Sensex, Nifty end lower post RBI policy; SBI, Coal India up

3:30 pm Market closing: After a lot of struggle, the market ended lower. The Sensex was down 115.13 points or 0.4 percent at 28071.93, and the Nifty slipped 26.15 points or 0.3 percent at 8516.90. About 1626 shares have advanced, 1274 shares declined, and 153 shares were unchanged.

Tata Steel, Hindalco, Coal India, SBI and M&M were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Hero, GAIL, ONGC, Tata Motors and Infosys.

03:00 pm Market outlook: The Indian market had gone into the policy with the expectation that the Reserve Bank will not lower it policy rates. But reading between the lines, it is clear that the RBI governor Raghuram Rajan sounded more dovish than he did in the previous policy, says Nirmal Jain, chairman, IIFL.

Going ahead, the market will look at other factors such as global cues, monsoon and corporate earnings and not just RBI's policy action, he told CNBC-TV18.

Also, on the brighter side, Jain says the market will take comfort from the fact that growth is showing signs of a pick-up, liquidity is benign and there is continuous flow of FII money due to problems in China. Except for corporate earnings, which may take a few more quarters to recover, rest all are signs of a bull market, he adds. According to him, there will be buyers at every dip in the market.

02:45 pm Market Expert: Jagdish Malkhani, member of BSE, NSE calls this market fall a delayed reaction to the government's failures to introduce Land Bill, which would hinder PPP and larger infrastructure projects.

Despite, the gloomy reasons, he says strength of the bull market won't disappear as there are domestic inflows in the form of mutual funds, and the projected growth rate is keeping India intact in the emerging market.

02:25 pm Coal imports down: India's coal imports fell 11 percent to 19.3 million tonnes in July from a year earlier the sharpest and the first drop in more than a year as local supplies rose and money losing power generators held up purchases, commodities trader mjunction said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with the turnaround in output by state-run Coal India, but he is now grappling with power distributors that are so deep in debt that they can't pay to buy power from generators.

Power generators, as a result, are operating both below their capacity and last year's levels.

"The demand for electricity from distribution companies is not growing the way it was projected to grow," mjunction Chief Executive and Managing Director Viresh Oberoi said in an email.

"The poor financials (of distribution companies) that reduced their purchasing capacity is also one of the reasons for lower-than-expected electricity generation."

India, the world's third largest buyer of foreign coal, imported 20 percent less of thermal coal used in power generation in July from a year ago, according to provisional data from mjunction.

02:00 pm Market Check
The market trimmed losses in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling 115.28 points to 28071.78 and the Nifty declining 26.55 points to 8516.50. About 1427 shares have advanced, 1341 shares declined, and 158 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

The Reserve Bank of India kept policy rates unchanged today while maintaining the accommodative stance of monetary policy.

The recovery in banks like State Bank of India (up 1.4 percent), ICICI Bank (up 0.5 percent) and Axis Bank (up 0.3 percent) helped the market reduce losses. M&M, Coal India, Hindalco and Tata Steel gained 1.5-2 percent.

However, Infosys, Reliance Industries, Wipro and GAIL dropped 1.5-2.5 percent.

Tata Motors declined 1.7 percent as brokerage Credit Suisse reduced target price on the stock to Rs 490 and also slashed China volumes by 15 percent. However, it maintained its outperform rating.

MRF, Ceat, JK Tyre and Apollo Tyres rallied 2-6 percent.

Meanwhile, the rupee recovered to 63.87 a dollar, up 17 paise compared to previous day's closing value.

1:40 pm Tata Motors call: Credit Suisse has reduced target price on the stock to Rs 490 and also slashed China volumes by 15 percent. However, it has maintained  outperform rating. The brokerage has not attributed any value to the China JV. It believes the market is factoring in most of China's negatives and ignoring the strong product cycle. It also revised down earnings for FY16E–17E by 20–21 percent. Tata Motors is a Credit Suisse's Asia ex-Japan focus list stock. It plunged nearly 21 percent in 2015, majorly due to slowdown in China volumes.

