Nifty ends below 7800, Sensex plunges 538 points; Tata Steel up

3:30 pm Market close: The market has posted biggest one-day fall in percentage terms since September 22. The Sensex crashed 537.55 points or 2 percent at 25623.35, and the Nifty slipped 171.90 points or 2 percent at 7791.30. About 1297 shares have advanced, 1588 shares declined, and 625 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Hindalco, Adani Ports, BHEL and Bharti were major laggards while Tata Steel and Wipro were only two gainers in the Sensex.

2:55 pm Commodity: Gold prices rose by Rs 88 to Rs 25,050 per 10 gram in futures trade as speculators created fresh positions taking positive cues from the global market.

At Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in February was trading Rs 88 or 0.35 percent higher at Rs 25,050 per 10 gram in business turnover of 293 lots. The metal for delivery in far-month April also moved up by Rs 79 or 0.32 percent to Rs 25,146 per 10 gram in a turnover of six lots.

Analysts said fresh positions created by participants following a better trend in global market as escalating tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran prompted a return to haven assets, influenced gold prices at futures trade here.

2:45 pm Expert on China fall: Suspension of trading on China's stock markets post its dramatic plunge of 7 percent came as a negative surprise, says Bruno Verstraete of Lakefield Partners.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Verstraete says his outlook on emerging markets (EMs) remains weak and believes the event will impact the rest of the world.  He believes that the volatility risks are likely to continue going forward.

Furthermore, if the dollar falls on increased inflation expectations, commodity prices would rise leading to a vulnerable global equilibrium, he adds. However, he is of the view that this, coupled with the oil prices issue, will be good for the emerging markets this year.

2:30 pm Gold Update: Gold inched up today, bolstered by a jump in oil prices and safe-haven bids from rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Spot gold was up 0.3 percent to USD 1,063.50 an ounce. US gold futures also rose 0.3 percent. Silver jumped nearly 1 percent to USD 13.91.

Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran on Sunday, responding to the storming of its embassy in Tehran in an escalating row between the rival Middle East powers over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite Muslim cleric.

Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken opponent of the ruling Al Saudi family.

2:20 pm Interview: Welspun Enterprises  has bid Rs 841.5 crore for a Delhi-Meerut project. this is 26 percent more than National Highways Authority of India's (NHAI) estimates of Rs 663 crore, says Sandeep Garg, MD of the company.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Garg said this project will be value-accretive and will fetch the company margins of 17-18 percent. He is of the view that the company will achieve 18 percent internal rate of return (IRR) in this project over 15 years.

Meanwhile, the company is targeting increasing its orderbook to Rs 8,000 crore in next three-five years from the current Rs 1,000 crore, he adds.

Furthermore, Welspun Enterprises has invested Rs 90 crore in Welspun Energy, Garg says. The company's networth is at Rs 1,500 crores and cash on books is at Rs 800 crore, he adds.

2:10 pm Europe bleeds: European markets slumped today amid a sharp sell-off in Chinese stocks and heightened geopolitical tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was down over 2.4 percent with Germany's DAX down over 3 percent.

Investors reacted to weak sentiment from China on the first day of trading of the new year. China's Shanghai Composite tanked 6.85 percent and the Shenzhen Composite plunged 8.1 percent as investors cited a weakening yuan as well as weak manufacturing data out of China as the reason behind the sell-off. The price plunge spurred a trading halt during the afternoon session in China.

The Caixin December manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was down 48.2 compared to the 48.6 in November.

2:00 pm Market Check
The market fell further in afternoon trade with equity benchmarks down 2 percent each following steep correction in global peers amid Chinese sell-off. All sectoral indices remained in negative terrain.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 544.89 points or 2.08 percent to 25616.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 172 points or 2.16 percent to 7791.20. The market breadth continued to be in favour of declines with advance:decline ratio of 1087:1692 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

1:50 pm Auto ban: Major automotive companies like Toyota, Mahindra and Mercedes have moved the Supreme Court, seeking to challenge the diesel vehicle ban announced by the government on December 16.

The court had earlier ordered a prohibition of sale and registration of diesel vehicles above 2000 cc engine capacity.

Chief Justice TS Mathur who is heading the bench said the apex court will consider the plea on Tuesday. The companies have argued that their diesel vehicles are used in villages and for public service, and stopping their registration will greatly inconvenience people.

