Sensex, Nifty end 1% lower; Lupin, Sun Pharma outperform

3:30 pm Market closing: After a lot of struggle, the market ended with severe losses. The Sensex slipped 266.44 points or 1.1 percent at 24020.98, and the Nifty ended down 89.05 points or 1.2 percent at 7298.20. About 856 shares have advanced, 1747 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Labs, TCS and Infosys were major losers while Lupin, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Bajaj Auto and ONGC were top gainers in the Sensex

2:55 pm Dabur's Real: With the blockade at the Indo-Nepal border coming to an end, homegrown FMCG major Dabur today said it does not see any significant impact from the unrest on its juice business in the fourth quarter of the fiscal.

 "The unrest leading to blockade of certain border crossings between India and Nepal by Madeshi's has come to an end, and with this, the blocked border crossings has opened and the good movement across border has started," Dabur India said in a BSE filing.

The company further said: "We expect operations at our Nepal subsidiary's plant situated at Birgunj to return to normal in due course of time and we will be in a much better position to service peak season demand for juices going forward."

2:45 pm Oil payment: Government has exempted state-owned ONGC and Oil India from payment of fuel subsidy in the third quarter ended December 31, as slump in oil prices dented their revenues.

As per a new fuel subsidy sharing formula approved last year, upstream firms Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and OIL have to make good any revenue loss incurred by fuel retailers on selling kerosene through PDS and domestic LPG after taking into account the fixed subsidy provided by the government.

For the October-December period, retailers Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) lost Rs 6,149 crore in revenue on selling kerosene and LPG at government fixed retail price.

2:30 pm Result: Punjab National Bank has posted weak December quarter with higher provisions and asset quality further worsening. Its net profit has fallen 93.4 percent to Rs 51 crore in October-December quarter from Rs 775 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. During the period, net interest income (NII), difference between interest earned and interest expended, slipped 2.7 percent at Rs 4119.6 crore compared to Rs 4233 crore on annual basis. Its gross non-performing assets (NPA) climbed 8.47 percent in Q3 versus 6.36 percent while net NPA was at 5.86 percent in Q3 versus 3.99 percent quarter-on-quarter. In absolute terms, gross NPA rose 38 percent at Rs 34338 crore in Q3 against Rs 240945 crore (QoQ). Net NPA jumped 51.3 percent at Rs 22,983 crore in Q3 verus Rs 15,187 crore (QoQ).

The market continues to fall as banks, IT and capital goods crack. The Sensex is down 270.26 points or 1.1 percent at 24017.16, and the Nifty slips 90.30 points or 1.2 percent at 7296.95. About 656 shares have advanced, 1826 shares declined, and 112 shares are unchanged.

Lupin, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ONGC and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while Tata Motors, TCS, Coal India, Infosys and Dr Reddy's Labs are major losers in the Sensex.

European stocks failed to hold on to their positive open, reversing gains to trade lower as investors remain concerned about global economic growth prospects. As investors looked for cover in safe-haven assets, the yield on 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGB) fell into negative territory for the first time. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

1:45 pm Buzzing:  Shares of JSW Steel slipped 3.5 percent intraday as its crude steel production declined to 9.27 lakh tonne in the month of January 2016.

The company had reported 11.20 lakh tonne of crude steel production in January 2015.

In the press release company said, "The crude steel production in January 2016 declined due to planned shutdown of one blast furnace each at all three locations viz. Vijayanagar, Dolvi and Salem; for capacity enhancement which are expected to resume production during February 2016."

"The company's plant at Vijayanagar is one of the largest single location steel producing facility in the country with a capacity of 10 MTPA," it added.

1:30 pm Result: Auto component maker Motherson Sumi today reported 20.90 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 307.35 crore in the first quarter ended December 31.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 254.21 crore in the same period last fiscal. Consolidated net sales during the period under review stood at Rs 9,676.36 crore as against Rs 8,949.81 crore in the year-ago period, up 8.11 percent.

During the quarter, the automotive segment clocked revenue of Rs 9,546.38 crore as against Rs 8,837.7 crore in the year-ago period. The same for non-automotive business was at Rs 299.83 crore as compared to Rs 308.2 crore in the same quarter previous fiscal.

There seems to be no respite from heavy sellin g triggered by weak global cues. The Sensex is down 276.71 points or 1.1 percent at 24010.71, and the Nifty slips 86.95 points or 1.2 percent at 7300.30. About 575 shares have advanced, 1789 shares declined, and 96 shares are unchanged.

Sun Pharma, Lupin, NTPC, ONGC and Bajaj Auto are top gainers in the Sensex. TCS, Coal India, Infosys, Tata Motors and Maruti are major losers in the Sensex.

Gold edged up to near its highest since June, as uncertainty over global growth that has hammered stocks puts the precious metal on course for its longest rally since 2011.

Today, it would mark gold's eighth straight day of gains as investors seek safe havens in the face of instability in other financial markets, although liquidity was slow in Asia with China shut for a week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

12:55 pm FII view: Timothy Moe, Goldman Sachs says he lowers targets due to reduced earnings and limited multiple expansion for MS Asia Pac Ex-Japan.

