BSE Sensex ends 286 pts down; pharma, FMCG outperform

3:50 pm Market closing: It was a very disappointing session on the Dalal Street. The Sensex ends 286.06 points down at 19177.76, and the Nifty closes the day at 5770.90, down 86.65 points.

3:40 pm Outperformers: Sun Pharma , Jindal Steel and ITC are top gainers in the Sensex.

3:35 pm Rupee outlook: A whole set of negative news on weak global equities, strengthening dollar and the rising crude prices have been weakening the rupee, says Moses Harding of IndusInd Bank .

He has a bearish outlook towards the currency in the near term and saw it touching 61.50 in the near-term. He also said that if euro-dollar levels fell below 29.50, then it may touch to historic lows of 60.70.

He sees no intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in today's trade. It should intervene to restrict rupee's fall, he added.

3:30 pm: The Sensex closes down 269.04 points at 19194.78, and the Nifty ends at 5770.90, down 86.65 points (provisional). Shedding around 5 percent, Tata Power , SBI , Sterlite Industries, Tata Steel and Hindalco are major losers in the Sensex.

3:25 pm Alert: Finance Minister says that IDBI, Bank Of Maharashtra, Dena Bank will get preference for recapitalisation. All the banks will have tier I capital below 8 percent.

3:20 pm: Expert views on rupee: Gulpreet Kohli, MD, ChrysCapital believes the fund inflows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have been very selective. Now that the rupee has touched the 60 per dollar mark again on Wednesday, he senses a renewal of skepticism among the FII community. This at a time when the Fed is talking about QE pullout, which anyway as dented sentiment in India, he said.

He told CNBC-TV18 that he is not happy with the pace of reform in India and some positive action from the government is required to aid the sentiment.

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The market is losing strength further with the Sensex down 299.01 at 19164.81. The Nifty slips 92.20 points at 5765.35. About 697 shares have advanced, 1502 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

Pharma and FMCG stocks pick up momentum in the last trading hour. Sun Pharma, ITC and Jindal Steel are gainers in the Sensex.

Realty Index badly hit today, falling 5 percent. HDIL , Unitech , Orbit Corp, Brigade Enterprises , Sobha Developer and DLF are down between 4-10 percent. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a 20-page application in Supreme Court (SC) to cancel Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra's bail.

CBI told SC that Chandra will hamper evidence and has violated bail conditions.

02:55pm Realty Index badly hit today, falling 5 percent. HDIL , Unitech , Orbit Corp, Brigade Enterprises , Sobha Developer and DLF are down between 4-10 percent.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a 20-page application in Supreme Court (SC) to cancel Unitech MD Sanjay Chandra's bail.

CBI told SC that Chandra will hamper evidence and has violated bail conditions.

02:45pm The BSE Sensex is down 269.69 points or 1.39 percent at 19194.13, and the Nifty is down 83.55 points or 1.43 percent at 5774.

Indian rupee continues its fall for the second straight day today, losing 50 paise to 60.16 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 59.66 per dollar.

About three shares declined for every share gaining on the National Stock Exchange.

Index heavyweights Reliance Industries and HDFC are down 2.2 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.

Among midcaps, shares of Unitech, Sintex Industries , Punj Lloyd , HDIL and Amtek India lost 6-9 percent while Indian Infotech, Page Industries , Blue Dart , Ipca Labs and Gujarat Gas gained 2-3 percent.

02:35pm Defensives like ITC and HUL gained 0.3 percent each amid selling pressure in the market. Sun Pharma outperformed with 0.88 percent gains and Lupin topped the buying list, rising 3 percent.

All PSU banking stocks are heavily under pressure. Country's biggest lender State Bank of India crashed 4 percent while Allahabad Bank , Bank of Baroda , Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra , Canara Bank , Dena Bank , IDBI Bank , IOB , Oriental Bank , PNB , UCO Bank and Union Bank tanked 4-7 percent.

02:25pm Jet Airways shares gained one percent. Naresh Goyal will meet finance minister P Chidambaram at 3:15 pm today.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) raised fresh query from Jet Airways over Jet-Etihad deal, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) will seek information from government on that deal. Sources say some Members of Parliament (MPs) have complained to CVC on Jet-Etihad Deal and also complained on sale of slots at Heathrow airport. Etihad had paid USD 70 million to Jet Airways for 3 pairs of landing and departure slots.

02:15pm Equity benchmarks fell 1.5 percent in afternoon trade Wednesday on weak global cues and sharp rupee depreciation. Profit booking may also be the reason as the Sensex had rallied more than 1000 points from June 27 to July 1.

The BSE Sensex is down 298.53 points or 1.53  percent at 19165.29, and the Nifty is down 93 points or 1.59 percent at 5764.55. Two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Punjab National Bank crashed 5 percent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the bank to "neutral" from "buy" and cut its target price to Rs 780 from Rs 900, citing a weak economic environment and the elevated stress asset levels at the lender.

