Sensex, Nifty end flat; BoB, Tech Mahindra, Cipla rally 4-5%

3:30 pm Market Closing: Benchmark indices closed flat with a positive bias but broader markets continued to outperform for the second consecutive session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 13.91 points at 28240.52 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 6.70 points at 8740.95 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

About 1635 shares advanced against 1173 declining shares on the BSE.

Bank of Baroda, Tech Mahindra, Cipla, BHEL, Bharti Infratel, SBI, Coal India and Dr Reddy's Labs surged 1.6-5 percent while Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries and HDFC were under pressure.

Sun TV Network (up 23 percent) and BSE (up 33 percent) were star performers.

2:45 pm Earnings: Bangalore-based Healthcare firm Strides Shasun has reported a massive 3-fold jump in third quarter consolidated profit at Rs 187.3 crore compared with Rs 58.9 crore in year-ago period, majorly driven by divestment income and partly by operational performance.

Revenue grew by 7.7 percent to Rs 934 crore in the quarter ended December 2016, year-on-year.

"Growth was led by formulation business as API operations normalised. Growth in regulated markets was strong despite delay in new product approvals," Shashank Sinha, Group CEO said, adding the company continued to increase investment in developing a robust new product pipeline.

Operating profit jumped 45 percent year-on-year to Rs 205.9 crore with margin expansion of 360 basis points at 22 percent in October-December quarter.

2:23 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks recouped losses amid consolidation  in afternoon, with the Sensex up 21.50 points at 28248.11 and the Nifty up 7.55 points at 8741.80.

2:15 pm CRISIL on Union Budget: Ashu Suyash, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, CRISIL said there were four things that stood out in the Budget 2017. One, focus on unsung India – rural poor & agriculture, two was continued focus on fiscal disciple, three there was focus on infrastructure spending and fourth was to bring transparency in transactions.

Spending on housing and roads would help create jobs and in turn boost consumption, said Suyash. Only if consumption improves one will see an improvement in capex and corporate earnings.

According to her, so far corporate India has managed its balance sheet and working capital cycle in a much better way. The credit ratio too for the nine months of this fiscal has been better than H2FY16.

2:00 pm Market Check
Benchmark indices remained rangebound in afternoon trade, with the Nifty gyrating in a 20 points range after investors digested Union Budget and waited for RBI policy.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 14.25 points to 28212.36 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 3.40 points to 8730.85.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6-1 percent as about 1548 shares advanced against 1129 declining shares on the exchange.

PSU Bank index outperformed other indices, rising 2 percent as PNB, Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and SBI gained 1-4 percent.

Markets in Europe were higher ahead of the publication of the latest nonfarm payrolls in the US and a European summit, where leaders are likely to discuss the new US administration.

1:40 pm Market Check: The market has recovered a bit in the afternoon trade on the back of positive european market opening.

The Sensex is down 29.55 points at 28197.06, and the Nifty down 8.70 points at 8725.55. About 1524 shares have advanced, 1124 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged.

1:23 pm Earnings: Non-banking finance company SREI Infra has reported a healthy four-fold increase in third quarter profit at Rs 67.2 crore compared with Rs 17.1 crore in same quarter last year despite demonetisation.  "Consistent quarterly improvement in profitability has been due to several reasons - reduction in non-performing assets, increase in disbursements, focus on margin and divestment of some strategic investments," Hemant Kanoria, CMD said.

Calculated net interest income during the quarter grew by 95.5 percent to Rs 419.5 crore and total income increased 43.5 percent to Rs 1,129 crore compared with year-ago quarter, with 41 percent growth in consolidated disbursements at Rs 4,812 crore YoY.

1:00 pm Market Check
Volatility continued in the market due to lack of global as well as domestic cues. Investors awaited RBI monetary policy and economic data due next week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 74.58 points at 28152.03 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 22.80 points to 8711.45 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices continued to rally, up 0.7-0.9 percent.

About 1546 shares advanced against 1074 declining shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Sun TV Network was the biggest gainer as well as most active share on exchanges, up 23 percent after the special 2G court acquitted Maran brothers and the company in the Aircel-Maxis case. Analysts say key overhang is removed but uncertainty remains on core fundamentals like advertising revenue growth.

ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, ITC, HDFC, Reliance Industries, L&T and Infosys were under pressure while HDFC Bank, TCS, SBI, Axis Bank and Cipla gained.

