Sensex & Nifty volatile, Midcap outperforms; metals shine

10:25am SKS Microfinance rallies 5%: SKS Microfinance has registered over 49 percent rise in its net profit at Rs 40.54 crore for the last quarter ended March 2015 compared to Rs 27.11 crore in the corresponding last quarter in the previous fiscal.

"Total income increased from Rs 147.38 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014 to Rs 226.20 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2015," it said in a filing to the BSE.

For the full fiscal ended March 31, 2015, company's net profit rose by over two-and-a half times to Rs 187.66 crore. It had earned net profit of Rs 69.85 crore in 2013-14. Full year income increased from Rs 544.84 crore for the year ended March 31, 2014 to Rs 803.07 crore for the year ended March 31, 2015, it said.

10:00am Market Check

The market continued to see profit booking amid consolidation. The Sensex fell 37.40 points to 27453.19 and the Nifty declined 15.90 points to 8316.05.

However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.4 percent each. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1052 to 754 on the BSE.

HDFC, ITC, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Cipla, NTPC and Coal India lost 1-2 percent while Tata Steel topped the buying list on Sensex, up 3.4 percent.

TCS, Larsen & Toubro, ONGC, HUL, Vedanta and Hindalco gained 1-2 percent. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Bulls at D-St: Sensex, Nifty surge; Future Retail up 15%

1:30 am Buzzing: Shares of BHEL rose 2.5 percent intraday. The company has successfully commissioned a 195 MW thermal unit in Bihar. It says that this is the first 195 MW unit to be commissioned by BHEL at the 2X195 MW Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station (TPS) Plant of Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam (KBUNL), a joint venture of NTPC and MSPGCL, Bihar. The second 195 MW is expected to be commissioned in FY2015-16. Earlier, in the first week of March 2015, a 660 MW supercritical thermal unit was commissioned by BHEL at Barh in Bihar.

Don't miss: ONGC, OIL rise 4-5% as govt to bear entire fuel subsidy

The market is still on its northwards journey as the Sensex is up 343.83 points or 1 percent at 27355.14. The Nifty is up 107 points or 1 percent at 8288.50. About 1790 shares have advanced, 711 shares declined, and 139 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Cipla and Hindalco are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the top losers are Tata Motors, L&T, Wipro and ICICI Bank.

Meanwhile, both Future Retail and Future Consumer Enterprise are up 15 percent each on hopes of a possible merger with Bharti Retail.

Meanwhile, Hartmut Issel, Head of Equity & Credit for Asia Pacific at UBS continues to feel India is on track and bases the premise of his optimism on oil prices. Issel, who is also CIO, the Wealth Management at UBS says low oil prices may have been good for the economy but also impacted corporate profits. A lot of earning downgrades is a result of that factor, Issel says.

He says oil prices have since moved up and expects that to firm up a bit more resulting in wiping out the main source of downgrades. Once that is taken care of, Issel sees the domestic story picking up again. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex, Nifty drag 1%; rupee weak, infra & FMCG stocks skid

1:30 pm Big bull: The Indian stock market has corrected enough over the past few weeks and the thesis remains that local equities are in a sustainable long-term run, as compared to countries like China where shares have seen a ‘poor quality’ rally.

That’s the view of Samir Arora of Singapore-based Helios Capital, who has upped the net exposure of his long-short hedge fund by 5-7 percent. (Arora’s current net long exposure is not known but in February this year, he said his position then stood at 63-64 percent.)

“As opposed to 2014, which was a long-only year, we expect this year to be long-short,” he said, while maintaining that investors should expect 12-15-18 percent kind of returns from stocks this year.

On the issue that has had investors the most worried, Arora said that even if earnings were muted in the current fiscal year (at about 10-12 percent growth), they will likely make up for it in the following year and that on a 2016-17 basis, shares were priced at a reasonable 16-17 times earnings.

Don't miss: Axis Bank rises 5%, brokerages say 'buy' post Q4 nos

The market is slipping away, as the Sensex is down 295.90 points or 1 percent at 26930.03. The Nifty is down 85.35 points or 1 percent at 8154.40. About 1031 shares have advanced, 1369 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

Bharti, Tata Power, HDFC, Coal India and Dr Reddy's Labs are among major laggards while Axis Bank, Vedanta, Cipla, Reliance and ONGC are top gainers in the Sensex.

