Sensex, Nifty end lower; banks & IT drag, metals gain

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended lower after a lot of struggle. The Sensex was down 169.65 points or 0.7 percent at 25436.97, and the Nifty slipped 43.90 points or 0.6 percent at 7805.90. About 1291 shares have advanced, 1313 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged. GAIL, Hindalco, BHEL, Maruti and Hero MotoCorp were gainers while ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports and SBI were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Market outlook: The pace of earnings downgrades in emerging markets has slowed down, says Anish Damania, Co-CEO and Head - Institutional Equities, IDFC Securities.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Damania said he expects inflows from both overseas and local retail investors to continue, something that he said would support stocks.

He also discussed many stock and sector strategies, saying his top picks were Infosys, UltraTech and HPCL.

2:55 pm Result poll: Net profit of TVS Motor is likely to jump 18 percent to Rs 107 crore in January-March quarter from Rs 90.5 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, the two-wheeler manufacturer may see 12 percent revenue growth at Rs 2743.1 crore in Q4FY16 against Rs 2456.8 crore year-on-year.

During the period, EBITDA may rise 29 percent at Rs 193 crore compared to Rs 150 crore in year-ago period. Operating profit margin may also rise 7.1 percent from 6.1 percent year-on-year.

2:45 pm New buyer for Tata Steel UK: Indian-origin businessman Sanjeev Gupta's Liberty House group has confirmed that it will be submitting its bid for Tata Steel's loss-making UK businesses by tomorrow, according to a media report.

The commodities trading firm, which emerged as an early front-runner for Wales-based Port Talbot steelworks, had said last week that its team was evaluating the bid.

"We can confirm that Liberty will submit a letter of intent to Tata Steel on Tuesday and has put in place a strong internal transaction team and panel of leading external advisers to take the bid forward," a Liberty House spokesperson was quoted as saying by 'The Financial Times'.

2:30 pm Earnings: HDFC has posted net profit at Rs 2607 crore in January-March quarter, up 40 percent from Rs 1862 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. However, its net profit includes proceeds of Rs 1520 crore from sale of investments. On April 1, HDFC had completed 9 percent stake sale in HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company to its British joint venture partner Standard Life.

During the period, its net interest income or difference between interest earned and interest expended (NII) rose 4.8 percent at Rs 2469.26 crore year-on-year compared to Rs 2355 crore year-on-year.

Provisions in Q4FY16 jumped to Rs 545 crore from Rs 68 crore on sequential basis. Provision includes Rs 450 crore towards stand assets and Other contingencies.

The Sensex is down 140.54 points or 0.5 percent at 25466.08, and the Nifty is down 37.60 points or 0.5 percent at 7812.20. About 1194 shares have advanced, 1264 shares declined, and 127 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, BHEL, GAIL, Cipla and Lupin are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and ITC are losers in the Sensex.

Global markets a mixed bag today, Japanese markets are down more than 500 points while European markets trades with marginal gains

The positive trend in monthly auto sales continues as healthy double-digit growth is seen in passenger vehicles, tractors and two wheelers. Maruti's growth is lead by new launches S-Cross and Brezza while Bajaj Auto continues to see a slowdown in exports.

1:50 pm Auto sales:  Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland today reported 21 percent increase in total sales at 10,180 units last month.

It had produced 8,435 units in the April of last year.

Sales for its heavy and medium commercial vehicles increased 20 percent at 7,871 units in April as against 6,549 units in the year-ago period, the company said in a filing to BSE. Light commercial vehicles sales also went up 22 percent and stood at 2,309 units as against 1,886 units in April last year.

1:30 pm Market outlook: Monsoon is the key for India's growth in FY17 that will help Indian stocks to rally further, says Dharmesh Mehta, MD & CEO of Axis Capital. The earnings season is much better than the market had expected and will get better in the future, he says. He maintains that if the Indian government delivers on the reforms process, Indian markets will perform exceptionally well and touch new highs. With the bank results unfolding, the worst seems to over for private sector banks and Mehta is quite bullish on the sector.

