Nifty ends 70 points lower on July F&O expiry

Markets succumbed to selling pressure in late trades, amid huge volumes, with financial shares leading the decline following the expiry of July derivative contracts. Further, sales by foreign funds also weighed on sentiment.

The 30-share Sensex ended 192 points down at 25,895 and the 50-share Nifty closed 70 points lower at 7,721.

Volumes were large because of the expiry of July derivative contracts. Total market turnover stood at Rs 6.79 lakh crore, the third highest so far.

Foreign investors sold $63.4 million worth of equities for the first time in the last ten sessions, as per provisional data released by the stock exchange.

The Indian rupee extended losses and was trading lower at Rs 60.46 compared to the previous close of Rs 60.09 as the dollar strengthened following encouraging GDP data from the US. Further, weakness in the domestic stock markets also weighed on sentiment.

Major Asian indices ended higher with the exception of Japan. Japanese shares ended marginally lower amid profit taking after recent gains. The benchmark Nikkei ended down 0.2% at 15,620.77. Shanghai Composite gained 0.9% and Hang Seng ended up 0.1% while Straits Times ended 0.6% higher.

European shares which were trading flat in early deals also weakened further. FTSE, CAC-40 and DAX were trading 0.3-1% lower.

BSE Power was the top sectoral loser down 1.4% followed by Bankex down 1.2% among others. Realty and Healthcare indices indices ended with marginal gains.

ICICI Bank ended down 1.4%. The bank reported a net profit of Rs.2,655 crore which was better than what the street had expected. However, Gross NPAs and Net NPAs were tad higher compared to the previous quarter.

Among other banks, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and SBI ended down 1-1.3% each while mortgage lender HDFC ended 2% lower.

Meanwhile, L&T continue to witness profit taking as the performance of engineering and construction major’s core business in the June quarter disappointed the Street, as execution remained weak in the domestic business. The stock ended down 1.3%.

Country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported a 20% rise in net profit at Rs 762 crore for the quarter ended June 2014. It was Rs 632 crore in the same period a year ago. The net sales increased 5% to Rs 11,074 crore from Rs 10,529 crore in June 2013. The stock was trading flat at Rs 2,551. The stock ended 1.1% lower.

Cipla was the top Sensex gainer up nearly 2% followed by Tata Steel.

Among other shares,  HCL Technologies ended down 3% after reporting 13% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) growth in its consolidated net profit at Rs 1,834 crore for the fourth quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q4).

Talwalkars Better Value Fitness jumped nearly 10% on reports that British health and fitness group David Lloyd is buying around 20% stake in Mumbai-based the health fitness chain.

IRB Infrastructure surged nearly 8% after reporting 12% year-on-year (yoy) growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 150 crore for the quarter ended June 30 2014 (Q4), driven by strong operational performance. The infrastructure development and construction company had profit of Rs 135 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Torrent Pharmaceuticals ended up 2.3% after reporting a robust 72% year-on-year (yoy) jump in net profit at Rs 256 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1), on back of strong operational performance. The drug maker had profit of Rs 149 crore in a year ago quarter.

Force Motors gained 8% after huge block deal executed on the counter on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). Around 425,000 equity shares representing 3.22% of total equity of the car and utilities vehicles maker have changed hands at Rs 549.95 a share, the BSE data showed.

Bajaj Electricals slumped 14% after reporting a lower-than-expected net profit of Rs 6 crore for the quarter ended June 2014 (Q1), mainly due to poor performance by the consumer durables segment and higher interest burden. The company had profit of Rs 66 lakh in the same quarter last year.

Cadila Healthcare ended down 4% after Citigroup, according to reports, downgraded the company on account of high valuations.

The broader markets outperformed the benchmarks with BSE Mid-cap index rising 0.2 and the BSE Small-cap index ended up 0.3%.

Market breadth ended weak with 1,491 losers and 1,431 gainers on the BSE.

Markets open flat; Axis Bank, Hindalco dip 1%

Benchmark indices have opened flat with a negative bias on caution ahead of the expiry of July derivative contracts due later in the day. 

 

At 9.15 hrs, the Sensex is down 13 points at 26,074 and the Nifty has lost 11 points to trade at 7,779.

 

 

The broader markets are trading in line with the benchmark indices. Both the mid and smallcap indices are up 0.2% each. 

 

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended higher on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve gave a rosier assessment of the U.S. economy while reaffirming that it is in no hurry to raise interest rates.

