Nifty ends July series at 5907; ITC, Wipro, HUL losers

3:50 pm Market closing: It was a disappointing end to the July series as Nifty ended the day at 5907, down 83 points while the Sensex closed down 285.92 points at 19804.76. About 843 shares have advanced, 1411 shares declined, and 186 shares are unchanged. ITC , HUL , Wipro were major losers in the Sensex.

3:40 pm Gainers and losers in July series: Bharti Airtel (up 19.3 percent), TCS (up 19 percent), Infosys (up 17.2 percent), Rel Infra (up 17 percent), HUL ( up 15.7 percent are top gainers. On the losing side are JP Associates (down 16.7 percent), Tata Steel (down 14.4 percent), Axis Bank (down 10.8 percent) and ICICI Bank (down 8.4 percent).

3:30 pm Earnings impact: Zee Entertainment surged 6 percent on the BSE on the back of April-June quarter results. It posted 42.04 per cent increase in consolidated net profit to Rs 224.64 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2013. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 158.15 crore in the same period of previous fiscal, ZEEL said in a filing to the BSE.

Gold bugs: Time for 'ugly duckling' to shine?

The market is sliding further as weak corporate earnings increased selling pressure. The Sensex is down 300.09 points at 19790.59, and the Nifty slips 86.30 points at 5904.20. About 771 shares have advanced, 1407 shares declined, and 179 shares are unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Tata Motors , Infosys and Bajaj Auto are top gainers in the Sensex. On the downside are ITC, Wipro, HUL, Jindal Steel and Sun Pharma .

Macquarie upgrades the stock to outperform and raised the target to Rs 1960 while Bank of America Merrill Lynch upped the target price to Rs 2050. Hero remains their preferred pick in the auto space.

03:00pm The BSE Sensex is down 321.41 points or 1.60 percent at 19769.27, and the Nifty is down 89.85 points or 1.50 percent at 5900.65.

The BSE FMCG Index dropped 3.5 percent followed by Healthcare, Metal, Power, Capital Goods, Oil & Gas and PSU with 1-1.8 percent losses.

Ambuja Cements plunged 10.5 percent on Holcim deal.

However, Hero Motocorp shares outperformed its largecaps, rising 4 percent while Tata Motors gained 0.8 percent and TCS rose just 0.3 percent.

02:40pm The market dropped quite sharply in afternoon trade with the benchmarks falling more than one percent ahead of July expiry, weighed down by FMCG, capital goods, metals and private banks.

The BSE Sensex is down 258.53 points at 19832.15, and the Nifty is down 72.75 points at 5917.75. Two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Cigarette major ITC tanked 4.65 percent after first quarter numbers while Hindustan Unilever dropped 4 percent after its parent company says that the growth is slowing in emerging markets.

Wipro shares plunged 4.6 percent ahead of June quarter numbers that will be announced tomorrow morning. Kotak Securities expects the software services exporter's net profit to rise 6.8 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1682.7 crore and revenues to increase by 4 percent Q-o-Q to Rs 10030.9 crore.

Indian rupee appreciated 21 paise to go above 59 per dollar at 58.91.

1:50 pm Earnings impact: ACC's June quarter profit decline 37 percent year-on-year to Rs 261.7 crore on higher input cost. Sales also declined around 4 percent to Rs 2795 as demand remained weak in most markets. The firm's other income also more than halved to Rs 35.4 crore, which otherwise could have boosted numbers.

Due to pricing pressure, EBITDA margins also shrunk a little over 600 bps to 15.5 percent despite marginal growth in volumes Y-o-Y to 6.12 million tonne. The stock tanked around 5 percent on the BSE.

1:40 pm International results: South Korean steelmaker Posco posted a 36 percent year-on-year drop in operating profit in the second quarter, slightly better than analysts' forecasts, as demand in top steel consumer China remained weak, depressing prices, reports Reuters.

The world's fifth-biggest steelmaker in terms of production said on Thursday operating profit for the April-to-June period was 703 billion won (USD 631.7 million) compared to 1.1 trillion won in the same year-ago period.

1:30 pm Gold outlook: Goldman Sachs is sticking to its average forecast of USD 1,413 for an ounce of gold this year as it does not see sharp reductions in US Federal Reserve stimulus, after fears of such cuts drove bullion prices to near three-year lows recently.

In a note issued on Wednesday, Goldman said it also expected gold to average USD 1,165 an ounce in 2014 as previously forecast, although the price could reach USD 1,050 by the year-end.

The spot price of gold traded around USD 1,319 at 3:40 pm. EDT (1940 GMT). The market is down 20 percent on the year after a selloff last month sparked by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's announcement of plans to curtail the central bank's monthly bond purchases of USD 85 billion.

