Sensex ends marginally lower, Nifty holds 8550; NTPC up 3%

03:30pm Market Closing: The market closed marginally lower on Monday. The Sensex shed 69.06 points to 28192.02 and the Nifty lost 20 points to 8550.90.

More than two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

State-run power equipment maker BHEL fell nearly 4 percent. ICICI Bank, Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, SBI, ITC, Axis Bank and Wipro were down 0.5-1.7 percent.

However, Hindalco and NTPC topped the buying list, up 3 percent each. ONGC, Hero Motocorp, GAIL and Sesa Sterlite gained 1-1.7 percent.

03:20pm Fiscal Deficit: The government is on course to meet its fiscal year 2014-15 deficit target of 4.1 percent it outlined in the Union Budget in February, expenditure secretary R Wattal told CNBC-TV18.

This is despite the government likely falling short of meeting its telecom-receipts target of Rs 43,161 crore in the Budget.

Of the telecom receipts, the government had forecast about Rs 12,000 crore from the ongoing spectrum auction, which may not accrue this year.

However, the government has enough fiscal space to absorb the gap, according to the secretary.

03:10pm Market Update: The Sensex fell 75.45 points to 28185.63 and the Nifty declined 28.35 points to 8542.55. About 893 shares have advanced, 1981 shares declined, and 187 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:50pm MRF in News: The tyre maker says as part of its expansion plan, proposes to invest Rs 4,500 crore in its plants at Perambalur and Arakonam in Tamil Nadu over a period of 7 years.

The Government of Tamil Nadu considered the above proposal and has decided to accord 'Ultra Mega Project Status' under the Tamil Nadu Industrial Policy, 2014.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the Government and the company in this regard is expected to be signed shortly, it added.

02:25pm Sugar prices at 5-year low: With sugar prices in India falling to five-year lows, Shree Renuka Sugars MD Narendra Murkumbi said he expects prices to bottom out by March 31 and improve 5-10 percent from April.

The current collapse – sugar prices in Maharashtra are reining at Rs 23/kg versus quarterly average of Rs 25.5 – is because companies have sold inventory to make payments by March 31.

Overall domestic sugar production is seen at 26.5 million tonne and is expected to exceed demand by 1.8 mt, according to Murkumbi.

The state government in Maharashtra, where supply outstrips demand the most, may provide an additional export subsidy of Rs 1,000 per tonne, he said, over and above the central subsidy.

02:00pm Market Check:
The market marginally declined amid consolidation in afternoon trade, dragged by banks and index heavyweights like Reliance Industries & Infosys.

The Sensex slipped 60.42 points to 28200.66 and the Nifty fell 19.75 points to 8551.15. The broader markets extended fall; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices dropped 0.7 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

More than two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

BHEL plunged over 3 percent. Shares of Infosys, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Wipro fell 1-1.7 percent. However, NTPC and Hindalco bucked the trend with 2.7 percent gains.

1:53pm Coal India & JSPL in focus: Coal ministry has allocated 3 cancelled coal blocks of JSPL to Coal India, reports CNBC-Awaaz.

01:25pm Cipla in focus:  Stempeutics Research, a group company of Manipal Education and Medical Group and a joint venture with Cipla Group, announced today that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted Advanced Therapy Medicinal
Product classification for its novel stem cell drug 'Stempeucel'.

Stempeucel will be used for the treatment of Thromboangiitis Obliterans (TAO). The ATMP classification, approved by the committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) of the European Medicines Agency, will allow Stempeutics to commercialise the product 'Stempeucel' across the European Union region.

01:00pm Market Check:
The market remained in a consolidation mode ahead of expiry of March derivative contracts this week. The Sensex gained 37.36 points at 28298.44 and the Nifty rose 10.50 points to 8581.40.

The 5-6 percent downside seen in the Indian equity market is not a full fledged correction, it would be a correction only in case the market goes down 10 percent or so, says Deepak Shenoy of Capital Mind.

The broader markets continued to trade lower with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap falling around 0.5 percent. About 908 shares have advanced, 1704 shares declined, and 185 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
 
Jindal Steel, SBI, Wockhardt, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Ushdev International, Adani Ports and Sun Pharma Advanced Research were most active shares on exchanges.

Hindalco Industries extended gains to 3 percent after the government accepted bids for Dumri coal block won by the company. Tata Motors, M&M, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Tata Steel and GAIL gained 1-2 percent. However, Reliance Industries and BHEL dropped 1-2 percent. Infosys, SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India and Wipro also lost ground.

12:40pm SpiceJet rallies: Spicejet today entered into settlement agreement with its lessor (Wilmington Trust SP Services (Dublin) Limited) with regard to aircraft operated by the company.

Under the said settlement agreement, the lessor has agreed to withdrawal of court proceedings and deregistration process of aircraft subject to SpiceJet satisfying the terms of settlement.

12:20pm GMR in focus: GMR Infra today said its parent company GMR Holding has completed financing arrangements for its rights issue and has tied up Rs 1,250 crore to fund it.

"GMR Holdings Private Limited has secured funding of Rs 1,250 crore from KKR Capital Markets India Private Limited and its co-investors and definitive documents in this regard have already been executed, GMR Infrastructure said in a filing to the BSE. The funding arranged constitutes about 89.17 percent of the size of the rights issue, the filing said.

"Of the total Rs 1,250 crore, an amount of Rs 1,130 crore has already been drawn and balance is expected to be drawn shortly," it added.

