Sensex surges 409 points, Nifty ends above 8500; SBI gains 5%

03:30 pm Market closing: The market performed remarkably amidst mixed Q1 corporate earnings. The Sensex ended up 409.21 points or 1.5 percent at 28114.56, and the Nifty was up 111.05 points or 1.3 percent at 8532.85. About 1650 shares advanced, 1222 shares declined, and 166 shares were unchanged.

SBI and Coal India gained 5 percent while Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin and Hero were other gainers in the Sensex. Losers include BHEL, Tata Steel, NTPC, HDFC and Bajaj Auto.

03:01 pm Market Update: The Sensex gained 424.37 points or 1.53 percent at 28129.72, and the Nifty rose 117.45 points or 1.39 percent to 8539.25. About 1660 shares have advanced, 1161 shares declined, and 150 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:55 pm Earnings: Alembic Pharmaceuticals' first quarter net profit grew by 8.06 percent year-on-year to Rs 69.88 crore compared to Rs 64.67 crore in the year-ago period. The stock crashed more than 11 percent intraday Friday as the company disappointed street which expected a blockbuster earnings after potential gains from Abilify generic launch.

India generics, international branded business impacted overall growth in Q1. The street had expected profit more than Rs 140 crore on revenue around Rs 750 crore for the quarter.

Revenue grew by 18 percent to Rs 583.3 crore in June quarter compared to Rs 494.3 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

Its India branded formulations business increased by 18 percent to Rs 263 crore with specialty segment up 22 percent and acute segment up 12 percent. India generics business reported a 13 percent growth at Rs 28.59 crore during the same period.

Revenue from its international branded business plunged 63 percent year-on-year to Rs 8.36 crore while international generics climbed 47 percent to Rs 168 crore in Q1.

02:25 pm Will RBI hike rates? The Reserve Bank is likely to keep the repo rate unchanged in its upcoming third bi-monthly monetary policy meet scheduled on Tuesday, said India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) in a note today.

"The Reserve Bank (RBI) is likely to wait and watch on rates in its third bi-monthly credit policy meet in August. "There is room for RBI to cut rates by another 25 basis points (or 0.25 percent), however, a more appropriate time for a rate cut would be H2FY16," it said.

Amid evolving growth-inflation dynamics, Ind-Ra expects the policy stance to reflect RBI's continued intention to anchor both inflation and inflationary expectations.

This has become even more important for RBI after its agreement with the government to follow a framework of inflation targeting, said the research agency. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation has remained negative for the last eight months and stood firm at negative 2.4 percent in June.

02:00 pm Market Check
The market strengthened further in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 421.26 points or 1.52 percent to 28126.61 and the Nifty climbing 116.05 points or 1.38 percent to 8537.85. Huge buying interest in ICICI Bank, ITC and SBI pushed the equity benchmarks higher.

About 1732 shares have advanced, 1004 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

ICICI Bank gained nearly 5 percent on improvement in asset quality on sequential basis and robust retail loan growth in the quarter ended June. Its rival State Bank of India topped the buying list on Sensex, up nearly 6 percent as the government sought parliament nod for Rs 12,010 crore PSU bank recapitalisation.

ITC continued to see uptrend post its earnings, rising another 3 percent. Lupin, Tata Motors, M&M, Dr Reddy's Labs, Hero Motocorp and Coal India gained more than 3 percent. However, BHEL underperformed, down 1.6 percent.

1:50 pm Nestle India's Maggi: In what may come as a minor positive for Nestle, the Bombay High today told the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Nestle to retest samples of Maggi noodles. The HC has said both the parties may consider retesting the fourth part of Maggi samples in 5 labs that both agree to. Nestle in its previous argument had said that it had retained 750 crates of Maggi noodles. The Manarashtra State FDA said taht while the fourts part of the cample can be sent, it cannot consent to re-testing the samples retained by Nestle as it is apprehensive that the samples could be doctored.

1:30 pm Result: Sun TV's net profit jumped 19 percent to Rs 197.28 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 165.64 crore in corresponding quarter last fiscal. Advertising revenue, during the period, also grew 16 percent to Rs 323.89 crore on an annual basis.

During the quarter, the South-based media company's revenue stood at Rs 691.09 crore, up 9 percent. Excluding IPL business, Q1 revenue increased 14 percent to Rs 594.54 crore aganist Rs 520.17 crore year-on-year. It owns a IPL team SonRisers Hyderabad.

Subscription revenue also saw a growth with cable TV revenue increasing 13 percent and DTH subsription up by 9 percent year-on-year.

The market continues its upswing in afternoon trade. The Sensex is up 329.69 points or 1.2 percent at 28035.04 and the Nifty is up 88.30 points or 1 percent at 8510.10. About 1646 shares have advanced, 978 shares declined, and 144 shares are unchanged.