1:40 pm Market check: The market skids further as Sensex is down 516.54 points or 2 percebt at 25644.36. The Nifty is down 163.50 points or 2 percent at 7799.70. About 1124 shares have advanced, 1632 shares declined, and 664 shares are unchanged.

HUL is up 1 percent while Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, HDFC and Adani Ports are major losers in the Sensex.

1:30 pm Europe update: European markets opened lower amid a sharp sell-off in Chinese stocks that saw authorities halt trading on the mainland for the rest of the day.

In the first day of trading of the new year, investors are treading cautiously after China's Shanghai Composite tanked 6.85 percent and the Shenzhen Composite plunged 8.1 percent.

Investors cited a weakening yuan as well as weak manufacturing data out of China as the reason behind the sell-off. The Caixin December manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was down 48.2 compared to the 48.6 in November.

Geopolitics is also weighing on sentiment. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran over the weekend after Iranian protesters stormed Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran Sunday following Saudi Arabia's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr on Saturday.

The market continues to slide dragged by weak Asian cues. The Sensex is down 483.33 points or 1.8 percent at 25677.57 and the Nifty has fallen 153.45 points or 1.9 percent at 7809.75. About 1126 shares have advanced, 1604 shares declined, and 673 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Bharti, Hindalco, Adani Ports and HDFC are major losers while HUL and Wipro are in green.

Meanwhile, state-owned banks likely sold dollars on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India to prevent the local currency from weakening further, three FX traders told Reuters on Monday.

PSU banks were spotted selling dollars after the local currency plunged to an over two-week low of 66.50 to the dollar earlier in the session.

The rupee fell in line with Asian peers after disappointing China factory data, while risk sentiment took a further hit due to ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained under pressure as the Sensex fell 437.37 points or 1.67 percent to 25723.53 and the Nifty dropped 137.85 points or 1.73 percent to 7825.35, tracking sharp fall in Chinese markets.

All sectoral indices continued to in red and the market breadth remained in favour of declines with advance:decline ratio of 1133:1557 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

CAC and DAX futures fell 1.5-2.5 percent, pointing towards negative opening. Dow Jones futures also extended losses, down more than 1 percent.

12:45 pm FII View: Abhay Laijawala, Deutsche Bank says as the market heads into 2016, investor optimism over the policy and macro environment has been replaced by a more conservative realism focused on earnings recovery as the most determining market catalyst.

While there is understandable investor skepticism on an earnings recovery, he believes that corporate earnings are likely to turnaround in 2016, benefitting from an urban consumption recovery, a positive multiplier impact of government's push on public investments, a possible reflation in WPI and favourable base effect.

12:30 pm Interview: Punj Lloyd has won four EPC orders in Bihar, Chhattishgarh, Odisha and Punjab. The orders are worth Rs 1,555 crore.

Projects in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha have been awarded to company by National Highways Authority of India while order in Punjab has been won from Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH).

Speaking on the above development, Shantanu Karkun, President & CEO - Buildings & Infrastructure, Punj Lloyd told CNBC-TV18 that with the above wins the orderbook is close to Rs 22,000 crore.

The four orders would be completed between 18-30 months with expected margins of around 5-8 percent on these projects, said Karkun.

Bihar, Odisha & Chhattisgarh projects to be executed 24-30 months and Punjab, which is a small project will be executed in 18 months, said Karkun.

12:15 pm Movers and Shakers: Tata Motors fell more than 5 percent on China slowdown fears and weak December sales data.

Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular lost 4 percent each as Telecom regulator (Trai) has written to operators to ensure compliance with call drop regulations, effective January 1.

HDFC, ICICI Bank, Lupin, SBI, Adani Ports and BHEL declined 2-3 percent while HUL, NTPC, Wipro, Bajaj Auto and Tata Steel outperformed with marginal gains.

12:00 pm Market Check
Bears took control over Dalal Street today as equity benchmarks fell more than 1.5 percent following further correction in Asian peers, especially China.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 417.11 points or 1.59 percent to 25743.79 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 132.55 points or 1.66 percent to 7830.65. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also lost ground, down 1 percent each.

The market breadth turned negative as about 1564 shares declined against 1045 advancing shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Deven Choksey of KRChoksey says market is now a traders market and until valuations start getting absolutely crazy, people will continue buying.

