Sensex sinks 379 points, Nifty manages to hold 7100; banks weigh

The market lost more than 1.5 percent on Tuesday after rallying in previous four consecutive sessions. Profit booking and global weakness caused selling pressure today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 378.61 points or 1.59 percent to 23410.18, dragged by banks, FMCG and infra stocks. The 50-share NSE Nifty touched an intraday low of 7090.70, before closing at 7109.55, down 125 points or 1.73 percent.

Overall sentiment continues to remain weak, says Yogesh Radke of Edelweiss Securities, adding financials, which have been dragging the Nifty down, will continue to remain under pressure in the next series as well.

According to him, the February series will expire closer to 7,100 level while next series will depend on the Budget outcome.

Meanwhile, Tushar Pradhan of HSBC Global Asset Management says the market does not have high expectations from the Budget, adding redemption pressures continued in the emerging market ETFs.

The broader markets also caught in bear grip with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Nearly three shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Global markets were also under pressure with the Europe falling 0.2-0.7 percent (at 16 hours IST). Asian markets ended lower with the Shanghai down 0.8 percent. Crude oil prices also declined, given worries rising Iranian output would deepen a global oversupply. International benchmark Brent slipped 1.8 percent to USD 34.06 a barrel and US front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 2.25 percent to USD 32.64 a barrel.

Back home, banks were major contributors to Sensex fall with the Bank Nifty down 2.6 percent. Major lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank lost 2-4 percent.

Cigarette major ITC extended losses, down 1.8 percent on fears of rising excise duties on tobacco products in Union Budget. Hindustan Unilever erased some previous day's gains, down 2.6 percent.

Maruti Suzuki also fell further, down 0.9 percent on production loss due to Haryana (Jat) stir. Kuldeep Janghu, General Secretary of Maruti Suzuki Udyog Kamgar Union says the company has faced total production loss of almost 10000 units at its Gurgaon and Manesar plant.

NTPC lost over 2 percent as the government will dilute 5 percent stake in the company through two-day offer for sale that opened today.

Punjab National Bank & Cairn India plunged 4 percent each and Vedanta slipped 1.7 percent after the National Stock Exchange decided to remove these stocks from Nifty 50. The exchange will add Aurobindo Pharma, Bharti Infratel, Eicher Motors and Tata Motors DVR in Nifty 50.

Among others, TCS, Lupin, M&M, Bajaj Auto, Coal India and Bharti Airtel were down 2-4 percent while ONGC was only gainer on Sensex.

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended lower after the 50-share indices slipped below 7100. The Sensex skid 378.61 points or 1.6 percent at 23410.18 and the Nifty slipped 125 points or 1.7 percent at 7109.55. About 723 shares have advanced, 1883 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, SBI, Bajaj Auto, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were top losers in the Sensex.

2:50 pm Buzzing: Motherson Sumi Systems shares tanked 6 percent intraday to hit a 52-week low of Rs 207.10 on Tuesday after promoters created fresh pledge of shares.

Promoter Samvardhana Motherson International (SMIL), on February 12, created pledge on 62 lakh shares (representing 0.47 percent equity stake of total paid up equity capital) with IDBI Trusteeship Services.

The auto ancillary company said it is in addition to non-convertible debentures issued by SMIL.

2:40 pm Neyveli Lignite zooms: Neyveli Lignite Corporation said that Ministry of Coal, on February 8, has conveyed allotment of Talabira-II & III coal mines in the Odisha to NLC by the competent authority in order to meet coal requirements for power projects of the subsidiary companies viz., NLC Tamilnadu Power Limited (5 MTPA), Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power (10MTPA) and Sirkali Power Project (20MTPA).

2:20 pm CIL supply rises: State-owned CIL's supply of coal to the power sector increased by 6.7 to 336 million tonnes during the first 10 months of the ongoing fiscal amid the government aiming to provide round the clock electricity.

The company, which accounts for over 80 percent of the domestic coal production had dispatched 314.84 million tonnes (MT) of the dry fuel April-January previous fiscal, official data showed. The supply by Singareni Collieries Company (SCCL) in April-January increased by 25.4 percent to Rs 39.63 MT, over 31.61 MT in the same period last fiscal.

