BSE Sensex ends higher; auto, oil & gas, metals lead

3:50 pm Market closing: The good run continues on Dalal Street as equity markets rise for the fourth straight session with both major indices gaining close to a percent. The market has rallied 4 percent in the last 4 days.

The Sensex ends up 137.75 points at 19367.59, and the Nifty ends at 5742.30, up 43.00 points. About 1291 shares have advanced, 1037 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged.

There was some buying in heavyweight stocks. Beaten down stocks continued with their pullback, Hindalco rallied 7 percent, while Tata Motors was up 10 percent.
 
The midcaps put up a good show with the index underperforming. However, there was strength in stocks like Escorts which rallied 20 percent after strong numbers.

3:30 pm Earnings: Steel Authority of India ( SAIL ) has reported 35 percent year-on-year decline in its June quarter profit to Rs 451 crore as the state run firm recognised minimum alternative tax (MAT) credit to the extent of Rs 108 crore. This provision ate way benefits arising out of lower forex loss of Rs 88 crore, down 66 percent Y-o-Y.

The firm in a statement said that it provided Rs 739.55 crore toward employee benefits during the quarter.

Sales also declined over 5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 11361 crore.

3:35 pm Alert: NSEL cancels today's press conference.

3:30 pm Market outlook: In an interview to CNBC-TV18 VK Sharma, head Private Broking and Wealth Management HDFC Securities shared views on the F&O market.

According to Sharma, Nifty can face resistance at 5808 levels and believes that the market can gain 100 points from hereon. He expects Nifty to close on a positive note today.

Talking stock specific, Sharma suggests buying Axis Bank Call Option of 1150 at Rs 30 with a target of around Rs 50 and keeping a stop loss at Rs 20.

3:25 pm Alert: NSEL will announce revised settlement calendar today. It will issue press statement or hold a press conference this evening.

3:20 pm Earnings: Wockhardt's first quarter consolidated net profit fell by 14.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 323.3 crore on lower growth in sales and higher expenses.

Consolidated net sales increased marginally to Rs 1,358.4 crore in April-June quarter from Rs 1,341.4 crore in a year ago period.

Total expenses of the company increased over 9 percent on yearly basis to Rs 969.58 crore while tax cost rose to Rs 37.91 crore from Rs 24.28 crore Y-o-Y.

3:10 pm Exclusive: After hiking import duty on silver and gold to 10 percent on Tuesday, government may announce fresh economic measures to address the falling rupee and widening current account deficit post 3 pm today.

The announcement is likely to be made by the Revenue Secretary. Sources from Finance Ministry informed that these measures are not likely to be on custom duty front as those will not necessarily required to be placed in parliament.

The measures that are going to be announced would be part of the Finance Minister's efforts since past few days, which are essential aimed at plugging the CAD gap.

The market is managing to hold gains in the last trading hour as the Sensex is up 86.25 points at 19316.09 while the Nifty adds 26.30 points at 5725.60.  About 1192 shares have advanced, 1041 shares declined, and 165 shares are unchanged.

Oil and gas, metals and auto stocks are leading the indices. Tata Motors is on fire with a gain of 11 percent while Hindalco is also up 7 percent.

State-run oil & gas explorer ONGC gained more than 4 percent on likely hike in diesel price.

The market remained in an upmove in afternoon trade, heading for positive close for the fourth consecutive session Wednesday.

The Sensex is up 66.41 points at 19296.25, and the Nifty is up 24.70 points at 5724, aided by oil & gas and metals stocks.

Tata Motors shares topped the buying list, rising another 9 percent on top of previous day's 4 percent gains after strong Jaguar Land Rover performance in July in sales terms.

Hindalco Industries rallied 7 percent despite lower-than-expected first quarter earnings (on Tuesday during market hours).

Tata Steel remained on buyers' radar with 4.6 percent gains post better-than-expected earnings in Q1 on tax writeback and fall in tax outgo. Macquarie upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "underperform" and raised its target price to Rs 294 from Rs 242 earlier citing strong results, driven by recovery in European operations.

State-run oil & gas explorer ONGC gained more than 4 percent on likely hike in diesel price.

2:00 pm RBI measures: RBI is likely to announce measures for rupee today, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. It is learnt the steps may include circular for NRE/FCNR account liberalisation. IMeasures may include circular for ECB liberalisation.

1:50 pm Global cues: Clear signs the euro zone has crawled out of an 18-month long recession supported European shares near a 10-week peak on Wednesday and saw German 10-year yields hover near their highest level in almost two months, reports Reuters.