The rupee pared its initial losses, but was still down by 17 paise at 63.47 against the American currency in late morning trade on sustained bouts of month-end dollar demand from banks and importers amid weak equities.

The dollar was lower against its major rivals in early trade over the doubts about the strength of the US economic recovery. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty holds 8150 amid pressure; HDFC, Bharti, HUL plunge

10:40am Biocon reaction to Q4 nos: Biocon's fourth quarter profit after tax climbed 78 percent year-on-year to Rs 201 crore led by exceptional gains of Rs 105.06 crore (on account of sale of shares of Syngene).

Overall it was a pleasant surprise on earnings as the street was expecting another dismal quarter but numbers were better than expectations. Though the profit was fueled by exceptional inflow, the topline indicated pure organic improved performance.

Revenue grew by 14.5 percent to Rs 854 crore during January-March quarter compared to Rs 746 crore in the year-ago period and expectations of Rs 791.1 crore.

"Biocon closed the year with a stronger performance in Q4 on the back of a record quarterly performance by our Research Services subsidiary, Syngene and an improved performance of our Biopharma business," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, chairman and managing director. 

10:25am FII View: Sakthi Siva, Credit Suisse said, "In our recent client visits in Singapore, a question that is coming up often is whether foreign investors are selling India/ASEAN to buy North Asia. For April, foreigners are now net sellers of India, Indonesia & Philippines, while they are net buyers of Korea & Taiwan."

"Year to date, foreigners are now net sellers of Indonesia, Thailand & Malaysia," she added.

10:00am Market Check

The market remained under pressure on the day of expiry of Nifty April derivative contracts. The Sensex fell 234.98 points to 26990.95 and the Nifty declined 69.05 points to 8170.70, dragged by FMCG, banking & financials and technology stocks.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed benchmarks, down marginally. About 813 shares have advanced, 1045 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Shares of HDFC, TCS, HUL, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Dr Reddy's Labs and Coal India topped the selling list, down 2-3 percent. ITC, HDFC Bank, Infosys and L&T declined over 1 percent.

However, Axis Bank bucked the trend, up 5 percent following good set of numbers in Q4. CLSA, which has maintained buy rating on the stock, expects earnings to grow at 21 percent CAGR over FY15-17. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty struggles below 8300; IT, pharma, bank stocks rise

1:30 pm Results: Ambuja Cements missed street expectations on Wednesday with the first quarter net profit falling 38.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 317.69 crore compared to Rs 520.01 crore in the year-ago period. A poll had expected profit of Rs 340 crore on revenue of Rs 2,565 crore for the quarter. Revenue declined 7 percent to Rs 2,463 crore for the quarter ended March against Rs 2,651.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. The company follows January-December as its financial year. Don't miss: Investors dump Idea post firm Q4; analysts still bullish The market is flat as the Sensex is up 8.67 points at 27405.05. The Nifty is up 6.15 points at 8291.75. About 1441 shares have advanced, 956 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged. IT, pharma and bank stocks are lending support to the benchmark indices. Axis Bank is up 3 percent while Wipro, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank and GAIL were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Vedanta, ITC, Tata Motors, Hindalco and HDFC. Gold prices fell by Rs 53 to Rs 27,326 per 10 gm in futures trade today largely in tandem with a weak trend overseas and profit-booking by speculators. Analysts said the fall in yellow metal prices at futures trade was mostly in tune with a weak trend overseas and profit-booking by speculators at prevailing levels. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex up over 250 pts, Nifty above 8300; Banks outperform

