Sensex up 242 points ahead of RBI policy; Infy, Hindalco lead

04 Aug 2014

Equity benchmarks surged one percent on Monday ahead of RBI policy tomorrow, recouping more than half of Friday's losses. The rupee also some recovery but it held 61-mark.

The 30-share Sensex rose 242.32 points to close at 25723.16 and the 50-share Nifty climbed 81.05 points to 7683.65 followed by broader markets. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively.

All eyes are set on Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy scheduled on Tuesday. Economists expect no change in policy rates but they see some change in liquidity norms.

Standard Chartered Bank Head of Research Samiran Chakraborty says key takeaways from the monetary policy announcement should be based on how the Reserve Bank approaches weak monsoons, if it shows discomfort with the fiscal deficit figures. In addition, the market also wants more clarity on measures taken to curb food pricing inflation, he adds.

Technology stocks led today's rally with the BSE IT Index gaining 2 percent aided by weak rupee that continued to hold the 61 a dollar level. Infosys was the top gainer in the Sensex, up 3.66 percent followed by Wipro with 2.4 percent.

Top car maker Maruti Suzuki continued to see buying interest, up 2.4 percent in addition to 2.5 percent gains in Friday's session after strong July sales numbers. Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto gained 1.7 percent each post sales numbers.

Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto feels the worst is behind in terms of sluggish domestic motorcycle sales. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says July is the bottom in terms of sales numbers, and that motorcycle sales are set to grow 20 percent month-on-month over the next 3-4 months.

Among others, shares of ITC, Larsen and Toubro, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco Industries, Mahindra and Mahindra and BHEL gained 1-3 percent.

However, HDFC, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel and Cipla underperformed, falling 0.3-1 percent.

In the broader space, Syndicate Bank tanked 7 percent after chairman and managing director of the bank arrested by CBI in bribery case. Bhushan Steel (down 3.5 percent) and Prakash Industries (down 20 percent) as media report suggested that Sudhir Kumar Jain allegedly raised the credit limit for both these companies.

On the earnings front, FMCG major Marico declined 1.7 percent after fall in Q1 operating profit margin and Petronet LNG slipped 3 percent on account of 7.5 percent decline in net profit. Oriental Bank of Commerce recovered in late trade, up 0.4 percent despite 5 percent fall in net interest income.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones on the Bombay Stock Exchange by a ratio of 1815 to 1105.

03:30 Market close
As the market continued its consolidation mode, technology, banks and auto stocked drove indices ahead of RBI monetray policy. The Sensex ended up 242.32 points or 1 percent at 25723.16 and the Nifty was up 81.05 points or 1 percent at 7683.65. About 1804 shares have advanced, 1113 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Infosys, Maruti, Sesa and Wipro are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the laggards are Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, HDFC twins and Cipla.

03:20 pm Global markets
European stocks were steady in early trade , halting last week's sharp sell-off, as a rescue deal for troubled Banco Espirito Santo helped ease fears over the fate of Portugal's biggest lender.

Following a frenzied weekend of discussions between Portuguese and European Union officials, Portugal agreed to spend 4.9 billion euros ($6.58 billion) to rescue Banco Espirito Santo, or BES, its largest listed bank. The deal comes just months after the country exited an international bailout.

Portuguese 10-year yields dipped 1.4 basis points to 3.71 percent with the problems around BES seen contained for now.

03:10 Big buzzing
Shares of TV Today touched 6.5 year high at Rs 164.40 per share and are locked at 20 percent circuit. The media company reported over two-fold increase in standalone net profit at Rs 32.79 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2014.

The company had posted a standalone net profit of Rs 11.98 crore during the April-June quarter of the previous fiscal, TV Today Network said in a filing to the BSE. Total income increased 54.10 per cent to Rs 137 crore during the quarter under review this fiscal as against Rs 88.90 crore of the same period a year ago.

Revenues from TV broadcasting increased 55.61 percent to Rs 133.64 crore in the first quarter of FY 2014-15 as against Rs 85.88 in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

02:55pm Titan Company among major gainers
Titan Company rose 5 percent even though its April-June quarter's profit fell on a yearly basis. Lower jewellery sales ate into profits as it posted a 2.85 percent decline in net profit at Rs 177.27 crore in Q1 FY15.

