Sensex, Nifty end higher; Maruti down, Tata Steel up 4%

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended with big gains. The Sensex is up 278.54 points or 1 percent at 24616.97 and the Nifty is up 85.10 points or 1.1 percent at 7489.10. About 1577 shares have advanced, 1046 shares declined, and 151 shares are unchanged. Lupin, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs were top gainers while GAIL, Maruti, Adani Ports, NTPC and Wipro were losers in the Sensex.

2:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex rose 195.98 points or 0.81 percent to 24534.41 and the Nifty advanced 60.80 points or 0.82 percent to 7464.80.

About 1424 shares advanced against 1093 declining shares on the BSE.

2:40 pm Interview: Chennai floods, wage hikes and furloughs impacted the margins, says Ganesh Ayyar, CEO & ED of Mphasis . The 10 basis points (bps) impact due to furloughs will be recouped in the next quarter and the company will maintain margin in range of 13-15 percent, he adds.

Mphasis reported a 7.2 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 173.6 crore for the quarter ended December 31. The company's net sales rose 7.5 percent to Rs 1,516.7 crore as against Rs 1,410.7 in the year-ago period.

Going forward, the company aims to cross total contract value (TVC) of USD 300 million. The focus will be to inject automation, says Ayyar adding that no slowdown is expected in the direct international space.

2:20 pm MF AUM falls: Assets base of the country's mutual fund industry dropped to Rs 12.74 lakh crore at the end of January, making it the third consecutive monthly decline, due to lower investment in equity schemes.

As of January-end, over 40 fund houses in the country together had an average AUM of Rs 12,73,714 crore as against Rs 12,74,835 crore in the preceding month, the latest data of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI) showed. The industry's AUM was at Rs 12.95 lakh crore in November, while it had touched an all time high of Rs 13.24 lakh crore in October.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to see buying interest with the Sensex rising 182.66 points to 24521.09 and the Nifty up 58.10 points to 7462.10. About 1378 shares advanced against 1106 declining shares on the BSE.

SpiceJet, Tata Steel, Jet Airways, Trent, Eicher Motors, ICICI Bank and Maruti Suzuki were most active shares on exchanges.

Lupin rallied 5 percent following better-than-expected earnings in Q3. Tata Motors, Axis Bank, SBI, Hero Motocorp, Cipla and Hindalo surged 2-3 percent while Adani Ports, GAIL and Maruti were down 2-4 percent.

European markets seesawed as caution reigns ahead of US jobs data later today. Investors will be anxiously awaiting the closely-watched US payrolls data due today. The figures could influence the hiking path the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee takes on interest rates.

1:55 pm Economy: HDFC Bank's Managing Director Aditya Puri believes good times are ahead for the Indian economy in FY17 despite the current lacklustre rural demand.

But he told CNBC-TV18's Alexander Mathew that that it would be preferable for the government to spend to keep the economy running and take care of fiscal consolidation in the following year.

The government has targeted a fiscal deficit of 3.9 percent of GDP this year (FY16) and outlined an intention to reduce it to 3.5 percent in FY17.

1:45 pm RBI: Reserve Bank is open to regulatory changes so as to give a boost to investment in infrastructure sector, its Deputy Governor HR Khan said today.

"We are open for regulatory changes as situation demand as nothing is cast in stone. We are sensitive to demand," he said at India Investment Summit here.

RBI has announced several steps in the last few months including with regard to external commercial borrowings (ECBs).

The apex bank had relaxed ECB norms with fewer restrictions on end uses and allowed loans from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and allowed loans from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and insurers to attract more overseas fund.

1:30 pm Result: Eicher Motors, the manufacturer of Royal Enfield, has reported stellar performance in October-December quarter with consolidated profit growing 76 percent year-on-year to Rs 271 crore, boosted by two-wheeler business despite higher tax cost. Revenue shot up 44.6 percent to Rs 3,316.6 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,294 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal on robust sales growth in two-wheeler as well as commercial vehicle business.

Its total sales volume increased 50.9 percent YoY to 1.38 lakh units during the quarter. Royal Enfield volume rose 53 percent to 1.26 lakh units and commercial vehicle increased 33.7 percent YoY to 12,692 units. Commercial vehicles business (called VECV) is a joint venture between the company and Volvo Group.

The market has cooled off a bit. The Sensex is up 140.40 points or 0.6 percent at 24478.83, and the Nifty is up 48.95 points or 0.7 percent at 7452.95. About 1298 shares have advanced, 1050 shares declined, and 152 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Axis Bank, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Cipla and Tata Motors are top gainers in the Sensex. Eicher Motors is up 8.4 percent after announcing Decmeber quarter results.

