Sensex ends up 170 points, Bank Nifty soars 2%; IT, FMCG drag

03:50 pm Vodafone tax issue:
UK-based Vodafone is unable to make up its mind whether to go forward with conciliation and it is now upto the revenue department to enforce the tax notice on it, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said today.

The Finance Ministry has already circulated a draft Cabinet note withdrawing the conciliation offer to Vodafone to resolve the Rs 20,000-crore tax dispute case.

"In Vodafone's own words, they are unable to make up their mind whether they should go forward with conciliation.

The conciliation did not even start...," Chidambaram told PTI. The Cabinet had in June 2013 approved a Finance Ministry proposal to go in for conciliation with Vodafone to resolve the capital gains tax dispute related to its acquisition of Hutchison Whampoa's stake in Hutchison Essar in 2007.

03:40 pm Market closing:
In a post interim Budget-rally, the market pocketed smart gains supported by bank stocks. The Sensex ended up 170.15 points at 20634.21, and the Nifty closed at 6127.10, up 53.80 points.

About 1400 shares have advanced, 1207 shares declined, and 180 shares are unchanged.

Bank stocks were stars of the day. Axis Bank, HDFC and ICICI Bnak were major gainers in the Sensex, rallying 3-4 percent each. Maruti Suzuki and Tata Power were other gainers in the Sensex.

Bahrti continued to remain sellers' radar it announced buying out Loop Mobile. GAIL, ITC, Wipro and Coal India also dragged during the day.

03:30 pm Sugar output:
The country's sugar output fell over 13 per cent to 14.37 million tonnes so far this year on delayed crushing while sugarcane arrears have crossed Rs 12,000 crore till date, industry body Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said today. Mills had manufactured 16.58 million tonnes of sugar in the corresponding period of the 2012-13 marketing year (October-September), it said in a statement.

According to ISMA, sugar output in Maharashtra has reached 4.98 million tonnes while in Uttar Pradesh it declined 18 percent to 3.57 million tonnes and by four per cent to 2.7 million tonnes in Karnataka so far this year. Sugar recovery in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- the country's top two sugar producing states -- was at 10.96 percent and 8.91 per cent, respectively.

03:20 pm Market outlook:
Post the Vote on Account , the mood on the street is cautiously optimistic, says Nirmal Jain, Chairman of brokerage IIFL. "There is a bit of curiosity (among investors) as to what will happen in the elections. But by and large, people are optimistic that the outcome of elections will be positive," he told CNBC-TV18.

Jain feels investors should allocate some part of their assets or increase their allocation to equities right now-in case they haven't already-as he expects the market to become expensive if the election outcome is positive.

Jain is currently advising clients to be semi-aggressive. "About 60-70 percent of your equity portfolio should comprise of IT, pharma and safe ones.

03:10 pm Sebi update:
Penalties totalling about Rs 136 crore have been imposed on as many as 1,389 entities by the regulator Sebi for various offences related to securities market, with some cases being more than a decade old.

Some of the defaulters have not paid up amounts as small as Rs 15,000, while the majority of individual penalties are worth a few lakhs of rupees and a few others amounting to a few crores of rupees.

According to the latest data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a total of 1,389 individuals and companies had defaulted on penalties totalling about Rs 136 crore as on December 31, 2013.

02:59pm Coal India unit Western Coalfields sees 10 percent output rise in 2014-15
Coal India unit Western Coalfields expects to raise output by 10 percent to 44 million tonnes in the next fiscal year due to the use of more sophisticated machinery in its mines, the unit's chairman said on Tuesday.

Western Coalfield's first potential output increase in five years will help India keep a lid on costly imports of coal at a time its parent is struggling to boost production, reports Reuters.

02:50pm GSK Pharma gets buyers' support due to buyback offer despite weak earnings
GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals' fourth quarter (October-December) net profit fell 15.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 117 crore, dented by lower revenues and higher expenses.

Net sales slipped 4 percent to Rs 630.6 crore while total expenses jumped 11.7 percent to Rs 524.8 crore compared to same quarter last year.