The German economy grew by 0.7 percent in the second quarter, its largest expansion in over a year, while the French economy expanded by 0.5 percent, more than twice as fast as expected and exiting its own shallow recession.

1:40 pm Boardroom: After Speciality Restaurants' net profit declined at Rs 4.7 crore against Rs 6.3 crore year on year, COO Indraneil Palit says the company has not been able to pass on the increasing food costs to its customers. However, the company is now hiking prices by 4-5 percent in order to meet their cost pressures. Also, Palit believes August is looking good and expects Q2 to be better as the second half is always better for food and beverage sector.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 about the company's expansion plan, he says the company is planning to open four more restaurants in Q2 and have also tied up with the Future Restaurants and is therefore, likely to achieve its expansion plan of adding another 15-16 restaurants in FY14 and FY15.

1:30 pm Big plan: Mahindra & Mahindra, India's biggest utility vehicle manufacturer, plans to invest Rs 200 crore to strengthen its current product line-up of trucks and buses, the company said in a statement, reports Reuters.

Mahindra plans to invest another Rs 300 crore to explore new products, it said.

1:20 pm Oil update: India will take at least three months more to draw up a policy framework for shale gas exploration that would allow both private domestic and foreign firms to begin drilling for the fuel, two oil ministry sources said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

India has a chronic power supply shortage and yet many gas-fired electricity plants stand idle as the country lacks the fuel to supply them, or the infrastructure and cash for expensive imports. Shale gas supplies could eventually help meet demand, but India has been slow to open up the sector.

1:10 pm Management speaks: Most analysts bet on export sectors like IT and pharma when the rupee starts falling against the US dollar. However, it may not always be a rosy picture for all companies explains Vineet Nayyar, executive vice chairman, Tech Mahindra.

Nayyar explains that despite gaining from the currency depreciation, it is only a marginal benefit that they accrue. The company gets only a 35-40 paise gain on every depreciated rupee.

"Even a company like ours which has possibly the highest offshore component, about 80 percent, for every rupee of depreciation our advantage is at best about 40 paise because 20 percent of the people are abroad and their cost is about two-three times higher than what we have in India," explains Nayyar.

The market has cooled off some bit but still holds above the 5700 led by commodity plays. The Sensex is up 43.11 points at 19272.95 while the Nifty adds 11.50 points at 5710.80. About 1123 shares have advanced, 927 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged.

The midcaps and small caps have come off significantly from intra-day highs

In a CNBC-TV18 exclusive, the Oil Minister Veerappa Moily says there will be one-time diesel price hike to bridge under recoveries is under consideration. Oil marketing companies shoot up in trade as a reaction to that.

Inflation rises to a four-month high above 5 percent on account of higher food prices. The bond yields spike to highest levels in 15-months above 8.50 percent.

The finance ministry is likely to announce fresh set of economic measures shortly. Government officials say these measures do not need to be placed in parliament

Tata steel gets a big thumbs up after a blowout performance by Corus. JP Morgan recommends an overweight rating but CLSA advises to use the bounce as selling opportunity.

2:55pm Buzzing Stocks
DLF shares jumped 3 percent on top of previous day's 8 percent rally. CLSA has a buy rating on the stock, but cut its target price for DLF to Rs 180. "Given the weak macro and higher interest rate environment, the risk to demand and property prices is likely to be on the downside," CLSA report said.

Mahindra & Mahindra rose 0.7 percent after Barclays maintained an overweight rating on the stock, but cut its target price on M&M to Rs 1,068 apiece. "Recovery in tractors largely offset the drag from decelerating utility vehicle volumes and a weaker mix in the first quarter," Barclays report said.

12:36pm Buzzers
Oil & gas explorer ONGC gained more than 3 percent and oil retailer IOC surged 5 percent on hopes that the diesel price may be hiked by 50 paise.

Tata Motors shares rallied another 7 percent on top of previous day's 3.6 percent jump. Its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover's global sales (announced on Monday) jumped 21 percent year-on-year to 31,611 units Y-o-Y. In last seven months (January-July), JLR sold more than 2.4 lakh vehicles, a growth of 15 percent in a year ago period.

12:16pm The market erased all its morning gains in noon trade Wednesday after July inflation touched a four-month high. Even the broader markets trimmed gains.

The Sensex is up 15.97 points at 19245.81, and the Nifty is up 5.65 points at 5704.95.

Wholesale Price Index inflation increased to 5.79 percent in July as against 4.86 percent in previous month while core inflation jumped to 2.4 percent from 2 percent during the same period.