Gold futures were up 0.10 percent to Rs 27,650 per 10 grams as traders raised bets amid positive cues from the global markets. Analysts attributed the rise in gold prices to a firming trend overseas as the dollar extended losses amid fading expectations of a US rate hike this year, raising demand for the precious metal.

The dollar's retreat has been sparked by tepid US data, raising concerns over the strength of the economy and dampening expectations of further rate increases this year.

12:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex jumped 176.09 points or 0.72 percent to 24514.52 and the Nifty rose 59.65 points or 0.81 percent to 7463.65.

About 1333 shares advanced against 1000 declining shares on the BSE.

12:40 pm Earnings: Eicher Motors, the manufacturer of Royal Enfield, has reported stellar performance in October-December quarter with consolidated profit growing 76 percent year-on-year to Rs 271 crore, boosted by two-wheeler business.

Revenue shot up 44.6 percent to Rs 3,316 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,294 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Operating profit in Q4 surged 67.6 percent to Rs 508 crore and margin expanded by 210 basis points to 15.3 percent compared to same quarter last year.

12:20 pm Balaji Tele's fundraising: Balaji Telefilms today said it will raise Rs 150 crore through allotment of equity shares on preferential basis.

"The Board of Directors of Balaji Telefilms Ltd in its meeting today has considered and approved a preferential issue of 1,07,20,000 equity shares at Rs 140 each, aggregating to Rs 150 crore to Atyant Capital India Fund I, Vanderbilt University, GHI LTP LTD., GHI HSP LTD. and GHI ERP LTD," Balaji Telefilms said in a BSE filing.

It further said: "The issue price represents a 26 percent premium over the average of the weekly high and low of the volume weighted average share price of the company during the past 26-week period." The proposed issue will result in a dilution of 14.1 percent of the equity share capital of the company and the post-issue promoter and promoter group holding in the company will be 40.6 percent.

12:00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks maintained morning gains with the Sensex rising 205.17 points to 24543.60 and the Nifty up 68.15 points to 7472.15. The broader markets also gained strength with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbing 1.4 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1325 shares advanced against 943 declining shares on the BSE.

Metals stocks like Hindalco Industries and Vedanta topped buying list on Nifty, up 5 percent & 8 percent, respectively. Banking & financials, pharma and FMCG stocks also gained.

HDFC, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, SBI, Lupin, HUL, Hero Motocorp, Cipla and Bajaj Auto climbed 1-3 percent while Maruti Suzuki, GAIL and Adani Ports fell 1-2 percent.

11:55 am Interview: The US government's decision to not allow overseas pharmaceutical companies to import active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) applies to only one particular anti retroviral drug and is not a blanket ban, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said. Her statement clears the air after a newspaper report yesterday said the ban was applicable for all APIs imported into the US. The Biocon chief, however, said that the US government decision was protectionist in nature and is in violation of established WTO norms.

11:45 pm Steel products: The government is expected to notify minimum import prices (MIP) on certain steel products today, sources say.

CNBC-TV18's Anshu Sharma, quoting sources, says that the government could levy USD 360 per tonne on semi-finished slabs and USD 450 per tonne on hot rolled steel products. Besides this, the government could also put MIP of USD 500-550 per tonne on cold rolled products and USD 660 per tonne on coated flat steel products.

The notification may not have a timeline and could also have a provision for bi-monthly review of MIP, sources say adding that the impact of this will only be visible in six months.

11:30 pm Poll: Pharma firm Lupin's third quarter profit is expected to decline 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 493 crore on tepid US business growth, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Earnings will be announced on February 5. Revenue is seen rising 7.3 percent to Rs 3,375.6 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 3,144.9 crore in year-ago period, driven by domestic business but impacted by US business. Operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may fall 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 743.1 crore and margin may contract 500 basis points to 22 percent in Q3.

The market continues to surge with support from banks, FMCG, pharma and metals stocks. The Sensex is up 196.05 points or 0.8 percent at 24534.48, and the Nifty is up 64.05 points or 0.9 percent at 7468.05. About 1218 shares have advanced, 816 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp are top gainers while GAIL, Maruti, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex.

US crude oil futures were steady in lackluster early Asian trading on Friday as liquidity faded ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday across large parts of the region.

Oil prices were extremely volatile for much of this week as a string of bullish indicators like a slump in the dollar and potential talks by major oil producers about output cuts in support of prices clashed with bearish reports of record US crude inventories, increasing production and a further slowdown in the global economy.

10:45 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended rally with the Sensex rising 227.18 points or 0.93 percent to 24565.61 and the Nifty climbing 67.60 points or 0.91 percent to 7471.60.