Boosted by good set of Q1 numbers, ICICI Bank was up 6 percent while PSU banks are also rejoicing on prospects of fresh funds. SBI, Hero, Lupin and M&M are top gainers while BHEL, HDFC twins, Infosys and HUL are among major losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices extended their decline in Asia on Friday after the OPEC cartel indicated that current lofty output levels will remain, while a stronger dollar is also causing downward pressure. Prices are also under pressure by the strength of the US currency, which makes dollar-priced oil more expensive to holders of weaker units, dampening demand. The dollar has picked up steam on expectations the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates later this year.

The chances of a September lift were raised yesterday after data showed the US economy expanded 2.3 per cent in April-June, the strongest pace since the third quarter of 2014.

12:50 pm  Interview: Shemaroo's new media business revenues grew 83 percent during the June quarter, helped by the spread of 3G and broadband, Hiren Gada, wholetime Director & Chief Financial Officer told CNBC-TV18.

Shemaroo's total income for the quarter grew 20 percent to Rs 70.89 crore and net profit after tax increased 22 percent to Rs 11.67 crore.

The new media business includes content distribution via mobile and internet based mediums. Gada said the segment will start contributing 20 percent plus revenues to total topline growth by the year end.

Gada told CNBC-TV18 that the company plans to expand its new media business and already has a large library with exclusive rights 3,000 plus products for the same. Gada expects a 50-60 percent growth in FY16.

The company's traditional business grew nearly 12 percent in the first quarter. Its recent tie-up with Red Chillies Entertainment for exclusive rights of 12 films is expected to boost earnings this year, Gada said.

The company plans to reinvest its profits into the business, he said.

12:30 pm Earnings: ICICI Bank's standalone net profit met street expectations on Friday, rising 12 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,976 crore in June quarter. Strong retail loan book growth, other income and operating profit boosted the overall profitability. The share price surged 6 percent on strong credit growth and improvement in asset quality.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was estimated at Rs 2,919 crore and net interest income at Rs 5,188.4 crore for the quarter.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, rose by 13.9 percent to Rs 5,115 crore compared to Rs 4,491 crore during the same period, aided by 15 percent credit growth.

The country's largest private sector lender said total advances increased to Rs 3,99,738 crore in June quarter from Rs 3,47,067 crore in the year-ago period. The year-on-year growth in domestic advances was 17 percent, it added.

It continued to see robust growth in retail disbursements resulting in a year-on-year growth of 25 percent in the retail portfolio, which constituted about 43 percent of total loan portfolio of the bank.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market remained strong on the first day of August series, rising 1 percent by banking & financials, auto and pharma stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex climbed 305.76 points to 28011.11 and the Nifty rose 83.10 points to 8504.90.

The broader markets also traded in line with benchmarks. The BSE Midcap index rallied 1.3 percent and Smallcap gained 0.9 percent. More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Kotak Mahindra Bank topped the selling list on Nifty, down more than 3 percent after standalone profit was below estimates.. Macquarie said the bank's acquisition price for ING Vysya Bank appeared 20 percent higher than when merger was announced.

Dr Reddy's Labs hit a new high, up more than 3 percent after margins came in better than estimates. Mahindra & Mahindra and Lupin also gained over 3 percent.

11:50 am Gold call: The precious metal fell near 5½-year lows on Thursday after the second-quarter GDP number showed the US economy is growing at a steady rate and comments from Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Wednesday pointed to the notion of a September rate hike.

Gold is down more than 8 percent this year and is on track to notch its third straight year of losses. "It broke down in 2013, exactly the year that the S&P 500 and the market broke out into what we define as a structural bull market," said Yamada, who noted that stocks and gold tend to move inversely.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Glenmark Pharma rose 6 percent intraday on Friday after its April-June quarter results and strong guidance set by the company. In a conference call, the management has retained 18-20 percent revenue growth and EBITDA guidance of Rs 1750 crore. The management says that India continues to be a strong market with 18-20 percent growth rate.

It feels that US sales may see a pick-up in Q2. The company is also planning to file atleast 17-18 ANDAs in US this fiscal. However, volatility in emerging market currencies and consistent drop in sales in Venezuela remain a concern for the company.

The pharma company's Q1 net profit rose 3.29 percent to Rs 190.93 crore. The company's consolidated revenue, excluding outlicensing income, stood at Rs 1,655.24 crore for the first quarter, as compared to Rs 1,457.03 crore in the same period.

11:05 am Market check: The market is on fire fuelled by banks and pharma stocks. The Sensex is up 300.50 points or 1 percent at 28005.85, and the Nifty is up 77.80 points or 0.9 percent at 8499.60. About 1502 shares have advanced, 776 shares declined, and 130 shares are unchanged.

The market is surging ahead with the Nifty nearing 8500. The 50-share index is up 57.95 points or 0.7 percent at 8479.75. The Sensex is up 235.81 points or 0.8 percent at 27941.16. About 1470 shares have advanced, 793 shares declined, and 125 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, M&M, Lupin, Hero and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Reliance, HUL, BHEL and Infosys.