Oil prices edged up on news that US President Donald Trump could be set to impose new sanctions on multiple Iranian entities, firing geopolitical tensions between the two nations. Brent crude futures had risen 0.6 percent, to USD 56.91 a barrel, after settling down 24 cents at $56.56 in the previous session.

Gold prices slipped  on a firmer dollar and as investors booked profits after the metal hit 11-week highs in the previous session, with attention shifting to key US jobs data later in the day.

12:32 pm Market Expert: Sandeep Bhatia of Macquarie Securities Group, said that 2017 could well be a headline year for flows into mutual funds.

Flows would be positive, especially in the near-term, and would hold the markets up, he feels.

He said mutual funds industry, which had shown resolve even when the chips were down, had also been given impetus by the government's decision in November last year to devalue high-value bank notes.

''Right now is a good time to buy; don't step back,'' he said. ''Markets will present opportunities this year.

He said that while the note ban had affected earnings, he expected growth to return from June onwards.

12:17 pm Divestment: Govt official says they expect cabinet to discuss IRFC, IRCON & IRCTC stake sale proposals soon.

The government is planning to sell 10 percent stake each in IRCTC, IRCON & IRFC in FY18 via IPO, which is a part of its divestment programme worth Rs 72,500 crore announced in Union Budget.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market were marginally lower amid consolidation as investors remained on sidelines after digesting Union Budget and await RBI policy & economic data due next week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 60.03 points at 28166.58 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 16.25 points to 8718 while the broader markets continued to outperform benchmarks. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8 percent each.

Bombay Stock Exchange has stellar listing today, quoting at Rs 1,109.75, up Rs 303.75, or 37.69 percent on the NSE. MD and CEO of BSE, Ashish Chauhan says the exchange is working on increasing share in the equity and derivatives market.

Sun TV Network rallied 22 percent as the special 2G court acquitted Maran brothers and the company in the Aircel-Maxis case. Analysts say key overhang is removed but uncertainty remains on core fundamentals like advertising revenue growth.

Glenmark Pharma gained 4 percent higher post a strong quarter. The company expects Zetia generic to contribute USD 200 to 250 million and that a good part of those sales would go towards debt repayment.

ACC was under pressure, down 1.6 percent ahead of numbers today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects a weak quarter dragged by weakness in volumes and realisations. Profit is expected to fall 40 percent.

11:52 am Buzzing: Share price of Electrosteel Steels and Tinplate declined 5-6 percent intraday Friday on the back of poor numbers declared by the companies for the quarter ended December 2016.

Tinplate Company of India has reported 80.4 percent fall in its Q3 net profit at Rs 4.5 crore versus Rs 23 crore in the same quarter last year.

The company's EBITDA was down 61.7 percent at Rs 18.6 crore and EBITDA margin slipped 1480 bps at 8.4 percent.

Electrosteel Steels' Q3 net loss increased to Rs 413 crore from loss of Rs 232 crore.

The company's EBITDA loss was at Rs 35.8 crore versus loss of Rs 51.3 crore.

11:20 am Interview: The one thing that may have escaped everybody's attention in the list of announcements made during the Union Budget 2017-18 was the 43 percent rise in allocation for hybrid and electric vehicles.

From Rs 122.9 crore allotted last year the government has set aside Rs 175 crore as subsidy to be given this year for purchase of hybrid and electric vehicles. The new allocation is itself more than a two-fold jump compared to the allocation during its inaugural year of 2015-16 when Rs 75 crore were due to be spent.

In an interview to Moneycontrol Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, ''I am counting on this year being the year of electrics.''

''Mr (Piyush) Goyal [Minister of State, Independent Charge Power Coal, New and Renewable Energy] has announced that he would like the government of India to buy 1 lakh electric vehicles and by year 2030 the nation aims to be 100 percent electric. The Chairman of SoftBank, Masayosi Son announced that he would want to donate 1 lakh electric vehicles to Ola. Of course, if all of this happens it will exceed the global capacity of electric vehicles. So, even if 10 percent of this happens that will be a significant advancement of electric vehicles in India'', added Goenka.

11:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained directionless in morning as investors await corporate earnings, and RBI monetary policy due next week. Meanwhile, Sun TV Network and BSE are stocks of the day today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 21.14 points to 28205.47 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 7.85 points to 8726.40. However, the broader markets extended gains, rising nearly 1 percent on strong breadth.

About 1446 shares advanced against 819 declining shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Sun TV Network rallied further, up 26 percent as brokerage houses raised target price on the stock after special 2G court cleared charges on former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother & head of the company Kalanidhi Maran, in Aircel-Maxis case and with this, there was end to long-standing legal overhang on stock. CLSA has upgraded the stock to buy from sell and raised target price to Rs 661 from Rs 438.

