Sensex, Nifty close lower; banks, IT, capital goods drag

03:00pm Market Closing: The market reversed its gains due to profit booking in last couple of hours of trade. The Sensex fell 18.37 points to 27957.49 and the Nifty declined 1.30 points to 8491.

However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. About 1581 shares have advanced, 1141 shares declined, and 176 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

ONGC, Hindalco Industries, Tata Steel, HDFC Bank, M&M, PNB and UltraTech Cement lost 1-3 percent while BPCL rallied 5 percent. Tata Power, GAIL, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries and Dr Reddy's Labs gained 1.5-3.5 percent.

03:05pm HCC in News: HCC, the leading infrastructure construction company, has been awarded contract worth Rs 392.13 crore from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway (MoRTH) for 4-laning of 26km long road on NH52 between Jamugurihat to Biswanath Chariali by-pass in Assam. The project will be completed in 36 months.

The project is part of the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme for North Eastern Region (SARDP-NE) and includes rehabilitation, upgradation and augmentation of the existing carriageway, major and minor bridges, culverts, road intersections, interchanges, drains, etc.

The order-book position as of December 2014 stood at Rs 14,307 crore.

02:50pm Wheat import largest in 5 years: India has bought up to 80,000 tonnes of Australian wheat in recent deals, three trade sources said today, the biggest such imports by the country in five years as unseasonal rains damage the crop at home.

Purchases by the Fworld's No.2 wheat consumer and producer could buoy benchmark Chicago prices , which rallied more than 6 percent in the past two sessions and are currently near a one-week top amid concerns over dry weather and rising temperatures hurting the US winter crop.

Indian flour millers have bought between 70,000 and 80,000 tonnes of Australian prime wheat for April-May shipment at USD 260-USD 265 a tonne, including cost and freight.

"They have bought three cargoes as some mills are taking coverage because of reports of rain damage," said one Singapore-based trading manager with an international trading company.

"We don't expect India to buy large volumes as they have substantially large stocks but there could be some demand for higher grade wheat."

02:25pm Market Update: The market erased gains with the Sensex falling 8.12 points to 27967.74 and the Nifty declining 4.80 points to 8487.50.

About 1552 shares have advanced, 1036 shares declined, and 179 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:15pm Videocon d2h IPO: Videocon d2h, the satellite television arm of Videocon Group, will have to file a new draft prospectus for an initial public offering in domestic markets after fund raising via American depositary shares (ADS), Saurabh Dhoot, director of the company, told Reuters.

Videocon d2h agreed to sell ADS worth up to USD 375 million to US-based Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp in January, which would get listed on Nasdaq stock exchange on Tuesday.

That means the company has to file a new application after filing one in October 2014 to raise up to Rs 700 crore (USD 113.3 million).

"We would have a market cap of close to USD 1.2 billion and an enterprise value of USD 1.5 billion after Nasdaq listing," Dhoot added.

02:00pm Market Check|
The market extended rally in afternoon trade with the Nifty inching towards 8550 led by banks and oil stocks. The broader markets gained further too; the BSE Midcap climbed 0.8 percent and Smallcap surged 1.4 percent.

The Sensex jumped 193.10 points to 28168.96 and the Nifty shot up 57.10 points to 8549.40. About 1681 shares have advanced, 886 shares declined, and 152 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Anish Damania of IDFC Securities expects Nifty to remain range bound between 8000-9000 over the next six months.

Country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank gained 1-1.5 percent whereas HDFC Bank fell 0.5 percent. Tata Motors extended upside, up 3.3 percent.

Tata Power rallied 3.7 percent and Adani Power gained over a percent. Supreme Court ruled that companies can use argument of change in international law to charge higher tariff.

Reliance Industries rose over 2 percent as brokerage Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight and raised target price to Rs 1,062.

01:20pm Interview: While the growth in the mid-term looks healthier than in the near-term, Vineet Nayyar, executive vice chairman, Tech Mahindra says he is cautiously optimistic on FY16 growth.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nayyar says the global demand scenario has seen a turmoil but US market will continue to drive growth.

On any further acquisitions, Nayyar says the company's focus right now will be on making all prior acquired companies grow at healthy rates.

01:00pm Market Check
The market remained firm in afternoon trade aided by consistent upmove in oil, pharma, select banks and auto stocks. The Sensex rallied 127.58 points to 28103.44 and the Nifty jumped 36.85 points to 8529.15.

The broader markets extended gains with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. About 1596 shares have advanced, 879 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

According to Deven Choksey, KR Choksey Shares & Securities, the Nifty will consolidate in 8200-8700 range and if it breaches those levels then 9000-9200 on the upside is likely.

Reliance Industries gained further, up 2.5 percent as brokerage Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight and raised target price to Rs 1,062. Tata Motors too rallied 2.5 percent followed by Sun Pharma, HUL, Axis Bank, Maruti, Dr Reddy's Labs, GAIL, Coal India and Sesa Sterlite with 1-2 percent upside.

