Sensex recovers from day’s low; Nifty ends above 9100; DRL down 5%

3:30 pm Market at close: Equity benchmarks closed lower, but not before recovering from the day's low points.

The Sensex closed 33.29 points lower at 29485.45, while the Nifty ended 5.35 points down at 9121.50. The market breadth was narrow, but also recovered. About 1,094 shares advanced against a decline of 1,692 shares, while 188 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Axis Bank and Idea Cellular were top losers on both the indices, while ITC, ONGC and Grasim were the top gainers.

Divi's Laboratories was in focus after the stock plummeted over 20 percent intraday on receipt of an import alert from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At the close of market hours, the stock was quoting at Rs 630.90, down 20.21 percent on the BSE. It touched a 52-week low of Rs 628

3:10 pm Asset base expansion: Indian oil and gas companies are likely use their improved cash flows from market-linked fuel prices to expand their asset base and enhance operational quality, S&P Global Ratings said today.

They are expected to step up investments in upgrading refineries to meet cleaner fuel standards, improve yields and create flexible refinery configurations in product pipeline and gas infrastructure capacities, it said.

"The combination of reform-driven improvements in financial health, lower crude oil prices, and forecasts of mid-single-digit demand growth for petroleum products puts Indian oil companies in a sweet spot to invest in growth," S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Vishal Kulkarni said.

2:50 pm Moody's on NBFCs: Moody's Investors Service today said non banking financial companies (NBFCs) will demonstrate broadly stable asset quality, but delinquencies could rise over the next 1-2 quarters as demonetisation adversely affects collections across asset classes.

It said the growth in loans against property has outpaced overall retail credit growth in recent years, but relatively loose underwriting practices, combined with intensifying competition, will translate into higher asset quality risk for this segment.

"NBFCs in India will demonstrate broadly stable asset quality, but delinquencies will likely rise over the next 1-2 quarters, as demonetisation adversely affects collections across asset classes," Moody's said in a statement.

2:35 pm Moody's report: Moody's Investors Service today said non banking financial companies (NBFCs) will demonstrate broadly stable asset quality, but delinquencies could rise over the next 1-2 quarters as demonetisation adversely affects collections across asset classes.

It said the growth in loans against property has outpaced overall retail credit growth in recent years, but relatively loose underwriting practices, combined with intensifying competition, will translate into higher asset quality risk for this segment.

"NBFCs in India will demonstrate broadly stable asset quality, but delinquencies will likely rise over the next 1-2 quarters, as demonetisation adversely affects collections across asset classes," Moody's said in a statement.

2:20 pm Market Check: The market continued to be in the red zone as investors could have been booking further profits in the current bull run.

The Sensex was down 101.15 points at 29417.59, while the Nifty was down 24.75 points at 9102.10. About 924 shares advanced, while 1,722 shares declined. Around 170 shares were unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Idea Cellular and Axis Bank continued to drag, while ITC, ONGC and Grasim were the top gainers.

Meanwhile, on the global front, European markets opened in the green in early morning trade.

1:55 pm FII View: With the ruling government now able to head the states that went to poll recently, there is optimism among investors over stability in the political environment and governance going forward, believes Vineet Bhatnagar, MD, PhillipCapital .

With regards to market, he says in a scenario where liquidity is good but there is a bit of uncertainty on interest rates and on how the rupee is likely to behave, the market could trade in a band of 8600 on the downside and 9600-9800 on the higher side in the next 3-6 months.

Speaking about telecom space and Idea-Voda merger, he says  consolidation in telecom industry is a good sign, which could help sustain growth for the larger players.

1:40 pm Interview: Housing companies are in focus due to the government's renewed thrust on housing for all with interest subvention on the affordable housing sector.

Sudhin Choksey, MD, Gruh Finance in an interview to CNBC-TV18 spoke in detail about the benefits and drawbacks of the various credit linked subsidy scheme provided for low-income group, MIG-I and MIG- II. He also spoke about the implementation of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act which will come into effect from April 1.

The time taken for implementation of RERA Act by various states will be different. So it could well be 6-9 months before it starts functioning properly, says Choksey.

1:20 pm Credit Suisse on L&T: Credit Suisse has reiterated its outperform rating on the stock, with increased target price at Rs 1,850 (from Rs 1,800).

Its target price of Rs 1,850 is based on Rs 1,380 for the core EPC business and Rs 480 for the subsidiaries.

The brokerage house says outperform rating is based on domestic execution pick-up, a steady Middle East, reducing working capital and reasonable valuations. The key risk is margin erosion on delays. Absence of investment cycle could cap upside, it feels.

1:00 PM Market Check: Equity benchmark indices extended losses in afternoon trade, with the Sensex falling more than 100 points on further profit booking.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 118.38 points at 29,400.36 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 30.25 points to 9,096.60. The gap between advances and declines widened as about two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

Investors remained on sidelines for overall equity market due to lack of global and domestic cues but the scenario is completely different for Avenue Supermarts that crossed market capitalisation of more than Rs 40,000 crore on listing day today.

