Sensex, Nifty end at record high; midcaps fall, FMCG stocks gain

3:30 pm Market Close: Benchmark indices began the week on a strong note, with the Nifty ending above the 9600-mark the first time ever.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex was up 81.07 points at 31109.28, while the Nifty was up 9.80 points at 9604.90. The market breadth was negative as 864 shares advanced against a decline of 1,822 shares, while 168 shares were unchanged.

HUL, HDFC, Power Grid and Cipla were among the top gainers, while Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, and Tech Mahindra lost the most.

Midcaps eroded a lot of investors' wealth, as the niche index on the Nifty fell over 2 percent, while PSU banks also fell 2.25 percent. FMCG stocks gained nearly 2 percent.

3:02 pm Results: State-owned power generation company NTPC said standalone profit for the March quarter fell 25.5 percent to Rs 2,079 crore from Rs 2,792.7 crore in same quarter last fiscal. The bottomline was dented by impairement loss of Rs 783 crore on investment in Ratnagiri Gas & Power, a joint venture of the company.

Revenue during the quarter increased 9 percent to Rs 20,417 crore compared with Rs 18,325 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

2:55 pm Loan assets sale: State-owned Central Bank of India sold close to Rs 23,000 crore worth of loans in FY17 to meet the capital mandate following the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) cleanup drive.

Gross advances of the bank shrunk to Rs 1.53 lakh crore in March 2017, a de-growth of 19.5 percent as against Rs 1.90 lakh crore in March 2016 which was due to sale of loan assets of Rs 22,991.22 crore through IBPC (Inter-Bank Participation Certification) participation, Central Bank of India's financial results stated.

2:40 pm Earnings: Tractor maker Escorts has reported spectacular performance in March quarter on better volumes. Profit during the quarter increased more than 3-fold to Rs 59.5 crore compared with Rs 18.4 crore in same quarter last year, driven by strong operational performance.

Revenue in Q4 surged 29.5 percent to Rs 1,044 crore from Rs 806 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal as its tractor volumes increased 26.7 percent YoY to 14,978 units.

Analysts expect bumper rabi crop to keep company's tractor sales strong while construction equipment and railways division is also expected to perform well going ahead.

Escorts said tractor industry is expected to grow by 13-15 percent in Q1FY18.

2:27 pm SEBI cracks the whip: After serving show-cause notices to the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) senior officials in the co-location server case, the focus of the SEBI is now on brokers who made illegal profits by getting preferential access to the exchange's trading server.

Sources familiar with the probe told Moneycontrol that the regulator is looking at getting the trading members to return the profits and also take action against them under the unfair trading practices rules.

NSE offers a facility to its trading members whereby they can get faster access to price feeds for a fee by placing their server in the exchange premise. But even within the trading members who had opted for this facility, some brokers were able to get preferential access to the price feed, allegedly in collusion with exchange officials.

2:05 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices extended their gains from the previous hour, with the Nifty reclaiming 9600.

The Sensex was up 128.13 points at 31156.34, while the Nifty was up 22.80 points at 9617.90. The market breadth was negative though as 910 shares advanced against a decline of 1,653 shares, while 158 shares were unchanged.

HDFC, ITC, and Cipla were the top gainers, while Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, and Tech Mahindra lost the most.

1:31 pm Europe update: European stocks opened mildly lower following lackluster trade in Asian equities overnight and decline in the oil price.

The German DAX was down 0.18 percent, while the French CAC fell 0.36 percent. The FTSE 100 is closed today due to a public holiday in the UK.

Asian trade has been sideways throughout the morning, not helped by the fact that both Chinese and Taiwanese markets were closed for holidays on Monday. US markets will also be dark.

1:20 pm Adani Group stocks: Adani Power shed 5 percent after posting a loss of Rs 4,960.5 crore in Q4FY17 against profit of Rs 1,085.1 crore in year-ago period.

Adani Enterprises, Adani Transmission and Adani Ports were also down 3-6 percent.

