Nifty ends below 7550, Sensex up 86 points; ICICI, Tata Motors gain

3:30 pm Market closing: The market ended up 86.29 points or 0.3 percent at 24804.28, and the Nifty was up 28.55 points or 0.4 percent at 7538.75. About 1311 shares advanced, 1339 shares declined, and 162 shares were unchanged. ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, BHEL, Hindalco and ONGC were top gainers while Coal India, M&M, TCS, Sun Pharma and L&T were losers in the Sensex.

3:15 pm Market outlook: Notwithstanding recent volatility in Asian markets, some factors are supporting the region's equities, global brokerage major HSBC has said noting that it is 'cautious' and 'underweight' on India.

The global financial services major which is "overweight" on China said factors like stronger Asian currencies and better prospects for earnings growth are supporting the Asian equities.

The global brokerage firm said though the recent Budget created some optimism in markets as the government stuck to its fiscal consolidation roadmap, but was apprehensive about the quality of fiscal consolidation.

2:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained marginally higher. The Sensex rose 88.46 points to 24806.45 and the Nifty advanced 20.20 points to 7530.40.

2:50 pm Buzzing: Shares of Mahindra Lifespace Developers gained 4 percent intraday after Tribunal allowed company to develop Mumbai property.

"Honourable Arbitral Tribunal allowed the company to proceed with acquisition of property and to subsequently take up re-development of property on completion of all obligations by vendors," says the Mahindra Group company in its filing.

Mahindra Lifespace received award copy on March 9 in the matter of pending Arbitration proceedings between the company and Rishi Gagan Trust & Others (vendors) relating to acquisition of a property in South Mumbai.

2:40 pm Kotak, CPPIB tie-up: Kotak Mahindra Group said on Monday it has signed an agreement with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) to invest up to USD 525 million in stressed assets in the country's banking and corporate sectors.

CPPIB and the Indian financial services conglomerate, along with its asset reconstruction arm, Phoenix ARC, plan to invest in asset sales by banks with the aim to restructure, recover and turnaround companies in distress.

"This investment is an important step in CPPIB's strategy to build a diversified credit business and will add to our direct credit investment capabilities in India," stated Adam Vigna, managing director, principal credit investments, CPPIB, in a statement.

2:20 pm HSBC on India: Notwithstanding recent volatility in Asian markets, some factors are supporting the region's equities, global brokerage major HSBC has said noting that it is 'cautious' and 'underweight' on India.

The global financial services major which is "overweight" on China said factors like stronger Asian currencies and better prospects for earnings growth are supporting the Asian equities.

The global brokerage firm said though the recent Budget created some optimism in markets as the government stuck to its fiscal consolidation roadmap, but was apprehensive about the quality of fiscal consolidation.

"Fiscal consolidation has been applauded although we highlight this is meant to be achieved through telecom spectrum auctions and selling government stakes in companies," HSBC said adding that "missing these targets could limit the government's ability to spend unless it steers away from its fiscal consolidation targets".

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks continued to trade higher with the Sensex rising 95.25 points to 24813.24 and the Nifty up 25.55 points to 7535.75.

ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, BHEL, Hindalco, ONGC, Cairn India and Tech Mahindra rallied 1-4 percent while Coal India tanked 6.75 percent after the stock adjusted for interim dividend. Sun Pharma, M&M, Bajaj Auto, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Idea Cellular were down 0.3-1 percent.

European equities were higher, following a positive lead set in Asia, as investors looked ahead to a raft of central bank meetings and rate decisions this week. Germany's DAX jumped 2 percent followed by France's CAC and Britain's FTSE with 0.7 percent upside.

Asia markets ended higher, extending gains from last week following announcement of fresh stimulus measures from the European Central Bank (ECB). Japanese Nikkei 225 closed up 294.88 points, or 1.74 percent, at 17,233.75. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 235.74 points, or 1.17 percent, to 20,435.34 and Shanghai rose 1.76 percent.

1:55 am Interview: Krishnan Sitaraman, Senior Director of Crisil Ratings expects gross non-performing loans (GNPL) of Indian public sector banking industry to be higher in FY17. However, he also believes the gap between GNPL and weak assets - assets that ideally should have been part of NPL but not recognised in that category like restructured or 5:25 cases –will reduce gradually during the next fiscal. On the recent downgrade of bank bonds, Sitaraman says, the downgrade in Tier 1 bonds of some banks like IDBI , Dena Bank , Corporation Bank among others is because they follow the downgrade in corporate credit rating of Tier 2 bonds. Also, heightened profitability pressure and lowering of cushion over regulatory capital ratios has reduced the comfort in these bonds, he says.

1:30 pm Monsoon update: Rain and hailstorms have hit parts of northern and eastern India since last Friday, which have flattened wheat, mustard and coriander crops in states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. BP Yadav, director of India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that while crops have been affected, full damage cannot be quantified as of now. Rains are expected to halt for two to three days in the states of Punjab and Haryana, but will resume post March 17th, Yadav said adding that there are worries on the eastern side of the country.