The company follows calendar year as a financial year.

For the year 2013, net profit declined 14 percent to Rs 481.7 crore and revenue was down 3 percent to Rs 2,538.3 crore compared to previous year.

02:40pm FII View
With elections round the corner, Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse does not expect any incremental slowdown in government spending at the bottom of the pyramid.

"The lull in infrastructure/heavy investment can though last for at least next six months. We have a buy on Maruti, ITC, Godrej Consumer and sell on L&T, BHEL & SBI," he added.

02:30pm Force Motors soars 16% as promoters raise stake
Promoters of the company, Jaya Hind Investments Private Limited and others, have acquired 6,31,139 equity shares of Rs 10 each on spot delivery basis from 12 members of the company on February 17, 2014.

With this acquisition, the number of shares held by the promoter group stands increased from 68,18,272 equity shares to 74,49,411. equity shares, i.e. from 51.75 percent to 56.54 percent of the total paid up share capital of the company.

02:20pm ABB extends gains to 13% on value buying post earnings
ABB India's fourth quarter (October-December) net profit grew 3.5 times year-on-year to Rs 58.6 crore on strong operational performance despite higher finance cost and tax expenses.

"We remain aligned to charting a course of profitable growth backed by business led collaboration and relentless execution," Bazmi Husain, managing director said.

Total income increased nearly 6 percent to Rs 2,204 crore compared to same quarter last year on account of growth in power business that grew 11.5 percent.

Operating profit climbed to Rs 149 crore from Rs 67 crore and margin more than doubled to 6.8 percent versus 3.2 percent during the same period.

02:10pm Gujarat Pipavav Port soars over 4% post quarterly earnings
Gujarat Pipavav Port's net profit more than doubled to Rs 77 crore during October-December period as against Rs 36 crore in a year-ago period, led by strong operational performance but that was squeezed by exceptional loss.

The company said the profitability was led by higher container volumes, better realisation, PRCL dividend, impairment write back and lower finance cost.

Total income grew 22.2 percent to Rs 145.2 crore on account of higher container volumes and better realisation while total expenses increased 3.5 percent to Rs 78.5 crore compared to same quarter last year.

Container volume of the company jumped 18 percent sequentially (24 percent year-on-year) to 1,93,729 TEUs (20 foot equivalent units) during the quarter, highest ever quarterly performance.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation or operating profit shot up 47.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 84 crore and operating profit margin expanded 970 basis points to 57.5 percent during the fourth quarter of 2013.

02:00pm Banking and financials stocks continued to help the market gain nearly 0.8 percent despite the rupee fell 34 paise to 62.18 against the US dollar.

The Sensex rallied 152.06 points to 20,616.12 and the Nifty climbed 48.35 points to 6,121.65. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1278 to 1117 on the BSE.

Post the Vote on Account, the mood on the street is cautiously optimistic, says Nirmal Jain, Chairman of brokerage IIFL. "There is a bit of curiosity (among investors) as to what will happen in the elections. But by and large, people are optimistic that the outcome of elections will be positive," he told CNBC-TV18.

Jain feels investors should allocate some part of their assets or increase their allocation to equities right now-in case they haven't already-as he expects the market to become expensive if the election outcome is positive.

Jain is currently advising clients to be semi-aggressive. "About 60-70 percent of your equity portfolio should comprise of IT, pharma and safe ones. At this point in time, until election results are out, we are not recommending getting into cyclicals or stocks with low valuations," he said.

Tata Power declined over a percent on profit booking. The stock gained 4.5 percent in previous session after Arvind Kejriwal resigned on Friday as chief minister of Delhi.

Bharti Airtel declined 0.7 percent post acquisition of Loop Mobile. Shares of ITC, Coal India, GAIL and Cipla slipped 0.6 percent.

However, shares of ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Maruti, BHEL and State Bank of India climbed between 2-3 percent.

2:00 pm Result: Gujarat Pipavav Port's net profit more than doubled to Rs 77 crore during October-December period as against Rs 36 crore in a year-ago period, led by strong operational performance but that was squeezed by exceptional loss.