Venus Remedies shares gained 5.5 percent as the pharmaceutical company received Japanese patent for Elores.

Hindustan Copper's 3.7 crore equity shares offer for sale got fully subscribed. The indicative price is at Rs 70 a share.

European markets are down 1.5-2 percent as fears grew over a political crisis playing out in Portugal and as an ultimatum for Greece on its debt financing drew closer, reports CNBC.com.

1:51 pm Rupee check: The rupee extends losses tailing stock weakness, reports Reuters. Euro losses is also hurting, says dealer. The Indian unit is at 60.38/39, down from an intraday high of 59.84.

1:40 pm Alert: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) moved the Supreme Court to cancel Unitech Managing Director Sanjay Chandra's bail in the 2G spectrum scam case saying that a taped conversation between him and former CBI prosecutor AK Singh to muddle up the case has been found to be genuine, reports CNN-IBN. The veracity of the tapes in which Chandra is speaking to Singh has been proved during a test at the CFSL, Chandigarh, claimed CBI while moving the application. The stock is down 9 percent on the BSE.

1:30 pm OFS: Hindustan Copper OFS is fully subscribed. It has got bids for 3.73 cr vs issue of 3.71 cr shares till 1:25 pm. The floor price for the issue was fixed at Rs 70 apiece that is a discount of 3.6 percent to Tuesday's closing price. The government holds 94.01 percent stake in the company.

1:23 pm Update: AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has hit back at Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy for calling his company's deal with the Tata group for a new airline "fraudulent". Responding to Swamy's allegation, Fernandes said that the Indian aviation industry is missing great opportunities due to vested interests.

"I don't want to get into it. People have suffered because of bizarre rules. Some people have vested interest. India lost many years because of vested interest which is shameful. Other Asian markets have grown and are much ahead. There are too many people who have vested interests and they do not think about what India needs," said Fernandes.

1:20 pm Gold check: Gold edged higher in thin trade on Wednesday as Asian stocks eased and following comments by two U.S. Federal Reserve officials that the central bank's economic stimulus could continue for some time.

1:17 pm Losers: Bank Nifty is the biggest loser in today's trade. PSU banks are down between 4-7 percent. SBI is down 4.4 percent, Union Bank is down 6.9 percent, PNB is down 5.4 percent, Bank of Baroda is down 7 percent.

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Weakness in the market increases in afternoon trade as the Nifty drifts further below 5800. The Nifty is down 80.65 points at 5776.90 while the Sensex is down 252.43 points at 19211.39. About 629 shares have advanced, 1406 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Metals, realty, capital goods, banks are under heavy selling pressure. There is a big crack in the broader market space too and the midcap index is down nearly 2 percent from the previous close.

Among losers in the Sensex are Sterlite Industries, Tata Power and SBI.

12:50pm 2G case update: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a 20-page application in Supreme Court (SC) to cancel Sanjay Chandra's bail.

CBI told SC that Chandra will hamper evidence and has violated bail conditions. Unitech shares crashed 8 percent.

12:40pm Foreign Investment Promotion Board has rejected MCX's foreign direct investment (FDI) proposal. Shares lost 2.4 percent.

The board approved Telenor's Rs 1,000 crore FDI proposal to set up JV.

Shares of Mahindra Satyam will stop trading from Thursday onwards as the company is going to be merged with Tech Mahindra . Shareholders will get two shares of Tech Mahindra for every 17 shares held in the company.

12:30pm European markets opened lower Wednesday on weakness in Asian markets after disappointing data from China. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE lost 1 percent each.

Indian rupee dropped 67 paise or over 1 percent to 60.33 per dollar, continuing its depreciation for the second consecutive session on dollar demand.

The BSE Sensex is down 306.28 points or 1.57 percent at 19157.54, and the Nifty is down 92.75 points or 1.58 percent at 5764.80.

More than three equity shares declined for every share declining on the National Stock Exchange.

12:20pm The Securities Appelate Tribunal dismissed Gillette's appeal against Sebi and upheld the impugned order. Interim stay on minimum public shareholding violation proceedings vacated. The stock is up 4.4 percent in trade today.

IRB Infrastructure promoter created a pledge on 55 lakh shares in the company. The stock slumped 4.4 percent.

GVK Power tanked over 5% on agency reports that the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority has turned down company's proposal to hike user development fee (UDF) at Bangalore airport. GVK wanted to raise UDF by whopping 239 percent for domestic and 79 percent for international passengers.

The government has set the floor price for the Hindustan Copper's offer for sale issue at Rs 70 a share for selling 4.01 percent equity. So far, bids have come in for 1.8 crore shares compared to an issue of more than 3.7 crore shares. Shares lost 2.6 percent.

