Sensex, Nifty lose 1%; Infosys & HDFC fall 3%, SBI gains

3:40 pm Market closing: It was another day of profit booking as Sensex lost 184 pts to end at 22323.90. The Nifty was down 62.75 points at 6652.55. About 1215 shares have advanced, 1485 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.

IT stocks were beaten out of shape as Infosys closed 3 percent lower. HDFC too lost 3 percent.  On the gaining side were NTPC, SBI, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and HUL.

3:30 pm Results: Drug maker Lupin posted a 36 percent rise in net profit, beating estimates, to Rs 553 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2014 against Rs 408 crore a year earlier. Total revenue in the quarter grew 20 percent to Rs 3051 crore against Rs 2,537 crore due to growth in its formulation business.

Lupin's formulation business grew 20 percent to Rs 2760 crore from Rs 2294 crore and the API business jumped 20 percent to Rs 291.4 crore against Rs 243.6 crore during the quarter.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) grew 32 percent to Rs 807 crore from Rs 610 crore, while operating margins stood at 26.5 percent against 24 percent on a year-on-year basis.

3:20 pm Market outlook: S Naren, CIO-Equity, ICICI Prudential AMC believes that market is unlikely to see too much volatility around election results, just like it did in 2004 and 2009. However, ''the volatility will be intense and we are prepared for it,'' he adds.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Naren says the Nifty is unlikely to move 10 percent, either side, post elections and since foreign investors have been the major buyers in last couple of months, there may be a chance that domestic investors may buy now in case of a positive election outcome.

"The domestics are not positioned, they are not invested. Whatever indicators we look at, like open interest in derivatives markets, the domestics have hands off approach ahead of the election. The kind of flows we have received after January, looks like foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are betting on an election outcome which results in increased growth in the economy post the election," he said.

The market continued to drag even in the last trading hour. The Sensex is down 130.00 points at 22378.42, and the Nifty is down 47.70 points at 6667.60.

About 1160 shares have advanced, 1419 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

Sun Pharma, HUL, SBI are top gainers in the Sensex. HDFC, GAIL, Bharti Airtel and Wipro are top losers in the Sensex.

Infosys hit 7-month low as UBS downgrades the stock to 'sell' on likely longer turnaround time. UBS cut target price by 32 percent to Rs 2,750 per share and lowers FY15 EPS estimate by 4 percent.

Japan's Nikkei share average tumbled 2.9 percent to a three-week low on Wednesday, posting its biggest daily drop since mid-March, as a stronger yen dragged down exporters and concerns about Ukraine curbed investors' risk appetites.

The Nikkei closed down 424.06 points to 14,033.45, its lowest closing level since April 15.
The broader Topix fell 2.6 percent to 1,152.01, with 2.1 billion shares changing hands, the largest volume since April 11. The new JPX-Nikkei Index 400 dropped 2.5 percent to 10,478.07.

02:50pm Stocks at 52-week high
Stocks like Bharti Infratel, HPCL, Lupin, Max India, Shriram CIty Union and UPL are trading at fresh life-high prices today.

02:40pm Time right to invest in IT; bullish on HCL Tech: Nomura
Although the CNX IT index is down at a five month low with IT major Infosys down close to around 3 percent Ashwin Mehta of Nomura sees this an opportunity to invest in the sector than be too worried about it because the under lying strength for the sector still remains positive.

02:30pm Midcap Stars
Midcap stocks like Gujarat Pipavav (up 8.78%), IRB Infra (up 7.08%), Arvind (up 4.34%), Rallis India (up 4.00%) and IIFL Holdings (up 3.71%) were minting money for traders.

02:20pm Market outlook: Kora says good time for investing in India; suggests buys
Nitin Saigal, CIO, Kora says the business sentiment in India has improved substantially. He says a lot of businesses in India are trading at trough valuations

He is bullish on Bharti Infratel on improving demand picture. He says mobile data is seeing exponential growth in India. He expects Bharti Infratel stock to double in the next 3-5 years. He also likes Shriram Transport Finance and Bajaj Finance.