Total income grew 22.2 percent to Rs 145.2 crore while total expenses increased 3.5 percent to Rs 78.5 crore compared to same quarter last year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation or operating profit shot up 47.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 84 crore and operating profit margin expanded 970 basis points to 57.5 percent during the fourth quarter of 2013.

Gujarat-based port services provider reported an exceptional loss of Rs 16.4 crore after considering impairment reversal, depreciation charge on impairment reversal and assets written off.

1:50 pm Opinion: Steve Brice Chief Investment Strategist at Standard Chartered Bank continues to maintain a neutral stance on India. In an interview to CNBC-TV18 he said, ''Budget is a hurdle passed. People are still looking towards elections and uncertainty that could create. But the general sentiment internationally is that the election is almost a non-event . We need to get passed it clearly; we will get more certainty afterwards, probably going to get more reform rather than less going forward. So, probably pass the worst as far as the market is concerned.'' He is betting on export-oriented stocks like technology in India.

1:40 pm Gold check: India's gold demand remained buoyant in 2013 and rose by 13 percent to 975 tonne compared to 2012, despite government putting in several restrictions to curb imports, according to a World Gold Council report. Gold demand in the country was 864 tonnes during 2012, according to data given in WGC 'Gold Demand Trends 2013' report.

"India's gold demand was up 13 percent in 2013, compared to 2012. Demand in the second half was lower due to the effect of the supply curbs introduced in that period, but, equally, it was due to households having met a large part of their annual gold requirements in the first half, using the price drop in April as a buying opportunity," WGC Managing Director India Somasundaram PR said.

1:30 pm Reaction: After Vote on Account, the next key domestic cue for the Indian market will be general elections and going ahead, the focus would shift to global markets, C Jayaram, Joint MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

He said that investors feel overall emerging markets (EMs) not the flavour; however, they feel that India is better positioned within EMs and India has been preferred in the EM basket over the last one-two months. On specific sectors, he remains positive on the telecom sector and expects consolidation in the sector to continue. He sees prices improving once it consolidates. Jayaram is betting on export-oriented sectors like IT and pharma until elections.

1:20 pm Result impact: Shares of ABB India soared 8 percent intraday on Tuesday post its December quarter results. The company's net profit grew 3.5 times year-on-year to Rs 58.6 crore on strong operational performance despite higher finance cost and tax expenses.

"We remain aligned to charting a course of profitable growth backed by business led collaboration and relentless execution," Bazmi Husain, managing director said.

Total income increased nearly 6 percent to Rs 2,204 crore compared to same quarter last year on account of growth in power business that grew 11.5 percent.

However, tax expenses jumped 3.7 times year-on-year to Rs 35.77 crore and finance cost rose 55.7 percent to Rs 28.8 crore in the quarter ended December 2013.

The market gains momentum with the Nifty trading above 6,100 level supported largely by financials. The Sensex is up 177.00 points at 20641.06, and the Nifty is up 55.75 points at 6129.05. About 1284 shares have advanced, 994 shares declined, and 164 shares are unchanged.

The broader markets gained too with the midcap and smallcap indices rising nearly a percent each. All bank stocks are on buyers' radar while Maruti and BHEL are other gainers in the Sensex. Among losers in the Sensex are Tata Power and Bharti.

Asian markets trade lower on profit booking but Nikkei rallies as Bank of Japan left monetary policy steady at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. It will extend a special lending program by one year to support the economy. All eyes are on the Fed which is set to release the minutes from its January FOMC meeting tomorrow. The markets are awaiting cues about the future of quantitative easing.

12:59pm Muthoot Finance aims to enter insurance business
Shares of Muthoot Finance gained nearly a percent on its plans to foray into insurance sector. The gold loan company is aiming to enter insurance sector and is scouting for a foreign partner for it.

George Muthoot Jacob, Senior Vice-President (Legal, Corporate Affairs and Marketing) of the company said that the insurance business will need an initial investment cap of Rs 300 crore.