Bank of Baroda and Jaiprakash Associates are top losers among Nifty 50 stocks, falling 7 percent each.

12:10pm It is a weak session for the market as the Nifty fell below its 5800 level and the Sensex shed 300 points in noon trade. Infrastructure, banks and metals saw sharp cuts while the midcap and small caps too are seeing significant selling pressure.

The BSE Sensex is down 302.68 points or 1.56 percent at 19161.14, and the Nifty is down 94.60 points or 1.62 percent at 5762.95.

Indian rupee is down in sync with several of its emerging market peers like the Rupiah, Real, Won, Peso and Ringgit on global dollar strength and risk aversion ahead of the US payrolls data. The rupee fell by 50 paise to 60.16 per dollar.

Sources indicate the IOC's offer for sale issue is likely to be next month. CNBC-TV18 reports that the finance ministry is in the process of appointing bankers for the issue. The stock lost 4 percent.

Mangalore Chemicals shares are locked at 10 percent lower circuit after multiple block deals on the counter. About 17 percent equity has changed hands on exchanges.

Asian markets are under pressure after disappointing data from China. The headline services PMI published by the National Bureau of Statistics slipped to a 9-month low of 53.9 in June from May's 54.3, and the reading from a Markit/HSBC survey improved a touch to 51.3 from 51.2 in May.

11:55 am Losers: IRB Infra promoter creates pledge on 55 lakh shares in company. The stock slumps 5 percent on the BSE.

11:50 am Management: In a continuing trend, auto companies posted weak sales numbers, for the eighth consecutive month. However, Sameer Tandon, chief of sales- service and spares, Escorts expects the company to post better margins in the days to come .

Tandon expects the company's margins to improve on the back of new products and a rising demand for them. Like most auto companies, Escorts expects the volume growth to be in the range of 9-10 percent.

11:45 am Buzzing: Bajaj Auto's shares declined more than 2  percent on Wednesday morning as investors remained concerned as the strike at its Chakan plant shows no signs of ending and the company is losing market share amid a sluggish demand for two-wheelers.

The company had said on Tuesday that it lost 20,000 units of production in June due to the strike, and its total motorcycle sales declined 20 percent last month, partly due to the loss of production and more so as domestic demand remains sluggish across most of the two-wheeler sector.

11:40 am Expert views: Current volatility notwithstanding, Sanju Verma of Violet Arch Capital Advisors remains positive on market and maintains March 14 Sensex target at 22,000. She is bullish on Tech Mahindra  and HCL Tech  , but feels the road ahead for IT will be quite bumpy.
Verma told CNBC-TV18 that she will not recommend buying HDFC Bank  and ICICI Bank  at present.

Discussing the Fed issue, she said that globally markets overreacted to the talks of tapering quantative easing (QE). She does not see the possibility of withdrawal of liquidity any time soon. "It is most likely to happen in early 2015."

11:35 am Alert: The Securities Appelate Tribunal dismissed Gillette's appeal against SEBI and upheld the impugned order. Interim stay on minimum public shareholding violation proceedings is also vacated. The stock is up nearly 6 percent in trade today.

11:30 am Buzzing:  Sources indicate the IOC offer for sale is likely next month. The finance ministry is in the process of appointing bankers for the issue. The stock is down around 4 percent in trade today.

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It is a weak run for the market as the Nifty is struggling hard below 5800. The Nifty is 5786.30 down 71.25 while the Sensex is down 231.53 points at 19232.29. About 654 shares have advanced, 1208 shares declined, and 116 shares are unchanged.

Infrastructure, banks and metals see sharp cuts.  The mid & small caps too see significant selling pressure.

The rupee is down in sync with several of its emerging market peers like the rupiah, real, won, peso and ringitt on global dollar strength and risk aversion ahead of the payrolls data.

Globally, most of Asian markets have reversed trends and has seen sharp cuts after disappointing data from China. Hong Kong and Korea clocks nearly 2 percent losses. In other asset classes, the dollar index is firm above 83.

Bonds are sharply down on weaker rupee and higher crude prices both of which can accentuate inflation.

10:50am Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) has turned down GVK's proposal to hike user development fee (UDF) at Bangalore airport, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting PTI. The stock lost more than 4 percent to Rs 7.5.

Tata Global Beverage shares gained one percent after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight. The brokerage house raised its target to Rs 164 and expects the company to deliver FY14 earnings growth above industry average.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto fell nearly one percent as JP Morgan is underweight on the stock given that the industry demand outlook remains weak. The brokerage house set its target for the stock at Rs 1,710 apiece.

10:40am Indian rupee slipped 42 paise to 60.08 per dollar, continuing its depreciation for the second straight day. Arvind Narayanan of DBS Bank expects the Indian currency to hold 60.20-60.25/USD for now.