3:15 pm Bullish World Bank: In a major boost to the market, World Bank estimates India’s GDP growth at 7.5 percent in FY16 and 7.9 percent in FY17. It says that India needs to further rationalise subsidies. World Bank thinks tax-to-GDP ratio may rise after India implements GST but land acquisition remains hurdle in the country's efforts to boost infrastructure. 3:00 pm Market check: The market does a somersault and surges ahead. The Sensex is up 285.89 points or 1 percent at 27462.88, and the Nifty is up 89.60 points or 1 percent at 8303.40. About 1565 shares have advanced, 1069 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged. Bank Nifty soars 3 percent on short covering. Pull back seen in select mid cap stocks after recent sell off. 2:30 pm Economy outlook: Rural India has been a growth driver for auto industry, but sales are under pressure currently, said Saurabh Mukherjea of Ambit Capital. He sees an increase in corporate bad debts for private banks. Mukherjea expects sluggish economic growth for next 6-7 months, and advises investors to buy companies with strong balance sheets. He recommends avoiding stocks dependent on rural consumption and investment cycle. Ambit has cut GDP growth forecast for FY16 from 7.9 percent YoY to 7.5 percent YoY. It sees FY16 GDP to be at same levels as in FY15. Expecting next 6-7 months to be a weak economic phase for the country, the brokerage firm advises investment into companies having strong balance sheets, while recommending investors to cut exposure to rural consumption-dependent companies and to stocks that are plays on the investment cycle. Don't miss: 5 brokerages tell you how to trade Maruti post Q4 The market is still struggling with the Sensex is down 18.16 points at 27158.83. The Nifty is up 1.20 points at 8215.00. About 1357 shares have advanced, 1185 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged. ICICI Bank is still up 6 percent while Maruti, Axis Bank, Tata Motors and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex. ITC, GAIL, L&T, HUL and Infosys are major losers. Sugar stocks like Bajaj Hindusthan, Mawana Sugars, Sakthi Sugars are rallying as the government may announce package for sugar sector in a day or two. According to CNBC-TV18 sources in the food ministry, the package will address issues related to buffer stock. It may even include decision to hike import duty, increase ethanol blending limit and sugar release mechanism. Meanwhile, drug major Mylan has rejected a USD 40 billion unsolicited merger offer from Israel's Teva Pharmaceutical Industries saying the bid "grossly undervalues" the company considering its best-in-class assets, including a strong foothold in India. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex, Nifty still in red; oil & gas, pharma stocks drag

The market is still in the red dragged by oil and pharma stocks. The Sensex down 130.45 points at 27307.49. The Nifty is down 49.25 points or 0.6 percent at 8256.00. About 585 shares have advanced, 1891 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

HDFC, Dr Reddy's Labs, SBI, HUL and Hero Motocorp are losers while Vedanta, Axis Bank, Tata Power and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex.

Brent crude prices held near a 4-4.5 month high above USD 65 a barrel, supported by concerns over fighting in Yemen disrupting Middle East supplies and signs that US shale output may have started to decline.

The number of active US rigs drilling for oil has fallen for a record 20 weeks in a row to the lowest since 2010, according to Baker Hughes data, fuelling expectations of a drop in US production. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty slips below March low; Midcap, Smallcap plunge 1-2%

10:50am Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended losses with the Nifty trading at lowest level since January 9, 2015. The Sensex dropped 195.95 points to 27241.99 and the Nifty slipped 73.90 points to 8231.35.

The market breadth weakend further as about 1690 shares have declined against 433 shares advanced on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

10:35am Market Expert: The market is prone to trade between 7800-8200 due to lack of substantial triggers, tepid earnings and expectation of weak monsoons, says Harendra Kumar of Elara Capital.

According to him, there is nothing exciting in the market right now and therefore, there are not too many stocks to buy given the expensive valuations.

10:16am Market Update: The market extended losses, falling below its March low, dragged by banking & financials (except ICICI Bank), healthcare and capital goods stocks. The Sensex plunged 134.84 points to 27303.10 and the Nifty fell 54.65 points to 8250.60.

10:05am Petronet LNG dives: Discussing the results, RK Garg, Director Finance, Petronet LNG, said the company has been trying to mitigate issues raised after sudden drop in crude prices, which in turn affected customers’ buying capacity.

In an interview, Garg said the company’s long-term volumes have reduced significantly in Q4 and that 75 percent of capacity is under long-term contracts.

“Buyers not taking quantities due to fall in crude prices will pay penalty, which is paid yearly, not on quarterly basis,” he said.

According to Garg, improvement in margins will depend on offtakes. He hopes to see some (improvement) in the next two months.