GMR Holding will utilise the funds to subscribe to the rights issue of GMR Infrastructure. The company said it will also subscribe to the re-subscribed portion, if any, of the rights issue.

12:00pm Market Check
The market continued to be in a narrow range. The Sensex advanced 67.95 points to 28329.03 and the Nifty rose 18.70 points to 8589.60 whereas the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices lost 0.3-0.6 percent.

About 909 shares have advanced, 1552 shares declined, and 191 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Shares of Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC, HUL, NTPC, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, Tata Steel and GAIL gained 1-2 percent whereas BHEL falls 2 percent. Index heavyweights like Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC and ITC declined marginally.
 
JSPL tumbled 9 percent as government rejected bids for its Gare Palma IV 2 and 3 as well as the Tara coal block. The management told CNBC-TV18 that the company is shocked with the government's decision and believes that their bids were very competitive. CNBC-TV18 learnt that the Delhi High Court agreed to hear company's plea with respect to cancellation of the 3 coal block bids.

Usha Martin spiked close to 14 percent as the government accepted bids for Brinda and Sasai coal block won by company. Hindalco Industries rallied 2.5 percent as the government accepted bids for Dumri coal block won by the company.

Sun Pharma gained 1.8 percent as the US Federal Trade Commission passed final order on Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy merger deal. However, there is setback for Glenmark, which lost 1.7 percent as the Delhi High Court restrained the company from manufacturing and marketing its anti-diabetic drugs Zita & Zita Met.

Globally, Asian markets remained mostly higher. Nikkei and Shanghai traded at multi-year highs following a pullback in US dollar. In commodities, Brent crude slipped to USD 54 per barrel.

10:40am JSPL in focus: Sources told CNBC-TV18 that Jindal Steel & Power is likely to move Delhi High Court today to challenge cancellation of bids for 3 blocks.

JSPL is likely to be represented by Kapil Sibal.

In recent coal block auction, JSPL won Tara block for Rs 126 per tonne and Gare Palma IV/2 & Gare Palma IV/3 at Rs 108 per tonne.

10:20am Market Expert: The 5-6 percent downside seen in the Indian equity market is not a full fledged correction, it would be a correction only in case the market goes down 10 percent or so is the word coming in from Deepak Shenoy of Capital Mind.

In this correction, one could look at buying largecap FMCG stocks and midcap pharma, says Shenoy.

He is not very optimistic on banking sector but does not advise a sell for those holding them. In case the banks decide to pass on the RBI interest rate cut then they could become a buy, adds Shenoy.

10:00am Market Check
The market remained volatile with the Nifty moving in a range of 8550-8600. Telecom, oil, FMCG, pharma and select private banks gained.

The Sensex rose 54.85 points to 28315.93 and the Nifty advanced 7.75 points to 8578.65. However, the broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices falling 0.4 percent each.

About 745 shares have advanced, 1124 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Bharti Airtel climbed over 2 percent followed by NTPC and HUL with a percent gains.

Hindalco gained 1 percent and Usha Martin surged 15 percent. The government accepted bids for Brinda & Sasai coal block won by Usha Martin at Rs 1,804/tonne. It also accepted bids for Dumri coal block won by Hindalco at Rs 2,127/tonne.

09:45am Market Update: The market erased early gains on selling in banking and financials stocks. The Sensex fell 2.84 points to 28258.24 and the Nifty declined 7.75 points to 8563.15.

About 693 shares have advanced, 988 shares declined, and 121 shares are unchanged.

09:35am FII View: Sunil Garg, JPMorgan says Nifty's inability to hold on to new highs has been accompanied by weaker momentum across daily and weekly charts, risking deeper pullbacks, with 8200 an initial target.

"China has resumed outperformance vs India and we see this as an early stage trend - rotate from Nifty to Shanghai Composite," he adds.

09:15am: Market Check
The market opened higher on Monday after falling sharply on last day of the previous week. The Sensex rose 86.95 points to 28348.03 and the Nifty climbed 24.60 points to 8595.50. About 513 shares have advanced, 186 shares declined, and 98 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

Jindal Steel tanked 13 percent as sources told CNBC-TV18 that government rejected company's bids for coal blocks.
 
Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy Labs gained more than a percent as Federal Trade Commission approved final order related to Sun-Ranbaxy deal. FTC said Sun will divest Minocycline product assets to Torrent within 10 days on acquisition.

The Indian rupee opened with marginal gains at 62.40 per dollar today versus Friday's closing value of 62.46 a dollar.

The dollar slips across the board pulled lower by expectations US interest rates will rise more slowly than previously expected.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered said, "Any upticks to 62.55/dollar should see dollar supply from exporters and other accounts."

"Expect local government banks to have dollar buying interest on dips to 62.25/dollar. Since we are in the last few days of the financial year, we could continue to see the supply demand dynamics to be tilted in favour of dollar supply."

On the global front, stocks in the US jumped about 1 percent to close near highs on Friday, continuing several days of alternating gains and losses as investors weighed a weaker dollar. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 broke three weeks of consecutive losses to post gains of more than 2 percent for the week.

From the currency space, the dollar slipped across the board pulled lower by expectations that US interest rates will rise more slowly than previously expected.

Crude prices from the commodity space decline as Saudi Arabia's oil minister said that OPEC will not take sole responsibility for propping up the oil price.