Sensex rises for 4th consecutive day, Nifty fails to hold 7250

The market closed higher for fourth consecutive session on Monday, driven by oil & gas, pharma, metals and select banks stocks. Positive global cues also supported Indian equities.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 79.64 points to 23788.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty reclaimed 7250 intraday, up 23.80 points to close at 7234.55 amid volatility. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap rising 0.75 percent.

Experts feel the market may remain rangebound ahead of expiry of February derivative contracts due on February 25 and Union Budget that is scheduled to be announced on February 29.

Investor concerns currently are veering toward the Budget as there are obvious worries with respect to rumours of the definition of long-term capital gains period being changed, says C Jayaram of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

However, consensus view is that the Budget will be largely positive as expectations are low. Jayaram says, post the Budget, there is a possibility that the market may form a firm bottom on the back of feel-good factor and then move ahead.

Globally, European equities were higher, buoyed by a positive trend set in Asia and a rebound in commodity prices. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE were up 1-2 percent (at 16 hours IST). In Asia, Shanghai jumped 2.4 percent followed by Hang Seng and Nikkei with nearly 1 percent upside. Oil extended rally with the Brent and Nymex crude rising over 3 percent.

Pharma stocks saw buying interest today. Sun Pharma gained more than 2 percent and Lupin was up over a percent as Credit Suisse said Sun got 48 percent market share in Gleevec generic (used to treat blood cancer) against guidance of 30 percent and Lupin got 45 percent market share in Glumetza generic (antihyperglycemic drug) & 57 percent in new prescriptions. Additionally, Lupin and Gavis will divest two generic drugs as a part of Federal Trade Commission's requirement.

Strides Shasun rose 1.6 percent as sources told CNBC-TV18 that US FDA completed inspection of its Bangalore facility, which was largely in line.

Maruti Suzuki was down 1.6 percent as the auto manufacturer is reeling under Jat reservation agitation in Haryana. "Due to agitation in Rohtak, supplies of certain components have been disrupted. The company has temporarily suspended manufacturing cars at Manesar and Gurgaon starting February 20," it said in a statement to BSE.

ITC fell 1.7 percent on fears of likely increase in excise duty on tobacco (the biggest contributor to company's revenue) in the upcoming Budget. Motilal Oswal expects a blended excise duty increase of 10 percent.

Among others, HUL topped buying list on Sensex with 4 percent rally. Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla and Bajaj Auto gained 1-2 percent while Adani Ports, NTPC and GAIL declined 1-2 percent.

The market breadth remained positive throughout session. About 1382 shares advanced against 1166 declining shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended higher with the Sensex at 23788.79, up 79.64 points or 0.3 percent. The Nifty was up 23.80 points or 0.3 percent at 7234.55. About 1388 shares have advanced, 1163 shares declined, and 150 shares are unchanged.

HUL, Sun Pharma, Reliance, Lupin and Cipla were top gainers while NTPC, ITC, Maruti, Adani Ports and Wipro are  top losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Gold price: Gold prices fell by Rs 280 to crack below the Rs 29,000 mark to Rs 28,970 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a weak trend overseas amid subdued demand from jewellers at domestic spot market.

Silver followed suit and dropped by Rs 325 to Rs 37,100 per kg due to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Marketmen said a weak trend overseas as Asian equities resumed their gains and chances of a US rate hike rose after a report on Friday showed a pick-up in inflation, mainly pulled down both gold and silver prices here.

2:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to be in positive terrain. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 87.54 points to 23796.69 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 25.10 points to 7235.85.

The market breadth remained positive as about 1386 shares advanced against 1089 declining shares on the BSE.

2:45 pm Gold falls: Gold prices fell by Rs 280 to crack below the Rs 29,000 mark to Rs 28,970 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a weak trend overseas amid subdued demand from jewellers at domestic spot market.