10:00am Market Check

The market continued to consolidate ahead of expiry of April derivative contracts this week. The Sensex fell 47.74 points to 27390.20 and the Nifty declined 27.55 points to 8277.70.

The broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices losing 1.4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Nearly 3 shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Rakesh Arora, Macquarie said Indian market has been hurt due to negative sentiment surrounding MAT on FII investments.

According to him, earnings season is also panning out weak as expected and the first Met report on the monsoon is also not encouraging. He feels stocks, post a 15-20 percent correction, would be cheap and worth buying on dips.

Shares of Infosys, Larsen & Toubro, SBI, Sun Pharma, Mahindra & Mahindra, Cipla, Hero Motocorp, Tata Steel and GAIL dropped 1-1.5 percent while ITC and NTPC gained more than 1 percent. For mOre information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex up 214 pts, Nifty ends at 8430; HUL & L&T gain 3-4%

03:30 pm Market close: After a volatile session, the market has ended with handsome gains with major support by banks and capital goods stocks. The Sensex ended up 214.09 points or 0.8 percent at 27890.13, and the Nifty was up 51.95 points or 0.6 percent at 8429.70. About 1379 shares have advanced, 1379 shares declined, and 180 shares are unchanged.

Even after a weak monsoon forecast, HUL gained 4 percent. Other top gainers in the Sensex were Axis Bank, L&T, Hero and Dr Reddy's Labs. Wipro lost 6 percent post poor Q1FY16 guidance. ONGC, SBI, Hindalco and Infosys also slipped.

03:20 pm Rupee bonds: Indian Railways Finance Corp, the finance arm of Asia's largest rail network, plans to raise up to $1 billion through offshore rupee bonds, making it the first domestic issuer to eye so-called "masala" debt to diversify its source of funds.

The Reserve Bank of India gave Indian companies the green light to raise bonds offshore in rupees earlier this month, a move seen as a small step towards full rupee convertibility, one of the objectives set by Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan when he took charge in 2013.

Rajan has since said full capital account convertibility, which would allow foreign investors to repatriate money at will, could happen in "a short number of years".

03:10 pm Market update: It has been a roller coaster ride on Dalal Street. The Nifty is tad below 8450-level, up 51.80 points or 0.6 percent at 8429.55, at 8430. The Sensex is up 197.46 points or 0.7 percent at 27873.50.

02:59pm Mastek in Focus: Smallcap IT firm Mastek disappointed street with its fourth quarter earnings. Profit after tax dropped 26 percent sequentially to Rs 6.44 crore on account of weak operational performance and lower other income.

Revenue grew 2.8 percent to Rs 276.1 crore during January-March quarter from Rs 268.6 crore in December quarter and increased 4.7 percent in constant currency terms.

Operating profit (EBITDA) slipped 20 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 16.24 crore and margin declined 167 basis points to 5.88 percent in the quarter gone by.

Other income during March quarter was Rs 1.23 crore, down 72.2 percent compared to Rs 4.43 crore December quarter.

The bottomline was also impacted by increase in products research and development expenses that increased to Rs 17.1 crore in March quarter (6.2 percent of operating revenue) from Rs 14.3 crore (5.3 percent of operating revenue) in December quarter.

02:46pm Market recovers: Volatile equity benchmarks recouped losses in late trade, supported by private banks, healthcare and stocks like L&T and HUL. The Sensex rose 45.74 points to 27721.78 and the Nifty advanced 5.55 points to 8383.30.

About 1115 shares have advanced, 1544 shares declined, and 179 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

L&T climbed over 2 percent on winning orders worth Rs 2,674 crore. HUL surged over 3 percent and Dr Reddy's gained 2 percent.

02:40pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks recovered supported by private banks. The Sensex fell 56.73 points to 27619.31 and the Nifty declined 26.80 points to 8350.95.

About 1058 shares have advanced, 1594 shares declined, and 176 shares are unchanged on the BSE. 

02:35pm FII View: Brokerage firm Credit Suisse has maintained its 10 percent overweight stance on India, buoyed by economic recovery and a significant fall in inflation.

