Nifty ends below 8250, Sensex up 154 points; banks in red

3:30 Market close: The market ended on higher note. The Sensex closed up 153.95 points or 0.6 percent at 27395.73, and the Nifty was up 45.60 points at 8246.30. About 1616 shares have advanced, 1312 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged.

Metal stocks ruled the roost with Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco and Coal India gaining 2-4 percent each. Other gainers in the Sensex were Tata Motors and Hero Motocorp.

Bharti Airtel fell  over 1 percent while banks in red with some marginal loss. ICICI Bank and SBI were down 0.2-0.6 percent.

3:10 pm Market data: The level of investments in domestic shares through participatory notes (P-Notes) declined to Rs 2.5 lakh crore (USD 39 billion) in November after hitting nearly a 7-year high in the preceding month.

According to the data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the total value of P-Note investments in Indian markets (equity, debt and derivatives) dropped to Rs 2,49,210 crore last month from Rs 2,65,675 crore (USD 43 billion) in October.

Investment in October was the highest level since February 2008, when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 3,22,743 crore.

2:50 pm Building muscles in 2015? Talwalkars Better Value Fitness Limited, popularly known as Talwalkars has set out an aggressive gym expansion plan for 2015 with its operations commencing by June.

Company CFO Anant Gawande is confident of beating their 20 percent profit growth guidance by 6-7 percent in the current fiscal backed by Q4 performance being stronger than Q3. In addition, he sees share of value added services advancing to 35 percent from 22-23 percent in 3-4 years.

Being country's largest chain of health clubs, the company is now set to rollout state of the art club, which is anticipated to generate revenues Q3FY16 onwards, he says in an interview with CNBC-TV18's Sumaira Abidi and Reema Tendulkar.

Meanwhile, its market share stands at 16 percent of organised market and capex stands at Rs 85 crore for FY15.

2:30 pm Buzzing: Metal stocks like Hindalco and Tata Steel are also up 2-3 percent with the index gaining 2.4 percent. The new found love for metal stocks is because the cabinet is likely to take up Land and Mining ordinances this week which may give Centre few discretionary powers over states.

According to CNBC-TV18 exclusive, the mining ordinance may give the Central government discretionary powers over states incase they take too long to renew or give licences for mining and introduce strong penalties in case of any wrongdoings. The mining ordinance is to do with amendments to MMRDA Act.

Kotak has upgraded Sesa Sterlite to buy from a reduce rating. The brokerage has set a target price of Rs 250 on the stock, stating that Sesa Sterlite is likely to gain most from the coal mining auctions.

The market gives up some of its gains, but still holding firm. The Sensex is up 165.21 points at 27406.99 and the Nifty up 50.30 points at 8251. About 1682 shares have advanced, 1067 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite is up 4 percent. Other gainers are Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Steel and Tata Motors. Axis Bank, M&M and ICICI Bank are in red.

As stock market authorities prepare a new framework for risk-based supervision of various
market entities, top exchanges BSE and NSE have extended the deadline for brokers to submit necessary details for putting in place this new model. The two exchanges had earlier asked their members to provide necessary details by December 24 for this risk-based supervision module.

Meanwhile, the economy is expected to grow "much better" in 2015-16 as compared with the current financial year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said. The Indian economy grew by 5.3 percent in the September quarter from a year earlier, and is expected to grow 5.5 percent in the current financial year that ends on March 31.

1:50 pm Interview: Shriram City Union Finance is targeting a 20 percent growth in its two-wheeler loan book this fiscal books, says NBFC's executive irector, Subhasri Sriram. In an interview with CNBC-TV18,  Sriram says the company is expecting consisting growth in the enterprise and two-wheeler segments. She says loans against gold have declined and that has affected the overall loan book. Still she is hopeful of a 20 percent increase in overall disbursements this year.

1:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Larsen and Toubro jumped 1 percent intraday after it bagged an order. Its subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering has won a contract worth Rs 894 crore from ONGC for additional development in Vasai East project.

The contract, won against international competitive bidding, includes total Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Installation (EPCI) of two wellhead platforms, subsea pipelines and modification of existing facilities in Heera-Panna-Bassein Block of Mumbai Offshore.

Commenting on the order win, Morgan Stanley says that there needs to be a significant step-up in announcements over the next fortnight to avoid disappointment to market expectations, especially after the strong domestic led inflows in F2Q15.

The market is maintaining its uptrend with support from metals and auto stocks. The Sensex is up 155.21 points or 0.6 percent at 27396.99 and the Nifty is up 44.45 points or 0.5 percent at 8245.15. About 1651 shares have advanced, 980 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, Tata Steel, Coal India and Tata Motors are top gainers in the Sensex while Axis Bank, SBI and M&M are in red.