02:10pm Opto Circuits jumps 6% on fund raising plans
Shares of Opto Circuits jumped over 6 percent intraday on Wednesday as it is looking to raise up to USD 250 million by issuing securities. The company's net debt stands at Rs 1400 crore.

02:00pm Indian shares saw profit booking in trade today amid low volumes. IT stocks saw massive sell-off today and dragged the Nifty below 6700.

The Sensex was down 133.44 points or 0.59 percent at 22374.98, and the Nifty was down 42.20 points or 0.63 percent at 6673.10. About 1184 shares advanced, 1311 shares declined, and 148 shares were unchanged.

Top losers in the Nifty were HCL Tech (down 3.66 percent), Infosys (down 3.42 percent), Tech Mahindra (down 2.86 percent), UltraTechCement (down 2.86 percent) and Wipro (down 2.44 percent).

BPCL (up 2.34 percent), NTPC (up 1.75 percent), Sun Pharma (up 1.53 percent), SBI (up 1.49 percent) and Power Grid (up 1.07 percent) were top gainers.

The most active shares on NSE were ICICI Bank, Infosys, SBI, TCS and UPL.

MCX Gold was trading at Rs 29000, up 0.4 percent while Indian rupee depreciated 7 paise to 60.04 against US dollar.

2:00 In action: Shares of Opto Circuits jumped over 6 percent intraday as it is looking to raise up to USD 250 million by issuing securities. The company's net debt stands at Rs 1400 crore

The board approved raising funds by issuing securities, including global depositary receipts (GDRs), American depository receipts (ADRs) and convertible debentures, bonds or warrants up to an aggregate amount not exceeding USD 250 million, the company said in a BSE filing.

Opto Circuits said the board also approved increasing the authorised share capital to Rs 700 crore from Rs 300 crore at present and making amendments to the memorandum of association in this regard.

1:55 pm Buzzing: Shares of Gati surged 9 percent intraday on robust March quarter earnings. The logistics firm posted a 83 percent rise in net profit at Rs 13.81 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Total income of the company, too,  rose to Rs 383.29 crore as compared to Rs 316.59 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

For the nine-months period ended March 31, 2014, the company recorded a net profit after tax at Rs 28.31 crore crore.

1:45 pm Bank norms: The RBI has ordered banks not to penalise customers over minimum account balance. Currently, state-run banks like State Bank of India do not penalise their customers for not maintaining minimum balance. But private banks penalise their customers to the tune of Rs 750 every quarter.

Meanwhile, RBI has barred banks from levying foreclosure charges on individual borrowers for all floating rate loans with immediate effect, it said in a release on Wednesday.

1:30 pm Result impact:  Shares of Gujarat Pipavav Port hit record high, up 15 percent intraday on Wednesday post its strong March quarter results. The stock has soared nearly 90 percent in a year and around 58 percent year-to-date (YTD).

The company's first quarter of FY15 (January-March) net profit grew 74 percent at Rs 61 crore on sales of Rs 144 crore (up 26 percent) year-on-year.
 
Brokerages are mixed on its results. Both Citi and Macquarie suggest to buy it with target price of Rs 104 and Rs 115 respectively. Strong business momentum, volume growth and improved realisation of Gujarat Pipavav impressed Citi.

The market is in profit taking mode dragged by IT heavyweights Infosys and Wipro. Capital goods, consumer durables gain in trade today. In broader markets, midcaps and smallcaps outshine benchmark indices.

The Sensex is down 112.30 points at 22396.12, and the Nifty is down 36.05 points at 6679.25. About 1196 shares advanced, 1211 shares declined, and 138 shares are unchanged.

Infosys, Wipro, TCS fall 1-3 percent each while Bharti Airtel and HDFC are other laggards. Sun Pharma, NTPC,SBI and Axis Bank still continue to see buying interest.