Credit Suisse believes Prime Minister Narendra Modi's structural economic reform programme is already bearing fruit and India merits an exclusion from the 'fragile five.'

Some concerns notwithstanding, the brokerage says it prefers India over Brazil in the emerging markets (EMs) space.

"Our MSCI India regression model suggests the greatest potential upside in global emerging markets (GEM)," says the report,

However, the report added that the negative top and bottom line revisions is making the firm nervous about maintaining the 'overweight' call

02:25pm DoT to meet telcos: Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said the Department of Telecom (DoT) will soon call a meeting of all service providers to look into the problem of frequent call drops being faced by customers.

"I have asked my officials to call a meeting of all service providers regarding call drops faced by customers," Prasad told PTI. Operators will be asked to improve quality of service, he added.

A group of BJP MPs have also complained to the Minister regarding frequent 'call dropping', excess billing and non-transparency by some private telecom operators.

The parliamentarians demanded action against the private telecom operators after proper investigation and alleged that the companies were not hearing complaints of the customers.

Mobile phone users have been complaining about the call drops, but telecom operators have not lived up to their expectations to rectify the problems and provide a good communication network.

02:00pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended fall for the sixth straight session, down 0.8 percent on weak monsoon forecast. Banks, technology, oil & gas, auto and metals dragged.

The Sensex, which lost more than 1600 points in last 6 trading sessions, declined 205.39 points to 27470.65 and the Nifty slipped 70.75 points to 8307 today.

About 977 shares have advanced, 1659 shares declined, and 176 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

The Indian Met Department released its first official monsoon forecast for 2015 and predicted below normal monsoon this year. MET said rainfall is seen at 93 percent of long term average in 2015, adding 35 percent probability of monsoon rainfall will remain below normal.

Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS said earnings season will be more difficult than anticipated. The range for the Nifty has moved lower to 7600-8600 over next 2 months, according to him.

On the crucial subject of restrospective tax payment for FIIs, minister of state for finance Jayant Sinha said the government cannot withdraw MAT notices sent to FIIs, The government is going by the authority of advance rulings which clearly stated that FIIs need to pay MAT and foreign investors are free to appeal against it.

The rupee weakened to 62.91 against a close of 62.85 a dollar yesterday due to fresh dollar demand from importers and strong dollar against other currencies overseas. Weak equity market also dampened sentiment. For More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex sees marginal gains: HUL rebounds, IT stocks decline

10:25am FII View: A positive macro-and-policy-fuelled India was the most preferred emerging market across all financial centres in Europe at the end of 2014, says Deutsche Bank in a research report. But now global as well as emerging markets investors are looking at a tactical reallocation of aggressively overweight positions towards other EM's like China, Russia and Brazil, the report says. Deutsche Bank met as many as 34 investors last week across key financial centers in Europe. The brokerage house further says: "Many global investors we met – who were first time investors into India, through the rally last year, are currently focused on European equity markets, following improving economic data and QE in Europe." Focusing on India, the report says, the ongoing tactical correction is a healthy consolidation and investors waiting on the sidelines should use this as an opportunity to realign their portfolios. Deutsche Bank maintains its year-end Sensex target of 33,000. 10:00am Market Check The market continued to see marginal gains in morning trade led by banking & financials, FMCG and select oil stocks. The Sensex rose 71.09 points to 27747.13 and the Nifty climbed 12.20 points to 8389.95. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Sun Pharma rebounded with 2 percent gains after a 9 percent fall in previous session. JP Morgan has maintained overweight rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 1030. "Large correction was driven by supply from Daiichi’s stake sale (down 19 percent over last 2 weeks including correction yesterday)," said the brokerage, adding he will use the weakness as a buying opportunity. He believes the base Sun Pharma business (ex-Ranbaxy) can grow at more than 15 percent over medium term and sees significant upside from integration / turnaround of Ranbaxy acquisition, manufacturing related synergies. HUL also rallied 2 percent followed by ICICI Bank, ITC, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, M&M, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hero Motocorp with 0.3-1.3 percent. However, Wipro tanked 4 percent post disappointing earnings and weak guidance. TCS and Infosys too were under pressure, down 0.4-0.9 percent. For more information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com