The market breadth turned positive as about 1198 shares advanced against 768 declining shares on the BSE.

10:30 am Earnings estimates: Pharma firm Lupin 's third quarter profit is expected to decline 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 493 crore on tepid US business growth, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Revenue is seen rising 7.3 percent to Rs 3,375.6 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 3,144.9 crore in year-ago period, driven by domestic business but impacted by US business.

Operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may fall 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 743.1 crore and margin may contract 500 basis points to 22 percent in Q3.

10:20 am FDI in India: Foreign investment in India is growing at 38 percent even as it has witnessed a decline of 16 percent at the global level, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

"India is seen as one of the best places to invest, when globally you have a 16 percent fall in FDI. It is only in India we are growing. FDI which is coming to India is growing at 38 percent," she said.

Speaking at the Valedictory function of 'Invest Karnataka 2016' global investors meet here, she said India's brand image has been built in the last two years due to extensive tours and visits to countries by the Prime Minister, because it was important to recapture the imagination of investors all over the world.

10:00 am Market Check: The market continued to see marginal gains in morning with the Sensex rising 69.27 points to 24407.70 and the Nifty climbing 20.90 points to 7424.90. The BSE Midcap outperformed benchmark indices, up 0.7 percent while Smallcap gained 0.2 percent.

Lupin rebounded after early losses, rising 0.6 percent ahead of third quarter earnings that are expected to be weak due to US business.

Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, HUL, Hero Motocorp and Hindalco gained 1-2 percent while Maruti Suzuki, GAIL and Tata Steel were down 1.6-2.6 percent.

Crude oil futures edged up in lackluster trading today as Asian liquidity faded ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday across large parts of the region.

Traders said liquidity was low due to the Lunar New Year holiday which will last for most of next week.

9:55 am View on oil: Volatility in oil is expected to continue, which will tricky for investors to handle, says Mark Keenan, Head of Commodities Research - Asia at Societe Generale. Oil is expected to average at USD 33 per dollar as per the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), he adds.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Keenan says that any movement in currencies will have significant impact on the oil.

Discussing the slowdown in the metal space, Keenan says base metals are in dangerous territory due to slowing growth in China. This has led to lower cost of production and an increase in exports by metals companies globally, he adds.

9:45 am Result poll: Eicher Motors is expected to continue to report strong set of earnings in October-December quarter with robust volume growth. Consolidated profit is seen rising 72 percent year-on-year to Rs 264.3 crore in Q4 on strong revenue growth in Royal Enfield (RE) as well as commercial vehicle businesses and operational performance, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Earnings will be announced on February 5.

Revenue is likely to jump 43 percent to Rs 3,287 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,293.8 crore in year-ago period. Operating profit may zoom 68 percent year-on-year to Rs 510.8 crore and margin may expand 230 basis points to 15.5 percent in Q4.

9:30 am IPO: Staffing firm TeamLease Services initial public offer (IPO) received an overwhelming response from investors as the issue was oversubscribed 66 times on the last day of bidding on Thursday. The IPO of TeamLease generated a demand worth about Rs 27,918 crore, as it received bids for 19,09,15,620 shares against the total issue size of 28,92,063, data available with the NSE showed. The robust demand for the TeamLease IPO comes at a time when the BSE benchmark Sensex has fallen by almost 7 percent or 1,822 points since the start of the year. The portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 26.97 times and non institutional investor category has been subscribed around 185 times, sources said.

The market has opened flat on Friday. The Sensex is up 36.26 points or 0.1 percent at 24374.69 and the Nifty is up 14.25 points or 0.2 percent at 7418.25. About 283 shares have advanced, 136 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel, ONGC, Wipro, Coal India and NTPC are top losers while Tata Motors, Cipla, Sun Pharma, ITC and Axis Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Tata Steel is down over 3 percent after dismal

The Indian rupee opened lower by 12 paise at 67.66 per dollar versus 67.54 Thursday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "We expect equity market to go up following yesterday's gain and the rupee will take a cue from the moves in the equity market." The US dollar extended its losses against major currencies as traders sharply unwound bullish bets against the greenback on continued skepticism that the Fed would be able to hike interest rates this year.

Asian markets came under pressure with major indexes trading down, despite a positive finish on Wall Street overnight.
In Japan, the Nikkei extended losses, appearing set for a five-day losing streak, with the index falling 1.03 percent on the back of a stronger yen.

Major indexes on Wall Street closed up, with the Dow Jones industrial average gaining 79.92 points, or 0.49 percent, to 16,416.5. TheS&P 500 was up 2.92 points, or 0.15 percent, at 1,915.45, while the Nasdaq composite was higher by 5.32 points, or 0.12 percent, at 4,509.56.