 

The U.S. central bank also, as expected, reduced its monthly asset purchases to $25 billion from $35 billion.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average . DJI fell 31.75 points, or 0.19 percent, to 16,880.36, the S&P 500 . SPX gained 0.12 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,970.07, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXI Cadded 20.20 points, or 0.45 percent, to 4,462.90. The S&P 500 had traded lower ahead of the Fed announcement.

 

Asian markets are trading firm on Thursday following robust US economic data and as investors braced for Argentina to default on its debt for the second time in twelve years.

Sensex gains nearly 100 points ahead of July F&O expiry

Markets staged a recovery in late trades to end higher, ahead of the expiry of July derivative contracts, as gains in private banking majors helped offset losses in capital goods major L&T. 

 

The S&P BSE Sensex gained nearly 0.4% or 96 points at 26087 level while the CNX Nifty edged higher by 42 points or 0.5% at 7,791.40 level.

 

Moreover, the broader markets ended mixed as the BSE Mid-cap index performed in line with the benchmark indices up nearly 0.4% while the Small-cap index ended flat with a negative bias.

 

The overall market breadth on the BSE was marginally weak as 1481 shares declined while 1401 advanced.

 

Global Markets

 

Asian markets ended mixed ahead of key US economic data and the two-day US FOMC meet which ends today. Japanese shares gained for the fourth straight session to end with marginal gains as better-than-expected corporate earnings helped offset sluggish industrial data. The benchmark Nikkei ended up 0.18% at 15,646.23. The Shanghai Composite was marginally down 0.1% while Hang Seng was up 0.4%. 

 

European shares were trading weak in early deals as the US and the European Union imposed fresh sanctions against Russia. The CAC, DAX and FTSE were down 0.05-0.3% each.

 

Indian Rupee

 

The Indian rupee was trading at 60.11 because of dollar month-end dollar demand from crude oil importers. Further, the weakness in domestic equities also weighed on sentiment.

 

Sectors and Stocks

 

BSE Heathcare, Consumer durables and Bankex indices surged over 1% followed by and Realty, Power, Auto, Metal and Oil & Gas indices, all up between 0.3- 1% each.

 

BSE Capital Goods index has slumped nearly 5% followed IT down nearly 0.5%.

 

Moreover, NSE CNX Pharma index hit a new high during intraday after most companies comprising the index reporting a strong earnings growth for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1).

 

L&T tanked over 7% after reporting the consolidated net profit of Rs 967 crore for Q1, mainly on account of one-time gain of Rs 249 crore on disinvestments and stake sale in one of its project.

 

Sesa Sterlite gained nearly 1% after reporting lower-than-expected consolidated net profit of Rs 375 crore for Q1, as the depreciation accounting charges of its oil and gas subsidiary Cairn India ate into its bottom line. The company's consolidated net sales, on the other hand, were a tad down from the estimates at Rs 17,186 crore in the quarter under review.

 

Among the auto pack, Tata Motors dipped nearly 1.5%, extending its past two-days fall, on reports that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has reduced its prices on three of its high end models in response to an pricing and anti-monopoly investigation in China. While Hero Motocorp, Maruti Suzuki and M&M gained between 1.5-2.5% each.

 

Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel surged over 5% after reporting 61% year-on-year jump in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,108 crore for Q1, backed by a 74% rise in mobile data revenue. The country’s largest cell phone operator had profit of Rs 689 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

 

ITC edged over 0.5% higher after its cigarette business’ revenues grew 18.8% year-on-year (yoy) to Rs 4,201 crore and Ebit (earnings before interest and tax) margin up 142 basis points to 64.8% for Q1. The country’s largest cigarette maker reported a better-than-expected 25% yoy rise in quarterly sales at Rs 9,160 crore during the quarter under review against Rs 7,339 crore in June 2013. The sales growth during the quarter was highest since March 2010 quarter.

 

Pharma company Dr Reddy's Lab gained over 2% after the company reported Q1 net profit of Rs 550 crore as compared to Rs 361 crore in the year-ago quarter, an uptick of 52%.

 

Also, Lupin surged over 5% after reporting a better-than-expected 56% year-on-year (y-o-y) jump in net profit at Rs 625 crore for the Q1, on back of strong growth in the US and in India. The pharmaceutical company had profit of Rs 401 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

 

Among the financial stocks, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC twins gained between 1-3% each while SBI shed nearly 1%.

 

Among other shares, SpiceJet tanked over 16% on reports that the company owes about Rs 200 crore to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and various tax authorities as adverse operating environment has impacted its performance.