Silver followed suit and dropped by Rs 325 to Rs 37,100 per kg due to reduced offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Marketmen said a weak trend overseas as Asian equities resumed their gains and chances of a US rate hike rose after a report on Friday showed a pick-up in inflation, mainly pulled down both gold and silver prices here.

Meanwhile, gold slid 1 percent to USD 1,214.83 an ounce in Singapore today.

2:30 pm NHPC in news: State-run NHPC today said that its completely shutdown 520 MW Parbati-III power station in Himachal Pradesh has started generating power.

"Parbati -III Power Station (4X130 MW) in Himachal Pradesh which was under complete shutdown from December 15, 2015 to carry out repair of pressure shaft, sealing of surge shaft gate and MIV seals and annual maintenance of units has started generation wef February 20, 2016 after completion of the Repair/Maintenance works," NHPC Ltd said in BSE filing today.

Parbati Stage-III power station is located in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended gains in afternoon trade with the Nifty reclaiming 7250 level, aided by oil, pharma, technology and banks stocks.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 112.18 points to 23821.33 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 31.10 points to 7241.85. The market breadth remained positive as about 1382 shares advanced against 997 declining shares on the BSE.

TCS, Crompton Greaves, Nestle, TeamLease, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, HDFC, ITC and ICICI Bank were most active shares on exchanges.

Oil prices recovered today following steep losses in the previous session, supported by a fall in the number of US rigs in use, but analysts said general oversupply was keeping the market weak.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose over half a dollar from their last settlement to above USD 30 per barrel, trading at USD 30.45 a barrel. International benchmark Brent was up 73 cents at USD 33.74 per barrel. Both contracts fell almost 4 percent on Friday.

1:55 pm New order: Ujaas Energy has won an order for Rs 10 crore from Airport Authority of India (AAI). The order is for grid connected and ground mounted solar photovoltaic power plant which is to be installed at the Jaipur airport. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Anurag Mundra, Joint MD and CFO said that with this order the company has an orderbook of 40 MW and has bid for another 180 MW worth of projects. He further expects airports and sea ports to switch from conventional sources of energy to solar plants and plans to participate in more bids form AAI.

1:30 pm Interview: We are confident of Emami achieving 15-16 percent revenue growth in the next few years, say the company's directors, Harsha Agarwal and Mohan Goenka, in an interview to CNBC-TV18. The duo believes government initiatives will surely propel rural demand, which in turn will aid in their company's growth. The focus will be on new categories with major thrust on the healthcare space, they say adding men's grooming segment will be a major area in the near future. The company has recently acquired Kesh King and will be on the lookout for more such acquisitions, they say. Patanjali has not impacted any of Emami's categories so far, the duo says.

The market is up marginally but the Nifty is still shy of 7250. The 50-share index is up 24.85 points or 0.3 percent at 7235.60. The Sensex is up 86.83 points or 0.4 percent at 23795.98. About 1305 shares have advanced, 1014 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged.

HUL, Reliance, sun Pharma, Dr Reddy's Labs and ONGC were top gainers while ITC, Adani Ports, Maruti, Wipro and GAIL are losers in the Sensex.

The rupee trimmed its initial losses, but was still trading down 11 paise at 68.57 against the American currency in late morning deals today on bouts of dollar demand from some banks and importers. Overseas, oil prices recovered in Asia today after a steep fall in the previous session, with US crude back above USD 30 a barrel as traders mulled the impact of a potential freeze by key producers.

12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to be in positive terrain. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 51.89 points to 23761.04 and the Nifty advanced 12.85 points to 7223.60.

About 1272 shares advanced against 999 declining shares on the BSE.

12:30 pm RCom deal gets CCI nod: Reliance Communications (RCom) today said fair trade regulator CCI has given nod to its deal to acquire Russian conglomerate Sistema's Indian telecom unit, Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) that operates under the MTS brand.

"We wish to inform you that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved transfer of telecommunications undertaking of Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd to the company," Reliance Communications said in a BSE filing.

In November, India's leading telecom operator RCom announced acquisition of Sistema's Indian telecom unit in an all-stock deal that will create an operator with 118 million subscribers.