Inflows of foreign direct investment into India rose by about 25 percent to USD 17.35 billion in the April-October period of the current fiscal, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Improvement in the macroeconomic situation and investor sentiment on account of a series of steps taken by the new government helped attract higher FDI, she said. In April-October 2013, the country had received USD 13.82 billion foreign inflows.

12:50 pm Market outlook: Investors had lots of hopes from the Winter session, but after its complete washout, between now and the Budget, Ajay Bodke of Prabhudas Lilladher sees the Nifty consolidate between 8000 on the lower side and the previous highs on the upside. He believes that the government needs to push through as many administrative reforms as it can and also take up pending reforms such as the land bill to make it easier for infrastructure companies to acquire land. Bodke believes that the third quarter earnings will be on expected lines.

He still has a base case of Nifty earnings growth at 13.5-14 percent in FY15. He feels among cyclical stocks, auto companies will lead the market. He recommends investors to buy Infosys and Tech Mahindra with a one-year view among large-cap IT stocks and Mindtree in midcap IT space.

12:30 pm Big gains: Shares of United Breweries Holdings rose 16 percent intraday after Calcutta High Court has dismissed United Bank of India (UBI)'s decision to declare his grounded Kingfisher Airlines a wilful defaulter.

Earlier in September, UBI had declared Kingfisher Airlines and its chairman Vijay Mallya wilful defaulters for non-payment of Rs 400 crore of dues. Three company directors include Subhash R Gupte, Ravi Nedungadi and Anil Kumar Ganguly.

UB Holdings is parent company of the ailing airline company. The airline company has unpaid loans of about Rs 6,500 crore, borrowed from a consortium of 17 banks.

The market consolidates with the Nifty hold the 8250-levels quite comfortably. The 50-share index is up up 63.85 points or 0.8 percent at 8264.55. The Sensex is up 210.09 points or 0.8 percent at 27451.87. About 1634 shares have advanced, 875 shares declined, and 79 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite is up 4.5 percent while Hindalco, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex.

Japanese stocks turned negative after the health ministry announced a suspected case of the deadly Ebola virus, spooking investors but boosting health-related shares. The Nikkei benchmark fell 0.5 percent to close at 17,729.84 points, wiping out early gains inspired by last week's strong Wall Street performance.

The Nikkei is on track for a yearly rise of almost 9 percent as the weak yen and aggressive asset buying by the Bank of Japan have helped offset the country's disappointing economic performance. In 2013 it climbed a massive 57 percent on the back of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's easy-money policies. Tuesday is the final trading day of 2014 for Japanese markets.

11:50 pm Exclusive: With 70 percent of its lending coming from the individual segment, Keki Mistry, vice-chairman and CEO, HDFC says there was no decline in lending over the past three years despite economic slowdown. However, non-individual segment lending saw slowdown over the same period. But on the brighter side, there has been a mild pick-up in incremental lending in the last few months on the non-individual side, he adds.

According to him, though inflation is low, the Reserve Bank of India will wait for the Budget – see the fiscal deficit number and the Budget fineprint – before lowering rates. Lower rates, in turn, may lead to a pick up in housing loan demand in metros, says Mistry, while adding that growth has mainly been coming from tier II and tier III cities. He also sees the cost of money coming down in the coming quarters. 2015, according to him, will also see lower borrowing and hence lower lending rates.

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Glenmark Pharma jumped over 3 percent intraday as media reports indicate that it is set to out-license its molecule for pain management.

As per the report, the Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company is is in talks with a few multinational giants and a deal is likely to be sewed soon.

''Under the out-licensing deal, Glenmark's partner will take the molecule through the remaining processes of drug development. Glenmark will get milestone payments after successful completion of each phase. It will also get royalties, as well as marketing rights for certain countries, once the drug hits the market,'' the media report says.

The market is comfortably holding on its gains. The Sensex is up 212.38 points or 0.8 percent at 27454.16. The Nifty is up 63.85 points or 0.8 percent at 8264.55. About 1557 shares have advanced, 684 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

Brokers said revival of buying by foreign funds, though selective on the Indian bourses after remaining net sellers and buying by retail investors, buoyed trading sentiments.

Bharti Airtel is in focus as the company has decided not to implement the proposed launch of VoIP packs. Metal stocks led by Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Tata Motors and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex.

Rupee, however, has fallen due to persistent month end dollar demand.

Globally, Asia is mixed. The Nikkei has given up all of its gains reacting to a suspected Ebola case spooking sentiment.