1:07 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to be volatile in afternoon trade, with the Nifty hovering around 9,600 level amid consolidation. FMCG and HDFC Group stocks gained while technology and select banks stocks were under pressure.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 46.75 points at 31,074.96 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 1.85 points to 9,596.95.

Anil Ambani Group stocks remained under pressure, especially after a media report indicated that as much as 10 banks have raised a red flag on Reliance Communications that posted a loss of Rs 1,285 crore in FY17.

Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Defence and Reliance Communications tanked 6-18 percent.

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

12:43 pm Interview: NBCC (India)'s consolidated earnings for Q4 were a good set. Margins were strong despite weak revenue, which lead to a profit beat.

Few projects of large value like Pragati Maidan redevelopment and Nauroji Nagar not getting started in last quarter led to flat revenue growth in Q4, Anoop Kumar Mittal, Chairman said.

All mega projects that the company has bagged till now will be on ground this year because of which the company will see growth, he added.

''I am looking at 30 percent growth in this financial year'', he said.

12:27 pm Earnings Estimates: Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro's fourth quarter consolidated profit may rise 9 percent to Rs 2,686 crore compared with Rs 2,453 crore in same quarter last year. Higher interest and depreciation costs may limit PAT growth.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, revenue is seen rising 11 percent year-on-year to Rs 36,821 crore from Rs 33,157 crore.

Operating profit during the quarter is likely to increase 4 percent to Rs 5,064 crore but margin may shrink 90 basis points to 13.8 percent due to high base in same quarter last year.

12:11 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks remained choppy in noon trade, with the Sensex hovering around 31,000 level after hitting record high.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 39.15 points at 31,067.36 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 1.50 points at 9,596.60.

The broader markets underperformed benchmarks, with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.7-1 percent. The market breadth remained negative as about two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

ITC, HDFC, Reliance Industries and HUL continued to support the market, up 1-2.5 percent while Sun Pharma tanked 11 percent post earnings.

Adani Ports lost nearly 5 percent followed by Infosys, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Wipro.

11:49 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of CG Power were lower over 14 percent intraday after its results disappointed the Street.

The company, on a consolidated basis, posted a net loss of Rs 443.37 crore against a net loss of 82.26 crore during the corresponding quarter last year.

11:34 am Earnings Poll: Coal India's fourth quarter profit is seen falling 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,949.8 crore due to lower interest income but revenue may increase 7.1 percent to Rs 22,229 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit during the quarter is likely to jump 8.7 percent to Rs 5,315 crore and margin may expand 30 basis points to 23.9 percent compared with year-ago period.

11:25 am US FDA observations: Drug firm Strides Shasun on Monday said the US health regulator has issued 3 observations after inspecting its formulations facility in Bengaluru.

"The formulations facility in Bengaluru was recently inspected by the US FDA. The company has been issued a Form 483 with 3 observations," Strides Shasun said in a BSE filing.

"None of these observations relate to data integrity and quality control. The company will address the observations comprehensively," it further said.

At 11:24 hrs Strides Shasun was quoting at Rs 896.75, down Rs 21.00, or 2.29 percent on the BSE. It touched an intraday high of Rs 912.95 and an intraday low of Rs 877.00.

11:05 am Market Check: Benchmark indices staged a recovery from the day's low, pulled back by a rally in FMCG stocks. The Nifty was seen hovering around 9600-mark

The Sensex was up 20.06 points at 31048.27, while the Nifty was down 7.65 points at 9587.45. The market breadth was negative as just 751 shares advanced against a decline of 1,519 shares, while 110 shares were unchanged.

ITC and Hindustan Unilever (HUL) were the top gainers on both indices, while Sun Pharma, Adani Ports and Tech Mahindra lost the most.

Midcaps witnessed a negative trajectory, falling over 1.5 percent on the Nifty, while pharma stocks continued to sulk.

10:36 am Buzzing: Shares of Glenmark were lower by over 3 percent intraday as investors turned wary of most of the pharma stocks, despite business-related positive developments coming in.

The sector has been witnessing immense weakness, following concerns on their profitability in the US on the back of pricing pressures. Results of major firms being dismal are also ailing the sector, and thereby dragging the stocks as well.