However, brokerages are not deterred by the small hiccup and still hold a bullish stance on the watch & jewellery company.

JP Morgan has an overweight rating. Though it feels closure of jewellery purchase scheme still remains as key overhang on FY16 growth, margins will benefit from overseas gold hedging, incremental direct gold imports and scale leverage.

Credit Suisse also rates its overweight with a target price of Rs 380 per share. The brokerage has slashed estimates for FY 15-16 by 3 percent to build in some sales loss from the Golden Harvest discontinuation.

02:40pm Petronet LNG under pressure
State-run Petronet LNG's net profit declined 7.5 percent to Rs 156.6 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 compared to Rs 169.3 crore in previous quarter dented by lower revenue and weak operational performance.

Net sales slipped 3.3 percent sequentially to Rs 10,065 crore from Rs 10,408 crore while operating profit (EBITDA) dropped 28.8 percent to Rs 262 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 368 crore in January-March quarter 2014. The stock fell over 4 percent.

02:30pm Atul Auto on buyers' radar
Rajkot-based three-wheeler maker Atul Auto reported a 125.6 percent growth in net profit at Rs 9.7 crore in April-June quarter (Q1FY15) supported by other income and revenue but impacted by higher total expenses and tax cost. Net profit in corresponding quarter of last fiscal was Rs 4.3 crore.

Net sales grew by 16 percent on yearly basis to Rs 99.2 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 85.5 crore in same quarter last fiscal driven by strong sales growth.

Total sales in April-June quarter increased by 11.4 percent at 8,433 units compared to 7,568 units in the year-ago period while in the month of July 2014, it sold 3,537 units, up 17.66 percent compared to 3,006 units in July 2013. The stock gained 1 percent.

02:20pm Tyre makers in demand
Shares in tyre makers gain after traders note rubber prices hovering near their lowest levels in 4-1/2 years, with better monthly auto sales also helping sentiment.

Shares in Apollo Tyres gain 3.2 percent, while JK Tyre and Industries is up 5.2 percent. Ceat adds 5 percent and MRF gains 1 percent, reports Reuters.

02:10pm Interview
Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) has reported a 3 percent growth in net profit at Rs 364.5 crore in the first quarter, supported by other income and lower operating expenses, however got impacted by lower net interest income and higher provisions.

Even the asset quality worsened further during the quarter with the gross NPA rising 34 basis points sequentially (up 97 bps Y-o-Y) to 4.33 percent and net NPA increasing 29 bps Q-o-Q (up 77 points year-on-year) to 3.11 percent.

Discussing the earnings, CMD SL Bansal said the public sector lender has managed to recover Rs 180 crore in 30 days through its massive recovery programme. Going forward, Bansal expects to reduce the gross NPA levels to below 4 percent by March 2015. He expects recoveries at Rs 2,600 - 2,700 crore in FY15 and slippages in the second quarter to be lower than that in Q1, at around Rs 3,800 crore for the fiscal.

The bank is also planning to raise Rs 3,000 crore this fiscal and is awaiting a formal approval to raise funds via qualified institutional placement (QIP), he added.

On a sequential basis, the bank's net interest margin (NIM) declined to 2.56 percent against 2.7 percent. However, Bansal sees the NIM at 2.8 percent in FY15. The interest income reversal of Rs 98 crore resulted in NIM pressure, he said.

Total restructuring stood at Rs 900 crore, including Rs 300 crore from one account. The fresh restructuring was at Rs 840 crore in Q1, Bansal said, adding that bank's restructured book has now stabilized.

02:00pm The market remained in positive terrain in afternoon trade with the Sensex gaining 126.62 points to 25607.46 and the Nifty rising 44 points to 7646.60. About 1653 shares have advanced, 1097 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

Infosys continued to be most active stock on exchanges, up 4 percent after Indian rupee dropped below 61 level, down 11 paise to 61.04 a dollar compared to Friday's close. BSE IT Index climbed over 2 percent; Wipro and HCL Technologies gained 2 percent each.