The dispatch by CIL in January also increased to 36.84 MT over 34.63 MT in the same month of 2015, it added.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to bleed with the Sensex falling more than 300 points, weighed down by banks, FMCG and infra stocks. The broader markets also fell more than 1 percent. Europe too started off trade on a negative note.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 321.59 points or 1.35 percent to 23467.20 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 106.70 points or 1.47 percent to 7127.85. About three shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, TCS, SBI, Axis Bank, Lupin, HUL, M&M, Bajaj Auto, Coal India and Bharti Airtel topped selling list on Sensex, down 2-4 percent.

European equities opened lower today after a global rally faded overnight. FTSE, CAC and DAX were down 0.4-1 percent.

1:45 pm Interview: Spicejet has come a long way in regaining customer confidence and operational course correction, in the last one year, says the company's Chairman, Ajay Singh, in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18. The total payables including bank debt and vendor liabilities has reduced from approximately Rs 2200 crore at the time of change in ownership to Rs 700 crore now, he says adding the plan is to reduce this further to Rs 300-400 crore over one year. The airline has now reached the best on-time performance standards in the industry with significantly lower flight cancellations, he says. He points out that while most other hurdles have been cleared out, the focus over the next 9-12 months will be on stickier costs like acquisition and lease rentals, maintenance cost of fleet etc

1:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of NTPC fell more than 3 percent intraday as its two-day offer for sale has opened for subscription. In previous session also ahead of OFS announcement, the stock lost more than 2 percent. The government is going to sell 41,22,73,220 equity shares (representing five percent stake) in NTPC via offer-for-sale (OFS) with hopes of collecting around Rs 5,000 crore. Stake sale is spread over two days with non-retail investors (institutional bidders) getting the first chance to participate in OFS today. On second day, retail as well as non-retail investors are allowed to buy shares.

The market is skiding fast as the Sensex is down 351.31 points or 1.5 percent at 23437.48. The Nifty slips 116.45 points or 1.6 percent at 7118.10. About 583 shares have advanced, 1770 shares declined, and 149 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel, HUL and Bajaj Auto are major losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices dipped in Asia after mounting a strong rally the day before as traders remain doubtful that talks on an output freeze among key crude producers will lead to an agreement.

US crude rose back above USD 30 a barrel and European benchmark Brent climbed well over USD 34 yesterday on hopes that the discussions would lead to concrete action to stabilise the battered market.

12:53 pm Market extends losses: Equity benchmarks fell further in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling 304.44 points or 1.28 percent to 23484.35 and the Nifty down 102.95 points or 1.42 percent to 7131.60.

Nearly three share declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

12:40 pm NTPC OFS: Government's 5 percent stake sale in India's largest power producer NTPC got off to a thumping start today with the institutional investors portion getting oversubscribed within two hours of opening of trade.

Of the over 32.98 crore shares on offer for institutional investors, bids for over 38.92 crore shares or 1.18 times the shares on offer have come in during the first two hours of trade. Bidding would open for retail investors, for whom 20 percent shares are reserved, tomorrow.

The government is selling over 41.22 crore shares or 5 per cent stake in NTPC at a floor price of Rs 122 a piece. If fully subscribed, the stake sale would fetch Rs 5,030 crore to the exchequer. In the secondary market, the scrip was trading at Rs 124.65, down 1.73 per cent over the previous close.

12:20 pm Moody's on Fiscal deficit: Days ahead of the Union Budget, Moody's Investors Service today said India's fiscal metrics will remain weaker than its peers in the near term even if Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was to stick to fiscal consolidation roadmap.

Jaitley in his Budget for 2016-17 will on Monday reveal if the credit-positive five-year trend of narrowing Budget deficits - from 6.5 percent of GDP in fiscal 2010 to 4.1 percent in 2014-15 - will continue.

He will also say if the government was on track to reduce deficits to 3.9 percent and 3.5 percent of GDP this fiscal year and the next respectively.