The stock touched an intraday high of Rs 648.35, up 116.8 percent over its issue price of Rs 299.

12:55 pm Market Outlook: ICICIdirect says the outlook for equity market remains positive on the back of expectation of continued economic reforms by the government, particularly after recent state election outcome.

Earnings growth is likely to pick up significantly over the next two or three years given the low base, stable commodity prices and revival of consumption led demand, it feels.

The brokerage house says the TINA (there is no alternative) factor is playing a role in the rise in inflows into Indian equities. Lower yield in the debt market, negative outlook for real estate and lacklustre outlook for gold seem to be the main factors driving the Indian equity markets.

According to the research firm, strong inflows into the domestic mutual fund industry are likely to continue. In the past, Indian households have channelised a large portion of their savings into physical assets such as gold and real estate. There are initial signs that the trend is gradually changing and households are navigating towards financial savings. Higher equity market allocation from EPF and increasing popularity of NPS will further enhance domestic inflows over a period of time, it says.

12:39 pm Expert on D-Mart: Though, medium and short term investors/traders should at least book partial profits as in medium term D-Mart stock can underperform given its stretched valuations and also the market is consolidating after making a fresh high, Jimeet Modi of SAMCO securities said.

Long term portfolio investors are advised to held on to their positions, he added.

12:30 pm Capex hike to combat Idea-Vodafone? Bharti Airtel seems to stepping up the ante in a bid to combat the might of the Vodafone-Idea combine. A day after Idea Cellular announced merger with Vodafone India, competitor Bharti Airtel is planning to increase its capex to Rs 30,000 crore in FY18 for expenses over and above acquisitions and spectrum, according to people privy to the developments.

The Vodafone management had earlier set aside Rs 20,000 crore capital expenditure for FY17.

According to sources, Bharti Airtel will spend Rs 10,000 crore on branding and marketing activities over next three years. It also plans to increase spend on bettering network and operations.

12:10 pm Market Check: The Sensex was down 80.31 points at 29438.43, while the Nifty was down 20.45 points at 9106.40. The market breadth pointed to selling pressure as 906 shares advanced against a decline of 1,517 shares, while 147 shares were unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Axis Bank and Idea Cellular were among the top losers on both the indices, while Larsen & Toubro, ONGC, Bosch and Grasim were the top gainers.

Avenue Supermarts, the operator of supermarket retail chain D-Mart, more than doubled on debut on hefty buying by investors. The stock listed at Rs 604.4 on the BSE, up 102 percent over issue price of Rs 299.

Investors earned huge returns on their money invested in the issue. One lot of 50 shares at issue price of Rs 299 cost Rs 14,950 for an investor. At listing price of Rs 610, the total value of investment jumped Rs 30,500.

Divi's Laboratories plummeted over 17 percent intraday on Tuesday after the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued an import alert for Divi's Laboratories' Visakhapatnam unit-II.

Jubilant Life Sciences today said its subsidiary Jubilant Pharma will negotiate a potential acquisition of a specialty business in the US.

"The Board of Directors of Jubilant Pharma Ltd, a material wholly-owned subsidiary of the company in Singapore, has approved to negotiate a potential acquisition of a specialty pharma business in the United States using only internal accruals," Jubilant Life
Sciences said in a BSE filing.

Share price of C & C Constructions has locked at 5 percent upper circuit on Tuesday as its joint venture company has bagged projects worth Rs 3011 crore.

11:50 am Buzzing: Share price of C & C Constructions has locked at 5 percent upper circuit as its joint venture company has bagged projects worth Rs 3011 crore.

The joint venture company, EPI- C & C, has been awarded a project by government of India for construction of two lane road on NH from Paletwa to India-Manmar border in Chin State of Myanmar on EPC mode.

In the said JV the company has share of 60 percent and the total contract value of the project is Rs 1518 crore.

The other JV company, BSC- C &C has been awarded five road projects in the state of Bihar of Rs 1493.40 crore. The company has 50 percent share in the said JV.

11:33 am Market Update: Benchmark indices continued to trade lower amid volatility as investors remained on sidelines due to lack of global & domestic cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 61.30 points at 29,457.44 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 16.25 points to 9,110.60.

Dr Reddy's Labs fell nearly 4 percent on USFDA observations for Duvvada plant. Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, GAIL, Adani Ports, and Aurobindo Pharma were other losers.

Idea Cellular lost 7 percent on top of 10 percent loss in previous session due to profit booking post announcement of merger with Vodafone India.

L&T, Infosys, ITC, Wipro, ONGC, Ambuja Cements and Bharti Infratel were gainers.

11:16 am Environmental norms violation: World Bank's probe body CAO has raised concerns over IFC's insufficient action to address environmental norms violation by Tata Power arm Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL).