Shares of Tata Motors, L&T, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Maruti Suzuki, Sesa Sterlite and Hindustan Unilever advanced 0.5-1.8 percent whereas HDFC Bank, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Cipla fell 0.8-1.6 percent.

FMCG major Marico's first quarter (April-June) consolidated net profit and total income from operations jumped more than 17 percent to Rs 185.3 crore and Rs 1,623 crore respectively, compared to year-ago period.

2:00 pm No more sugary: The battle between Uttar Pradesh government and the state's sugar mill owners is likely to intensify further as the deadline set by the latter for corrective action expired on July 31. CNBC-TV18 learns from sources that the UP Sugar Mills Association has written to the UP government that unless cane prices are linked to sugar prices, in line with a formula recommended by the Rangarajan Committee, they would not be able to start their mills in the new season that begins in October.

Also, the mill owners had asked the state government for further relief of Rs 9 per kg, in the letter dated July 8. However, none of these demands were addressed. Sources say mill owners, who are saddled with Rs 4,000 crore of losses in FY14, are now considering suspension notices.

1:50 pm Divestment moves: Domestic roadshows for 5 percent disinvestment in SAIL , likely to fetch about Rs 1,800 crore, will start by this month-end while the exercise to attract overseas investors will begin in the first week of September.

"The issue will hit the market in the middle of the next month. Keeping that in mind, Department of Disinvestment has decided to start domestic roadshows in the last week of August and overseas roadshows in first week of next month," a source in the Steel Ministry said.

Domestic roadshows for the issue, in which government's around 20.65 crore shares would be divested through Offer For Sale, or auction route, will be held in Mumbai and Chennai.

Two teams will be sent to meet with overseas investors, he said, adding that while one would visit London, New York and Boston, the other one would solicit the participation of the investors based in Singapore and Hong Kong.

1:40 pm Result: Rajkot-based three-wheeler maker Atul Auto reported a 125.6 percent growth in net profit at Rs 9.7 crore in April-June quarter (Q1FY15) supported by other income and revenue but impacted by higher total expenses and tax cost. Net profit in corresponding quarter of last fiscal was Rs 4.3 crore.

Net sales grew by 16 percent on yearly basis to Rs 99.2 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 85.5 crore in same quarter last fiscal driven by strong sales growth.

1:30 pm Market outlook: The last week of July has seen a huge inflow of USD 5.3 billion into the emerging markets – the biggest weekly inflow since Q1CY13. The majority, around 70 percent, of that inflow has come via the exchange-traded fund (ETF) route, said Rishav Dev, Equity Strategist, Quant Capital - Institutional Equities.

''If we talk about India-specific data, we saw close to about USD 80 million inflows last week into India funds, and more than 80 percent of that has come through the ETF route,'' Dev told CNBC-TV18.

Dev said earlier the money used to be more event-driven, but this time flows via the ETF route have not seen any significant outflow in the past few weeks even after completion of two major events -- elections and Budget. ''This time it looks like the money that is entering is for a longer term in nature,'' he added.

1:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Titan Company rose over 4 percent intraday on Monday, even though its April-June quarter's profit fell on a yearly basis. Lower jewellery sales ate into profits as it posted a 2.85 percent decline in net profit at Rs 177.27 crore in Q1 FY15.

However, brokerages are not deterred by the small hiccup and still hold a bullish stance on the watch & jewellery company.

The market has started consolidating after sharp decline last week. The Sensex is up 158.17 points at 25639.01 and the Nifty is up 56.35 points at 7658.95. About 1639 shares have advanced, 981 shares declined, and 99 shares are unchanged.

In stock specific action, Bajaj Auto reported weak domestic sales but exports aid overall volumes. However management believes that worst is over. Meanwhile Syndicate Bank is down 6 percent as its CMD was arrested for allegedly receiving a bribe of Rs 50 lakh.

Infosys soars 4 percent while Wipro, M&M and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are HDFC twins, Cipla, Coal India and Bharti.