Moody's said the importance of the upcoming Budget lies in its message on the government's fiscal consolidation plans.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks fell for the first time in last five sessions today. The Sensex shed 213.42 points or 0.90 percent to 23575.37 and the Nifty declined 70.15 points or 0.97 percent to 7164.40 on profit booking in banking & financials, FMCG, infra and select auto stocks.

The market breadth too remained weak as more than two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The BSE Midcap was down 0.9 percent and Smallcap fell 0.7 percent.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, ITC, HDFC, TCS, L&T, HUL and SBI were top contributors to Sensex's fall while Sun Pharma, Infosys, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs and Maruti Suzuki outperformed.

Oil prices dipped slightly after posting strong gains the previous session on the back of an expected drop in US production, but which analysts expect to be countered by rising output from Iran. US front-month West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.65 percent to USD 32.84 a barrel and international benchmark Brent was down 52 cents at USD 34.17 a barrel.

11:55 am Budget: If the scrappage policy for older vehicles is announced in the upcoming Budget, replacement demand will pick up significantly, says Gopal Mahadevan, CFO of Ashok Leyland . Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Mahadevan says, this will boost industry demand by 10-15 percent. On Ashok Leyland's performance, he says, the company is doing well in the bus segment. The volume growth of 54 percent in past nine months is equally spread between trucks and buses. In addition, the new Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) bus scheme will lead to 6,000-7,000 bus orders, he says.

11:45 am Interview: IDBI Bank has a three-tier fund raising plan, its Managing Director and CEO Kishor Kharat tells CNBC-TV18. Kharat says the plan will include sale of non-core assets, preferential allotment and qualified institutional placement (QIP), adding that the funds will be raised according to requirement. He says the roads shows for the QIP had been completed, but weak market conditions led to the share sale being deferred. Kharat says the bank has more than Rs 3000 crore of non-core assets and that it will raise Rs 600-650 crore by March 2016 by selling some of those assets. He says the bank's capital adequacy ratio stands at 11.54 percent after adjusting for the loss in the December quarter.

11:30 am Oil market: The world's biggest oil producers may consider "other steps" to eliminate a persistent global oversupply if a recent deal to freeze current output holds firm for several months, the top official of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries said on Monday. OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah al-Badri reiterated the group's readiness to work with non-OPEC producers to tackle a supply glut that has knocked prices to their lowest in over a decade. He told the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston that the tentative pact to freeze output reached last week between Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar was just a start.

The market is sliding away. The Sensex is down 176.60 points or 0.7 percent at 23612.19 and the Nifty is down 59.45 points or 0.8 percent at 7175.10. About 694 shares have advanced, 1299 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma and ONGC are top gainers while SBI, ICICI Bank, NTPC, HUL and Bajaj Auto are major losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices dipped in Asia after mounting a strong rally the day before as traders remain doubtful that talks on an output freeze among key crude producers will lead to an agreement.

US crude rose back above USD 30 a barrel and European benchmark Brent climbed well over USD 34 yesterday on hopes that the discussions would lead to concrete action to stabilise the battered market.

10:58 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained under pressure, snapping four-day gains. The Sensex declined 203.87 points or 0.86 percent to 23584.92 and the Nifty dropped 66.80 points or 0.92 percent to 7167.75.

About two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

10:40 am Interview: ONGC will see positive impact of nearly Rs 5000-6000 crore on sales if the cess on crude is removed - from fixed quantum to ad valorem duty, says the company's director - finance AK Srinivasan. He says this translates to USD 5-6 per barrel.

The cess rate may be cut as a sharp drop in crude has impacted E&P companies. The government is reportedly considering ad valorem duty of 10 percent on crude oil.

The government is also looking to re-impose custom duty of 5 percent on imported crude oil. Srinivasan says this too will be positive and the company will see a positive impact of Rs 2,000 crore on EBITDA.

10:20 am NTPC OFS: Government will sell five percent stake in NTPC via offer-for-sale (OFS). It hopes to garner around Rs 5000 crore.

The stake sale would be spread over two days with institutional bidders getting the first chance to buy shares today. Retail investors, for whom 20 percent shares have been reserved, will get to bid on February 24. Recently the government had tweaked the OFS rules for retail investors.