As per the deal, SSTL will hold about 10 percent stake in RCom and pay off its existing debt before closing the deal.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market remained marginally higher in noon trade while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks. The Sensex rose 66.16 points to 23775.31 and the Nifty advanced 17 points to 7227.75.

Experts expect the market to remain volatile ahead of expiry of February derivative contracts due on Thursday and Union Budget that is scheduled to be on February 29.

Investor concerns currently are veering toward the Budget as there are obvious worries with respect to rumours of the definition of long-term capital gains period being changed, says C Jayaram of Kotak Mahindra Bank.

However, consensus view is that the Budget will be largely positive as expectations are low. Jayaram says, post the Budget, there is a possibility that the market may form a firm bottom on the back of feel-good factor and then move ahead.

HUL, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Bosch, Zee Entertainment and UltraTech Cement gained 1.5-3.5 percent while ITC, Wipro, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra and Vedanta fell 1-2 percent.

JSW Steel gained nearly 2 percent as the company re-commissioned blast furnaces at its Viiayanagar and Salem Works plants. These plants were shut down in August and November 2015, respectively.

11:45 am MArket outlook: Investors should expect 10-15 percent return from equities in this calendar, Sanjeev Prasad, Senior Executive Director & Co Head (Strategy), Kotak Institutional Equities tells CNBC-TV18. Prasad says the feedback he is getting from his investors is that they are positive on India over the medium term. He says valuations are beginning to look reasonable, and sees limited downside.

While there is pressure on the Finance Minister to pursue growth through borrowing, Prasad says maintaining fiscal discipline will be viewed as a positive by the market, Prasad says. At the same time, he feels it will be a challenge for the FM to limit fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP in FY17. He is not overly gloomy on public sector banks and says they are not going to go bankrupt. Prasad expects a 5-6 percent in earnings estimates for FY17 as well as for the following year.

11:30 am Budget outlook: Devendra Joshi, Equity Strategist at HSBC says he continues to be 'underweight' and defensive on Indian market on worries over growth and earnings. Adhering to the fiscal consolidation is very important for the Finance Minister, Joshi says in an interview to CNBC-TV18. "Earnings revision is kind of key than the Budget," he added. Joshi continues to be positive on consumer staples and healthcare, whereas, he expects financials to underperform with the exception of retail focused private banks.

The market is rising gradually with support from pharma and oil & gas. The Sensex is up 69.81 points or 0.3 percent at 23778.96 and the Nifty is up 18.95 points or 0.3 percent at 7229.70. About 1276 shares have advanced, 686 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

HUL, Bharti, Sun Pharma, Reliance and Lupin are top gainers while ITC, Maruti, Adani Ports, Wipro and BHEL are major laggards in the Sensex.

Crude oil rose 1.63 percent to Rs 2,239 per barrel in futures market today as speculators created fresh bets, taking positive cues from Asian markets. Analysts said speculators built fresh positions as oil prices recovered in Asia today after a steep fall in the previous session, with US crude back above USD 30 as traders weighed the impact of a potential freeze by key producers.

This mainly led to rise in crude oil prices in futures trade.

10:59 am Market Update: The market continued to trade higher. The BSE Sensex rose 85 points to 23794.15 and the NSE Nifty climbed 21.30 points to 7232.05.

The market breadth remained strong as aaout 1277 shares advanced against 675 declining shares on the BSE.

10:40 am Budget session to start on Feb 23: The Budget session of Parliament is set to start on a stormy note on Tuesday with issues like the JNU row, Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula's suicide and Pathankot terror strike set to dominate the proceedings despite efforts to broker peace between the opposition and the government.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with leaders of opposition parties on February 16, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu will hold another all-party meeting tomorrow to reach out to political rivals for smooth functioning of Parliament.

The same day, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan will also hold consultations with leaders of all parties in the House.

A meeting of the Congress Working Committee has been convened by party chief Sonia Gandhi on the eve of the session.