Asian markets sell-off with Japan leading declines. The Nikkei fell to its lowest level since April 16 on a stronger yen. Europe opened weak as mounting tensions in Ukraine weigh on sentiment.

The rupee manages to trade at four-week highs taking cues from dollar's broad weakness globally. Likely dollar bids by state-owned banks expected to limit further gains.

12:55 pm Rating: Shares of CESC rose after Deutsche Bank initiated its coverage with a "buy" rating and a target price of Rs 625 for the power utility and retailer.

Deutsche cited optimism about CESC's core power business, a turnaround in its retail operations and its potential earnings growth.

12:45 am Buzzing: Shares of Gujarat Pipavav Port hit record high, up 15 percent on strong March quarter results. The stock has soared nearly 90 percent in a year and around 58 percent year-to-date (YTD).

Brokerages are mixed on its results. Both Citi and Macquarie suggest to buy it with target price of Rs 104 and Rs 115 respectively. Strong business momentum, volume growth and improved realisation of Gujarat Pipavav impressed Citi.

According to Macquarie, numbers were well ahead estimates and strong margin expansion is impressive.

12:30 pm F&O strategy: Yogesh Radke, Head of Quantitative Research of Edelweiss Securities does not expect market volatility to reach 2009-highs.

Radke advises buying 6800 call and shorting 7100/7200 call option as this strategy will give gains from the upside but even if there is some amount of downside, one can be protected.

Another strategy that he advises to not incur significant losses if the market moves sharply around 7,400 levels is the butterfly spread by buying 6800 and 7400 call and sell 7100 call options.

The market has slid southwards as the Nifty also slips below 6700. The Nifty is down 29.60 points at 6685.70 and the Sensex is down 98.11 points at 22410.31.

About 1156 shares have advanced, 1102 shares declined, and 131 shares are unchanged.

Selling pressure in IT stocks intensifies with the index down 2 percent from previous close. Wipro, Infosys and TCS fall 1-3 percent. Sun Pharma, NTPC, SBI, BHEL and ONGC are top gainers in the Sensex.

Asian shares stumbled to a one-month low and the safe-haven yen hovered just below a multi-month high against the dollar on Wednesday as the heightened possibility of Ukraine slipping into civil war depressed risk appetite.Ukraine has so far experienced its deadliest week since the separatist uprising began, leaving less room for peace efforts.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7 percent after touching its lowest point since April 2. Japan's Nikkei lost 2.5 percent, tracking Tuesday's fall on Wall Street.

The grim situation in Ukraine is expected to weigh on European shares, with spreadbetters predicting Britain's FTSE 100 to open as much as 0.3 percent lower, Germany's DAX to fall 0.28 percent and France's CAC 40 was seen off 0.29 percent.

11:45 am Coal Import: India's coal imports fell 6 percent in April from a year ago to 15.2 million tonnes, the first dip in three months, as power and steel producers used up stocks piled up in previous months, according to provisional data from research firm OreTeam.

Overseas coal purchases by India, the world's third-largest importer, rose in all but one month of the year that ended on March 31, mainly spurred by lower prices and as power companies added capacity.

"The fall in April can be attributed mainly to adequate stocking in previous months," said OreTeam research head Prakash Duvvuri. "Also, a good stockpile of coal is visible at ports with no disruptions expected in the coming months."

11:30 am Market outlook: Nitin Saigal, CIO, Kora says the business sentiment in India has improved substantially. He says a lot of businesses in India are trading at trough valuations. ''We are quite excited about the Indian market. India has a very fertile investing environment,'' he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Saigal believes it is prudent to be sector-agnostic in this market. He advises staying away from PSUs where policy changes may impact future. Also, he urges investors to stay away from commodity sectors. He is bullish on Bharti Infratel on improving demand picture. He says mobile data is seeing exponential growth in India. He expects Bharti Infratel stock to double in the next 3-5 years.

The market is unable to make any movement waiting patiently as Lok Sabha election results will be out on May 16. The Sensex is down 41.93 points at 22466.49, and the Nifty is down 11.90 points at 6703.40.