The market remains in bear grip as the Sensex is down 170.45 points or 0.7 percent at 25436.17. The Nifty is down 39.45 points or 0.5 percent at 7810.35. About 1113 shares have advanced, 1212 shares declined, and 118 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, GAIL, Cipla, Lupin and Maruti are gainers while ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and ITC are losers in the Sensex.

Dharmesh Mehta, MD & CEO of Axis Capital says monsoon is the key for India's growth in FY17 that will help Indian stocks to rally further.  The earnings season is much better than the market had expected and will get better in the future, he says.

He maintains that if the Indian government delivers on the reforms process, Indian markets will perform exceptionally well and touch new highs. With the bank results unfolding, the worst seems to over for private sector banks and Mehta is quite bullish on the sector.

Asia markets took "sell in May" sentiment to heart, with the Japanese benchmark index tumbling over 3 percent and Australian bank shares selling off.  The Japanese yen traded at 106.51 against the dollar.

12:55 pm Maruti: Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) today posted a 13.3 percent rise in total sales in April at 1,26,569 units as against 1,11,748 units last year.

The company's domestic sales increased by 16.2 percent during the month to 1,17,045 units as against 1,00,709 units in April 2015.

Sales of mini-segment cars including, Alto and WagonR, however, declined 9.9 percent to 31,906 units compared with 35,403 units in the year-ago period, MSI said in a statement.

The firm said sales of compact segment, comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno increased by 8 percent to 45,700 units in April as against 42,297 units a year ago.

12:30 pm IPO: The IPO of microfinance player Ujjivan Financial Services has been oversubscribed 1.22 times during the morning trade on the last day of the offer today. The Rs 885-crore public issue received bids for 3,61,64,170 shares against the total issue size of 2,96,63,706 shares, data available with the NSE till 1030 hrs showed. Ujjivan's issue, which is scheduled to close today, comprises fresh issuance of shares worth Rs 358.16 crore and an offer for sale of up to 24,968,332 shares by the existing shareholders. Price band for the offer has been fixed at Rs 207-210.

Selling pressure remains in the market but metal shines. The Sensex is down 136.49 points or 0.5 percent at 25470.13, and the Nifty down 32.20 points or 0.4 percent at 7817.60. About 1086 shares have advanced, 1163 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Cipla, GAIL, Lupin and Reliance are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Adani Ports, Bharti and HUL are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices fell as rising production in the Middle East outweighed a decline in US output and a recent slide in the dollar, which has been supporting crude. Analysts said rising output from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was outweighing supportive factors such as a decline in US output and a sliding dollar, which makes it cheaper for countries using other currencies to import dollar-traded fuel.

11:30 am FMCG outlook: The biggest positive for the market has been no big earning negatives so far, says Harendra Kumar of Elara Capital. This indicates a gradual pick-up in the economic activity. ''Good tiding over next 24 months is expected,'' he says. Another 5 percent upmove is expected in the current rally with some volatility expected in late May, early June, he adds. In June, decision over Britain's exit from the European Union will be the main focus of global markets. With expectations of good monsoon and Seventh pay Commission, fast moving goods companies (FMCG) will do well. Government's thrust on farming and rural sectors will ensure good returns, he says.

The market continues to slip away dragged by banks and IT stocks majorly. The Sensex is down 202.12 points or 0.8 percent at 25404.50, and the Nifty is down 54.50 points or 0.7 percent at 7795.30. About 1001 shares have advanced, 1029 shares declined, and 96 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Cipla, Lupin, Reliance and Coal India are top gainers while ICICI Bank, NTPC, Adani Ports, Dr Reddy's and ITC are losers in the Sensex.

Gold traded near a 15-month peak as a tumble in the dollar and weakness in global equities pushed up the metal to near USD 1,300 an ounce.

Several markets are shut on Monday for the Labour Day holiday.

The US dollar slumped to an 18-month low against the yen. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell for a sixth straight session to hit an eight-month low.

10:55 am PMI: Growth in India's manufacturing sector slowly sharply in April as demand weakened, a business survey showed on Monday, reinforcing views that the central bank will have to cut interest rates again in coming months. 
The Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a four-month low of 50.5 in April from March's 52.4, nearing the 50 mark that separates growth from contraction and the lowest reading of the year.