The government postpones tabling the Insurance bill as the all-party meet remains inconclusive. Parties to meet again in the next two days to discuss the possible formulation of the bill

Globally, Asian markets are trading mostly higher even as china's services sector hit a six-month low in july. Chinese markets are up more than 1 percent..europe is positive in opening trade

01:00pm Interview
Midcap pharma player Ipca Laboratories has revised its FY15 revenue guidance to 12 percent. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, about the financial performance of the company in Q1FY15, ED AK Jain said that he sees the company's EBITDA margin at 24 percent for this financial year.

The company reported over two-fold jump in its standalone net profit to Rs 145.49 crore in Q1FY15 versus of Rs 71.77 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Its standalone total income from operations of the company rose to Rs 935.96 crore in the June quarter from Rs 805.56 crore for the same period a year ago.

Meanwhile, the company is hopeful of resolving Ratlam issue in around six months , he said. Last month, the company voluntarily stopped active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) shipments to the US from its unit at Ratlam following observations of manufacturing norms violations by USFDA investigators.

12:50pm Inflow of foreign money
The last week of July has seen a huge inflow of USD 5.3 billion into the emerging markets – the biggest weekly inflow since Q1CY13. The majority, around 70 percent, of that inflow has come via the exchange-traded fund (ETF) route, said Rishav Dev, Equity Strategist, Quant Capital - Institutional Equities.

''If we talk about India-specific data, we saw close to about USD 80 million inflows last week into India funds, and more than 80 percent of that has come through the ETF route,'' Dev told CNBC-TV18.

12:40pm TVS Motor on buyers' radar
Shares of TVS Motor rallied 4 percent, riding on its sales in July. The Chennai-based company's sales grew 32.15 percent by selling 2,03,092 units in July 2014, boosted by new scooter Jupiter. It had sold 1,53,676 units in June.

Total two-wheeler sales increased by 32 percent to 1,94,128 units in July 2014 as against 1,46,671 units in the same month a year ago while domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 1,64,571 units last month, up 30 percent, from 1,26,531 units in the year-ago period.

During the month, scooters sales jumped by 64 percent to 60,619 units in July 2014 as against 36,900 units in the corresponding month last year. Motorcycles sales grew by 33 percent to 76,767 units in last month as compared to 57,886 units in the corresponding month a year earlier.

12:30pm Foreign exchange reserves near record high
India's foreign exchange reserves of USD 320.56 billion in the week to August 1 are close to surpassing a record high of USD 320.785 billion in September 2011.

Traders say RBI's intervention in the foreign exchange markets is the key reason for build up in reserves.

Current reserves cover a little over eight months of imports analysts say.

RBI bought a net USD 11.3 billion of up to one-year forwards in June, almost erasing its forward obligations. It had bought $1.8 billion in the spot market in May, latest bulletin data showed, reports Reuters.

12:20pm Interview
The worst is behind in terms of sluggish domestic motorcycle sales, feels Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto. In an interview to CNBC-TV18. Bajaj said July was the bottom in terms of sales numbers, and that motorcycle sales were set to grow 20 percent month-on-month over the next 3-4 months.

''When I speak of 20 percent plus volume growth month-on-month for the next three-four months, the market is not going to grow at that rate,'' Bajaj said.

''So certainly on the back of new product, if not all, the market share we have lost is going to come back,'' he said.

Bajaj said the company has bagged an order for 40,000 Discover motorcycles, and is aiming to clock export sales of 1.85-1.90 lakh units next month, compared to 1.69 lakh units in July.

He said there was an uptick in Pulsar's market share in its segment to around 46 percent in July.

12:10pm RBI policy tomorrow
With all eyes set on the Reserve Bank of India as it announces its tone on the monetary policy tomorrow, Standard Chartered Bank Head of Research Samiran Chakraborty anticipates the Reserve Bank to maintain status quo. However, he does see RBI tweaking some liquidity norms.

Chakraborty is doubtful of the 4.1 percent fiscal deficit target being changed.