 

Indoco Remedies soared nearly 14% after reporting an over two-fold jump in net profit at Rs 20 crore for the first quarter ended June 2014 (Q1), on back of strong operational performance. The pharmaceuticals company had profit of Rs 9 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

 

Pre-Market:Markets may rebound on strong earnings

Markets are likely to open in green tracking positive earnings results and firm Asian cues.

 

Asian markets surged for a third session on Wednesday as investors await for the key U.S. data as well as a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that some believe might result in a more hawkish policy outlook. SGX Nifty is quoting at 7,754.50 levels down by 15.50 points.

 

Data released early on Wednesday showed Japan's industrial output fell 3.3 percent in June as companies curbed production due to a pile-up in inventories, but manufacturers expect output to rise in the coming months.

 

The Fed's two-day policy meeting will conclude later in the session with central bank officials issuing the policy statement at 2 p.m. (18:00 GMT). The Fed will not be updating its economic forecasts and Chair Janet Yellen will not hold a press conference, keeping investors' focus squarely on the statement.

 

The U.S. central bank is expected to cut its monthly bond-buying program by another $10 billion. With U.S. unemployment dropping over the last few months and inflation firming, some believe the Fed could adjust its wording to suggest its willingness to hike interest rates sooner rather than later as the bank approaches its "full employment" mandate.

 

Stocks to watch:

 

Private life insurer SBI Life Insurance posted a year-on-year rise of 14 per cent in net profit for the first quarter of FY15. The insurer posted a net profit of Rs 241 crore, against Rs 212 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year.

 

Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest cell phone operator, reported a 60.9 per cent jump in net income (net profit) during the April-June quarter at Rs 1,108 crore, backed by a 73.9 per cent jump in mobile data revenue. Its net income was Rs 689 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

 

Ranbaxy, set to be acquired by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 186 crore for the quarter ended June. It had posted a net loss of Rs 524 crore during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.

 

Tobacco-to-hospitality major ITC has reported net profit of Rs 2,186.4 crore in the June quarter - a growth of 15.6 per cent compared to Rs 1,891.3 crore in the year-ago period.

 

Consumer electrical and electronics company, V-Guard Industries posted 26 percent rise in net profit during April – June period [Q1] of the current financial year. The company earned a net profit of Rs 22.25 crore as against Rs 17.64 crore in the same period of last financial year. 

 

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) posted a 111 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in consolidated net profit in the first quarter of FY15 on the back of gains from the stake sale of its finance services arm L&T Finance Holdings and Dhamra Port, a joint venture between L&T and Tata Steel.

 

The State Bank of Mysore (SBM) reported a robust 44 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 75 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, compared with Rs 52 crore in the corresponding quarter the last financial year.

 

Bank of Baroda reported a 16.6 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 1,362 crore for the financial year's first quarter, ended June, on healthy growth in net interest income (NII).

 

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) posted a strong margin show in the June quarter. Net sales (up 13.2 per cent year-on-year to Rs 7,571 crore), Ebitda margin (17.4 per cent, up 119 basis points) and net profit (up 3.7 per cent to Rs 1,057 crore) were much ahead of consensus Bloomberg estimates of Rs 7,424 crore, 16.2 per cent and Rs 967 crore, respectively.

 

Indices open flat; TCS, Tata Motors down 1.5%

Markets have started the trading session on a flat note tracking mixed global cues. Weakness in index heavy weightsTCS, HDFC twins, Tata Motors and RIL weigh on the indices.

 

By 9:15, the Sensex was lower by 21 points at 26,106 mark and the Nifty declined by 7 points at 7,784 levels. 

 

Asian stocks shrugged off a drop in Wall Street and hovered near three-year highs on Monday, with China taking the lead after data showed a robust jump in profits earned by industrial firms in the world's second-largest economy.

 

The dollar traded near six-months peaks against a basket of major currencies as the euro continued to sag.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent, close to a three-year high of 509.23 scaled on Friday.

 

China's CSI300 jumped 2.3 percent and the Hang Seng climbed 0.8 percent. Tokyo's Nikkei, which hit a six-month closing high Friday, was up 0.5 percent.

 

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty, Auto, and IT indices are losing sheen, down between 0.2-0.5%. However, BSE Capital goods, Metal indices and Bankex are trading positive and are up between 0.1-0.5%.

 

The market breadth is positive on the BSE with 531 advances and 353 declines.