China stocks fell and looked set to suffer their biggest monthly loss in nearly six years even as Beijing rolled out a series of support measures and promised to step up efforts to bolster the flagging economy.

Stocks have plunged more than 30 percent since mid-June, threatening further risks to an economy that is expected to post its slowest growth in a quarter of a century this year.

10:50 am Market outlook: Indian equity market is on a structural upswing that will be further aided by an impending cyclical recovery in economy, says Nilesh Shah, MD, Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund. He lists three main reasons for his optimism - improvement in earnings (best to come in the last quarter), higher salary structure of government employees and monsoon outdoing bad-rain forecast. Talking to CNBC-TV18, Shah is confident that a "retail tsunami," is approching Indian market and advised investors to stick to quality names despite their costs.

10:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Software company Vakrangee rose more than 7 percent intraday Friday on the back of announcement of strategic tie up with Amazon India for its Kendra business.

"The company has entered into a strategic tie up with Amazon India in its constant endeavor to connect India's "unserved and underserved citizens to modern ecosystems".

Vakrangee will provide marketing, promotional and pick-up services to Amazon through the Vakrangee Kendras, as per BSE filling.

The market looks happy and bright beginning August F&O series on a positive note. The Nifty up is 42.65 points or 0.5 percent at 8464.45 while the Sensex is up 193.34 points or 0.7 percent at 27898.69. About 1266 shares have advanced, 597 shares declined, and 115 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Hero Motocrop, Coal India, Vedanta and M&M are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Reliance, L&T and Sun Pharma.

Gold slipped to near 5-5.5 year lows and was on course for a sixth straight weekly fall, its longest retreat since 1999, after upbeat US economic data strengthened expectations for a near-term hike in interest rates.

Bullion was also set to end July with its biggest monthly decline in more than two years after a deep rout last week further shook investor confidence, with more losses seen ahead.

The July 20 selloff saw gold trip more than 3 percent, encouraging more investors since then to trim their holdings that pulled the global spot benchmark to USD 1,077 days later, its lowest since February 2010.

9:50 am Result poll: ICICI Bank, the country's largest private sector lender, is expected to report stable earnings in the quarter ended June. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, profit is seen rising 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,919 crore and net interest income may increase 15.5 percent to Rs 5,188.4 crore during the quarter. The bank will announce its earnings on July 31. Both net profit and net interest income (the difference between interest earned and interest expended) growth are expected to be similar to previous quarters.

9:30 am Sale: Blackstone Group has sold its 97.9 percent stake in Agile Electric Sub Assembly Pvt Ltd (Agile) to four different entities including Tata Capital Growth Fund.

A private equity fund managed by Blackstone on behalf of its private equity investors took the process of selling its 97.9 percent stake in Agile, the Group said in a release.

Among others, the stake of Blackstone Group in India's electric motor manufacturer Agile was sold to Igarashi Electric Works Ltd (IEWL), MAPE Securities Private Limited and Alpha FDI Holdings Pte Ltd.

The positive momentum continued in early trade Friday with the Sensex rising 211.86 points to 27917.21 and the Nifty climbing 50.10 points to 8471.90. About 1065 shares have advanced, 332 shares declined, and 85 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Cipla, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs, ICICI Bank and Coal India rallied 1.2-1.6 percent. However, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell 3 percent post Q1 earnings. ITC, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, PNB, Bank of Baroda and Power Grid Corp declined.

In important earnings, Larsen and Toubro (L&T) will report its Q1 numbers today. The earnings  could disappoint on a high base. Its consolidated profit is expected to decline 14 percent with a reputed revenue growth.

Banking heavyweight, ICICI Bank too will report numbers today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, the Net Interest Income (NII) is expected to rise 15 percent while profits may see 10 percent growth. The provisions are expected to remain elevated.

The Indian rupee slipped in the early trade. It has opened lower by 6 paise at 64.10 per dollar against previous close of 64.04.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Local equity market is likely to trade sideways today and will take cues from global markets for further directions. Strength in dollar will keep rupee under pressure."

"Today being the last trading day of the week, investors are expected to trade cautiously and square off their position ahead of the weekend. Range for the day is seen between 63.70-64.40/dollar," he added.

Global cues, meanwhile, were mixed with the US stocks closing narrowly mixed as investors digested more earnings and second-quarter GDP, a day after the Fed left interest rates unchanged. In economic news, US gross domestic product (GDP) came in at 2.3 percent.

Asian markets, meanwhile, are mixed in early trade following a soft US lead.

In other asset classes, the dollar gained as news of faster US economic expansion in the second quarter supported the notion that the Fed would raise interest rates, perhaps as early as September.

Crude prices held steady after a larger-than-expected drawdown in US crude stockpiles was balanced by a stronger dollar.  Precious metal gold's prices declined on dollar gains.