Key takeaways from the monetary policy announcement due tomorrow should be based on how the Reserve Bank approaches weak monsoons, if it shows discomfort with the fiscal deficit figures. In addition, the market also wants more clarity on measures taken to curb food pricing inflation, he says in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

12:00pm Equity benchmarks continued to trade higher supported by banks, capital goods, technology, auto and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex climbed 118.60 points to 25599.44 and the Nifty rose 45.75 points to 7648.35.

About 1610 shares have advanced, 865 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

Infosys and HCL Technologies rallied 3 percent each as Indian rupee breached 61 a dollar. Bajaj Auto, Wipro, M&M, Hindalco, United Spirits, BPCL and NMDC gained 1-3 percent. However, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Coal India, Cipla and DLF lost 0.8-1.8 percent.

Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) fell over a percent after it reported a 5 percent decline in net interest income at Rs 1,243 crore for the quarter ended June 2014 due to higher non-performing assets that rose 34 basis points sequentially to 4.33 percent.

11:50 am Insurance bill: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley talked tough during the all-party meeting called to arrive at a consensus on the Insurance Laws Amendment Bill and told Congress leaders to either approve, reject or amend the legislation in the Rajya Sabha, sources said. Jaitley made it clear that the NDA government would not accept Congress's stand of waiting and buying time on the Bill.

Sources added that the Centre is unlikely to accept Select Committee proposal for now but the final decision will be taken in the next round of meeting which is likely to be held in the next two days. Opposition parties had demanded a consultation with a select committee after the government made 11 new amendments to the Bill.

Jaitley, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu attended the meeting from the government's side.

11:40 am Interview: The worst is behind in terms of sluggish domestic motorcycle sales, feels Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Bajaj said July was the bottom in terms of sales numbers, and that motorcycle sales were set to grow 20 percent month-on-month over the next 3-4 months.

''When I speak of 20 percent plus volume growth month on month for the next three-four months, the market is not going to grow at that rate,'' Bajaj said.

''So certainly on the back of new product, if not all, the market share we have lost is going to come back,'' he said.

Bajaj said the company has bagged an order for 40,000 Discover motorcycles, and is aiming to clock export sales of 1.85-1.90 lakh units next month, compared to 1.69 lakh units in July. He said there was an uptick in Pulsar's market share in its segment to around 46 percent in July.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Suzlon Energy recouped previous trading session's losses on Monday, gaining as much as 4.5 percent intraday on company's confidence to turn profitable by end of FY15.

After two quarters of operating profits, India's leading wind turbine maker Suzlon expects to turn the corner by the fourth quarter of FY15 and to reduce some of interest cost also by capital structure optimisations.

"The policy environment in the domestic market and global market is so positive for renewable energy that the growth potentiality is equally good. Therefore Suzlon is now standing excellent opportunity for the turnaround," Tulsi Tanti, chairman said.

The company has current order book of 4900 megawatt or worth USD 7 billion. He strongly believes that this order book will increase, at the end of the year again it's above USD 7 billion.

11:20 am Forex reserve: India's foreign exchange reserves of USD 320.56 billion in the week to August 1 are close to surpassing a record high of USD 320.785 billion in September 2011.

Traders say RBI's intervention in the foreign exchange markets is the key reason for build up in reserves. Current reserves cover a little over eight months of imports analysts say.

RBI bought a net USD 11.3 billion of up to one-year forwards in June, almost erasing its forward obligations. It had bought USD 1.8 billion in the spot market in May, latest bulletin data showed.

Don't miss: 5 Alpha stocks for bravehearts to trade in Aug F&O series

It is day of recovery as the market sustains smart recovery since opening. The Sensex is up 164.85 points or 0.65 percent at 25645.69 and the Nifty is up 53.15 points or 0.70 percent at 7655.75. About 1559 shares have advanced, 678 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged.

Infosys is up 3 percent, while Hindalco, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and HUL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are HDFC, Bharti Airtel, Coal India, Sun Pharma and Cipla.

Oil prices rose in Asia today, but analysts said gains were capped following weakened demand caused by refinery shutdowns and easing concerns about armed conflicts around the world.