Strengthening of US dollar has led to this decline in the currency, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Further, he ruled out the possibility of any Reserve Bank of India (RBI) intervention to support the currency. "The natural flow of the market will ensure that the rupee does not fall furthermore."

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10:30am Mangalore Chemicals shares plunged 10 percent after more than 10 percent equity changed hands on BSE via block deal.

India HSBC composite purchasing managers index (PMI) declined to 50.9 in June from 52.0 in previous month and HSBC services PMI slipped to 51.7 from 53.6 during the same period.

10:20am Bajaj Auto shares lost 1.8 percent to Rs 1883.65 as CLSA cut the two-wheeler maker's FY14-15 earnings per share by 4-6 percent. The brokerage house downgraded the stock from underperform to sell and set a target price at Rs Rs 1750 apiece.

10:10am Equity benchmarks fell more than 1 percent in morning trade Wednesday on weak Asian cues, rupee depreciation and rise in crude oil prices.

The BSE Sensex is down 242.09 points at 19221.73, and the Nifty is down 71.35 points at 5786.20.

The broader markets too are down around one percent as two shares declined for every share rising on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Bank Nifty tumbled 2 percent as country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell 2-3 percent while their rival HDFC Bank declined 1.35 percent.

Indian rupee depreciated for the second consecutive session today, falling 40 paise to 60.06 per dollar.

Among Asian markets, Shanghai Composite, Hang Seng, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted lost 1-2 percent while Nikkei flat to negative.

Brent crude oil August futures gained one percent to USD 104.92 per barrel while Nymex crude oil futures jumped over 2 percent to USD 101.78 a barrel.

9:50 am Block Deal: Over 10 percent equity of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers were exchanged on the BSE. Zuari Industries had bought 10 percent in the company in the last block. On July 01, 2013 Robust Marketing Services had bought 10,14,691 shares of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers at Rs 54.52 on the NSE, followed by  another 16,93,056 shares on July 2 at Rs 62.39 on the NSE. The stock is down around 10 percent on the BSE.

9:45 am Expert take: The benchmark Nifty could be rangebound between 5600-6000 as markets across the world grapple with the prospect of lower capital flows, feels Tirthankar Patnaik of Religare Capital Markets .

He sees the rupee remaining weak in the near term, and is cautious on the equity market. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Patnaik says he prefers to bet on defensive stocks, given the uncertainty in the market post the US Federal Reserve's recent comments on quantitative easing (QE).

Patnaik is bearish on the rupee and sees it falling well below 60 to the dollar, unless the government takes steps to increase capital flows. Patnaik is hopeful that the government will take more steps to increase foreign direct investment limits across sectors.

He is bearish on PSU banks.

9:40 am Winners and losers: Bharti Airtel (down 3.5 percent), Hindalco (down 2.9 percent), Sterlite Ind (down 2.9 percent), Tata Steel and SBI are top losers in the Sensex. Infosys , TCS , HUL and Sun Pharma are among the gainers in the Sensex.

9.36 am Market check: The Sensex is down 184.40 points at 19279.42, and the Nifty down 53.50 points at 5804.05. About 323 shares have advanced, 694 shares declined, and 68 shares are unchanged.

9:30 am Divestment update: Government's stake sale of 4.01 percent in Hindustan Copper has hit the market today. The government holds 94.01 percent stake in Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL). The stale sale would make the company complaint to the minimum 10 percent public holding norm of market regulator Sebi. The sale of 4.01 percent stake or over 3.48 crore shares through offer for sale (OFS) route could fetch around Rs 240-250 crore to the exchequer, sources said.

9:25 am currency: The rupee weakened further in morning trade , falling by 36 paise to 60.02 per dollar as against previous day's closing value of 59.66.

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The market seems to be in no mood to consolidate as it opens on a sluggish note. The Sensex opens 158.49 points down at 19305.33, and the Nifty is 5811.95down 45.60 points. About 96 shares have advanced, 220 shares declined, and 22 shares are unchanged.

The rupee opened lower by 21 paise at 59.87 per dollar versus 59.66 Tuesday. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Alpari said, "The rupee is likely to trade lower on a stronger dollar, weak domestic market and high dollar demand from importers. The range for the day is seen between 59.32-60.22/USD."

Asian markets were trading lower in morning trade on Wednesday.

US markets bounced off their worst levels to close marginally lower on Tuesday.

Brent crude continued to gain on geopolitical concerns, above USD 104 level. Nymex crude too is above USD 100 a barrel. From precious metals space, gold slipped from earlier highs on Tuesday, ending lower as the dollar strengthened and investors looked for further indications that the US Federal Reserve may soon end or taper its economic stimulus program. Gold hovered around USD 1250 an ounce.