1:30 pm Coal input: India's coal imports fell 11 percent to 19.3 million tonnes in July from a year earlier the sharpest and the first drop in more than a year as local supplies rose and money losing power generators held up purchases, commodities trader mjunction said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with the turnaround in output by state-run Coal India, but he is now grappling with power distributors that are so deep in debt that they can't pay to buy power from generators.

The market continues to be butchered as the Sensex is down 261.99 points or 0.9 percent at 27925.07. The Nifty is down 71.00 points or 0.8 percent at 8472.05. About 1284 shares have advanced, 1437 shares declined, and 155 shares are unchanged.

M&M, Coal India, Hindalco and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gainers while GAIL, ONGC, Infosys, Tata Motors and Vedanta are major laggards.

India's coal imports fell 11 percent to 19.3 million tonnes in July from a year earlier the sharpest and the first drop in more than a year as local supplies rose and money losing power generators held up purchases, commodities trader mjunction said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been credited with the turnaround in output by state-run Coal India, but he is now grappling with power distributors that are so deep in debt that they can't pay to buy power from generators.

Power generators, as a result, are operating both below their capacity and last year's levels.

12:45 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended losses in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling 303.13 points or 1.08 percent to 27883.93 and Nifty declining 92.35 points or 1.08 percent to 8450.70.

About 1332 shares have advanced, 1286 shares declined, and 152 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:35 pm Gainers & Losers: Oil, capital goods, technology and FMCG stocks caught in bear grip. Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, Tata Motors, ONGC, GAIL and Vedanta declined 1-2.5 percent.

However, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Coal India and Hindalco Industries gained 1 percent each followed by Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel and Hero Motocorp with half a percent upside.

12:20 pm Mobious on Oil price: Investment guru Mark Mobius has dismissed claims that an oversupply of crude is behind oil's sell-off, and believes the end of the broader commodities rout is in sight.

"If you look at the supply and demand growth of oil in the last 20 years, roughly it's been 1 percent growth each year. But within each year, the [price] range has been plus/minus 5 percent," he told CNBC on Tuesday.

"The price is purely sentimental. It has no real relationship to long-term supply and demand."

Brent crude rebounded in Asian trade on Tuesday after losing 5 percent in the previous session, but still traded below USD 50 per barrel- its lowest level since January.

Mobius, the chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, a firm with over USD 880 billion in assets under management, also expressed disdain for price forecasts.

"Nobody is an expert on oil prices, not even the top people in the industry. I sit on boards of some of these oil companies and their predictions are way off. They make plans based on where oil will be in the next year or so but with oil below USD 50, that's something nobody ever imagined," he says.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market remained under pressure on profit booking after rising in four consecutive sessions. The Reserve Bank of India kept key policy rates unchanged (repo rate at 7.25 percent and cash reserve ratio at 4 percent) but lowered CPI inflation forecast for January-March 2016 by 0.2 percent, saying inflation conditions have evolved around the projected path.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 113.95 points to 28073.11 and the Nifty slipped 29.75 points to 8513.30. However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising half a percent each. About 1409 shares have advanced against 1112 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

11:55 am Coal India: Coal India can achieve the production target of 550 million tonnes for this fiscal, says Bipin Kumar Saxena, Director-Marketing, Coal India.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Saxena says production for April-July at 156 million tonnes is already 10.5 percent higher compared to the same period last year.

"July, because of monsoon, there was slight decrease but even then from the target point of view and growth, it is well within the reach that we have decided in the beginning of the year," he says.

11:45 am Expert on oil:  Investment guru Mark Mobius has dismissed claims that an oversupply of crude is behind oil's sell-off, and believes the end of the broader commodities rout is in sight.

"If you look at the supply and demand growth of oil in the last 20 years, roughly it's been 1 percent growth each year. But within each year, the [price] range has been plus/minus 5 percent," he told CNBC on Tuesday.

"The price is purely sentimental. It has no real relationship to long-term supply and demand."