Reports of refinery outages in the US last week have caused concern that crude inventories will build at the Cushing, Oklahoma oil-trading hub, with the supply glut dampening prices.

Oil prices have seen a build in risk premium in recent months over armed insurgencies in crude producers Iraq and Libya, as well as Ukraine, a key conduit for Russian energy exports to Europe.

11:00am Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended gains with the Sensex rising 189.90 points to 25670.74 and the Nifty advancing 62.25 points to 7664.85 led by technology stocks. Infosys gained 3 percent after Indian rupee hit 61 a dollar.

About 1549 shares have advanced, 681 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.

10:50am Suzlon strong
After two quarters of operating profits, India's leading wind power company Suzlon now expects to turn the corner by the fourth quarter of FY15. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Suzlon chairman Tulsi Tanti talks about how he hopes to repay almost all of the company's Rs 8000 crore debt by end of FY15 via raising cheaper foreign debt and listing German subsidiary Senvion on the LSE.

The company's net loss narrowed to Rs 750.74 crore in the three months ended June 2014 , mainly on the back of higher income. The company had incurred a net loss of Rs 1,058.90 crore in the same period a year ago.

10:40am Andhra Bank under pressure
Andhra Bank's net profit decreased 53 percent at Rs 107 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2014, compared to Rs 231 crore in the year-ago period.

''The delay in loan waiver resulted in farmers not repaying their loans. This has resulted in farm loans worth Rs 1,078 crore turning into non-performing assets (NPAs),'' its chairman and managing director, CVR Rajendran told newspersons on Saturday.

The bank, which was expecting a better performance this quarter due to the strong recovery of NPAs in other sectors totalling Rs 1,000 crore, had difficulty in getting board approval for the results. ''We had to explain in detail to get the accounts approved,'' the CMD said.

10:30am FII View
Aditya Narain, Citi says the brokerage believes earnings more than anything else will drive the market.

''While Citi estimates are tweaked marginally, consensus revisions are now net positive for India: we continue to see fair value at India's long-term 15.5x PE multiple, and maintain our December 2014 Sensex target at 26,300 and keep a close eye on earnings,'' he adds.

10:20am Bribery scam
Shares of Syndicate Bank, Prakash Industries and Bhushan Steel tanked 7-20 percent following arrest of the Syndicate's chief for an alleged bribery case.

Police arrested the chairman of the state-run lender Sudhir Kumar Jain in Bangalore on Saturday for allegedly taking Rs 50 lakh bribe through middlemen to win extensions on loans after defaulting on repayments. ''Two companies for which Jain allegedly raised the credit limit are Prakash Industries and Bhushan Steel, which are being probed by the CBI in the coal block allocation scam, officials at the agency said,'' quoted a media report.

10:10am Interview
Infrastructure finance company Srei Infrastructure Finance expects its asset quality to improve from Q3, Q4 onwards. The Kolkata-headquartered registered a 35 percent growth in consolidated profit after tax in Q1FY15 which stood at Rs 63.98 crore, up from Rs 47.22 crore reported for the year-ago quarter.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, CMD Hemant Kanoria said growth in profit was led by disbursements at 3217 crore. Its consolidated operating profit for the quarter stood at Rs 265.03 crore against Rs 137.24 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Consolidated total income rose 20 per cent to Rs 942.64 crore from Rs 786.67 crore.

He further added that the company has seen minor improvement in net NPAs to 2.04 percent in Q1FY15 versus 2.19 percent, year-on year. However, gross NPAs haven't seen any substantial improvement.

10:00am The market remained in positive territory amid choppy trade. The Sensex advanced 57.92 points to 25538.76 and the Nifty rose 25.45 points to 7628.05 while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5 percent and 1 percent, respectively. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1394 to 573 on the BSE.

Shares of ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever and Hindalco Industries topped the buying list, up 1-1.5 percent. ITC, L&T, State Bank of India, ONGC, Tata Steel and BHEL gained more than 0.6 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC dropped nearly 2 percent followed by TCS, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Cipla with 0.5-0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the rupee slipped further in morning trade, down 20 paise to 60.97 to the dollar compared to Friday's close.

