expected to trade higher today amid surging Iraq crisis and Fed's decision to slash bond purchases by another USD 10 billion. Further profit booking in equities may also keep rupee under some pressure today. We expect rupee to trade in the range of 59.85-60.32/USD.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks have kicked off Friday's session subdued as investors continue to monitor the situation in Iraq, though it's a mixed bunch.

Federal Reserve statement induced optimism which continued to fuel equities. In the US, stocks closed flat on Thursday, with S&P 500 again finishing at a record high, a day after Wall Street rallied on reassurances from the Federal Reserve that interest rates would remain low as the US economy continues to recover.

Gold jumped nearly 3.5 percent, its biggest gain in 9 months. Brent crude too rose to USD 115 per barrel with tensions in Iraq remaining high.