Tata Power and Adani Power gained 1.5-3.5 percent as Supreme Court ruled that companies can use argument of change in international law to charge higher tariff.

Oil marketing companies stocks like IOC, HPCL and BPCL surged nearly 5 percent as IOC chairman, B Ashok told CNBC-TV18 that they will report healthy profit in Q4. Inventory losses have been made up and currently they enjoy healthy margins on petrol cracks.

However, Infosys, ITC, TCS, HDFC Bank, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and BHEL declined 0.5-1 percent.

12:50pm Godrej Properties in News: Realty firm Godrej Properties said it has entered into a new deal to develop a housing project at Bengaluru. The proposed project will offer about 79,000 square metres (0.85 million sq ft) of saleable area.

"Godrej Properties, the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group, has entered into a new deal to develop a residential project at Whitefield in Bengaluru," the Mumbai-based developer said in a statement.

As with most Godrej Properties' projects, this project will be developed under a profit-sharing model. "We are very happy to add a new residential project in Bengaluru. This is our eighth project in Bengaluru and second in Whitefield," said Godrej Properties Managing Director & CEO Pirojsha Godrej.

The proposed project will offer about 277,000 square metres (3 million sq. ft.) of saleable area. At present, Godrej Properties is developing residential, commercial and township projects spread across 108 million sq ft in 12 cities. 

12:20pm Market Expert: Deven Choksey, KR Choksey Shares & Securities believes that by and large the correction in the market seems to be over after it corrected from 9200 in Nifty Futures to around 8200 plus levels.

Even though for the near-term the correction seems to be complete, one could see some falls but we are still in a bull market and these corrections are opportunities to enter at lower levels, says Choksey.

According to him, Nifty will consolidate in 8200-8700 range and if it breaches those levels then 9000-9200 on the upside is likely.

12:00pm Market Check
The market continued its positive upmove for the second consecutive day, supported by oil, auto, pharma and select metal stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 97.57 points to 28073.43 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 29.85 points to 8522.15. The BSE Midcap advanced 0.7 percent and Smallcap gained 1.3 percent.

Nearly two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reliance Industries maintained its morning gains, up 2 percent as brokerage sounded bullish on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight and raised target price to Rs 1,062.

Shares of Tata Motors, HUL, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Maruti, Sesa Sterlite, GAIL and Coal India rallied 1-2 percent while ITC, TCS, Infosys, HDFC Bank, L&T and NTPC saw profit booking.

Tata Power and Adani Power gained 1.5-3 percent as Supreme Court ruled that companies can use argument of change in international law to charge higher tariff.

Oil marketing companies stocks like IOC, HPCL and BPCL surged 3-5 percent as IOC chairman, B Ashok told CNBC-TV18 that they will report healthy profit in Q4. Inventory losses have been made up and currently they enjoy healthy margins on petrol cracks.

Road companies like IRB Infrastructure, Ashoka Buildcon, NCC, Gayatri Projects etc gained 1-3 percent. NHAI told CNBC-TV18 that they expect to award 9,000 km projects in FY16, adding that FY16 expenditure could triple to about Rs 75,000 crore.

11:45am Stocks in Focus: SBI remained in focus as the bank has approved divestment in SBI Life by upto 10 percent. VG Kannan, MD, SBI says there are no plans to sell more than 10 percent stake at this stage and stake is valued at around Rs 2500 crore.

Reliance Industries climbed 2 percent as Morgan Stanley has upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight. It expects earnings to grow 50 percent over FY15-18e driven by downstream expansion.

CLSA reiterated its high conviction buy call on Infosys and raised target price to Rs 2800 from Rs 2500. It expects stronger revenue growth in FY16/17 as new management is in place and it should gain leadership in digital and traditional services while improving client mining. The stock fell 0.5 percent on profit booking.

Dr Reddy's Labs also gained 2 percent as CLSA has a buy rating on the stock, saying remediation efforts at Srikakulam API plant is on.

JK Tyre jumped 10 percent. Antique met the management and a few takeaways include the surge in Chinese import share not sustaining in the longer run especially with a cyclical revival in domestic commercial vehicles expected to start in H2FY16.

11:25am Road projects: After having awarded a total of 3000 km road projects in FY15, National Highways Authority of India now aims to award 9000 km road projects in FY16, says member- Finance Satish Chandra.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Chandra says the road authority also deferred premium payments for 13 projects to the tune of Rs 7000 crore in FY15.

Furthermore, Chandra adds the FY16 expenditure is likely to be about Rs 75000 crore.

11:00am Market Check
The market continued to gain into today's trading session with the Sensex holding 28000 level. The broader markets outperformed with a firm advance:decline ratio.

The Sensex advanced 66.20 points to 28042.06 and the Nifty gained 21.60 points at 8513.90. The BSE Midcap Index rose 0.6 percent and Smallcap rallied 1.3 percent.

About 1499 shares have advanced, 652 shares declined, and 137 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Herald Van Der Linde, HSBC is still overweight on India and do not think investors are selling India to buy China although it has become more attractive on back of some key policy changes by The People's Bank of China (PBOC).