According to him, valuations are now at the lower side of historical ranges but upside is limited as growth remains subdued. He has reduced MS Asia Pac Ex-Japan earnings growth forecast for 2016 to +1 percent from +5 percent previously.

Moe maintains overweight rating on India but change December 2016 Nifty target to 8,600.

12:45 pm New deal: Homegrown diversified group Mahindra and its newly-acquired Italian design firm Pininfarina are pitching for six to eight projects globally across different industrial sectors to offer design and business solutions.

After the acquisition of 76.06 percent stake in Pininfarina in December last year for nearly Rs 370 crore, Mahindra Group's IT arm Tech Mahindra and the Turin-based firm are now looking to leverage each other's strength to offer complete business solutions to potential clients.

12:30 pm Result poll: State-run steel company Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is likely to disappoint analysts with its third quarter earnings. It may post loss of Rs 1,040 crore during the quarter against net profit of Rs 579 crore in year-ago period, according to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. EBITDA loss, higher interest & depreciation cost may hit bottomline. Revenue is seen falling 14 percent to Rs 9,570 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 11,107 crore in year-ago period. Analysts expect volume to increase 5 percent year-on-year (up 11 percent sequentially) to 3 MT but realisations may to fall sharply on YoY and sequential basis.

The market is skiding further with the Sensex down 305.76 points or 1.3 percent at 23981.66. The Nifty slips 98.75 points or 1.3 percent at 7288.50. About 0 shares have advanced, 0 shares declined, and 1 shares are unchanged.

PNB is down 5 percent after it posted dismal Decemeber quarter earnings.

Crude oil prices jumped as much as 2 percent, shrugging off big drops in Japan's stock market and eroding some of the previous session's losses that were driven by festering concerns about global oversupply.

Prices on Monday were hit by a drop in US equity markets amid persistent fears about the global economic slowdown.

11:55 am Boardroom: Strides Shasun reported a good set of third quarter Numbers. The company saw a revenue growth of 30 percent for the quarter with improvement in margins. Arun Kumar, MD, Strides Shasun in an interview to CNBC-TV18 said the numbers are in line with their guidance, adding that it was the first consolidated quarter after the two significant transactions involving Shasun and Arrow acquisition in Australia. According to him synergies are playing a big role in margin improvement post integration of these businesses. The growth trajectory is very strong going forward too. The company has all the necessary engines to grow the business at 20-25 percent CAGR and become a good diversified player across geographies, said Kumar.

11:45 am Interview: A mix of factors, such as better recoveries, government's mandatory export quota, alcohol duty waivers and more power purchase agreements signed, are leading to better business prospects for the sugar industry, says Vivek Saraogi of Balrampur Chini . The company posted an impressive set of earnings yesterday, swinging back into profits, and showed solid operational performance. "Prices have increased from Rs 25.83 per kg last year to about Rs 29.50 now. We expect it to go to Rs 32 by April," Saraogi said.

11:30 am Market outlook: Sanjay Dutt, Director, Quantum Securities strongly believes the best strategy in the current market conditions is to look at individual stocks, adding that it is the time to use investment strategies and not trading strategies. However, one has to invest for the long-term because historically equity markets have known to generate good returns over 3-5 years, says Dutt in an interview to CNBC-TV18. According to him the domestic fundamentals do not justify Nifty levels below 7200. Basically, it is the global headwinds that are impacting India. There are so many moving parts across the globe that even the central bankers across the globe cannot gauge what is happening around the world, says Dutt.

The market is reeling under selling pressure. The Sensex is down 290.28 points or 1.2 percent at 23997.14 and the Nifty is down 88.65 points or 1.2 percent at 7298.60. About 573 shares have advanced, 1470 shares declined, and 66 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Sun Pharma, NTPC, ONGC and Lupin are top gainers while Infosys, Coal India, TCS, Maruti and Cipla are losers in the Sensex.

Crude oil prices jumped, shrugging off big drops in Japan's stock market and eroding some of the previous session's losses that were driven by festering concerns about global oversupply.

A declining dollar makes oil prices cheaper because most trade is denominated in the greenback, potentially spurring demand. Still, the glut in world oil markets is unlikely to abate soon, with a Reuters survey showing US crude stocks likely rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week ended February 5.

10:55 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to see selling pressure. The Sensex declined 291.39 points or 1.20 percent to 23996.03, and the Nifty fell 89 points or 1.20 percent to 7298.25.

The market breadth too was weak as more than two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

10:50 am Interview: Geometric reported good set of numbers for the third quarter FY16. The revenues were up 2.1 percent at Rs 314.85 crore versus Rs 308.35 crore for the same quarter last fiscal. The dollar revenues too saw an uptick at 0.5 percent at USD 47.68 million versus USD 47.46 million.

Manu Parpia, MD & CEO, Geometric said the growth has been decent for the quarter but expects it to be modest for the next two quarters.