Meanwhile, the Kerala-based company which operates hospitality business under Muthoot Leisure and Hospitality has recently made its first overseas acquisition by purchasing a boutique property in Costa Rica.

Muthoot Finance has assets under management of about Rs 5,914.11 crore. It has about 4,500 centres across the country.

12:50pm Nomura upgrades top lender
Nomura has upgraded State Bank of India to buy from neutral earlier and revised target price to Rs 1800 from Rs 1900 apiece.

"We expect SBI's strong pace of CASA accretion and improving trajectory of non-interest income streams to boost its earnings outlook going forward. We expect quarterly impaired loan addition to come down to Rs 13,000-14,000 crore in FY15F from a peak of Rs 17,500-18,000 crore in FY14F. We expect 23 percent Y-o-Y earnings growth for FY15F driven by 16 percent loan growth," Nomura report said.

State Bank of India was trading at Rs 1,505.15, up Rs 31.75, or 2.15 percent.

12:40pm Bharti buys Loop
India's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel acquired Loop Mobile that has mobile network only in Mumbai circle. With this acquisition, Bharti becomes the top operator with seven million subscribers followed by Vodafone with 6.8 million subscribers.

"India's a leading global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, and Loop Mobile today announced a strategic agreement for their operations in Mumbai (India) service area," Bharti said in its filing.

Under the agreement, Loop Mobile's three million subscribers in Mumbai will join Airtel's over four million subscribers, creating an unmatched mobile network in Mumbai.

Sources told CNBC-TV18 that the deal is valued at Rs 700 crore. Loop will use these sale proceeds for repaying debt of Rs 400 crore and the rest will go to promoters IP Khaitan and family, sources said. Hence, for Bharti, it becomes a debt-free company, sources added.

12:30pm Market Expert
After vote on account, the next key domestic cue for the Indian market will be general elections and going ahead, the focus would shift to global markets, C Jayaram, Joint MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank said.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 from the sidelines of Kotak Intuitional Investor Conference, he said that investors feel overall emerging markets (EMs) not the flavour; however, they feel that India is better positioned within EMs and India has been preferred in the EM basket over the last one-two months.

On specific sectors, he remains positive on the telecom sector and expects consolidation in the sector to continue. He sees prices improving once it consolidates. Jayaram is betting on export-oriented sectors like IT and pharma until elections.

He is also bullish on the Indian auto sector over the next few months and expects spur demand post the excise duty cuts announced by the FM in Interim Budget. However, he is unclear whether concessions to autos will continue post polls.

He further added that FM's FY15 fiscal deficit target of 4.1 percent is slightly aspirational and most analysts are skeptical about it.

12:20pm United Bank on buyers' radar
After showing confidence of reducing non-performing assets by the management, shares of United Bank of India reacted positively. The stock climbed over a percent, snapping six-day losing streak.

While concluding a meeting of branch heads held by the bank on February 16, the management expressed their confidence in upgrading and reducing at least Rs 2,000 crore non-performing assets through intensive recovery drive. This will substantially improve working results in March quarter, the bank said in its filing.

United Bank on February 13 increased its base rate from 10.25 percent to 10.50 percent while it reduced deposit rate from 8.75 percent to 8.50 percent for all deposits of one year and above.

The bank said the revision in rates was in order to improve the bottomline.

"Several cost cutting measures have also been envisaged. The top management is confident that all these measures can turnaround the bank in March quarter," the bank said.

12:10pm Expert on Bharti-Loop Moblie deal
Ankur Rudra, vice president, Ambit Capital says tariff wars taking place in telecom sector is unlikely now as all companies are now focusing on data services.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Rudra says even the recently concluded telecom auction saw a more attention on data services than voice services.

On the acquisition of Loop Mobile by Bharti Airtel, Rudra says the deal is not expensive from Bharti's point of view and the company can extract operating leverage from Loop.

''The deal will aid Bharti's data revenue in Mumbai,'' he adds.