He believes there are no specific risks in India, the only risk being other markets could become more attractive. However, he does not see money being rotated out of India into other emerging markets either.

Oil marketing company stocks surged as the IOC chairman, B Ashok told CNBC-TV18 that they will report healthy profit in Q4. "Inventory losses have been made up and currently we enjoy healthy margins on petrol cracks. Under-recoveries will fall from Rs 15,500 crore in Q1 to Rs 3,000 crore in Q4," he says. IOC, HPCL and BPCL rallied 3-5 percent while ONGC also gained 1 percent.

Globally, Asia remained mostly firm, tracking the positive close on Wall Street. Shanghai markets gained 0.3 percent as Beijing unleashed a new policy to rejuvenate the property market.

10:45am GVK Power in News: GVK Power & Infrastructure is likely to file a draft prospectus for an up to USD 250 million initial public offer (IPO) of its airport unit soon, four sources involved in the process told Reuters.

GVK has mandated Citigroup , Bank of America-Merrill Lynch , Axis Capital and JM Financial Services to manage the IPO for unit GVK Airport Developers Pvt Ltd , the sources added.

The sources declined to comment as the plans were not public.

"I can't tell you the timing for sure, but we are working to file for the GVK Airport's IPO ASAP," said one of the sources.

10:20am Market Expert: Incremental foreign fund flows into India will be lower this year as most global investors are already overweight on India, says Jyotivardhan Jaipuria Head-Research, BofA ML.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Jaipuria says the Indian market has already got re-rated and this will be more a year of consolidation as investors wait to see earnings growth recovery and a rebound in the economy.

Jaipuria expects double digit earnings growth by the end of this calendar and sees the latter half of FY16 being a more rewarding year for investors.

He sees a sharp increase in expenditure in roads, railways and defence, and is positive on sectors like auto and cement from a 3-4 year view.

10:00am Market Check
The market continued to see marginal gains amid consolidation in morning trade today with the Sensex rising 79.02 points to 28054.88 supported by oil, technology and pharma stocks. The Nifty climbed 24.25 points to 8516.55 while the broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap Index gained 0.6 percent and Smallcap rallied 1.2 percent. More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reliance Industries surged 2 percent as brokerage house Morgan Stanley has upgraded the stock to overweight from underweight and raised target price from Rs 922 to Rs 1,062 apiece.

Dr Reddy's Labs gained 2.4 percent as CLSA advises buying the stock with a target price of Rs 3,805. The brokerage house sees US approvals as a key near term catalyst and that could drive 15 percent earnings CAGR over FY15-17.

Infosys added 0.6 percent as CLSA reiterated high conviction buy call on the stock with revised target price of Rs 2,800 (Rs 2,500/share earlier). HUL, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Power, GAIL and Coal India climbed 1-2 percent.

However, ITC, HDFC Bank, HDFC, ICICI Bank, L&T, NTPC and Bajaj Auto remained under pressure.

09:40am FII View: Abhay Laijawala, Deutsche Equities says with a majority of macro factors now having panned out, markets are in a crossover period, where investors await tangible news flow confirming an economic recovery and as a corollary, a definite improvement in earnings growth.

Despite a highly energetic government intent on reform, an environment of low global oil prices, a stable currency and sharp decline in inflation, a broad-based economic and earnings recovery remains elusive, he adds.

According to him, following the recent bout of consolidation, investors are looking for both - pockets of value and areas of exuberance.

09:15am Market Check:
The market has opened higher on last day of the financial year 2014-15. The Sensex rose 91.69 points to 28067.55 and the Nifty climbed 35.30 points to 8527.60 on Tuesday.

About 444 shares have advanced, 96 shares declined, and 81 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Sesa Sterlite, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Dr Reddy's Labs and HDFC topped the buying list, up 1-1.6 percent. However, ITC, Bharti Airtel, TCS, SBI, ONGC, HCL Tech and Bank of Baroda declined marginally.

The Indian rupee has opened marginally higher at 62.61 per dollar today against previous day's close of 62.67 a dollar.

The dollar was firmer against most of its peers early, having posted its biggest one-day rally in over a month against the yen.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "The positive global equities and some stimulus measures from China have helped some risk appetite to return. But worries on the Greece front are still keeping the market cautious.''

He further added, ''The USD-INR pair has been trading in the 62-63 range. We expect the pair to continue trading in this range with intervention expected to cap the gains.''

Among global markets, US stocks closed more than 1 percent higher amid encouraging talk of stimulus in Asia, as investors eyed the week's economic data. The Dow gained more than 260 points. The S&P 500 rose more than 1 percent, with energy sector leading. The US 10-year treasury yield traded at 1.95 percent.

Asia is in a sweet spot after Beijing unleashed new policy moves to rejuvenate a wobbly property market, Nikkei bounced back as dollar-yen moved to 120.07.

Among commodities, crude prices remained under pressure ahead of industry data that is due later today which is likely to show another solid build in the US commercial crude inventories. Brent is now below USD 56 per barrel.