Nifty ends above 8350; L&T & HDFC lead, IT stocks drag

03:30 pm Market closing: The market extended its northward journey for the eighth consecutive session on Tuesday. Equity benchmarks closed marginally higher amid consolidation as investors are eyeing for expiry of June derivative contracts (on Thursday) and Greek deal that is expected to be this week.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 74.16 points or 0.27 percent to 27,804.37 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 28.45 points or 0.34 percent to 8,381.55.

02:45 pm Ashok Leyland in focus: Ashok Leyland has received orders worth USD 82 million from Senegal, the country in Africa. The order is for building country's comprehensive and integrated transportation system.

"DAKAR DEM DIKK, a public transport organisation under the aegis of the Ministry of Transport, Senegal, has commissioned a comprehensive logistics program with Ashok Leyland, that comprises supply of 475 buses, genuine spares, assistance in development of workshops, training and consultancy on fleet management, and structuring of vehicle tracking and monitoring systems," said the country's second largest commerical vehicle maker.

02:25 pm DLF rallies: Sources told CNBC-TV18 that India's biggest realty company DLF and investment firm Blackstone resolved differences over their assets in Bengaluru market and agreed to divide their portfolio.

DLF will exit Bengaluru, the India's fastest growing property market and exiting Bengaluru is part of a larger cashless deal for the company with Blackstone. It will transfer all its Bengaluru assets including Bengaluru Westend Heights, Woodlands to Blackstone.

Sources further said, the realty company will also give partial stake in a Chennai project to the investment firm but they are still negotiating valuation for that project.

Blackstone, in 2010, had bought the stake of Bank of America Merrill Lynch in DLF's 7 residential properties.

02:00 pm Market Check
The market maintained its uptrend in afternoon trade, supported by pharma, oil & gas, FMCG, capital goods and select banking & financials. The Sensex rose 59.12 points to 27789.33 and the Nifty climbed 24.10 points to 8377.20.

The market is eyeing for expiry of June derivative contracts (on Thursday) and final Greece deal that is expected this week.

The broader markets are also flat with positive bias. The market breadth is positive as about 1361 shares have advanced against 1202 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, SBI, Larsen & Toubro, Indiabulls Real, Axis Bank and Infosys are most active shares on exchanges.

European equities are trading higher as the countdown to a potential debt deal between Greece and its creditors begins. Markets are hoping that Greece will come to some kind of reforms-for-rescue deal with its international creditors this week after Athens presented a new set of reform proposals Monday in a move seen by European Council President Donald Tusk as a positive step forward. France's CAC and Germany's DAX gained 0.8-1 percent.

1:50 pm Big interview: Industrial conglomerate Larsen & Toubro is looking to list its technology subsidiary L&T Infotech in a public offer that will likely come out by November or December this year, chairman AM Naik told CNBC-TV18's Latha Venkatesh and Reema Tendulkar in an interview.

L&T Infotech notched up net profit of USD 120 million on revenues (USD:INR = 63.5) on revenues of USD 810 million in fiscal year 2014-15, he said. For 2015-16, the firm is targeting profit of USD 141 million and revenues of USD 950 million.

"Our EBITDA margins are 20 percent. We will be investing heavily in technologies such as digital but hope to continue to maintain margins at 20 percent," he said.

1:30 pm FII view: Manish Singh of Crossbridge Capital believes over the medium to long-term India remains one of the most attractive markets but over the short-term he does not see a sustained rise for the equity market.

India needs lot of capital investments which should first come from the government and then can be followed by the corporate sector, says Singh. So far we have seen good talk and intentions but nothing has come on board, he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

The house is currently invested in Nifty index and if one were to look for individual stocks then IT is the space to be in but only large cap IT where growth is definite, he adds.

The market is holding its gains supported by infra, oil and metals. The Sensex is up 97.71 points or 0.3 percent at 27827.92, and the Nifty is up 32.15 points or 0.4 percent at 8385.25. About 1288 shares have advanced, 1134 shares declined, and 162 shares are unchanged.