NTPC is the first company to hit the markets under the revised offer for sale (OFS) guidelines of market regulator Sebi. The OFS route has now been spread over two days.

The floor price of Rs 122 is at a 3.8 percent discount to Monday's closing price of Rs 126.85.

10:00 am Market Check
The market extended losses in morning trade, dragged by FMCG, banking & financials and technology stocks. Metals and select auto stocks outperformed.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 144.73 points or 0.61 percent to 23644.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 49.15 points or 0.68 percent to 7185.40. The broader markets too were under pressure with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices down nearly half a percent.

The market breadth was weak as about two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

Markets in Asia gave up early gains on Tuesday, trading mostly lower as the improved market sentiment which spurred a global rally Monday appeared to fade. Shanghai declined over a percent.

9:55 am Budget: Total collection from direct taxes stood at Rs 5.47 lakh crore as on February 13, which is 68.7 percent of the Budget target for the fiscal.

"Net (direct tax) collection was Rs 5.47 lakh crore as on February 13, 2016. This amount is 68.7 percent of the target of Rs 7.96 lakh crore," Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) member Surabhi Sinha has said.

Direct taxes include personal Income Tax and corporate taxes.

The government anticipates a shortfall of about Rs 40,000 crore from direct tax collection in the current fiscal.

9:45 am Rupee outlook: Pankaj Vaish of Citi believes if India has the right political legislative agenda moving forward then foreign investments will definitely flow back in. He believes the love affair of investors with emerging markets is still country-specific and although the excitement seen during 2007 and 2014 has moderated, India can recover, like any other country, if it gets its house in order. Vaish is confident the US Federal Reserve will not take any irresponsible action to cause further destabilisation in an already wobbly market. He disagrees with the stance that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should let the rupee weaken more.

9:35 am New norms: With an aim to align with global best practices, NSE group firm India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISL) decided to introduce five new indices under its Nifty basket besides revising the stock selection parameters for various other indices.

The five new indices - Nifty Midcap 150, Nifty Smallcap 250, Nifty Full Midcap 100, Nifty Smallcap 50, Nifty Full Smallcap 100 - would be published from the next financial year (April 1, 2016).

With this, the new structure of Nifty would include 11 broad market indices. IISL has also revised the stock selection criteria for various indices as well as the methodology for calculation of total return index and operational guidelines governing index maintenance.

9:28 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended losses with the Sensex down 97.86 points to 23690.93 and the Nifty down 28.20 points to 7206.35.

9:25 am Budget expectations: Indranil Sengupta of Bank of America Merrill Lynch says he expects Budget 2016 to target FY17 fiscal deficit at 3.8 percent of GDP as it walks a tightrope between supporting growth and trying to maintain fiscal credibility.

According to him, gross tax revenue is expected to grow at 14.2 percent, marginally higher than this fiscal's 12.7 percent as he builds in a shallow recovery to 6.3 percent GDP growth in FY17 from 5.5 percent this year.

At the same time, Sengupta expects subsidies to continue to come off to 1.5 percent of GDP in FY17 from 1.7 percent earlier on account of falling oil.

9:15 am Market Check: The market has opened marginally lower on Tuesday with the Sensex falling 47.18 points to 23741.61 and the Nifty down 15.90 points to 7218.65.

Tata Motors, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Sun Pharma and Hindalco were early gainers while NTPC, ITC, BHEL, HUL, HDFC Bank, Vedanta and PNB were under pressure.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower by 5 paise at 68.65 per dollar today against 68.60 Monday.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "Strong rally in commodities resulted in strong rally in equities and commodity currencies, while some stabilisation in Europe and China also lent some support."

He further added, "The USD-INR pair has been under pressure owing to continuous FII outflows but well supported at lower levels by the central bank."

"We expect the USD-INR pair to trade in the 68.30-68.80/dollar range in the short term," he said.

Asia weakened after mixed trade in morning. Shanghai fell over a percent followed by Hang Seng and Nikkei with half a percent loss.