Sensex, Nifty sluggish; Suzlon jumps 4%, FMCG stocks gain

1:50 pm Market outlook: The India story continues to be strong despite the recent dip in the market, says Chandresh Kumar Nigam, MD and CEO of Axis Mutual Fund. The market has been rallying for more than a year and with it comes the usual ups and downs, he says. 

According to him, investors are expecting the finance minister to continue with investments needed for growth of the economy, make announcements on how to get investments back on track and build business confidence. If he manages to deliver on all those fronts, the long-term rally in the market will continue, he adds. Another thing that is aiding India at the moment is the fact that globally, there aren’t many places to invest, says Nigam.

1:30 pm Budget session: Even as a united opposition and anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare continue with their vociferous protests against the Centre's economic agenda and "pro-rich" stand, the Narendra Modi government on Tuesday tabled the Land Acquisition Amendment Bill 2015. It will replace the ordinance promulgated by the government in December 2014, which had brought changes in the earlier bill passed in 2013 by the UPA government.

The government had promulgated the ordinance making significant changes in the Land Acquisition Act including removal of consent clause for acquiring land for five areas -- industrial corridors, PPP projects, rural infrastructure, affordable housing and defence.

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The market is still sluggish as the Sensex is down 19.03 points at 28956.08. The Nifty down 3.85 points at 8751.10. About 964 shares have advanced, 1629 shares declined, and 204 shares are unchanged.

HUL, ITC, BHEL, L&T and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are ONGC, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Hindalco.

Shares of Suzlon Energy surged over 4 percent amid reports that Sun Pharma's Dilip Shanghvi will provide as much as Rs 3,800 crore of security that will help the wind turbine maker in availing credits. Dilip Shanghvi is the founder and managing director of Sun Pharmaceuticals. As per reports, Dilip Shanghvi will provide as much as Rs 3,800 crore (USD 610 million) of security for Suzlon Energy to help the maker of wind turbines fill orders and return to profit. 

Japan's Nikkei share average rose for a fifth straight day and scored another 15-year high after the yen weakened, while investors were cautious awaiting comments from US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen later in the day.

The Nikkei rose 0.7 percent to 18,603.48 points, the highest point of the day and the highest close since April 2000. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex hovers around 29000; FMCG, IT, capital goods gain

10:30am Market Expert

The investor mood is very positive at the moment and investors are looking for more buy ideas than sell, is the word coming in from Prabodh Agrawal, president and head of research at IIFL Institutional Equities. However, he adds that investors may hold off for a bit as the market has already run up quite a bit and may remain in a consolidation phase from now to the Budget.

He is of the opinion that investors should not get distracted by the Budget and continue buying the market. He does not see a major correction in the market.

Agrawal is expecting announcements pertaining to increase in spending in physical and social infrastructure in the Budget. He adds that this increase will partly be funded through increase in taxes – primarily indirect taxes.

He expects the government to target subsidies successfully and chalk a clear roadmap of subsidies and social spending. He also feels the government should do something to recapitalize public sector banks. According to him, if finance minister Arun Jaitley manages to deliver on these fronts, the market will be very happy.

10:00am Market Check

The market continued to consolidate today with the Sensex hovering around 29000 level, up 21.65 points at 28996.76. The Nifty rose 0.55 points to 8755.50.

The broader markets were also in consolidation mode ahead of Union Budget 2015 (to be announced on Saturday). About 957 shares have advanced, 975 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

FMCG, technology, capital goods, healthcare and select auto stocks supported the market whereas banks and oil & gas stocks remained under pressure.

Shares of ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever, Wipro and Cipla gained 1 percent each. Infosys, TCS, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India and Hero Motocorp traded with marginal gains.

However, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, ONGC, Axis Bank, Sesa Sterlite, Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel fell 0.6-1.8 percent. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex falls 256 pts, Nifty ends below 8800; RIL loses 3%

03:30 pm Market closing: The market tumbled on first day of crucial Budget week. The Sensex slumped 256.30 points or 0.9 percent at 28975.11, and the Nifty slipped 78.65 points or 0.9 percent at 8754.95. About 1201 shares advanced, 1707 shares declined and 209 shares were unchanged.

Reliance fell 3 percent while GAIL, SBI, Tata Steel and Axis Bank were among the laggards in the Sensex. Among the gainers were M&M, TCS, Sesa Sterlite and NTPC.

03:00pm Lupin in News: Indian drugmaker Lupin said that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has raised concerns over production processes at the company's Pithampur plant in central India.

The FDA inspected the plant in January this year, after which it issued the company a so-called Form 483, listing six observations on the manufacturing processes at the plant, Lupin said in a statement, without giving details.

Lupin said it has received one drug approval and two site-transfer approvals from the same plant since the FDA audit.

In a Form 483, the FDA typically outlines conditions or practices at a drug-making unit that may cause the products made there to be in violation of the US agency's standard production requirements, reports Reuters.

2:45 pm Exclusive: Starting April 1, a category called "restructured assets" will not be available to banks. They have to classify stressed accounts as non performing loans (NPLs), and make higher provisions. But despite the March 31 deadline drawing near, banks are not rushing to restructure before the window closes.

There is no doubt that there is very high stress in the system when it comes to the bad loans. Infact most of the banks have reported about 6 percent rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) which is very worrying.

Last year the number of cases referred to the CDR cell was about 101 which was worth about Rs 1.3 lakh crore. However, this year so far, the number of cases that have been referred are only 25 which amounts to about Rs 23,000 crore. This figure is not even one fifth of the number of recasts that happened last year and although there is one more month to go for the March quarter to end, bankers are not expecting a rush in restructuring.

2:25 pm Market check: The market slips further dragged by oil & gas, pharma and FMCG stocks. The Sensex is down 175.61 points or 0.6 percent at 29055.80 and the Nifty slips 62.10 points or 0.7 percent at 8771.50. About 1178 shares have advanced, 1601 shares declined, and 220 shares are unchanged.

Reliance, Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Axis Bank and HDFC are major laggards in the Sensex.

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The market erased morning gains amid consolidation. The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 30.08 points to 29201.33 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 19.20 points to 8814.40.

However, the broader markets were still in green. The BSE Midcap was up 0.2 percent and Smallcap gained 0.3 percent. About 1361 shares have advanced, 1369 shares declined, and 213 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Dhananjay Sinha, Emkay Global Financial Services says market needs to be looked at from the context of what was reported in the third quarter earnings and the recent political developments pertaining to Delhi election outcome and Bihar, which impinges on the positivity of the current government.

The market has been running up significantly higher implying that has become expensive just on the basis of downgrades. Therefore, one needs to be a bit circumspect of what the market is currently pricing and what can be evolved going forward with Budget in prime focus, Sinha adds.

Mahindra and Mahindra climbed 2 percent as the utility vehicle maker launched its XUV500 Xclusive edition at Rs 14.48 lakh ex-Mumbai today. Sesa Sterlite was up 3 percent as its subsidiary BALCO won Gare Palma IV/1 coal block at Rs 1,585 per tonne and the company also proposed its name change to Vedanta.

TCS and L&T gained 1.4 percent each while Reliance Industries, HDFC, Axis Bank, SBI, HUL and Bajaj Auto fell 0.7-1.3 percent. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex, Nifty flat; Axis Bank, HDFC, Hero laggards

1:45 pm Budget outlook: Ahead of the much-awaited Budget over the upcoming weekend, the market is expected to remain volatile over the next few days, is the word coming in from Sanjay Dutt, director, Quantum Securities. At the moment, the market is at the upper end of the trading range, he says. As expected, there will be a lot of noise in the run up to the Budget. But Dutt does not expect major changes on the tax front in the Budget. 