Coal India, Cipla, L&T, Bharti Airtel and ITC are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Infosys, Lupin, Hero, Tata Motors and Wipro are among losers.

Media report suggests that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed the Finance Ministry to set limits for investment in government securities in domestic currency instead of dollar to increase headroom for investment by FIIs.

Jayesh Mehta, Managing Director & Country Treasurer, Bank of America says the move will aid rebalancing of rupee against the dollar which will boost sentiment in the bond market. The timing is not knwon, but it will happen soon, he said adding when the limit opens, it will help broaden investors' scope. At the moment, FII investment limit in G-Secs is capped at Rs 30 billion annually. In rupee terms, the FII limit in the government securities is Rs 1.92 lakh crore.

12:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex rose 90.69 points to 27820.90 and the Nifty gained 32.85 points at 8385.95. About 1289 shares have advanced, 1132 shares declined, and 162 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:50 pm FII View: Manish Singh of Crossbridge Capital believes over the medium to long-term India remains one of the most attractive markets but over the short-term he does not see a sustained rise for the equity market.

India needs lot of capital investments which should first come from the government and then can be followed by the corporate sector, says Singh. So far we have seen good talk and intentions but nothing has come on board, he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

The house is currently invested in Nifty index and if one were to look for individual stocks then IT is the space to be in but only large cap IT where growth is definite, he adds.

12:35 pm Europe Update: France's CAC climbed above 5000 for the first time since June 2008 on hopes of easing Greece crisis soon, up 0.6 percent.

Germany's DAX gained 0.8 percent and FTSE rose 0.06 percent. FTSE (MIB) Italy went up 0.36 percent.

12:25 pm Venus Remedies rallies: Shares ofVenus Remedies surged nearly 14 percent today after the company announced the issue of equity shares to promoters on a preferential basis.

Venus had informed BSE yesterday that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on June 30, 2015 to consider and approve the issue of fully convertible warrants/equity shares to promoters on a preferential basis subject to approval in the general meeting.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to consolidate in noon trade after seven-day rally. The Sensex gained 51.30 points at 27781.51 and the Nifty rose 16.20 points to 8369.30. The broader markets too came off day's high, trading with marginal gains.

Globally, Asian markets were mostly higher with Japan's Nikkei hitting multi-year highs on Greek optimism, up 1.9 percent. Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent whereas Shanghai fell 0.4 percent despite data showing slight improvements in the country's massive manufacturing sector.

PSU Bank index led the gains. In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18 at San Francisco, finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said they will infuse USD 3 billion into PSU banks this year and more USD 6 billion in the next year in order to revive public sector banks. SBI rose 0.7 percent. PNB rallied 3.4 percent and Bank of Baroda gained 1.8 percent.

L&T climbed nearly 2 percent. Chairman AM Naik said that L&T will divest 10 percent from L&T Infotech and is looking to list the company by December 2015. He expects the company to achieve profit of Rs 900 crore for L&T infotech for FY16.

IT stocks lost ground with the Infosys falling 2 percent. Sources told CNBC-TV18 that IT companies suffered delayed payments of almost USD 1 billion on government contracts signed and completed over last 5 years. Companies like TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Tech Mahindra are likely to be affected most amongst all IT companies. NASSCOM said mode of procurement and non-payment to IT companies are major problems of Digital India.

11:50 am  Market outlook: Over the past four months, Sanjay Dutt has been in the enviable position of being able to successfully call both the Nifty's early March top , at 9,000, this year as well as its mid June low at 7,950. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Dutt, director at Quantum Securities, came out with a fresh call: "get ready for a new lifetime high in 2015". "There have been signs of some pick-up in the recovery cycle, the government has taken steps on infrastructure financing, bank balance sheets are being restructured," he said. "All these should show up in the September or December quarters."

11:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Bharat Petroleum Corporation jumped 2 percent intraday. Deutsche Bank has reiterated buy rating on the stock. The stock has outperformed BSE Sensex by 53 percent in the last one year, driven by a reduction in working capital post deregulation of the diesel price and the brokerage expects outperformance to continue. It has raised FY16-17 earnings per share (EPS) by 6-14 percent and target price by 3 percent on higher gross refining margins (GRMs)

According to it, expansion in net auto fuel marketing margins over the next two years, and a more than 50 percent increase in refining EBITDA over FY15-17, driven by higher capacity and upgradation will be key triggers for the stock.

The market is surging ahead with support from capital goods, oil and metal stocks. The Sensex is up 112.09 points or 0.4 percent at 27842.30, and the Nifty is up 31.35 points or 0.4 percent at 8384.45. About 1269 shares have advanced, 770 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged.

Coal India is up 3 percent while L&T, Bharti Airtel, Cipla and Hindalco are top gainers in the Sensex. Dragged by Infosys IT index is down 1 percent from previous close. Hero Motocorp, Lupin, GAIL and Wipro are other laggards in the Sensex.

Meanwhile, China's factory activity showed some signs of stabilising in June but still contracted for the fourth straight month, according to a preliminary private survey, suggesting more stimulus measures may be needed to support the world's second-largest economy.

The HSBC/Markit Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up to 49.6, a three-month high, from 49.2, but remained below the 50 mark which separates contraction from expansion. New orders returned to positive territory at 50.3 and new export orders fell at a much slower pace, but companies stepped up layoffs, shedding jobs at the fastest pace in over six years, a trend which is sure to alarm Beijing.

10:55 am Market Update: The Sensex gained 83.93 points at 27814.14, and the Nifty rose 23.55 points to 8376.65. About 1259 shares have advanced, 746 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:45 am Interview: DLF is looking to raise Rs 3,000 crore by year end through disposal of non-core assets like DT Cinemas and project level investment with private equity (PE) players, the company's CFO Ashok Tyagi told CNBC-TV18.

On Monday, the real estate firm proposed to raise up to Rs 5,000 crore via non-convertible debentures, including other debt securities, on private placement basis.

Tyagi said the company is looking at joint venture (JV) deals with PEs on a 50:50 sharing basis, which is bound to change with each project.

DLF's debt in March quarter rose by Rs 600 crore quarter on quarter to Rs 21,000 crore due to capex and weak operations. Tyagi said two-third of the debt is from rental segment and one-third from the development business.

While the development side will take time to pick-up, the company is trying to reduce its debt in the rental segment through monetization of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

With interest rate cuts, re-negotiation with banks and bonds, the company is expecting to reduce rental debt by 100 plus basis points this year. Tyagi is also expecting the demand to pick up in the next four quarters.

10:20 am Market Expert: Over the past four months, Sanjay Dutt has been in the enviable position of being able to successfully call both the Nifty's early March top, at 9,000, this year as well as its mid June low at 7,950.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Dutt, director at Quantum Securities, came out with a fresh call: "get ready for a new lifetime high in 2015".

"There have been signs of some pick-up in the recovery cycle, the government has taken steps on infrastructure financing, bank balance sheets are being restructured," he said. "All these should show up in the September or December quarters."

10:00 am Market Check
The market gained momentum amid consolidation. The Sensex gained 112.43 points or 0.41 percent at 27842.64 and the Nifty rose 34.90 points or 0.42 percent to 8388. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.7 percent each.

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

Mahesh Nandurkar, CLSA said rising competition between states to create jobs augurs well for capex-cycle recovery which he expects to see from FY17.

Larsen and Toubro gained 1.5 percent as media report suggested that engineering major is set to list infotech arm to raise Rs 1,600-1,800 crore. Bharti Airtel jumped 1.7 percent after Bharti Enterprises, SoftBank Corp and Foxconn entered into pact for renewable energy project. SoftBank Corp CEO Masayoshi Son said the company will invest roughly USD 20 billion for 20 GW minimum commitment into solar projects.