 

Cabinet clears 49% FDI in insurance through FIPB route

The Cabinet today approved 49% foreign investment ininsurance companies through the FIPB route ensuring management control in the hands of Indian promoters.

"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved raising of FDI cap in insurance sector to 49% from 26%," sources said after a meeting of the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

With the Cabinet approving the amendments to the long pending Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, it will now be taken up by Parliament.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the insurance sector is investment starved and there is a need to increase the composite cap in the sector to 49%, with full Indian management and control, through the FIPB route.

The move would help insurance firms to get much needed capital from overseas partners.

The proposal to raise FDI cap has been pending since 2008 when the previous UPA government introduced the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill to hike foreign holding in insurance joint ventures to 49% from the existing 26%.

However, the Bill could not be taken up in the Rajya Sabha because of opposition from several political parties, including the BJP.

The insurance sector was opened up for private sector in 2000 after the enactment of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999 (IRDA Act, 1999).

This Act permitted foreign shareholding in insurance companies to the extent of 26% with an aim to provide better insurance coverage and to augment the flow of long term resources for financing infrastructure.

The industry has been demanding for long to increase the FDI limit for adequate funds for expansion of the sector.

Where will Flipkart spend its $1 billion? |

E-commerce major Flipkart's latest round of $1-billion fund-raising is being linked to the company's appetite for further acquisitions in the market. It had recently acquired rival company Myntra in a $300-million cash-and-stock deal. Flipkart is yet to announce the $1-billion funding, which might push up its valuation to $5 billion.

Having raised about $570 million since July 2013 in three rounds and $760 million total since its launch in 2007, the question is where and how Flipkart will spend its war chest. The company, meanwhile, is also looking at an international stock-market listing. If Flipkart goes for a funding of $1 billion, it will be the highest amount of money to be raised so far by any e-commerce company in India in a single round. In fact, no e-commerce company in the country has raised that much overall. According to analysts, its acquisition plans triggered by increasing competition are behind this fund-raising activity. Besides Amazon going all out in India, the world's largest retailer Walmart, too, has begun a pilot of cash-and-carry e-commerce and will roll out pan-India service around October. Future group and Reliance Retail, too, have ambitious online retail plans. With so much competition around, Flipkart plans further capacity creation with a focus on building supply chain and hiring more talent.

According to people close to the development, the company will invest in warehouse automation using latest technology such as robotics, further acquisitions and category expansions. The company could not be reached for comments.

It is learnt that Flipkart has increased its headcount five-fold in less than one year. The number of people employed by it stood at about 2,500 in October 2013, which has jumped to 13,000 people.

The supply chain of the company consists of warehouses in six cities and its own logistics company called eKart, which reaches over 150 cities along with third-party logistics partners. Flipkart plans to expand its warehousing facility to Tier-II and Tier-III cities and further open the eKart services to other e-commerce companies. The firm is soon expected to launch its furniture category.

However, critics argue that the amount of money is way too high for the investment to be limited to these areas. "The warehouse cost is just about five per cent in the overall operational cost and logistics cost is less than 20 per cent for a company like Flipkart. All e-commerce companies are leasing warehouses, so there is not much capital expenditure there. When you have an annual gross merchandise value of $1 billion, how will you spend this kind of money?" asked a competitor.

Others say it is clear that the company is not looking for immediate profitability. The focus is to further tap the increasing demand. Flipkart could build more logistics, spend more aggressively on categories and hiring. The next one year will also be about aggressive marketing and building brand value, say industry insiders.

---

KART FULL OF CASH

• Flipkart recently acquired Myntra in a $300-million cash and stock deal
• If Flipkart goes for a funding of $1 billion, it will be the record amount of money to be raised so far by any e-commerce company in India in a single round
• According to sources, the company will invest in warehouse automation using latest technology like robotics, further acquisitions and category expansions

Govt's stake sale plans set for a Diwali boost

The government's disinvestment programme is set to get a boost this Diwali, with the finance ministry planning to hit the market to sell a five per cent stake in Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) by October. This will be followed by a 10 per cent stake dilution in Coal India.

Apart from these two, the department of disinvestment has identified about a dozen other companies in which the government could offload shares this financial year. Since disinvestment in all identified public-sector undertakings (PSUs), except SAIL, is likely to begin from October, the government might have two issues on an average every month to meet its target of raising Rs 58,425 crore through stake sale this year.

Disinvestment in Coal India, the biggest issue of the year, is likely to fetch the government Rs 24,258 crore at the current market price. SAIL could add another Rs 1,800 crore to the government kitty.