Rudra further adds that Bharti Airtel will launch a marketing blitzkrieg in order to attract Loop's customers to its 3G data plans.

12:00pm: Equity benchmarks maintained strong momentum in noon trade with the Sensex holding 150 points gains helped by banking and financial stocks.

The Sensex jumped 160.01 points to 20,624.07 and the Nifty advanced 49.45 points to 6,122.75. About 1237 shares have advanced, 895 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged.

ABB India's net profit grew 3.5 times year-on-year to Rs 58.6 crore on strong operational performance. Total income increased nearly 6 percent to Rs 2,204 crore compared to same quarter last year.

Operating profit climbed to Rs 149 crore from Rs 67 crore and margin more than doubled to 6.8 percent versus 3.2 percent during the same period. The stock gained more than 4 percent.

Buying extended in banking and financial stocks. BSE Bankex surged 2 percent as Axis Bank and ICICI Bank jumped 3 percent each. Housing finance company HDFC rose 3 percent too. State Bank of India and HDFC Bank climbed 2 percent.

The upmove in Axis Bank is because the government is likely to sell stake in Axis Bank in FY14.

However, the selling continued in ITC, Bharti Airtel, Dr Reddy's Labs, GAIL, Tata Power, Coal India and Cipla.

11:55 am Opinion: Global rating agency Moody's today said India's interim budget is in line with the policy assumptions that underpin the government's Baa3 rating with a stable outlook. The global rating agency has, however, cautioned that India's fiscal position remains "weak". "Moody's stable outlook on India's Baa3 sovereign rating incorporates the macro-economic risks posed by the government's high deficit and debt ratios as well as its recent efforts to control the fiscal deficit through ad hoc measures," it said in a statement.

11:45 am Houseview: Brokerage house Morgan Stanley has retained its 'underweight' rating on State Bank of India and cut price target to Rs 1150 from Rs 1225, citing deteriorating asset quality as a key concern. The company's third quarter net profit announced Friday declined 34 percent year-on-year as bad loans continued to rise.

"Revenue progression (loan growth plus fees) likely to be tepid given slowdown in economic growth. Asset quality (9.1 percent impaired loans ratio and 14 percent infrastructure exposure) will likely remain underpressure, given peak lending rates and slowing growth," said the Morgan Stanley note to clients Monday.

11:35 am  FII view: Steve Brice Chief Investment Strategist at Standard Chartered Bank continues to maintain a neutral stance on India.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 he said, ''Budget is a hurdle passed. People are still looking towards elections and uncertainty that could create. But the general sentiment internationally is that the election is almost a non-event. We need to get passed it clearly; we will get more certainty afterwards, probably going to get more reform rather than less going forward. So, probably pass the worst as far as the market is concerned.'' He is betting on export-oriented stocks like technology in India.

From the EM basket, he is more positive on markets like South Korea.

11:25 am Take on macros: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan went against majority view in the apex bank's technical advisory committee (TAC) while announcing a surprise 0.25 percent hike in key rates in the January 28 policy review, as per the minutes of an internal meeting which were disclosed on Monday.

Only two members called for a hike in interest rates citing the pressures on inflation, while one asked for the key repo rate to be cut to accommodate concerns on growth while a majority four members asked for a status quo during the meeting on January 20. The ones who were for a rate hike said it will be consistent with the guidance given by the RBI.

11:15 am Buzzing: Shares of Kolte-Patil Developers gained 4 percent intraday on Tuesday after the company expanded its presence in Mumbai by signing two new redevelopment projects in Western Suburbs.

"Jay Vijay CHS is the first project located at Ville Parle East, having a total plot size of 8,979 square meters with the total area of approximately 3.4 lakh square feet. The second project, Jumbo Darshan, is located in Andheri East, with a total plot size of 7,077 square meters and a total area of the approximately 2.6 lakh square feet," the company said in its filing.

Bank stocks are boosting the market. The Sensex is up 165.90 points at 20629.96, and the Nifty is up 51.05 points at 6124.35.About 1200 shares have advanced, 777 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged.