World Bank investment arm IFC is an investor in CGPL.

The CAO, in its second monitoring report in relation to audit of CGPL following complaint by fishing communities, said there was a need for rapid, participatory and remedial approach to assess and address project impacts raised by the complainants.

10:59 am Capex: Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel will increase capex spend to Rs 30,000 crore in FY18, which is much higher than current year spending, according to CNBC-TV18 reports quoting unnamed sources.

In the financial year 2017, Bharti had said it would spend around Rs 20,000 crore on capital expenditure.

Sources say the company will spend Rs 30,000 crore over & above its acquisitions & spectrum cost. Out of which, Bharti will spend Rs 10,000 crore in branding & marketing of the company & its products over next 3 years.

Bharti Airtel is yet to respond to CNBC-TV18's queries.

10:45 Buzzing: Following the blockbuster listing of supermarket retail chain D-Mart's operator, Avenue Supermarts, shares of other retail majors fell.

While V-Mart Retail plunged 10 percent intraday, V2 Retail slipped 7.4 percent, Shoppers Stop dipped 2 percent, and Future Retail declined 3.4 percent.

10:25 am Technical Outlook: Gautam Shah, Associate Director & Technical Analyst at JM Financial believes that this is still a nascent stage of a bull market and has no reasons to book profits. He highlighted the manner in which indices have achieved key levels and that is noteworthy.

There were two attempts to touch and cross 9000-mark on two occasions earlier, but there was no occasion to rally beyond that level, he said. ''This cross over (to 9000 and beyond) is genuine and reliable…the consolidation in the markets ahead of the UP elections was healthy,'' he told CNBC-TV18.

Shah has positive targets for the Nifty going forward. He has set a near term target of 9,500 for the Nifty in 4-6 weeks. In the medium term, he sees the index touching 11,000 level in 12-16 months.

10:05 am Market Check: Benchmark indices erased early gains amid consolidation as investors remained on sidelines due to lack of global as well as domestic cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 48.41 points at 29,470.33 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 12.55 points to 9,114.30.

The broader markets underperformed benchmarks, with the Nifty Midcap falling half a percent on weak breadth. About three shares declined for every two shares advancing on the BSE.

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, the operator of supermarket retail chain D-Mart, more than doubled on debut. The stock has opened at Rs 604.40, up 102 percent over issue price of Rs 299.

10:00 am Listing: Avenue Supermarts, the operator of supermarket retail chain D-Mart, listed at Rs 604.40 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, up 102 percent over issue price of Rs 299.

D-Mart has chain of around 120 retail stores, with most of them being in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

9:50 am Avenue in pre-opening: Shares Avenue Supermarts, the operator of D-Mart, settled at Rs 604.40 in pre-opening session, 102.14 percent higher over issue price of Rs 299.

9:40 am Fund Raising: Varun Beverages said it has sought shareholders nod to raise Rs 1,000 crore by issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs).

The company, which has been listed on BSE in November last year, has plans to raise the amount in one or more tranches, Varun Beverages said in a regulatory filing.

"Shareholders approval is being sought in the aforesaid 22nd AGM for further fund raising by way of debt issue and the shareholders are requested to authorise the board of directors to offer, from time to time, the subscription of redeemable, secured/unsecured Non-Convertible Debentures aggregating to Rs 1,000 crore," the company said.

9:30 am CLSA on Idea: CLSA has maintained a sell call on Idea Cellular and stated that realising the synergy is key to lower gearing. It highlighted that the merged firm needs to have operational expenses saving of Rs 8,400 crore for debt/EBITDA ratio of 3 times.

Furthermore, the swap ratio of 1:1 with respect to stake in Indus Tower implies over 3 percent valuation premium for Idea Cellular. It has lowered revenue and EBITDA estimates by 2-27 percent to factor in near term risk.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off trade moderately higher amid consolidation on Tuesday due to lack of domestic as well as global cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 43.61 points at 29,562.35 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 16.45 points at 9,143.30. About 522 shares advanced against 212 declining shares on the BSE.

ITC, L&T, Coal India, ONGC, Infosys, Bharti Infratel and HCL Technologies were early gainers while Dr Reddy's Labs, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, GAIL, Idea Cellular and Hindalco were under pressure.

Divi's Labs shares tanked 17 percent after the US Food and Drug Administration has issued an import alert for its Visakhapatnam unit-II.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 65.39 per dollar versus previous close of 65.36.

Bhaskar Panda of HDFC Bank says the USD-INR pair has been consolidating in a narrow range of 65.30-65.50/dollar, supported on the downside by importer purchases and intervention.

The pair is expected to trade within a range of 65.25-65.45/dollar for today, he feels.

The dollar remained in a defensive mode after Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans reinforced the perception that the US Central Bank won't accelerate the pace of its interest rate hikes.

Asian equities traded mixed, after the Reserve Bank of Australia released its March meeting minutes and the dollar continued to weaken.