"One or two big-ticket issues could come by October. SAIL will be the first to hit the market, followed by Coal India, and then the rest," said a finance ministry official who did not wish to be named.

In the pipeline to go next for stake sale could be Power Finance Corp, Rural Electrification Corp, Tehri Hydro Development Corp (THDC) and SJVN. Among other issues likely to tap the market this year are NHPC, CONCOR, MMTC, NLC and MOIL. Most of the disinvestment will take place through the offer-for-sale (OFS) route. Besides THDC, there will be two more IPOs -for HAL and RINL.

Another big-ticket issue, of ONGC, is likely to make the exchequer richer by Rs 17,329 crore; this might take time as the firm has asked the government to resolve some issues before going for disinvestment.

The ministry official quoted earlier said all issues at Coal India had been sorted out and the government would be able to convince ONGC. too. He added the government might not get more than Rs 35,000 crore from both coal India and ONGC together, as the actual proceeds were expected to be lower than the current market valuation.

"A Cabinet note has already been floated for stake sale in many of these firms. Once the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is obtained, road shows will be conducted," the official added.

All these are expected to fetch a combined Rs 36,925 crore to the government this year. Also, it has projected Rs 15,000 crore from sale of its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc and Balco, and another Rs 6,500 crore from sale of Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India's (Suuti's) stake in private companies.

If the first disinvestment of 2014-15 happens in October, the government will have to raise an average Rs 9,737 crore from the market every month. Since there are concerns of crowding of many issues in the second half, the ministry is trying to "space these out". The government will also offer discounts to retail participants to encourage their participation.

SAIL, NHPC, MOIL and CIL will also help the government meet the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) requirement of having a 25 per cent minimum public shareholding within three years. There could also be some other companies where the government might dilute its holding this year, as there are more than 30 companies where it is required to bring its stake down to 75 per cent over three years.

Last year, the government could raise only Rs 25,841 crore, against the original plan of Rs 55,814 crore. A year before that, the actual mop-up was Rs 25,890 crore, compared with the Budget estimate of Rs 30,000 crore.

Markets see a flat start; defensives gain

Markets opened on a flat note with a negative bias after yesterday's rally. The Sensex was down 21 points at 26,125 and the Nifty dipped 11 points to open at 7784 in opening trades.

In the broader markets, the small and midcap indices were almost unchanged.

Defensives pockets were the only sectors in green. IT, FMCG and Health Care indices were up 0.1-0.3%.

Global Markets

Asian stock markets edged broadly higher on Thursday and the Australian dollar jumped after a surprisingly strong reading on Chinese manufacturing bolstered hopes for recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.

The HSBC flash PMI came in at 52.0 for July, well above forecasts of a small rise to 51 in July and the highest reading in 18 months. There was also good news on the outlook, with a sub-index of new orders reaching 53.7.

The news injected some life into what had been a very sluggish session, and helped China's CSI300 index of leading Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share jump 1.1%.

Japan's Nikkei added 0.2% while MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 0.3%.

Overnight, Stocks ended mostly higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing at a record on Apple's bullish results, though Boeing weighed on the Dow and conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip kept the broader market's gains in check.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.16%, to end at 17,087. The S&P 500 gained 0.18%, to close at 1,987, surpassing the record set on July 3. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%, to 4,474.

Forward Trading To Debut On Comexes

Forward trading is set to debut in commodities on national commodity exchanges with leading agri centric exchange National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) getting approval for launching forward trading in maize and sugar. On nationwide commodity futures exchanges, such forward trades will be traded on a separate segment along with futures the way cash and derivative transactions are happening on stock exchanges.

Forward contracts are otherwise traded in physical or spot commodity markets or mandis in which deal is done at a specific date with a predetermined date for delivery and trade is settled between two parties. Forward Markets Commission which will regulate forward trades as well has approved two types of contracts Non-transferable Specific Delivery (NTSD) and Transferable Specific Delivery (TSD) in Sugar and Maize.

Participants will have to take separate membership for dealing in the forward segment which will be known as CPM or commodity market participants for which norms are lenient compared to futures segment and those traders who want to do one off kind of deals they have to deal with trading and clearing members of the exchange's futures segment.

Those traders who don't want to take separate membership can FMC chairman Ramesh Abhishek said that "the commotion wants to promote forward trading which is completely delivery based." Along with NCDEX, even Ahmedabad based National Multi Commodity Exchange also plans to introduce forward trading as its scope is much wider and in physical mandis such trades are happening.