1:20 pm Update: Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Chairman Anil Ambani on Thursday moved an exemption application to appear as a prosecution witness in the trial court, reports CNN-IBN. Reliance Telecom had approached the apex court objecting to summoning of Anil as witness in the case before he was summoned by the trial court. He was then summoned by the trial court as a CBI witness on July 26.

The market is growing weak on the July F&O expiry day. The Sensex is down 111.80 points at 19978.88 while Nifty slips 30.25 points to 5960.25. About 681 shares have advanced, 1270 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

FMCG and capital goods stocks are dragging the market.

Meanwhile, Wipro shares plunged 4.5 percent ahead of earnings on Friday. Motilal Oswal expects net profit of the company to fall 8.3 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 0.8 percent year-on-year) to Rs 1592.5 crore. Revenues may drop 10.3 percent Q-o-Q (down 7.1 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 9893.2 crore.

FMCG major ITC's profits are in line with expectation but the topline misses estimates on a decline in cigarette volumes. Its first quarter net profit rose 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,891 crore, in-line with street expectations. However, net sales rose lower-than-expected 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 7,339 crore. The stock crashed around 4 percent on the BSE.

HUL is under pressure, as Unilever's second-quarter sales growth misses forecasts. It reported underlying sales growth of 5 percent for the second quarter. The emerging markets grew by 10.3 percent in the quarter. The management said that growth was slowing in emerging markets. It reported an increase in net debt due to investment in HUL.

Muthoot Finance shares gained more than 8.5 percent after its first quarter provisions and write-offs dropped significantly to Rs 8.5 crore from Rs 46.4 crore in previous quarter. Meanwhile, net profit of the company declined to Rs 194 crore from Rs 246 crore and net interest income slipped to Rs 554.3 crore from Rs 591 crore year-on-year.

Strides Arcolab posted second quarter (April-June) net profit at Rs 2.2 crore as against net loss of Rs 20 crore Y-o-Y. The stock declined more than 3 percent.

Granules India shares gained 3 percent after its first quarter consolidated net profit more than doubled to Rs 15 crore from Rs 6.3 crore Y-o-Y.

The BSE Sensex is down 126.01 points at 19964.67, and the Nifty is down 37.80 points at 5952.70.

Shares of HDFC , Infosys , ONGC , Tata Motors , Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto gained 0.4-1 percent. Oil retailer BPCL jumped 3.5 percent.

Among midcaps, Delta Corp , Apollo Tyres , Ipca Labs , Arvind and FAG Bearings rose 2-5 percent.

Wipro shares plunged 4.5 percent ahead of earnings on Friday. Motilal Oswal expects net profit of the company to fall 8.3 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 0.8 percent year-on-year) to Rs 1592.5 crore. Revenues may drop 10.3 percent Q-o-Q (down 7.1 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 9893.2 crore.

12:20pm The market continued to trade lower with the 50-share Nifty losing 0.5 percent ahead of its July expiry today. FMCG majors ITC and HUL extended losses in noon trade, falling 2-4 percent.

The BSE Sensex is down 96.49 points at 19994.19, and the Nifty is down 31.30 points at 5959.20. Nearly two shares declined for every share advancing on the BSE.

Thermax shares lost 3 percent after it reported net profit at Rs 50.2 crore and sales at Rs 863 crore, which both are below analysts' forecast of Rs 71.3 crore and Rs 1032 crore, respectively.

Cigarette major ITC fell 4 percent after it reported lower than expected sales in first quarter. Net sales grew by 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 7338 crore as against analysts' forecast of Rs 7800 crore while net profit rose in-line with expected 18 percent to Rs 1891 crore for the June quarter. Meanwhile, its EBITDA margin jumped better-than-expected 240 basis points Y-o-Y to 37.1 percent as against 34.7 percent reported in a year ago period and analysts' expectations of 35.3 percent.

11:59 am Update: The Supreme Court on Thursday posted Reliance Telecom's plea challenging a court order asking Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani to appear as prosecution witness, for hearing on Monday, reports CNN-IBN. This means that Anil Ambani will have to appear as a prosecution witness in the trial court hearing on Friday.

Reliance Telecom had approached the Supreme Court objecting to summoning of Anil Ambani as witness in the case before he was summoned by the trial court. Anil Ambani was then summoned by the trial court as a CBI witness on July 26.

11:55 am Update: National carrier Air India has tied up with Deutsche Bank and the British lender Investec Bank to raise up to USD 500 million fund to take the delivery of five Boeing Dreamliners, according to airline sources.