Food articles inflation jumped to 11.91 percent in July from 9.74 percent and fuel & power group inflation climbed to 11.31 percent from 7.12 percent month-on-month.

12:00 am RBI statement: Central banks should tackle financial imbalances even if it means sacrificing some economic growth, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) deputy governor Anand Sinha said in a speech on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

The RBI has recently unveiled a slew of measures including draining cash and raising short-term interest rates, sparking concerns about the impact on economic growth.

Sinha Also said macroprudential regulations and monetary policy should move in the same direction.

11:50 am Management speak: India Cements posted disappointing numbers in the first quarter of FY14. The collapse in prices in Andhra Pradesh affected the overall realisation for the quarter , says N Srinivasan, VC & MD, India Cements. Though he is quick to add there has been some recovery of prices in AP and other parts of Tamil Nadu. Going forward, he expects the pricing scene to be better.

11:40 am Earnings poll: Amidst a general slowdown and high input cost, Steel Authority of India(SAIL) is expected to report over 53 percent year-on-year decline in profit to Rs 325 crore, states a CNBC-TV18 poll. The state-run steel maker which will announce numbers later in the day is likely to post Rs 10600 crore sales, registering almost muted growth from year-ago period.

Analysts on an average expect EBITDA margins to slide around 500 bps to 8.8 percent Y-o-Y.

11:30 am Buzzing: Escorts rallies 13 percent on the BSE riding high on solid April-June quarter performance. Volume growth of over 21 percent is the highest seen in the last many quarters.

11:20 am Bond market update: India's benchmark 10-year bond yield rose past 8.48 percent to a 15-month high on Wednesday as the rupee continued to remain near record-low levels despite a series of steps undertaken by the government to curb the current account deficit.

The 10-year yield rose to 8.49 percent, the highest since May 30, 2012. It is up 9 basis points on the day.

The market seems to be holding up gains as Nifty manages to float above 5700.  The Sensex is up 60.45 points at 19290.29, and the Nifty adds 19.60 points at 5718.90. About 1132 shares have advanced, 738 shares declined, and 141 shares are unchanged.

Oil and gas, metals, auto, realty and consumer durable stocks hold up the benchmark indices.

Tata group shares rally with Tata Motors and Tata Steel gaining 6 percent each. On the downside are HDFC Bank , Dr Reddys' Labs and HDFC losing above 1 percent each.  Most of the FMCG stocks led by ITC are weak today.

Financial Technologies is down another 19 percent as brokers are brokers and investors including IIFL and Motilal Oswal raised doubts over National Spot Exchange Limited's (NSEL) ability to quickly pay them after suspension of trade.

NSEL, a subsidiary of Financial Technologies, suspended trading in forward contracts on July 31 following government directive.

10:55am Results Reactions
Voltas disappointed the street with the first quarter profit falling almost 50 percent  to around Rs 40 crore Y-o-Y, which was way below street estimates of Rs 75 crore, while margins contracted to below 4 percent.

Escorts shares rallied 13 percent on solid performance in Q1. Volume growth of over 21 percent is the highest seen in the last many quarters.

10:40am Buzzers
Financial Technologies shares crashed 17 percent after top brokers including IIFL and Motilal Oswal have questioned NSEL's claims of stocks in warehouses and have sought immediate repayment a day ahead of NSEL's promised declaration of its payback plan. The brokers want the government to take over the debt ridden exchange.

BPCL rose 3.5 percent after a strong set of results. Oil retailer reported a net profit of Rs 150 crore in Q1 as against loss of Rs 8,840 crore in a year ago period, reporting a profit without government compensation. Gross refining margin was USD 4.05 a barrel, which was best in industry and much better than IOC's GRM of USD 1.5 a barrel.

10:20am The market continued to trade marginally higher with the Nifty holding 5700 level, aided by Tata group, oil & gas and metals stocks. However, FMCG, HDFC group and capital goods stocks are under pressure.

The Sensex is up 32.22 points at 19262.06, and the Nifty is up 12.40 points at 5711.70, but the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

According to VK Sharma, head Private Broking and Wealth Management HDFC Securities, a good Nifty resistance can be seen at 5808. He believes the market can gain 100 points from hereon and expects today's session to close on a positive note.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent each. Nearly two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The domestic currency is inching towards record low of 61.81 per dollar touched on August 6. It fell by 32 paise to 61.51 against the US dollar.

Tata Motors and Tata Steel (led by better-than-expected earnings on tax writeback and Corus numbers) topped the buying list, rising around 5 percent.

Hindalco Industries shares surged 4 percent while Sterlite Industries rallied 2.5 percent.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever continued their downtrend, falling 1.3 percent each. HDFC and HDFC Bank dropped 1-1.5 percent.