About 1115 shares have advanced, 887 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.

Midcap stocks are outperforming with gainers like Gujarat Pipavav, UPL and Sadbhav Engineering. Sun Pharma, BHEL, Cipla, ONGC and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex. IT stocks are weak.

The fate of 897 candidates will be sealed on Wednesday, May 7 as voting was being held across 64 constituencies in seven states. Some of the key candidates include Congress's Rahul Gandhi, BJP leaders Varun Gandhi, Shanta Kumar, Major General BC Khanduri and Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, RJD nominee Rabri Devi, YSR Congress Party leader YS Vijayalakshmi and Moon Moon Sen of the TMC will be decided by 9,55,22,471 voters at 1,07,430 polling stations.

Meanwhile, the rupee is at a four-week high taking cues from dollar's broad weakness and on positive domestic market sentiment. Gilts are steady, moving with a weak bias due to lack of firm cues. Buying by state-owned banks on Tuesday boosts sentiment.

The dollar index slid to its lowest level in six months. The yen has strengthened to three-week highs and the euro is at its highest levels in two months. Gold holds its ground on safe haven buying and a softer dollar. Brent crude edged up marginally.

Asian markets are lower with Japan leading declines. The Nikkei falls to its lowest level since April 16 on a stronger yen.

10:50 am Buzzing: Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) gain 1.3 percent while Oil and Natural Gas Corp is up 0.42 percent after Anadarko Petroleum Corp on Monday raised its reserve estimates for a Mozambique asset where the two Indian energy companies own stakes.

Anadarko revised the total estimated recoverable resources from its Offshore Area 1 (Rovuma basin) to a range of 50 to 70-plus trillion cubic feet of natural gas from 45-70 plus tcf earlier.

BPCL holds 10 percent in the Mozambique asset, while ONGC holds 16 percent. ONGC Videsh has 4 percent.

10:40 am Results impact: Shares of Titan jumped over 3 percent on Wednesday, building on yesterday's gain post strong March quarter results. Its Q4 net profit jumped 11.6 percent 11.6 percent to Rs 206.44 crore from Rs 184.97 crore on yearly basis.

Brokerages are mixed on the stock. Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a buy rating on it with a raised target of Rs 320. It sees upside risk to estimates from stronger-than-expected pick up in jewellery and watches. The firm says its growth can pick up in FY15 / 16 estimates and same store sales growth may bottom out in jewellery and watches due to leading indicators turning positive.

However, both CLSA and Citi advise to sell the stock.

10:30 am Elections: With 64 seats going to polls today and with the fates of many big guns in the fray, phase 8 of the Lok Sabha polls promises to be an interesting one. In 2009, Congress won 34 of the 64 seats. But this phase may be a make or break for BJP in Uttar Pradesh. But the problem for BJP here is not only does it not have cadre on the ground, it doesn't even have the kind of caste loyalty which the BSP and SP enjoy in the state.

10:20 am Downgrade: UBS has downgraded Infosys to sell from buy. It has also slashed target price to Rs 2750 from Rs 4050, warning that focus on margins in a revenue-driven model could hurt Infosys' market share.

The brokerage says it is puzzled by the company's decision to report margin increases in the past few quarters, even as revenue growth trajectory has begun to slow once again.

Sounding cautious, UBS believes the next wave of growth for large Indian IT vendors will be led by infrastructure services and business process outsourcing (BPO) and these accounts for less than 15 percent of Infosys' revenue compared with 25-35 percent for TCS and HCL Tech.

The market is still flat. The Sensex is down 34.83 points at 22473.59 and the Nifty is down 10.90 points at 6704.40. About 817 shares have advanced, 699 shares declined, and 84 shares are unchanged.

Sun Pharma, Cipla, NTPC, BHEL and ONGC are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the laggards are Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Hindalco, HDFC and Bajaj Auto.