"The Budget needs to be a radical, out-of-the-box type of a Budget," he told. If it indeed turns out to be a Modi Budget, or if finance minister Arun Jaitley truly manages to deliver, there will be a big rally in the market, he adds. As far as the Railway Budget goes, all positives that may come from it are already priced in, he says. Certain core issues have been plaguing the Railways for many years now and if Suresh Prabhu has to bring the railways back on track, there is a need for some radical decisions on that front as well.

1:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Kotak Mahindra surged 4 percent while ING Vysya was up 3 percent intraday on Monday after the proposed Rs 15,000-crore merger deal got the Competition Commission's (CCI) approval.

According to the fair trade regulator, the merger, which would create the country's fourth largest private sector lender, is "not likely to have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India". In an order dated February 12, the CCI said that share of both entities in various relevant markets is "insignificant".

In this case, the regulator took into account multiple relevant markets including those for deposits, home loans, agricultural banking and card business. These were considered in accordance with the international best practices regarding the assessment of the mergers in the banking sector.

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The market is flat as the Sensex is up 53.23 points at 29284.64 and the Nifty is up 8.85 points at 8842.45. About 1341 shares have advanced, 1305 shares declined, and 201 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, L&T, TCS, M&M and Tata Power are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, Reliance, Axis Bank, HDFC and Hero.

President Pranab Mukherjee today said inflation has fallen to a record low due to a number of decisive steps taken by the government and the economy is again on a high growth trajectory. Delivering his address to the joint sitting of Parliament, whose Budget session commenced today, he said, "Inflation and food inflation, in particular, are at a record low due to a number of decisive measures taken by the government."

Wholesale inflation turned negative for the second time in three months as fall in petroleum and food prices dragged it to a five-and-a-half year low of (-) 0.39 percent in January. The overall food inflation was at 8 percent. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Nifty hovers around 8850; Midcap, Smallcap outperform

10:20am Gold Update

Gold hovered around the key USD 1,200-an-ounce level today, its lowest in seven weeks, as support for the safe-haven metal eased after a deal was struck over Greece's debt, while the absence of major consumer China also took a toll.

Spot gold was little changed at USD 1,202.10 an ounce by 0225 GMT, after dropping to USD 1,197.95 in the previous session as safe-haven bids receded. The metal recorded its fourth straight weekly decline on Friday.

Eurozone finance ministers reached an agreement to extend heavily indebted Greece's financial rescue by four months, officials on both sides said.

The deal removes the immediate risk of Greece running out of money next month and possibly being forced out of the single currency area, reports Reuters.

10:00am Market Check

The market remained firm with the Nifty hovering around 8850. Private banks, FMCG, technology, metals and healthcare stocks while heavyweights like HDFC, Reliance Industries were under pressure.

The Sensex rose 71.45 points to 29302.86 and the Nifty advanced 17.75 points to 8851.35. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.4-0.6 percent.

Nearly two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindalco Industries topped the buying list, up 1.7 percent on getting Gare Palma IV/4 coal block at Rs 3,001 per tonne in coal auction. Sesa Sterlite was up over a percent as its subsidiary BALCO won Gare Palma IV/1 coal block at Rs 1,585 per tonne and the company also proposed its name change to Vedanta.

Infosys, ICICI Bank, L&T, ITC, TCS, HDFC Bank, HUL, Wipro and Cipla gained 0.3-1 percent. GAIL, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel fell more than 1 percent followed by HDFC and Reliance Industries with 0.4 percent loss. More information Please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex tanks 231 pts, Nifty ends in red; BHEL, ITC gainers

03:30 pm Market close

The market snapped 7th day winning streak today by closing with major loss. The Sensex ended down 230.86 points or 0.8 percent at 29231.41 and the Nifty slipped 61.70 points or 0.7 percent  at 8833.60.

About 1490 shares have advanced, 1436 shares declined, and 204 shares are unchanged.