"We have got financing for all the five Dreamliners and have mandated Deutsche Bank and Investec Bank for arranging the bridge loan for this," a senior Air India official said.

The flag carrier had on June 26 invited bids from banks and financial institutions to arrange bridge finance of up to USD 500 million to pay for five Boeing 787s.

11:45 am International results: Angle-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever, reported underlying sales growth of 5 percent for the second quarter, just shy of market expectation, and said that growth was slowing in emerging markets.

The maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove skincare products said on Thursday that emerging markets grew by 10.3 percent in the quarter, slightly down on the 10.4 percent in the previous quarter, while developed markets fell by 1.3 percent.

11:35 am Weaklings: Tata Power , HUL , BHEL , Wipro and Strelite Industries are biggest losers in the Sensex. FMCG and Capital Goods indices are under selling pressure today.

11:25 am Opinion: Vivek Rajpal, rates strategist of Nomura India feels that RBI moves are not sufficient for a meaningful appreciation in the Indian currency and a pullback is highly unlikely. He believes that the liquidity tightening measures by RBI are temporary in nature and any further tightening in the upcoming policy is unlikely.

"If governor Subbarao says that it is a temporary measure then it will be a relief to the market," Rajpla told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

It is a weak session for the markets on July expiry day. The Nifty is trading well below the 6000 levels pulled lower by cement, power and capital goods. The Sensex is down 46.70 points at 20043.98, and the Nifty slips 20.65 points at 5969.85. About 632 shares have advanced, 959 shares declined, and 104 shares are unchanged.

The rupee after opening lower has emerged an outperformer in the emerging markets basket, on good dollar selling by exporters. The rupee is strengthening to 58.77per dollar.

This is the second consecutive day that the rupee is strengthening after the RBI announced liquidity tightening steps on Tuesday evening.

Indian bonds have also picked up steam after a flat start looking at the strength in the rupee. Dealers, however, fear more losses in bond prices tomorrow and Monday as the new cash reserve ratio (CRR) cycle starts.

Asian markets trade with a negative bias following a negative lead from us markets and some disappointing earnings from Canon.

Crude retreats marginally, with Brent down to USD 107 after energy information administration said crude production rose 0.9 percent to 7.56 million barrels a day, the most since december 1990. Gold eases a tad bit on strong eco data at USD 1318/ounce

Dollar index gains marginally to 82.3 levels on new home sales data. Yen falls to USD 100 to the dollar.

Indiabulls Real Estate rebounded with one percent gains after JP Morgan has maintained its overweight rating on the stock with a price target at Rs 150 a share. Company might look at additional share buyback in FY14, says the brokerage house.

Cadila Healthcare shares gained nearly 2 percent after Zydus signed a partnership agreement with US-based IDRI to develop Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-Azar) vaccine.

10:50am Gainer post Q1 earnings

Among autos, Hero MotoCorp shares gained more than four percent after first quarter earnings while other auto stocks are under pressure.

The two-wheeler major reported a strong Q-o-Q improvement in margins to 14.8 percent despite slowdown in revenues. Management at its conference call highlighted that it foresees further margin upside on cost rationalisation program and has guided for margin improvement of 400-500 bps over the next 2.5 years.

Macquarie upgraded the stock to outperform rating from underperform and raised its target price to Rs 1960 from Rs 1250 earlier. Merrill Lynch has also raised its target price to Rs 2050 and Hero remains its preferred pick in the auto space.

Ambuja Cements shares cracked 13 percent in morning trade after Holcim restructured its India operations. Deal implies that nearly all of cash on Ambuja's books will be transferred to parent Holcim. Ambuja has a cash and bank balance of Rs 3700 crore. In the run up to the restructuring, Ambuja will acquire a stake of 24 percent for Rs 3500 crore in Holcim India.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has downgraded Ambuja to neutral as Holcim deal is a big negative for minority shareholders. The brokerage house has lowered its EV/EBITDA multiple for Ambuja from 10 times CY14 expected to 8 times CY14E and revised price target stands at Rs 195/share.

CLSA has also downgraded Ambuja Cements to sell with a target price of Rs 175/share.

10:25am Indian equity benchmarks fell marginally in morning trade amid volatility ahead of July expiry today, weighed down by FMCG, capital goods and banks stocks.

The BSE Sensex is down 64.65 points at 20026.03, and the Nifty is down 25.10 points at 5965.40. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by 799 to 516 on the BSE.

FMCG majors Hindustan Unilever and ITC fell 2 percent and 1 percent, respectively. ITC will report its April-June quarter earnings today.