10:16 am Market Check: Benchmark indices erased gains after hitting record highs. Healthcare, auto, infra and select banks stocks pulled the market down but buying in index heavyweights ITC, Reliance Industries, HDFC and HDFC Bank limited losses.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 76.22 points at 30,951.99 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 37.50 points to 9,557.60.

The market breadth also turned negative as about two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

10:01 am Listing: Construction firm PSP Projects has a tepid listing on Monday. The share price opened at Rs 195 on the National Stock Exchange, down 7 percent compared with issue price of Rs 210.

At 10:01 hours IST, the stock was trading at Rs 193, down 8 percent from issue price. In pre-opening trade, the stock settled at Rs 190 on the exchange despite good subscription.

The company's IPO, which was open during May 17-19, was oversubscribed 8.58 times.

9:59 am ITC at new high: Nomura maintained its buy rating on ITC but raised its 12-month target price to Rs 356 from Rs 299 earlier which translates into an upside of 15 percent from current levels.

The stock surged more than 3 percent to touch a new high of Rs 319.90.

ITC reported a decent set of numbers for the quarter ended March. The revenue growth of 14 percent was led by cigarette revenue growth of 4.8 percent on flattish volumes (estimated) as the company recovers post demonetization.

Diversified firm ITC reported 12.13 per cent increase in standalone net profit to Rs 2,669.47 crore for the fourth quarter of 2016-17 last week. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 2,380.68 crore for the January-March quarter of last fiscal, ITC said in a BSE filing.

The cigarettes business registered strong EBIT growth of 8 percent, indicating the effects of the recent price hikes taken along with changed mix. ''Cigarettes will continue to drive profits for the company in the medium term,'' said the report.

9:57 am PSP pre-opening: PSP Projects settled at Rs 190 in pre-opening trade on the National Stock Exchange, down 9.5 percent compared with issue price of Rs 210.

9:45 am Oil price declines: Oil prices fell as a relentless rise in US drilling undermined an OPEC-led push to tighten supply.

Trading activity will be subdued today due to public holidays in China, United States and Britain.

Brent crude futures were trading down 0.23 percent, at USD 52.03 per barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 0.32 percent, at USD 49.64 per barrel.

9:31 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks recouped opening losses, with the Sensex reclaiming 31,000 level and Nifty 9,600.

Index heavyweights HDFC (up 2.3 percent), Reliance Industries (up 1.6 percent), HDFC Bank (up 1.06 percent) and ITC (up 0.3 percent) were top contributors to index gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 80.70 points at 31,108.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 22.55 points to 9,617.65.

About two shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

9:25 am Buzzing: Tech Mahindra lost over 12 percent intraday as investors reacted negatively to the company's results.

The IT services major posted a consolidated net profit for the March quarter at Rs 589.7 crore, a fall of 30.2 percent against Rs 845 crore quarter on quarter.

A poll of analysts by CNBC-TV18 had pegged the net profit at Rs 788 crore.

The company's consolidated rupee revenue came in around a percent lower at Rs 7,495 crore against Rs 7,557.5 crore QoQ.

Meanwhile, its dollar revenue came in higher by over a percent at USD 1,131.2 million against USD 1,116.1 million posted during the previous quarter.

Brokerages too had a negative outlook on the stock.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks have seen correction in early trade Monday due to profit booking after hitting record highs in previous week. Weak earnings from Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra also hit market sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 154.11 points at 30,874.10 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 43 points to 9,552.10.

Sun Pharma and Tech Mahindra crashed around 8 percent post disappointing earnings. ITC, ONGC, M&M, ICICI Bank and Infosys were other early losers while BHEL, Cipla, Tata Motors, Wipro, Lupin, Vedanta, Dr Reddy's Labs, BPCL and Aurobindo Pharma were gainers.

The Indian rupee has opened at 64.48 against the US dollar.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity feels positive cues from the equity market will help rupee gain further and test 64.20 level.

He expects the USD-INR pair to trade in a range of 64.20-64.80 against the US dollar.