10:00 am Market outlook: It is a good time to buy shares of oil & gas companies, but you need to have an investment horizon of 3-4 years, says Ajay Srivastava of Dimensions Consulting. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Srivastava said midcap FMCG and pharma stocks were safe buy, but only if you picked the right stocks.

He is bearish on PSU banks as he feels their NPA-laden balance sheets do not reflect reality.

He is bullish on telecom, which is emerging as a strong growth story. Srivastava feels hospitality is a turnaround sector and that two-wheeler companies are a good bet for those seeking stable returns.

He says he will not be a buyer in L&T if the management team remains the same.

9:50 am Spark over mountain purchase: Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal has bid for an iconic mountain range in Britain, sparking protests from local people who believe the move could make the area a playground for the super-rich.

The 2,850ft-high Blencathra mountain, which towers above the Northern Fells in the picturesque Lake District region of Cumbria, was put on the market by Earl of Lonsdale Hugh Lowther in May, with an 1.75 million pounds asking price.

Funds from the sale of the 2,676-acre plot will go towards paying off the reported 9 million tax he owes from his father's inheritance, who died eight years ago.

9:40 am Poll: State-run Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) will announce its first quarter (April-June) earnings today. According to CNBC-TV18 poll estimates, analysts expect profit after tax of the company to grow 19.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,245 crore and total income from operations to rise 16.6 percent to Rs 4,153 crore during the quarter.

Operating profit (EBITDA) may jump 15.7 percent to Rs 3,539 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 from Rs 3,059 crore in the year-ago period but margin may decline 70 basis points year-on-year to 85.2 percent in the quarter gone by.

Analysts believe PGCIL should report decent growth driven by commissioning of assets during the past one year, adding commissioning of some key projects like 765KV Raichur-Sholapur line in January 2014 may aid earnings.

9:30 am Big fall: Investors are hurriedly selling shares of Syndicate Bank, Prakash Industries and Bhushan Steel following arrest of the lender's chief for an alleged bribery case. Shares of Syndicate Bank dived 7 percent, Prakash Industries plunged 20 percent while Bhushan Steel tanked 9 percent intraday on Monday.

Police arrested the chairman of the state-run lender Sudhir Kumar Jain in Bangalore today for allegedly taking Rs 50 lakh bribe through middlemen to win extensions on loans after defaulting on repayments. ''Two companies for which Jain allegedly raised the credit limit are Prakash Industries and Bhushan Steel, which are being probed by the CBI in the coal block allocation scam, officials at the agency said,'' quoted a media report.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has filed a case against Syndicate Bank Chairman Sudhir Kumar Jain and 11 others, including two directors of a Delhi-based company, and is further investigating the allegations. Jain will be produced before a court today.

Equity benchmarks rebounded on Monday after more than 400 points fall seen on Friday. The Sensex rose 108.39 points to 25589.23 and the Nifty gained 33.30 points at 7635.90.

About 778 shares have advanced, 171 shares declined, and 38 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen and Toubro, Tata Power, Cipla, BPCL, HCL Technologies and IDFC gained 1-1.5 percent. However, HDFC lost 1 percent. GAIL, ONGC, M&M, Maruti Suzuki, Grasim, Tech Mahindra and Hero Motocorp slipped 0.1-0.6 percent.

The Indian rupee gained in the early trade on Monday. It has opened higher 28 paise at 60.90 per dollar versus 61.18 Friday.

The dollar index has erased some of its gains but still trades near 10-month highs. The dollar index is near 81.31 levels gaining over 2 percent for the month. The euro was flat near 1.34.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered said, "Exporters will probably sell into any upticks towards 61-61.10/dollar and we will continue to see demand from FIIs as they hedge their open currency positions on dips towards 60.60-60.70/dollar. Range for the day is seen between 60.60-61.10/dollar."

In commodities, Brent crude traded at two-week low as oversupply in the Atlantic basin and low demand outweighed geopolitical tensions.

From precious metals space, gold rose 1 percent on Friday, a day after touching a six-week low as US payrolls data missed expectations. However, it traded below 1300 dollars an ounce.