China's Shanghai Composite plunged 6.85 percent to 3296.66, spurring a trading halt for the rest of the session, and leading stock markets in Asia Pacific lower after feeble manufacturing surveys revived concerns over the durability of the country's economic recovery. The Caixin December manufacturing PMI was down 48.2 compared to the 48.6 in November.

11:55 am Exclusive: A Cabinet panel- led by Cabinet Secretary, will be meeting this week to take a call on the next Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chief as current head UK Sinha will retire on February 17, 2016.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has empanelled three members outside the government to find the next Sebi chief.

Of the three members are Rajiv Kumar, senior fellow, Centre for Policy Research and Manoj Panda from Institute of Economic Growth.

11:45 am Auto data: Bajaj Auto said it had clocked 2.89 lakh unit sales in December 2015, flat compared to a similar figure in December 2014. The company's two-wheeler sales rose 1 percent to 2.47 lakh while commercial vehicle sales fell 4 percent to 41,221.

Out of this, exports sales stood 1.45 lakh, down 12 percent from 1.66 lakh year-on-year (YoY), the company informed exchanges. While domestic sales jumped 17 percent to 1.44 lakh units, boosted by new launches such as the Avenger.

Fiscal-year-to-date (April-December 2015), Bajaj sold a cumulative 30.2 lakh units, compared to 30.3 in the same period last year.

11:25 am Business: With Qatar agreeing to lower the price of gas it sells to India on a long-term contract by about USD 6 billion, and India's biggest gas importer Petronet LNG (PLL) signing a revised contract with RasGas of Qatar, Harshvardhan Dole, Vice President Institutional Equities, IIFL sees a three benefits flowing in for the company.

The move is expected to result in a positive generation outlook for gas-based power plants because so far gas supply has been a weak link for Indian power generation, Dole said, adding that plant load factor (PLFs) for gas based plants could go up to 60 percent over the medium term.

For Petronet LNG, the benefits are three-fold: uncertainty over offtake goes away, recovery in shipping costs goes away; higher utilisation for the plant could derive more synergies. "These can lead to higher PE and EPS for the company," he said.

11:15 am Marlet check: The Sensex is down 403.22 points or 1.5 percent at 25757.68 and the Nifty slips 125.90 points or 1.6 percent at 7837.30. About 1233 shares have advanced, 1244 shares declined, and 733 shares are unchanged.

Tata Steel and Bajaj Auto are only two stocks in green in the Sensex. Among losers are Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC and Adani Ports.

Bears seem to be on a rampage as bank, healthcare, FMCG and IT stocks drag benchmark indices. The Sensex is down 301.91 points or 1 percent at 25858.99 and the Nifty slips 94.70 points or 1 percent at 7868.50. About 1357 shares have advanced, 1041 shares declined, and 743 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Lupin and HDFC are major losers while Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Hindalco and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex.

Chinese stocks led stock markets in Asia Pacific lower after feeble manufacturing surveys revived concerns over the durability of the country's economic recovery.

China stock market has fallen 7 percent trading for the day. China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a measure of factory activity, stood at 49.7 in December, which was in line with market expectations. On the other hand, the official non-manufacturing PMI was up 54.4, from November's reading of 53.6. A reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity on a monthly basis.

10:50 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks shed further with the Sensex falling 303.22 points or 1.16 percent to 25857.68 and the Nifty down 92.30 points or 1.16 percent to 7870.90.

However, the market breadth was positive. About 1310 shares have advanced, 1043 shares declined, and 755 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:35 am FPIs debt investment: Overseas investors poured in just about USD 7.4 billion in the Indian debt markets in 2015, after having pumped in a staggering USD 26 billion in the preceding year.

Foreign funds also stayed away from Indian equities in 2015 and invested just Rs 17,806 crore (USD 3.2 billion) in stock markets last year. In comparison, FPIs had been investing around Rs 1 lakh crore each into equities in the preceeding three years.

The decline in inflows has been attributed to a slew of domestic and international factors including concerns of a global slowdown, Chinese equity meltdown and an imminent interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

Besides, delay in implementation of major economic reforms in India also dampened investors' sentiments.