11:35 am Results: Britannia Industries has surprised the street with higher-than-expected April-June quarter results. The food company's Q1 net profit surged 66.9 percent to Rs 190 crore from Rs 114 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal.

Total income, too, jumped 13 percent to Rs 2018.6 crore in the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 against Rs 1787 crore in year-ago period.

The confectionary company's net profit was expected to be at Rs 159 crore in April-June quarter while revenue was seen up 12 percent at Rs 2009 crore, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

11:25 am Rupee update: The rupee recovered 7 paise to 63.97 against the American currency in late morning deals on a bout of dollar selling by exporters.

Earlier, the rupee had opened weak at 64.09 on sustained dollar demand against the overnight closing of 64.04 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

It moved in a range of 64.09 and 63.97 per dollar during the morning deals before quoting at 63.97 at 1025 hours.

The dollar index was up 0.13 percent at 97.58 against a basket of six currencies in the early trade.

11:15 am RBI policy details: The Reserve Bank of India Tuesday kept the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 7.25 percent as well as the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 4 percent. However, it trimmed consumer inflation forecast for January-March 2016 by 0.2 percent and said that growth was beginning to look up gradually.

The RBI cited lower crude prices and better-than-expected monsoon as the reasons for trimming its January-March consumer inflation target.

"It is prudent to keep the policy rate unchanged at the current juncture while maintaining the accommodative stance of monetary policy," the RBI said in its policy statement.

11:10 am Market recovers: The market has recovered. The Sensex is down 91.12 points at 28095.94 and the Nifty is down 22.45 points at 8520.60. About 1292 shares have advanced, 1046 shares declined, and 125 shares are unchanged.

Banks are recovering. GAIL, ONGC, Infosys, Tata Motors and Reliance are among laggards.

As expected the Reserve Bank of India has kept key rates unchanged in its monetary policy review. The market is still weak as the Sensex is down 211.44 points or 0.7 percent at 27975.62, and the Nifty is down 36.65 points or 0.4 percent at 8506.40. About 1264 shares have advanced, 1045 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Hero Motocorp, Bharti Airtel, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Coal India are top gainers while GAIL, ONGC, ICICI Bank, Infosys and SBI are laggards in the Sensex.

Oil prices edged up in early Asian trading following a 5 percent fall in the previous session, as high global production and a weakening economic outlook, especially in Asia, prompted analysts to warn of further falls.

Oil output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reached the highest monthly level in recent history in July, and production could rise further if Iran achieves a plan to raise output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) as soon as sanctions are lifted.

With US production also near records, while China's economy showed further signs of slowing, prices on Monday were pulled down to within a few dollars of the six-year lows touched at the start of the year, with Brent futures LCOc1 falling below USD 50 per barrel for the first time since January.

10:40 am Market Update: The Sensex fell 140.16 points to 28046.90 and the Nifty declined 36.55 points to 8506.50. About 1260 shares have advanced, 998 shares declined, and 113 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:20 am HSBC ups India rating: John Lomax, HSBC said the brokerage raised its weight in India to neutral from underweight and cut Brazil to neutral from overweight in the global emerging markets context.

"Our longer-run thesis on emerging market equities remains positive, influenced by an expectation of mean reversion in corporate margins. However, in the near term there are a range of impediments to achieving this scenario, most particularly relating to US monetary tightening," he reasoned.

Lomax said HSBC expects a 25 basis points US rate hike in December. Until there is greater clarity about the trajectory for US monetary policy, it is difficult to see emerging market equities performing strongly, he added.

10:00 Market Check
The market is struggling under pressure ahead of RBI monetary policy review. The Sensex is down 83.02 points or 0.3 percent at 28104.04 and the Nifty is down 24.10 points or 0.3 percent at 8518.95. About 1162 shares have advanced, 789 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged.

Hero Motocorp, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Bharti Airtel and Vedanta are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are ONGC, Tata Motors, Wipro, Infosys and Sun Pharma.