The benefit for participants to trade in forwarding contracts on the exchange is that exchange will be stood as counter party guarantor for payment and delivery specified quality goods.

NCDEX spokesperson said that "we have introduced these two commodities in forwarding segment because in our spot exchange business these two commodities have done well and we are in touch with the traders. However, once the trading in forwarding segment picks up we will introduce more commodities in forwarding segment."

In contrast, will have some fixed criteria and rest of the terms will be what has been mutually agreed between two parties and will be reported on the exchange. Exchange will levy margins which will be for Reference Price Contracts 5 % and for

Fixed Price Contracts it will be 7.5 % for contract duration up to 30 days and 10 % for a duration beyond 30 days and up to 60 days. An exchange may also have incremental margins. The duration of the contracts will be Maximum 180 working days for Reference price contract and for fixed price contract Maximum of 60 working days.

Markets trim gains; Nifty below 7,800 |

Markets continue to remain rangebound in noon trades on Wednesday as investors booked profits after the Nifty hit a record high of 7,809 in early trades. The gains were led by renewed buying interest in IT majors Infosys and TCS.

At 1:30PM, the 30-share Sensex was trading 77 points higher at 26,103 and the 50-share Nifty was up 14 points at 7,782.

In the broader markets, the small-cap shares which had rallied in the previous few sessions also witnessed profit taking and the BSE Small-cap index was down 0.6% while the Mid-cap index was trading flat with negative bias.

The Indian rupee was trading higher at Rs 60.15 compared to the previous close of 60.24 tracking gains in the domestic stock markets on the back of robust foreign fund inflows. Meanwhile, dollar demand to meet crude oil imports is likely to cap further gains in the rupee.

Asian markets were trading mixed with Japanese shares witnessing profit taking after gains in the previous sesssion. The benchmark Nikkei ended down 0.1% at 15,328.56. Among other majors in the region, Shanghai Composite was up 0.1%, while Hang Seng gained 0.7% and Straits Times was up 0.6%.

European shares were also trading rangebound in early trades as earnings from major corporates continued to weigh on market sentiment. The CAC, DAX and FTSE were up 0.1-0.4%.

The BSE IT index was the top sectoral gainer on the BSE up 1.8% followed by Capital Goods and Bankex. Realty, Auto and FMCG indices were among the top losers.

Infosys was up 2.3% after the company said it has entered into a multi-year agreement with German auto giant Daimler for the management of infrastructure services and data centres.

TCS also witnessed renewed buying interest and the IT major hit a fresh all-time high of Rs 2,565. TCS has become the first company entered into the Rs 5,00,000-crore market cap club fuelled by the surge in its share price after reported a strong earnings during the recently concluded quarter.
Wipro was up 1.5%.

Other shares which contributed the most to Sensex gains include, ICICI Bank, L&T, SBI and M&M among others.

Sun Pharma which had gained post the approval from the stock exchanges for the merger deal with Ranbaxy also witnessed profit taking and was down 0.7%.

Among other shares, Ceat has dipped 7% to Rs 578, extending its Tuesday’s 6% fall, after reporting 21% year on year decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 52 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (Q1), first time in past two years. The tyre maker had profit of Rs 65 crore in the same quarter last year.

Financial Technologies (India) has locked in upper circuit for second straight day, up 10% at Rs 332 on BSE, extending its past two days rally, after the company on Monday announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement (SPA) to sell its 15% stake in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) to Kotak Mahindra Bank for Rs 459 crore.

KPIT Technologies plunged 7% to Rs 162 on the BSE after consolidated net profit dropped 17% to Rs 51 crore on 2% decline in revenue to Rs 690 crore in Q1 June 2014 over the corresponding period last year.

Market breadth continued to remain weak with 1,616 losers and 1,146 gainers on the BSE.

Markets open firm, RIL up 3%

The markets have opened on a firm note tracking positive global cues. In addition, positive QI numbers posted by energy major RIL has contributed to the rise. Moreover, the advancement of monsoon rains has boosted the market sentiments.

The Sensex is up 183 points at 25,825 and the Nifty is up 48 points at 7,712 levels

The market breadth is positive with 1000 shares advancing and 194 shares declining.

 Asian stocks were a fraction firmer on Monday as investors set aside geopolitical concerns for the moment to focus on the generally upbeat flow of U.S. corporate earnings ahead of a host of results due this week.

Volumes were light, however, with Japanese markets on holiday. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.24 percent, with small gains for most markets across Asia.