10:20 am Market Expert: Investors should expect 10-15 percent return from equities in this calendar, Sanjeev Prasad, Senior Executive Director & Co Head (Strategy), Kotak Institutional Equities tells CNBC-TV18.

Prasad says the feedback he is getting from his investors is that they are positive on India over the medium term.

He says valuations are beginning to look reasonable, and sees limited downside.

While there is pressure on the Finance Minister to pursue growth through borrowing, Prasad says maintaining fiscal discipline will be viewed as a positive by the market, Prasad says. At the same time, he feels it will be a challenge for the FM to limit fiscal deficit to 3.5 percent of GDP in FY17.

10:00 am Market Check
The market extended gains after flat opening, led by oil, banks, pharma, metals and infra stocks. The Sensex rose 61.43 points to 23770.58 and the Nifty advanced 21.85 points to 7232.60.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.66 percent each. The market breadth was strong as more than two shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

Reliance Industries, HUL, Lupin, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, SBI and ONGC gained 1-2 percent while ITC tanked 3 percent on fears of tax impact in Budget. Maruti Suzuki was down 2 percent on production shutdown in Haryana.

Markets in Asia shrugged off a slow start early today to trade higher, with major indexes in China, Japan and Hong Kong leading gains. The Japanese benchmark index, the Nikkei 225, which wavered between gains and losses after market open, was up 1.11 percent. Shanghai rallied 2 percent and Hang Seng gained 1 percent.

9:55 am Airlines: Hitting out at older carriers, top industrialist Ratan Tata today them of lobbying and using "monopolistic pressures" to retain preferential treatment under the controversial 5/20 rule that restricts overseas flying by new airlines. Reacting strongly to the charge, low-cost carrier SpiceJet 's chief Ajay Singh asked him to rather advice the two airlines associated with Tatas - Vistara and AirAsia India - to first serve India and then seek to fly international. Singh also alleged that the two carriers were apparently controlled by their foreign parents and said they had undertaken, while applying for the licence, to follow the 5/20 rule which they are opposing so vehemently now.

9:45 am Market outlook: Against the backdrop of global volatility, it is difficult to say whether 7000 will be the near-term bottom for the market, says CNBC-TV18's consulting editor Udayan Mukherjee. On the upside, he feels that the Nifty can move to 7500, but the ceiling is 7550.

According to him, markets bounced last week as global stocks were in the oversold zone. For a pre-Budget prop, he advises traders to look into sectors such as roads, agri and perhaps even banks.

However, he says investors as well as traders need to be extra cautious on the long side.

9:30 am Jat effect: Haryana has suffered a loss of around Rs 20,000 crore on account of burning and destroying of public and private property due to one going Jat stir, said industry body Assocham. Moreover, collateral damage has been done to businesses and industries in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh. "The ongoing violent agitation in Haryana has already dealt an estimated blow of Rs 18,000-Rs 20,000 crore by way of loss to public and private property and halting trade, industry, small business and transport," said Assocham, but did not mention as to how it arrived at the figure.

The market has opened flat with negative bais on a very crucial week. The Sensex is down 18.42 points at 23690.73, and the Nifty is up 2.85 points at 7213.60. About 357 shares have advanced, 79 shares declined, and 35 shares are unchanged.

Cipla, BHEL, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors and NTPC are top gainers while HUL, Maruti, Bharti, ITC and Hero are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 14 paise at 68.60 per dollar versus 68.46 Thursday. The pound slipped the most in a month against the dollar as concern grew that Britain would quit the EU.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Rupee will take cues from equity market which is likely to trade with a positive bias. The rupee will trade stronger for the day in a range of 68.20-68.75/dollar."

Markets in Asia shrugged off a slow start early to trade higher, with major indexes in China, Japan and Hong Kong leading gains. Oil prices partly recovered following steep losses in the previous session, supported by a fall in the number of US production rigs in use, but analysts said general oversupply was keeping the market weak.