BSE shares surged as much as 49 percent to touch an intraday high of Rs 1,200 after opening at Rs 1085 on the National Stock Exchange, up 35 percent over issue price of Rs 806.

Adani Ports, SBI, Cipla, Sun Pharma and BHEL were top gainers among Sensex stocks, up 1-3 percent while ICICI Bank and Infosys fell 1-2 percent.

10:50 am Buzzing: Share price of Subros touched 52-week high of Rs 194.95, surges 6.3 percent intraday on bagging major order from Indian Railways.

"The company has received another major order of 306 Kits from Indian Railways - Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi for which supplies are to be executed," as per company release.

"The company has made efforts for development of product to meet DLW's and CLW's requirements and expects continued business from Indian Railways in future also," it added.

10:38 am Services PMI: The downturn in service sector activity across India softened during the opening month of 2017, with the slowdown reflecting a weaker contraction in new business inflows, says Nikkei IHS Markit in its report.

The firm says rising from 46.8 at the end of 2016 to 48.7 in January, the seasonally adjusted headline Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index pointed to the slowest fall in output in the current three-month sequence of reduction.

10:25 am Sugar production: India's sugar production fell by 10 percent to 128.55 lakh tonnes in the first four months of the 2016-17 marketing year that started October last, due to lower cane production in Maharashtra because of drought.

Sugar marketing year runs from October to September.

For the 2016-17 season, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has recently revised sugar output estimates downward to 21.3 million tonnes from its earlier projection of 23.4 million tonnes. It has lowered the sugar consumption estimates to 24.2 million tonnes for this year taking into account reports of sluggish sugar sales.

"As on January 31, 2017, sugar mills in the country have produced 128.55 lakh tonnes of sugar, as compared to 142.80 produced last season on the corresponding date," said in a statement.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained lacklustre in morning trade as investors awaited RBI monetary policy due next week and more corporate earnings after digesting Union Budget.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 17.67 points at 28208.94 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 1.75 points to 8732.50 while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap index gained 0.85 percent and Smallcap soared 0.65 percent on positive breadth. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

Country's oldest stock exchange BSE listed at Rs 1089 per share on the National Stock Exchange, up 35 percent over its issue price of Rs 806.

The stock surged as much as 48.8 percent in early trade to hit highest level of Rs 1,200. In pre-opening session, it settled 34.6 percent higher at Rs 1085 (the lowest level intraday) against issue price.

9:50 am BSE pre-opening: BSE stock settled at Rs 1085 in pre-open trade against issue price of Rs 806 per share.

9:35 am BoAML on Glenmark: Bank of America Merrill Lynch has reiterated its buy call on the stock, with a target price of Rs 1,100 as it feels strong growth and balance sheet clean-up are major re-rating triggers. Q3 earnings beat was led by higher than expected sales of gZetia in US. US business now is in a strong growth phase. Other segments are in line and operating leverage boosted margin, the brokerage house says.

9:15 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks started off Friday's trade on sluggish note despite weakness in Asian peers. Investors awaited RBI policy due next week and corporate results.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 36.47 points at 28190.14 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 12.20 points to 8722.05.

Infosys, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank and ACC were losers in early trade while Axis Bank, ONGC, Sun Pharma, GAIL, Coal India, Idea Cellular, Bharti Infratel, Tata Power, Tech Mahindra and Aurobindo Pharma gained.

Sun TV Network surged 20 percent in opening after Special 2G court cleared charges against former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran and his brother & head of the company Kalanidhi Maran, in Aircel-Maxis case. It is a significant positive for the company as this case was the biggest overhang.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 67.35 per dollar versus 67.37 Thursday.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, ''The USD-INR pair continues to gain on the back of global dollar weakness with the dollar index settling around 99.50 levels, sharply lower from its recent highs.''

''The market will be keenly awaiting US jobs data due later today. We expect the USD-INR pair to trade in the range of 67.20-67.50/dollar today,'' he added.

The US dollar rebounded from its weakest level since mid-November on views that the greenback's longer-term upward trend remained intact, while the rouble surged after the US treasury adjusted sanctions on a Russian spy agency.

Asia shares were lower as China markets reopened after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday break and a private China manufacturing survey missed forecasts.

US stocks ended little changed on Thursday as the recent rally continued to stall following President Donald Trump's latest comments on trade and the policies he will pursue.