Markets open lower on weak global cues

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty have opened lower owing to weak global cues after investors booked profit in Financials and Auto shares.  Furthermore, the geopolitical crises have dampened the sentiments of the market participants.

 

At 9.15 AM, the Sensex is trading at 25,523 levels down by 38 points and Nifty is trading at 7,627 levels lower by 13 points. 

 

Asian shares sagged in early trading and a drop in Treasury yields pressured the dollar after news of a downed Malaysian airlines jet at the Ukraine-Russia border sent investors scurrying into defensive assets.

 

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.4 percent. Japan's Nikkeistock average dropped 1.3 percent.

 

Wall Street had its worst day since April after news that nearly 300 people died in the crash, which a Ukrainian official said was caused by a missile fired at the plane.

 

Back Home:

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday paved the way for niche banking by issuing draft guidelines for setting up payment banks and small banks. While payment banks will offer remittance services, small banks will offer low-ticket loans and basic banking services within a limited area of operation.

 

Pre-Market: 5 Stocks to watch | Business Standard News

The markets are likely to open in the negative territory tracking weak global cues.

 

Asian shares sagged in early trading and a drop in Treasury yields pressured the dollar after news of a downed Malaysian airlines jet at the Ukraine-Russia border sent investors scurrying into defensive assets. Furthermore, the SGX Nifty is quoting at 7,622.50 levels down by 33 points.

 

Wall Street had its worst day since April after news that nearly 300 people died in the crash, which a Ukrainian official said was caused by a missile fired at the plane.

 

Back home, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday paved the way for niche banking by issuing draft guidelines for setting up payment banks and small banks. While payment banks will offer remittance services, small banks will offer low-ticket loans and basic banking services within a limited area of operation.

 

Stocks to watch:

 

 India’s largest information technology services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), delivered results which were better than expected. TCS reported net income (IFRS) of Rs 5,058 crore for this financial year’s first quarter, ended June, up 26.9 per cent from Rs 5,297 crore in the same quarter last year.

 

Tata Power Solar has partnered with Bajaj Finance to provide interest-free loan options for solar products of about Rs 2.5 lakh to consumers.

 

GVK Power & Infrastructure, which is among companies grappling with high debt, is planning to sell stake in some of its assets as well as raise funds through qualified institutional placement to cut debt.

 

Hyderabad-based information technology company Cyient Limited (formerly Infotech Enterprises Limited) witnessed a 26.14 per cent growth in net profit to Rs 68.51 crore for the first quarter ended June 2014, as compared with Rs 54.31 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

 

Three Indian pharmaceutical firms, Cipla, Aurobindo and Emcure, are among seven global companies that have signed new sub-licensing agreements with UN-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for the manufacture of generic HIV medicines -- atazanavir and dolutegravir.

 

Sensex flat, BSE Midcap & Smallcap up 1%; Bajaj Auto falls

12:30pm NTPC in focus: Of the 34 proposals received by country's largest power utility NTPC for takeover, the company said it has found only about five offers worth considering. "We have been offered 34 projects of 55,000 MW capacity by the private companies for takeover, only 4-5 projects are worth looking at," an NTPC official said. The company will evaluate the quality of equipment of these projects, the level of clearances they have achieved, coal availability and sourcing the fuel in case of non-availability before buying these thermal power stations, reports PTI.

SOURCE :- MONEYCONTROL

Crompton Greaves has surged 12% to Rs 209 in early morning deals on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), after the company’s board proposed to demerge its consumer products business unit into a separate listed entity.

"The board believes that such a demerger will create better growth opportunities for its two large but significantly different businesses - Power, Industrial and Automation which is a B2B business, and the consumer products business which is B2C," Crompton Greaves said in a statement.

"The board also believes that this will create a more flexible capital structure for the two businesses to grow independently, allow them to pursue more ambitious strategic goals and, thus, create further value for existing shareholders," it added.

The stock opened at Rs 200 and has seen heavy trading volumes. A combined 5.27 million shares have already changed hands in first 15 minutes of trade on the NSE and BSE.

Rupee down marginally in early trade | Business Standard News

The rupee fell marginally by two paise to 60.14 against the dollar in early trade today on increased demand for the US currency from banks and importers.

Dealers said increased demand for dollar from importers mainly put pressure on the local unit but a higher opening in the domestic equity market and gains in other currencies overseas against the dollar capped the losses.