Among the losers in the Sensex are Coal India, Bharti Airtel, GAIL and ITC.

The rupee is down against the dollar, in-line with Asian peers and on dollar purchases by state-owned banks on behalf of oil importers. However, firm local shares restricted its fall. Meanwhile, government bond prices rise as the Reserve Bank of India will support systemic liquidity through a term repo auction today.

Yen slumped while the dollar has reclaimed some lost ground above 80 levels and the euro-dollar is steady at 1.37.

In commodities, Brent is flat ahead of a key meet between Iran and world powers this evening while gold gives up some gains after scaling a 3.5 month high.

10:59am Kolte-Patil soars over 3.5%
Pune-based Kolte-Patil Developers has expanded its presence in Mumbai by signing two new redevelopment projects in Western Suburbs. The two new projects come close on the heels of the company announcing its first redevelopment project on Khar-Linking Road in August 2013.

10:50am Nikkei spikes over 3%
Japan's benchmark index rallied over 3 percent following the Bank of Japan's monetary policy announcement, but the rest of Asian shares fell after enjoying solid gains in recent sessions.

Central banks dominated trade in Asia. The Bank of Japan left monetary policy steady at the conclusion of its two-day meeting and said it will extend special loan facilities by one year. Meanwhile, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia's latest meeting reaffirmed its commitment to a period of rate stability, reports CNBC.

10:40am Hindustan Zinc under pressure
Shares of Hindustan Zinc fell over 4 percent intraday as government will divest its remaining stake only in FY15. Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram has said that disinvestment of government's remaining stake in Hindustan Zinc and Balco will happen in next fiscal year.

The government owns 29.5 percent in Hindustan Zinc and 49 percent in Balco while London-listed Vedanta Resources hold majority in both the companies.

The stake sale is likely to be through auction route as the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has already given its approval government's stake sale.

Meanwhile, presenting Vote on Account in Parliament, Finance Minister P Chidambaram slashed disinvestment target by more than half to Rs 16,027 crore for the current financial year and pegged it at Rs 36,925 crore for 2014-15.

The government has so far managed to raise around Rs 3,500 crore from divestment proceeds.

10:30am Castrol India marginally up post Q4 earnings
Castrol India's fourth quarter (October-December) net profit increased to Rs 126 crore from Rs 118 crore in same quarter last year.

During the same period, net sales jumped to Rs 808 crore versus Rs 758 crore.

10:20am GSK Pharma buyback offer opens today
GlaxoSmithKline Pharma's Rs 6,400 crore open offer begin today and will close on March 5.

Parent company GSK Plc is planning to raise stake in the Indian subsidiary to 75 percent in the 12-day buyback programme.

GSK Plc aims to acquire 2.06 crore shares of GSK Pharma at Rs 3100 per share, a 26 percent premium to the closing price before the open offer was announced.

Hence, the total size of the open offer is Rs 6,390 crore.

10:10am FII View
Jyotivardhan Jaipuria of Bank of America Merrill Lynch said Vote on Account is in line with market expectations.

"The finance minister did not announce any major tax changes. The only minor changes were reduction of excise duty on autos and capital goods. However, these reductions are only till June 2014 and would be reviewed in the regular budget post elections," he elaborated.

Jaipuria expects the market to correct to 19,000-19,500 levels in near-term. "Our year-end target of 23,500 is driven by a positive election outcomes and rate cuts by the RBI," he added.

10:00am: The market gained strong momentum with the Nifty reclaiming the 6100 level supported largely by banking and financials. Bharti Airtel declined marginally post acquisition of Loop Mobile.

The Sensex rose 144.28 points to 20,608.34 and the Nifty climbed 45.90 points to 6,119.20. The broader markets gained too with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.6 percent each.

About two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

BSE Bankex jumped 1.5 percent as country's largest lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank surged between 1-1.7 percent. Housing finance company HDFC rose 1.76 percent.

Shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel climbed 0.5-1 percent.