The India's largest cigarettes maker to report a net profit of Rs 1,890 crore , up 18 percent year-on-year, driven by price hikes it took in cigarettes and strong growth in the other FMCG business, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

Novartis India plunged nearly 5 percent in morning trade to touch a four-year low of Rs 448 after it reported poor set of numbers in first quarter.

Elder Pharmaceuticals shares rallied more than five percent in initial trade Thursday on a media report that Sanofi's India unit and the Carlyle group are in separate talks to buy the domestic drug formulations business of the company for USD 400-450 million.

Central Bank of India shares dropped 10.55 percent in early trade to touch a four-year low of Rs 55.55 Thursday after the state-owned lender disappointed the street with the first quarter (April-June) net profit plunging 94 percent year-on-year to Rs 22 crore on higher provisions.

9:55 am Another Fall: Novartis India plunged nearly 5 percent in morning trade to touch a four-year low of Rs 448 after it reported poor set of numbers in first quarter.

Net profit of the pharma company halved to Rs 13.8 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 27 crore reported in a year ago period, impacted by rupee depreciation and slowdown in sales due to notification of new drug policy.

Net sales, however, rose marginally to Rs 219 crore in first quarter from Rs 215.3 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.9:50 am Houseviews: Citi has initiated coverage on JustDial with a target price at Rs 825 per share. The stock is currently at Rs 680.90, up Rs 2.65, or 0.39 percent on the BSE.

9:45 am Buzzing: Elder Pharmaceuticals shares rallies more than five percent in initial trade Thursday on news reports that Sanofi's India unit and the Carlyle group are in separate talks to buy the domestic drug formulations business of the company for USD 400-450 million.

A deal could be signed as early as next month, a media report said quoting unnamed sources.

9:40 am Leader: Hero MotoCorp (up 4 percent) is leader among gainers in the Sensex. However, the largest two-wheeler maker missed street expectations, with first quarter net profit declining 11 percent year-on-year to Rs 549 crore due to higher tax rate.

It reported a total income of Rs 6,160 crore, down 1.4 percent in April-June. Analysts on average had expected Hero MotoCorp to report a net profit of Rs 580 crore, on revenue of Rs 6,310 crore, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll.

The profit was lower due to higher tax rate on account of the expiry of 5 years of 100 percent exemption given to the company's Haridwar plant, and the newly levied higher surcharge in the Union Budget, the maker of Splendor motorcycle and Pleasure scooter said.

9:35 am Buzzing: Central Bank of India shares dropped 10.55 percent in early trade to touch a four-year low of Rs 55.55 Thursday after the state-owned lender disappointed the street with the first quarter (April-June) net profit plunging 94 percent year-on-year to Rs 22 crore on higher provisions.

The bank earned a tax refund of Rs 4.62 crore. Without this component, the net profit would have slid 95 percent y-o-y to 17.31 crore.

Provisions and contingencies jumped 178.55 percent year-on-year (up 123 percent sequentially) to Rs 983.3 crore during the quarter.

9:30 am Opinion: The recent measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India to curb rupee volatility has negative connotations for India's growth, but will help strengthen the rupee says Alok Sama, founder, Baer Capital.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Sama says given the steep fall seen by the rupee, growth has now taken a backseat. "RBI has less flexibility than it may have been the case few months ago. The implications quite obviously for the growth picture at the margin are not positive but the focus on the currency is spot on," adds Sama.

Additionally, Sama says that banking stocks hold good buying opportunities if one assumes that the RBI will be successful in defend the Indian currency.

9:25 am Movers and losers: Hero MotoCorp, ONGC , Maruti Suzuki, HDFC and Infosys are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are BHEL , Jindal Steel , Hindalco , COal India and Sterlite.

The market has opened on a flat not ahead of the July expiry today. The Sensex is down 11.97 points at 20078.71, and the Nifty slips 8.35 points to 5982.15. About 246 shares have advanced, 243 shares declined, and 28 shares are unchanged.

Both Ambuja (down 11 percent) and ACC (down 4 percent) are weak as Holcim reorganises ownership of Ambuja and ACC . Ambuja will now become 50 percent owner of ACC for Rs 14,500 crore in a cash and stock deal. As a result, Holcim's stake in Ambuja will increase to 61percent and ACC will become a subsidiary of Ambuja.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee opened at 59.29 per dollar versus 59.12 yesterday. Mohan Shenoi, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "RBI measures of raising short-term interest rates appear to be aimed at stabilising the rupee around 60/USD and not towards significant appreciation. This is to buy time until some major capital inflows are received or some more measures to curb imports are announced. The range for the day is seen between 58.90-59.35/USD."

The euro was at sub 1.32 to the dollar. The dollar index rose marginally to 82.30 levels. The dollar yen was at 100 mark.