Gold dropped for a third session in four, closing in on a 5-5.5-year low, with selling pressure supported by expectations that the Federal Reserve is set to raise interest rates this year.

Investors looked past data on Monday that showed US manufacturing activity falling short of estimates, instead awaiting the crucial nonfarm payrolls number due on Friday.

Amid an improving labour market, economists still expect the Fed to raise interest rates this year, perhaps as early as its next policy meeting in September. That could mean further price losses for non-interest bearing gold.

9:50 am FM stations: Four more rounds of bidding took place today in the e-auction of the First Batch of Private FM Radio Phase III Channels after which 82 channels in 56 cities became provisionally winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of around Rs 779 crore. In a statement released Monday, Information and Broadcasting Ministry which is conducting the auction said that till now, 24 rounds of bidding are over. "At the close of the sixth day of bidding, 82 channels in 56 cities became provisionally winning channels with cumulative provisional winning price of around Rs 779 crore.

9:40 am Indigo update: Capital market regulator Sebi has sought fresh clarifications from budget carrier IndiGo on its proposed Rs 2,500-crore initial public offer (IPO). 
Without disclosing the details of clarifications sought, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has said it's awaiting response from lead manager for the proposed public offer.

According to the latest weekly update on the processing status of draft offer documents filed with Sebi, the market regulator has said clarifications are awaited on IndiGo's IPO as of July 31, 2015.

9:30 am Monsoon update: The national weatherman said India will receive "deficient" monsoon in its second half season prediction. GP Sharma of Skymet says August will receive rainfall that is 92 percent of the Long Period Average (LPA).

While Maharashtra, parts of Central India will receive normal rainfall due to low pressure system forming, it has not helped allay any fears of an El Nino phenomenon.

El Nino is an oceanic phenomenon that leads to warm phase or warm water temperatures around the Pacific coast of South America. The phenomenon is said to disrupt rainfall patterns globally and also lead to parching or parts of Asia and Australia. It also results in trigger storms and floods in other regions.

The market fell marginally in early trade Tuesday. The Sensex declined 76.18 points to 28110.88 and the Nifty slipped 24.80 points to 8518.25. About 848 shares have advanced, 587 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

All eyes will be on the key event of the day- the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy. A CNBC-TV18 poll shows 85 percent of market watchers are anticipating RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan to leave key policy rates unchanged in the monetary policy.

Hero Motocorp surged 3.24 percent post Q1 earnings. It's a strong operational performance by Hero. The company's results beat expectations, despite fall in revenues, margins rose 160 bps year on year. The management finally delivers on its cost rationalisation efforts.

Bharti Airtel gained 1.5 percent ahead of earnings. Telecom major will report its Q1 results today after market hours. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, the revenue may rise over a percent to Rs 23,300 crore. The volume growth is seen at 3 percent. Its Africa business, however, is expected to continue to remain sluggish.

Coal India, Lupin, HDFC Bank, BPCL, PNB and HCL Tech rose 0.7-1.6 percent while Tata Motors, Infosys, ONGC, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cairn India, Tata Power and IndusInd Bank lost 0.2-1 percent.

Wockhardt lost 2 percent as company recalled 5 million bottles of drugs (that treats high blood pressure, ulcers) from US.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower by 5 paise at 64.09 per dollar today against previous close of 64.04.

Tirthankar Patnaik of Mizuho Bank said, "We are expecting a pause today given inflation outlook especially on food. We expect the rupee to remain tight near the 64/dollar levels."

He further added, "We could see some stress on the rupee in the near to medium term especially given the heightened risk-off environment."

In global cues, the US stocks closed lower on the first trading day of August as investors weighed mostly lacklustre economic data and a renewed decline in oil.

Asian markets were trading mixed following a negative handover from Wall Street.

In other asset classes, commodities, the US dollar held steady against the euro and yen. Crude prices declined 4 percent, slipping to six-month lows with brent crude falling below USD 50 per barrel on sluggish US and Chinese economic data.
Precious metal gold slipped to USD 1080 an ounce on dollar gains.