The rupee ended flat at 60.12 against the dollar in yesterday's trade on alternate bouts of demand and supply.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex rose 60.75 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 25,610.47 in early trade today.

Markets open flat; M&M down 3% | Business Standard News

Markets open flat; M&M down 3% | Business Standard News

Markets started on a flat note with a positive bias with the IT heavyweights leading the opening gains. At 0922 hrs, the Sensex was up 41 points at 25,590 and the Nifty added 11 points to trade at 7,635.

In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap indices gained 0.4% each, outperforming the BSE benchmark index.

Sectors & Stocks

Auto index down 0.4% and banking indices down 0.3% were the only sectoral indices in red.

IT, Consumer Durables, power and Capital Goods up 0.5-1% were the sectoral gainers in the first half hour of trade.

Mahindra & Mahindra down over 3% was the top loser among Sensex-30. Other auto stocks in red were Tata Motors and Maruti Suzuki losing nearly 1% each.

Some of the other significant names capping index gains were ONGC, SBI, Gail India, L&T and Axis Bank, all down 0.5-1.5%.

IT heavyweights Infosys and Wipro up 1-2% were the ones leading early gains and were the top Sensex gainers.

Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, ITC, Sesa Sterlite, RIL, HDFC and NTPC up 0.5-1% were the other major gainers.

Crompton Greaves surged 12% to Rs 209 after the company’s board proposed to demerge its consumer products business unit into a separate listed company.

The board believes that such a demerger will create better growth opportunities for its two large but significantly different businesses - Power, Industrial and Automation which is a B2B business, and the consumer products business which is B2C.

The market breadth was positive on BSE. 850 stocks advanced while 529 stocks declined.

Global Markets

Asian equities gained on Thursday, lifted by another record-high close on Wall Street, while the euro probed recent lows against the dollar amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve is tilting toward tighter monetary policy in light of a stronger economy.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2%.

Tokyo's Nikkei gained 0.3%, helped by a weaker yen.

Overnight, US stocks rose on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing at a record high, boosted by the latest merger news and some strong corporate earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.45%, to end at 17,138. The S&P 500 gained 0.42%, to 1,982. The Nasdaq Composite added 0.22%, to 4,426.

The Dow's latest milestone surpassed the record it had set on July 3. Earlier Wednesday, the Dow also hit an intraday record high at 17,139.35

RBI to issue guidelines for bank licenses this year

MUMBAI: Reserve Bank of India will issue the guidelines that will be used to grant on-tap and differentiated banking licenses later this year, deputy governor R. Gandhi told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Friday. 

Gandhi also said the assessment of the monsoon rains on the economy would not be carried out until later. 

The Indian monsoon strengthened at the start of the key planting month after recording the weakest first month of the June-September rainy season in fiv .. 

source :- Economic Times

Four reasons why Sensex hit all-time high...

MUMBAI: The S&P BSE Sensex and the Nifty extended gains for fourth straight session and hit fresh all-time high. 

The foreign institutional investors are preferring Indian markets to other emerging markets on hopes that the new government at the centre will be able to take the economy back on growth trajectory. 

Overseas investors have pumped in nearly Rs 32,000 crore in Indian equities and debt in June. Till June 29, they infused Rs 13,764 crore into equities, and Rs Rs 18,188 crore in debt markets, taking the total to Rs 31,952 crore. 

Rupee wipes off early losses

MUMBAI, JULY 2:  

The rupee wiped off its early losses and was trading a tad strong at 60.04 against the dollar on sustained capital inflows and a higher opening in the domestic equity market.

Dealers attributed the rise in domestic currency to sustained selling of the dollar by exporters amid heavy foreign capital inflows.

Besides, dollar’s weakness against other currencies overseas also supported the rupee’s rise, they added.

The rupee opened a tad weak at 60.09 per dollar against the previous close of 60.07.

The domestic unit rose 10 paise — its biggest single-day rise in over ten days — to end at 60.07 against the dollar after the government hiked fuel and LPG prices to ease the subsidy burden and rise in stocks.

Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex surged 216.52 points or 0.84 per cent to hit a new record high of 25,732.87 in opening trade.

Corporation Bank Exits From MCX, Sells Rs. 3.60-Crore Shares

Corporation Bank on Tuesday exited from Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) by selling its over 58,000 shares in the bourse for about Rs. 3.60 crore.

The public sector lender sold 58,053 shares in the company, representing a 0.11 per cent stake in it, MCX said in a filing to the BSE.

After this transaction, Corporation Bank's stake in MCX has reduced to nil.