The pace of growth in both domestic and foreign orders dwindled, pushing firms to reduce output. The output sub-index fell to a two-month low of 51.0 from 54.2.

"The PMI data for India show a marked slowdown in output expansion during April, as growth of new work ground to a halt," said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit.

10:45 am PSB funding: Several public sector banks including SBI are yet to raise funds totalling over Rs 22,000 crore from markets, for which they were granted permission by the government way back in December 2014. The total amount of funds yet to be raised by the state-run banks to shore up their capital requirements stands at Rs 22,257 crore, Finance Ministry said in reply to a Parliament question on Friday.

The Ministry did not mention the cut-off date.

Among the larger banks, SBI was granted permission in 2014 to raise Rs 15,000 crore from the markets. The bank, however, is yet to raise this capital.

10:30 am Market outlook: Weak global and domestic cues could push the Sensex back to its 22,000 mark by FY17-end, says Saurabh Mukherjea, CEO, Institutional Equities at Ambit Capital. ''India is not an easy market to invest it,'' he says. Widening stress in the banking sector, sluggish economic indicators as well as central banks commentary is indicating a difficult time ahead. Mukherjea advises investors to remain cautious and use decent earnings to book profits as and when possible, especially in cyclical names.

The Sensex is down 167.39 points or 0.65 percent at 25439.23, and the Nifty is down 44.15 points or 0.56 percent at 7805.65. About 851 shares have advanced, 919 shares declined, and 87 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, NTPC, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy's Lab are the top losers, while Hindalco, Cipla, Reliance Industries, Lupin, Coal India and Aurobindo Pharma are top gainers.

Brokers said sentiment dampened following a 3.62 percent plunge in Tokyo equities, as a sharp rise in yen hit exporters, leading to a sell-off across Asia in holiday- thinned trade and on global economy worries-fuelled sharp losses in Wall Street and Europe on Friday. Besides, a cautious approach adopted by investors ahead of quarterly earnings from more blue-chips including HDFC Ltd and Hero MotoCorp, too influenced sentiment, they added.

9.35 am Auto sales update: Bajaj Auto's April total auto sales is down 2 percent at 3.3 lakh units versus 3.36 lakh units, Y-o-Y.

The company's motorcycle sales up 2 percent at 2.92 lakh units versus 2.86 lakh units. The exports down 36 percent at 1.04 lakh units versus 1.62 lakh units.

Its 3-wheeler sales is down 24 percent at 38,211 units versus 50,483 units.

The market has opened lower on the back of weak global cues. The Sensex is down 176.29 points at 25430.33, and the Nifty is down 51.10 points at 7798.70. About 390 shares have advanced, 511 shares declined, and 56 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, M&M, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, BHEL and Wipro are the top loser, while Axis Bank, HDFC, Lupin, Hero Motocorp, BPCL and YES Bank are the top gainers.

US stocks had posted their largest weekly drop in more than two months on Friday as earnings reports continued to weigh, but the S&P 500 and Dow managed to close up for April after strong showings mid-month.

Asia markets took "sell in May" sentiment to heart on Monday, with the Japanese benchmark index tumbling as much as 4 percent and Australian shares taking a hit from a bank sell-off.

Viktor Shvets of Macquarie said, "We continue to remain overweight China and India. While we share the market's concern that revised official estimates lack credibility, India's productivity growth rates remain some of EMs best, despite limited structural reforms."

"Also, although banking remains clogged and the public sector has limited fiscal flexibility, overall leveraging remains low. Finally, India has some of EMs best managed and outwardlooking corporates. Unlike China, the challenge is India's inflated EPS estimates, but like China it has emerged with lower than average macro vulnerability," he added.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 8 paise at 66.41 per dollar on Monday against 66.33 Friday.

Bansi Madhvani of India Ratings said, "The rupee is likely to extend consolidation over the coming week, with softness in dollar strength aiding the currency."

"US Jobs data will be eyed, as the Fed, in its last week's policy, remained non committal on path of future rate trajectory."

"We expect the USD-INR to be ranged between 66.05-66.85/dollar this week," he said.

The yen traded close to its strongest level in more than 18 months on concern over the global economy. Yen holds below 107 per dollar after touching its strongest level since October 2014.