US crude rose more than USD 1 in early Asian trade, reversing a fall in the previous session as escalating clashes in Libya threatened oil exports and supply disruptions from the OPEC member. Both US crude and Brent climbed on renewed geopolitical concerns and the possibility of increased demand for oil on new fiscal stimulus packages by China and Japan.

10:50 am Buzzing: Shares of Aban Offshore soared over 13 percent intraday after Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) Ratings upgraded. The rating agency has revised credit rating of bank facilities of Aban Offshore by 3 notches to BB- from D.

CARE notes that timely deployment of rigs going off the contract, optimum deployment of its fleet, changes in day rates, effective cash flow management notwithstanding improvement in liquidity position in the recent past would be key rating upgrade parameters.

''The revision in the ratings assigned to the bank facilities of Aban takes into account improvement in capital structure consequent to mobilization of fresh equity during FY14 (refers to the period April 1 to March 31) and H1FY15, improvement in the financial performance during FY14 and H1FY15 and completion of refinancing of debt at the group level,'' CARE said in a note.

10:30 am FM's speech:  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that radical steps needed to be taken to boost manufacturing in the country.

''Manufacturing is where the jobs are,'' Jaitley said at a public event, adding the sector had the potential to grow at 13-14 percent. He said the entry point into manufacturing had to be eased to be able to create more jobs.

Referring to RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan's remark that the Make in India campaign should be targeted more towards domestic demand and not so much the export market, Jaitley said: ''Whether Make in India is made for consumers within India or consumers outside, is not so relevant. The principle today is that consumers across the world like to buy products that are cheaper and of good quality.''

Jaitley said growth in FY16 would be better than that in this fiscal.

Equity benchmarks continued to see buying interest with the Sensex rising 183.65 points to 27425.43 and the Nifty climbing 55.40 points to 8256.10.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gaining 0.8 percent. More than three shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Sesa Sterlite topped the buying list, up 3 percent followed by Tata Motors, ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco Industries and GAIL with 1-2 percent gains. Tata Steel rose 1.4 percent after the steel maker started mining operations in 4 Odisha mines on December 15.

Engineering and construction major L&T advanced nearly a percent after its subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering received order worth Rs 894 crore from ONGC.

In the broader space, RPP Infra gained more than 3 percent on bagging Rs 48 crore order from TN Water Supply & Drainage Board.

9:50 am Buzzing: Shares of Career Point gained more than 12 percent on signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Rajasthan Skills and Livelihood Development Corporation (RSLDC).

RSLDC is an initiative of the Government of Rajasthan and this agreement is to cater needs of skill development and training opportunities.

As per the guidelines under MoU, RSLDC will provide financial assistance through grant-in-aid received from the state government to employment linked skill training programme (ELSTP) courses run by Career Point.

9:35 am Few more ordinances? After coal and insurance ordinances, the Cabinet is likely to pick up land and mining ordinance as well. The prime minister's office (PMO), finance minister Arun Jaitley and the law minister finalized two ordinances over the weekend. The land ordinance will not change Land Act Compensation Clause.

It is only aimed at simplifying land acquisition for PPP projects and may do away with social impact study for PPP. The mining ordinance may give the Central government discretionary powers over states and introduce strong penalties in case of any wrongdoings. The mining ordinance is to do with amendments to MMRDA. The government has also invited public comments.

9:20 am Market check: Metals and auto stocks are driving the market higher. The Sensex sprinted to 27490.51, up 248.73 points or 0.9 percent while Nifty  is up 67.55 points or 0.8 percent at 8268.25. About 816 shares have advanced, 218 shares declined, and 30 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, HUL, ONGC and Tata Motors are top gainers in the Sensex.

The market has opened last trading week of the year with marginal gains. The Sensex is up 72.01 points at 27313.79 and the Nifty s up 15.70 points at 8216.40. About 417 shares have advanced, 135 shares declined, and 35 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, L&T, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Motors and ONGC are gainers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee declined in the early trade. It opened lower by 10 paise at 63.66 per dollar versus 63.56 Friday.

The dollar began the final week of 2014 on firm footing, as the euro flirted with two-year lows while investors awaited a key vote in Greece later in the session. Activity is likely to be thin this week ahead of the New Year's holiday and many investors have already closed out their positions.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Lack of cues will lead to currency markets taking cues from equity markets for their movement. Local equity markets are likely to trade sideways today and will take cues from global markets for further directions.''

In commodities, Nymex crude rose more than USD 1, reversing a fall in the previous session as escalating clashes in Libya threatened oil exports and supply disruptions from the OPEC member.

From precious metals space, gold prices were steady, as crude oil prices flattened.