However, Tata Power declined 0.8 percent on profit taking. The stock had rallied 4.5 percent on Monday after Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister of Delhi on Friday.

State-run ONGC and GAIL fell over 0.7 percent.

9:55 am Market check: Banking stocks are rallying, with the Bank Nifty up over 1 percent. The Sensex is up 129.27 points at 20593.33, and the Nifty is up 41.60 points at 6114.90. About 950 shares have advanced, 466 shares declined, and 67 shares are unchanged.

9:50 am CII meet: Members from the Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party and the newest entrant Aam Aadmi Party laid claim to the dais at the national council meeting of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) yesterday to unveil their economic agenda for the forthcoming national elections in the presence of the country's top industrialists.

The Congress sent one of its most pro-reform leaders, Anand Sharma, who blamed the principal opposition party, BJP, for delaying several key legislations.

''All our decisions in the past five years were challenged [by the opposition],'' the commerce minister said, adding that ''partisan politics had done a lot of damage'' to the country. ''Even if have to sit in the opposition after the elections, we will be committed to the nation unlike the present opposition that keeps blocking important decisions.''

9:40 am Brokerage reaction: Brokerage house Citi does not see automobile companies gaining much from the excise duties announced in the Interim Budget on Monday.

"While this appears to be a positive catalyst for pushing demand growth in an otherwise adverse macro environment, upsides appear limited for now, given, 1) this rate cut is effective only for one month in FY14 and 1QFY15, given it was an interim budget and 2) further continuation of the new low rates will depend on the policy of the next government, hence preventing significant price cuts, we believe," said the Citi note.

9:30 am FII view: Jyotivardhan Jaipuria, Bank of America Merrill Lynch expects the market to correct to 19,000-19,500 levels in near-term. "Our year-end target of 23,500 is driven by a positive election outcomes and rate cuts by the RBI, " he said.

Neelkanth Mishra, Credit Suisse elaborates, "With elections round the corner, we do not expect any incremental slowdown in government spending at the bottom of the pyramid. The lull in infrastructure/heavy investment can though last for at least next six months. We have a buy on Maruti, ITC, Godrej Consumer and sell on L&T, BHEL & SBI."

9:20 am Big deal: Shares of Bharti Airtel are weak as it announced buying out Loop Mobile at Rs 700 crore. As per the agreement, Loop will use Rs 400 crore to repay debt while rest to go to the promoters. The deal will boost Bharti Airtel with Loop Mobile's 3 million subscribers in Mumba, in addition to its over 4 million subscribers. 

The market has opened on a flat note, a day after FM P Chidambaram presented Vote on Account in the Parliament. The Sensex is down 8.14 points at 20455.92, and the Nifty is down 2.00 points at 6071.30.

About 191 shares have advanced, 106 shares declined, and 28 shares are unchanged.

Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite, Bharti Airtel, ITC and L&T are major laggrads in the Sensex. Among the gainers are Cipla, HDFC, M&M, NTPC and Maruti.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower by 11 paise at 61.95 per dollar versus 61.84 Monday.

The yen inched down against its major counterparts in early trade on Tuesday, as investors waited to see if the Bank of Japan would hold policy steady as expected and perhaps hint at the possibility of further easing ahead.The dollar rose about 0.2 percent to 102.10 yen, pulling away from a nearly two-week low of 101.37 yen hit in the previous session, while the euro also added about 0.2 percent on the day to 139.91 yen.

Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank said, "Vote on Account yesterday cheered the markets due to the fact that FM has been able to meet his fiscal targets.The resultant rally in stocks extended to currencies as well with the dollar-rupee pair breaching 62/USD."

"The next support is at 61.70/USD, break of which opens gates to 61/USD. Expect rupee to trade between 61.70-62.40/USD."

The Indian equity market is likely to open flat at 6092 according to SGX Nifty. The market rose 97 points on Monday followed by the Vote on Account presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

Meanwhile, Asian markets opened mixed this morning. The Nikkei raced away to triple digit gains led by a weaker yen. European markets too closed mixed while the US markets were shut for trade.