The focus last three quarters has been on margin expansion and they have been successful at it and so would now shift focus at creating demand and solution. The company plans to move at a different level by investing in talent going forward, said Parpia. Therefore, further enhancement of margins from current levels of around 17 percent may not happen, he said.

The deal pipeline too is likely to remain flat but the win ratios may see an uptick, said Parpia.

10:40 am FII View: Timothy Moe, Goldman Sachs says he lowers targets due to reduced earnings and limited multiple expansion for MS Asia Pac Ex-Japan.

According to him, valuations are now at the lower side of historical ranges but upside is limited as growth remains subdued. He has reduced MS Asia Pac Ex-Japan earnings growth forecast for 2016 to +1 percent from +5 percent previously.

Moe maintains overweight rating on India but change December 2016 Nifty target to 8,600.

10:20 am Earnings Poll: Drug major Dr Reddy's Laboratories is likely to report third quarter profit at Rs 648.34 crore, a growth of 12.8 percent compared to Rs 574.5 crore in year-ago period, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Revenue is seen rising 4.3 percent to Rs 4,007 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 3,843 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

US and India business may support revenue growth but Russia and CIS may hurt revenue. Analysts feel the company could see one time write off due to devaluation of inventories in Venezuela and Russia.

Equity benchmarks remained under pressure in morning trade with the Sensex falling 257.33 points or 1.06 percent to 24030.09. The Nifty reclaimed 7300 amid sell-off, down 79.90 points or 1.08 percent to 7307.35.

The broader markets trimmed losses with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down over 0.6 percent. More than two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

Infosys and TCS plunged more than 3.5 percent followed by HDFC, HDFC Bank, ITC, ICICI Bank, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors with 1-2 percent loss while Sun Pharma, HUL, M&M, GAIL and NTPC gained 1-2 percent.

Australian and Japanese markets were sharply lower today, after another sell-off in US and European stocks overnight. The Nikkei 225, which halted a four-session decline to close higher on Monday, dropped 5.01 percent in morning trade.

The dollar-yen pair was down 1.25 percent at 114.39, marking its lowest level since November 2014. The 10-year Japan government bond yield (JGB) fell below zero for the first time, likely weighed by safe haven flows. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

9:55 am Macro economy: India's per capita income during 2015-16 is likely to grow by 6.2 percent to Rs 6,452.58 per month, government data showed.

"The per capita income in real terms (at 2011-12 prices) during 2015-16 is likely to attain a level of Rs 77,431 as compared to Rs 72,889 for the year 2014-15", as per the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Also, the per capita net national income during 2015-16 is estimated to be growing at 7.3 percent to Rs 7,769.25 per month as against Rs 7,239.92 per month in the previous fiscal.

9:45 am Poll: State-run steel company Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is likely to disappoint analysts with its third quarter earnings. It may post loss of Rs 1,040 crore during the quarter against net profit of Rs 579 crore in year-ago period, according to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. EBITDA loss, higher interest & depreciation cost may hit bottomline.

Revenue is seen falling 14 percent to Rs 9,570 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 11,107 crore in year-ago period.

Analysts expect volume to increase 5 percent year-on-year (up 11 percent sequentially) to 3 MT but realisations may to fall sharply on YoY and sequential basis

9:30 am Japan yield: Yields on Japan's benchmark 10-year government bond hit zero for the first time, as investors clamor for safe-haven assets in the wake of a global market rout

The yield on the 10-year Japan government bond (JGB) recovered to 0.015 percent after touching zero on Tuesday. The fall came on the heels of a global stock market sell-off overnight that likely spurred safe haven flows back into Japan. Bond prices move inversely to yields.

The US five-year Treasury yield also fell to around 1.1144 percent in Asia trading hours, its lowest since June 2013, when markets convulsed during the taper tantrum after the US Federal Reserve first broached the idea that it would be tapering its quantitative easing program. The US 10-year Treasury yield was around 1.6947 percent, a more than one-year low.

Buoyed down by weak global cues the market has opened sharply on Tuesday. The Sensex was down 351.02 points or 1.4 percent at 23936.40 and the Nifty slipped 100.40 points or 1.4 percent at 7286.85. About 152 shares have advanced, 660 shares declined, and 19 shares are unchanged.

Bank stocks are bleeding. Infosys, TCS, ICICI Bank, Maruti and SBI are major losers while M&M, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Sun Pharma and GAIL are gainers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 20 paise at 68.14 per dollar versus previous closing of 67.94. The dollar fell to a 15-month low against the yen as a renewed slide in oil prices and doubts about the effectiveness of the Bank of Japan's negative interest-rate policy drove investors back into the safe-haven currency.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "Global risk sell-off resulted in stocks getting dumped for safe haven bonds, yen and gold. Markets will be keenly awaiting the Yellen testimony scheduled later this week."

Australian and Japanese markets were sharply lower, after another sell-off in U.S. and European stocks overnight. The Nikkei 225, which halted a four-session decline to close higher on Monday, dropped 4.92 percent.

Many Asian markets remain closed for the Lunar New Year. China and Taiwan are shut for the week, while markets in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam are closed shut on Tuesday.