SBI, ONGC, Coal India, Cipla, Hindalco, Tata Steel and BHEL climbed 1-3 percent. However, Infosys, Lupin, TCS, ITC, Hero Motocorp, Wipro, GAIL and NTPC fell 0.3-1.4 percent.

9:45 am Market check: In a somersault turn the market has gained again. The Sensex is up 74.49 points or 0.3 percent at 27804.70, and the Nifty is up 25.15 points or 0.3 percent at 8378.25. About 1035 shares have advanced, 409 shares declined, and 102 shares are unchanged.

Coal India and Bharti Airtel are up above 2 percent. Hindalco, L&T and SBI are other gainers in the Sensex. Infosys is down 1.5 percent.

9:40 am Buzzing: Shares of Bharti Airtel jumped 2 percent intraday on Tuesday. Japan's SoftBank Corp announced investment of USD 20 billion in setting up solar power projects in India in partnership with telecom giant Bharti Enterprises and Taiwan's Foxconn.

The Japan headquartered telecommunications and Internet major, which had previously committed to invest USD 10 billion in India over a decade, said the three firms will set up 20 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in India. SoftBank will hold majority stake in the joint venture, SBG Cleantech Ltd, while Bharti Enterprises Ltd and Foxconn Technology Group will have minority stakes.

9:23 am Market check: The Sensex is down 44.93 points or 0.1 percent at 27685.28, and the Nifty is down 11.95 points or 0.1 percent at 8341.15. About 608 shares have advanced, 459 shares declined, and 81 shares are unchanged.

Infosys is down 1 percent while GAIL, Axis Bank, Wipro and ICICI Bank are major losers in the Sensex. Hindalco, Bharti, L&T, Cipla and Coal India are top gainers.

The market opened higher but soon flattened out quickly within minutes. The Sensex is up 29.91 points or 0.1 percent at 27760.12, and the Nifty is up 7.85 points or 0.09 percent at 8360.95. About 493 shares have advanced, 132 shares declined, and 69 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Bharti Airtel, SBI, L&T and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Infosys, ICICI Bank, GAIL, TCS and Maruti Suzuki.

The Indian rupee has opened lower at 63.61 per dollar, down 10 paise compared to 63.51 a dollar in previous session.

Ashutosh Raina, HDFC Bank said the dovish comments in the FOMC statement have helped improve market sentiment with the likelihood of a Fed rate hike getting pushed to the later part of this year. Some positive developments in the Greek talks has further helped the risk on sentiment, he added.

According to him, the spill over of the risk on sentiment has helped Indian equity and currency markets with the USD/Rupee pair slipping back into the Rs 63- 64/USD range. He expects the pair to trade in the Rs 63.30-63.80/USD range.

The euro edged lower against the US dollar, but remained higher against the yen and Swiss franc as a new cash-for-reforms offer from Greece raised hopes a tangible deal is taking shape that will help Athens avoid a default on its debts.

Asian stocks are up on a positive note on the back of a strong overnight handover and on hopes that a Greek deal is in the offing. Nikkei is trading at a near 3-week highs. While Kospi is on course for a five-day winning streak as blue chips continued to power ahead. China is due to put out the markit China flash Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for June.

Expectations are that the reading will come in at 49.4 picking up pace a tad bit from May's final HSBC PMI reading of 49.2.

US stocks closed higher, following a global rally in equities, as investors cheered signs of progress in the Greece debt negotiations. The Nasdaq composite set a new closing and intraday record, topping the highs set on Thursday.

European equities surged on hopes of resolution in the Greece debt talks.

Brent crude trades around 63 USD per barrel on concerns that US demand for gasoline may fade. Gold prices decline towards the USD 1180 mark led by strength in global equities which curbed safe-haven demand for the metal.