10:20 am Cement prices decline: Average cement prices declined sharply by 7.3 percent in December 2015 compared to the same month in the previous year mainly due to weak demand, says a research report.

All India average cement price currently ruling Rs 285 - 290 per bag compared to an average price of Rs 308 per bag in December 2014, the report by Reliance Securities said. Northern and western regions have witnessed maximum correction between 10-12 percent.

However, Eastern and Central regions corrected by 6 to 10 percent on year-on-year basis. Notably, prices remained resilient in the southern markets barring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, despite poor construction activities.

The region has witnessed marginal 1.4 percent jump in prices from Rs 345/bag in December 2014 to Rs 350/bag in December 2015, the report said.

10:00 am Market Check
The market extended losses in morning trade following further fall in Asian markets. The Sensex fell 243.02 points or 0.93 percent to 25917.88 and the Nifty declined 76.55 points or 0.96 percent to 7886.65, weighed down by banking & financials, technology and FMCG stocks.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices trading flat. The market breadth remained strong as about 1347 shares advanced against 902 declining shares on the BSE.

Asian markets lost ground after a long weekend. China's Shanghai plunged 4 percent followed by Hang Seng, Nikkei, Straits Times, Kospi and Taiwan Weighted with 1-3 percent loss after crude oil prices gained strength. Brent crude increased 2.4 percent to USD 38.16 a barrel and NYMEX crude gained 1.97 percent at USD 37.77 a barrel.

9:55 am FPI net flow: Overseas investors poured in just about USD 7.4 billion in the Indian debt markets in 2015, after having pumped in a staggering USD 26 billion in the preceding year.

Foreign funds also stayed away from Indian equities in 2015 and invested just Rs 17,806 crore (USD 3.2 billion) in stock markets last year. In comparison, FPIs had been investing around Rs 1 lakh crore each into equities in the preceeding three years.

The decline in inflows has been attributed to a slew of domestic and international factors including concerns of a global slowdown, Chinese equity meltdown and an imminent interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

9:45 am New order: SpiceJet, which has activated plans to place orders for new planes to expand its fleet strength, is considering Embraer jets for its fleet among others. The Brazilian aircraft maker had late last year given a presentation on its aircraft to the SpiceJet management, which is exploring all options before taking a final call on the purchase order, top airline sources said here, adding at present, "all options are on the table". If the budget carrier opts for Embraers along with other types of aircraft, it will become the second domestic carrier to have such planes, after regional airline Air Costa.

9:30 am Stake sale: Government is unlikely to go for a strategic stake sale of state-owned IDBI Bank during the current fiscal due to some procedural issues. "Strategic stake sale in IDBI Bank may not happen this fiscal due to some procedure issues but the bank can raise funds through QIP," sources said. Last week, the government gave its approval to IDBI Bank for raising Rs 3,771 crore during the year, by way of Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), a move which will dilute its holding by about 26 per cent in the lender.

The government's holding in the bank stands at 80.16 percent. As per the existing norms, government equity in a public sector bank cannot go below 52 percent to maintain the character of state-owned banks. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had earlier indicated a change in the characteristics of IDBI Bank where government would have a majority stake, but at the same time maintain an arm's length distance.

The market has kick-started first trading week of 2016 on lower note. The Sensex is down 155.31 points or 0.6 percebt at 26005.59 and the Nifty slipped 49.30 points or 0.6 percent at 7913.90. About 631 shares have advanced, 557 shares declined, and 791 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, HUL and Wipro are marginally in green while Bharti Airtel, M&M, Lupin, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors were laggards in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened lower by 11 paise at 66.25 per dollar versus 66.14 Friday.

Himanshu Arora of Religare said,"The rupee is expected to trade on weaker note today on bleak fundamental data on fiscal balance released recently. Weak equities may keep pressure on the rupee today." Yen traded near the highest in more than two months as investor appetite waned for risky assets. The dollar index held firm near 99 mark.

In Asian markets, key indexes fell anywhere between 1.5 percent and 2 percent, after Chinese PMI data rose 49.7 in December, versus 49.6 in November, indicating manufacturing activity still remains in contraction. The official services growth index, however, stood at 54.4.

Further, investors were spooked by developments in West Asia, where Saudi Arabia has severed ties with Iran, after the former's embassy was set on fire in Iran following the execution of a leading Shia cleric.