BHEL was up 5 percent while ITC, Hindalco, M&M and Dr Reddy's Labs were big gainers in the Sensex. Reliance lost 3 percent. ICICI Bank, Tata Power, Infosys and Bharti Airtel were major laggards in the Sensex.

03:00pm Market Update

The Sensex fell 173.66 points to 29288.61 and the Nifty dropped 45.60 points to 8849.70.

About 1491 shares have advanced, 1375 shares declined, and 194 shares are unchanged.

02:45pm Interview

Bangalore-based Prestige Estates Projects yesterday pre-launched two projects in Hyderabad, Prestige Highfields and Prestige Ivy League, that would cumulatively add about Rs 2,700 crore to the company’s top line over the next few years, CMD Irfan Razack in an interview.

The two projects together have developable area of 4.7 million square feet and may see average realizations of Rs 5,500 psf (Highfields) and Rs 7,000 psf (Ivy League), he added.

02:30pm Market Expert

Kamlesh Rao, CEO of Kotak Securities believes the government will work towards reducing the fiscal deficit, which is a key factor for any government.

"With the need to increase consumption demand, there will be a relook at the personal and corporate taxation rates. A focus on kicking the capex cycle which is the big stimulus required for sustained economic growth. Inverted tax laws will hopefully find correction to realize the “Make in India” plan of the government," he says.

"At 8900-9000 certainly one cannot act on short term view as the markets are going to remain volatile on the back of internal or external news flow but in the next 12 to 18 months of time we are expecting steady and positive indications. Down side is limited to 8000 as per Nifty and 27000 as per Sensex.  On the higher side, we are expecting 25 percent to 30 percent returns in next 12 to 18 months of time," Rao adds.

02:00pm Market Check

The market continued to see selling pressure in afternoon trade, dragged by index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Infosys and L&T.

The Sensex declined 101.13 points to 29361.14 and the Nifty slipped 25.55 points to 8869.75. However, the broader markets saw buying interest as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively.

About 1455 shares have advanced, 1299 shares declined, and 202 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Nirmal Jain, chairman, IIFL said it is unlikely to see a big rally or crash in market till Budget. He believes the government is moving in the right direction and all circumstances are conducive for a ‘historic’ Budget.

Jain also said that Budget is not the only criterion to judge the big-ticket reforms taken by the government as it is taking lot of efforts to push through the goods and services tax (GST) which is set to get implemented from 2016 onwards. 

Reliance Industries topped the selling list, falling nearly 3 percent followed by ICICI Bank, HDFC, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, Tata Power and Wipro with 1-1.7 percent loss. L&T, Maruti and HUL declined over half a percent.

JSPL continued to be in focus after it failed to qualify to bid for the Gare Palma IV/1 coal block. The management, however, told that their strategy for the auction is non-aggressive and they didn't want to exceed their quoted price for the coal block.

However, BHEL was the biggest gainer on Sensex, up 4 percent. ITC, Tata Motors, TCS, State Bank of India, M&M, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Steel and Hindalco Industries climbed 0.7-1 percent.

In global data, markets in Europe opened lower by 0.5 percent amidst continued uncertainty over Greece. On data front, German producer prices showed further fall in January, leading to increased fears that region is falling into a deflationary spiral. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com

Sensex, Nifty in red; BHEL surges 4%, SBI gains 1%

The market is still struggling to get in green zone. The Sensex is down 105.28 points or at 29356.99 and the Nifty is down 25.35 points at 8869.95. About 1426 shares have advanced, 1202 shares declined, and 205 shares are unchanged.

BHEL is up 4 percent while Hindalco, SBI, Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Reliance, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Tata Power and Wipro.

Abhay Laijawala, Deutsche Equities believes the government needs to unequivocally signal its medium-term commitment to reviving stalled investment momentum, through increasing capital expenditure in critical sectors like roads, railways, irrigation and defence.

“The government can do this by articulating a 3-4 year roadmap to raise share of capital expenditure to 20 percent of total budget expenditure by FY18 from 10-12 percent currently,” he adds. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com