The rupee is trading at 60.04/05 versus its previous close of 60.11/12 on broad losses in the dollar versus other major and regional units, but a sharp fall will be averted on caution ahead of the national elections outcome next week.

The rupee is seen holding in a 59.90 to 60.30 range initially during the session with traders monitoring domestic share moves for cues on foreign fund flows.

The New Zealand dollar tumbled after the country's central bank warned it may have to intervene to weaken the currency, while the US dollar languished at six-month lows against a basket of major currencies.

Asian shares fell to a one-month low and the safe-haven yen hovered just below a multi-month high against the dollar in early trade as the heightened possibility of Ukraine slipping into civil war dampened risk sentiment.

Ukraine has so far experienced its deadliest week since the separatist uprising began, leaving less room for peace efforts. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.6 percent after touching its lowest point since April 2. Japan's Nikkei lost 2.3 percent, tracking Tuesday's fall on Wall Street.

9:50 am FII view: Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities said that, "Indian market paused for a breather in April, as investors await the crucial election verdict.''

''No clear trend was evident in sector performance, as the high beta realty was top underperformer, followed by the defensive FMCG. Healthcare was the top performer followed by cyclicals, banks and cap goods," he added.

9:40 am Results: Titan Company reported 11.6 percent increase in net profit at Rs 206.44 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014. The company had reported net profit of Rs 184.97 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Titan's net sales were at Rs 2,786.81 crore during Q4, 2013-14, an increase of 7.46 percent as against Rs 2,593.13 crore in the year-ago period. Commenting on the results, Titan Industries Managing Director Bhaskar Bhat said: "The year 2013-14 was a challenging year given the economic environment that was subdued. The year also witnessed other adverse factors like the regulatory changes that impacted our jewellery business."

9:30 am  Downgrade: UBS downgrades Infosys to "sell" from "buy" and cut its target price to Rs 2,750 from Rs 4,050, saying a turnaround at the IT outsourcer could take longer than expected.

UBS adds it expects the next wave of growth for the sector to be led by infrastructure services and business process outsourcing, which account for less of Infosys' revenue than competitors such as Tata Consultancy Services or HCL Technologies.

UBS also cites Infosys "high" staff attrition and its focus on boosting margins at the expense of stabilising revenue and market share as other risk factors.

The market has once again opened on a flat note. The Sensex is down 13.46 points at 22494.96, and the Nifty down 6.70 points at 6708.60. About 276 shares have advanced, 125 shares declined, and 16 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, NTPC, GAIL, BHEL and ITC are top gainers in the Sensex while HDFC Bank, Wipro, Maruti, Axis Bank and Infosys.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 60.04 per dollar versus 60.11 Tuesday.

The dollar fell against the currencies of major US trading partners, especially the euro, which rose on data showing a strong European Service Sector.The yen traded near Tuesday's three-week high of 101.48 per dollar and is up 0.5 percent in the past week.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said that, "Dollar-rupee pair is expected to trade strong amid continued corporate dollar sales and after HSBC services sector data boosted confidence in the market."

"Also strong equities are likely to underpin rupee in short term. The range for the day is seen between 59.77-60.25/dollar," he added.

In the US, stocks declined sharply, a day after the Dow industrials and S&P 500 closed near record highs, as American international group reported a decline in profit and Twitter fell as insiders got their first opportunity to sell since the company's initial public offering. The CBOE volatility index, a measure of investor uncertainty rose 3.8 percent to 13.80.

In commodities, NYMEX crude rose as expectations of a build in inventories were undermined by record low stocks at the benchmark's delivery point, while Brent was near flat, weighing the Ukraine crisis against rebounding Libyan supplies.

From precious metals space, gold prices hovered around 1310 dollar levels In other news, South Africa is gearing up for the first election today since the death of its first black president and post-apartheid figurehead, Nelson Mandela. However, the party he led to election victory in 1994, which has dominated the country's politics ever since, could be falling out of favour with voters. South Africa's economy has been on a slow downward grind over the past few years.