10:00 am Macro outlook: The current economic situation is testimony of the fact that India is far from coming out of the slump, says Tushar Pradhan, chief investment officer, HSBC. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says we will need many confidence instilling measures from the government to rectify the present economic conditions.

He cautions that equity market is likely to be volatile while the rupee may strengthen in the near-term.

"There is enough evidence to believe that the rupee will strengthen because I still do believe that this is oversold territory. The Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER) currently is not in its favour. So, it does appear that it is fundamentally cheaper than what it needs to be," explains Pradhan.

9:50 am Earnings impact: GMR Infra is down 2 percent on the BSE as the company's consolidated net loss widened to Rs 326 crore in April-June quarter compared to Rs  94.3 crore in the year-ago period. During the quarter, its consolidated total income was marginally up to Rs 2,635 crore vs Rs 2601.5 crore (Y-o-Y).

9:40 am Market outlook: The ongoing pullback in market is real and Nifty can go as high as 5850 depending on government actions, says UR Bhat, MD, Dalton Capital .

He warns that there is no fundamental reason to buy the markets now as the current rally is part of a technical bounce. For the markets to look fundamentally strong, economy has to resurrect, CAD has to come down, exports have to pick up. It is important to get industries back which can be done only through policy measures, Bhat told CNBC-TV18.

9:30 am Earnings impact: Voltas falls around 5 percent on the BSE as the Tata Group firm reported a 48.49 percent decline in its consolidated net profit for the first quarter that ended on June 30, 2013 at Rs. 40.75 crore.

The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 79.12 crore for the same period previous fiscal year.

The company's consolidated net sales stood at Rs. 1,601.78 crore in the April-June quarter compared to Rs. 1,611.57 crore during the same period last year, it said in a filing to the BSE.

9:20 am Exclusive: A group of 8 Indian IT companies have formed a lobbying consortium in order to handle the conversation with the US Congress. So far there is Infosys , Cognizant, MindTree and Hexaware that are currently involved in the lobbying body.

TCS " target="_blank" title="Tata Consultancy Services">Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro , Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies are still mulling if they will be joining, but they are likely to join the consortium as well.

The consortium will be preparing a roadmap in order to put forth discussion with the US Congress in order to remove the clauses that are detrimental to Indian IT. The biggest issue that Indian IT companies have is the outplacement clause, which will lead to a rise in costs for Indian IT companies.

The market opens on a flat note with the Sensex at 19243.82, up 14 points while the Nifty is down 0.10 points at 5699.20. About 321 shares have advanced, 131 shares declined, and 31 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel surges 7 percent on the BSE as it has surprised the street by posting better-than-expected numbers during June quarter as its Indian operations put up a good show and even performance of its Europe subsidiary was not that bad as anticipated by analysts.

The firm has reported Rs 1139 crore profit during the quarter gone by against CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of Rs 300 crore. Sales came in at Rs 32805 crore, almost in line with street expectation.

In the year-ago period, the firm had posted Rs 598 crore profit on revenues of Rs 33821 crore, down 3 percent year-on-year

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee fell 28 paise in early trade to 61.47 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 61.19 per dollar.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Alpari feels that a stronger dollar and high dollar demand from importers at these levels will exert pressure on the rupee.

"With no clear and strong measures from the government to boost fund inflow and fuel growth, the rupee could weaken further. However, strong equities could provide some support," he adds.

According to Brahmbhatt, the range for the day is seen between 60.70-61.75/USD while Agam Gupta, MD, head of FXRC, South Asia, Standard Chartered Bank expects sees the rupee hovering in the range of 61.25-61.75/USD for the day.

All eyes will be on July WPI inflation data due today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll , it is seen rising to 4.94 percent versus 4.86 percent month on month led by primary and fuel inflation. Primary inflation may come in around 8 percent.

Meanwhile Credit Suisse has lowered India's growth forecast for FY14 to 6 percent from 6.5 percent and for financial year 2014-15 to 7 percent from 7.5 percent earlier.

In the global markets, Apple spiked nearly 5 percent after billionaire investor Carl Icahn reported a "large position" in the stock. The CBOE vix slid near 12.

The 10-year treasury yields jumped, with the benchmark 10-year note gaining 8 basis points to 2.699 percent.

On the economic data front retail sales edged up 0.2 percent in July. And import prices rose less than expected in July, gaining just 0.2 percent last month.

Brent crude is trading around USD 109 per barrel on supply worries. From precious metals space, gold slipped marginally to USD 1320 an ounce.