The market is still firm, as the Sensex is up 106.08 points or 0.4 percent at 24824.07. The Nifty up 27.40 points or 0.4 percent at 7537.60. About 1244 shares have advanced, 1219 shares declined, and 149 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, BHEL, Hindalco and ONGC were top gainers while Coal India, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, M&M and TCS are losers in the Sensex.

Gold prices fell Rs 73 to Rs 29,427 per 10 grams in futures trade today as participants reduced their positions even as metal strengthened overseas.Also, the metal for delivery in far-month June shed Rs 62 or 0.21 percent to Rs 29,731 per 10 grams in 6 lots.

Analysts said trimming of positions at prevailing levels by speculators led to the fall in gold prices at futures trade but a firming trend overseas, capped the losses.

12:55 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices were little changed over the last half an hour of trade.The BSE Sensex was at 24775, up 57 points over its previous close. The Nifty was up 15 points at 7525.

Main gainers in the Nifty were Tata Motors (3 percent), ICICI Bank (3 percent), BHEL (3 percent) and Cairn India (2 percent),Laggards were Coal India (-7 percent), Bosch (-1 percent), M&M (-1 percent) and Bajaj Auto (-1 percent).

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, auto (0.6 percent), capital goods (0.4 percent), FMCG (0.4 percent) and oil & gas (0.3 percent) gained, while metals (-2.0 percent) and consumer durables (-0.1 percent) were under pressure.

12:40 pm Abbott in news: US-pharmaceutical giant Abbott Laboratories' India unit will comply with all legal requirements of a government order that bans more than 300 combination drugs in the country, a company spokesman said on Monday.

India banned 344 drug combinations over the weekend, including Abbott's codeine-based cough syrup, after a government panel of experts found they had "no therapeutic justification."

Abbott's Phensedyl cough syrup accounts for about a third of the Indian cough syrup market, and its sales are estimated to make up more than 3 percent of the company's USD 1 billion India revenue.

12:20 pm Divestment: After the successful response of Concor and Engineers India 's (EIL) offer for sale, Bharat Electronics (BEL) may be the next divestment candidate on the government's list, reports CNBC-TV18.

Sources say the government may sell 5 percent stake in BEL before May to raise about Rs 1400 crore.

ICICI Securities, Edelweiss, SBI Capital, Deutsche Bank are likely to be appointed as lead bankers to the issue, sources say.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market trimmed gains in noon trade with the Sensex rising 106.32 points to 24824.31 and the Nifty climbing 32.90 points to 7543.10. The BSE Midcap index gained 0.4 percent and Smallcap rose 0.5 percent.

February Wholesale Price Index inflation remained unchanged at -0.9 percent compared to preceding month but December WPI inflation revised to -1.06 percent from -0.73 percent.

ICICI Bank and Tata Motors continued to lead market with more than 3 percent rally. ITC, Axis Bank, GAIL and Hindalco gained 1-2 percent while Coal India tanked nearly 7 percent on adjustment for dividend. HDFC and HDFC Bank wiped out early gains.

Oil prices were stable, with global oversupply and slowing economic growth weighing on markets but prospects of falling production lending some support. US crude futures were trading at $38.28 per barrel, down 22 cents from their last settlement. International Brent futures were down 6 cents at $40.33 a barrel.

11:55 am: After successful response of Concor and Engineers India's (EIL) offer for sale, Bharat Electronics (BEL) may be the next divestment candidate on the government's list, reports CNBC-TV18.

Sources say the government may sell 5 percent stake in BEL before May to raise about Rs 1400 crore.

ICICI Securities, Edelweiss, SBI Capital, Deutsche Bank are likely to be appointed as lead bankers to the issue, sources say.

11:30 am Interview: There has been no ground-level improvement in investments in most sectors in India, including the capital goods industry, says MS Unnikrishnan, MD at Thermax . Only a few sectors like textiles and durables might see some continuous investment, he adds. Unnikrishnan points out that orders carried into the current year were substantially lower and new order inflow has also been subdued. He believes the industry is couple of years away from seeing double-digit growth, adding Thermax is likely to report year-on-year single-digit decline in revenue. It will be difficult to commit any growth in FY17 but the numbers might remain stable, he says.

The market continues to rise supported by auto, banks and FMCG stocks while metals are dragging. The Sensex is up 155.39 points or 0.6 percent at 24873.38, and the Nifty is up 46.20 points or 0.6 percent at 7556.40. About 1368 shares have advanced, 715 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, GAIL and Axis Bank are top gainers while Coal India, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, Dr Reddy's and Wipro are losers in the Sensex.

Crude oil futures fell Rs 17 to Rs 2,578 per barrel today as speculators offloaded positions amid a weak trend in the Asian markets.

Trading sentiment turned weak in futures trade following fall in crude oil prices in the Asian markets on profit-taking after last week's rise and Iran's move not to join a proposed output freeze by crude producers, analysts said.

10:58 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to rally. The Sensex rose 161.42 points to 24879.41 and the Nifty advanced 47.50 points to 7557.70. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

ICICI Bank (3.8 percent), Tata Motors (3.4 percent), GAIL (2.0 percent) and Adani Ports (1.8 percent) are the top gainers in Nifty. Among the losers are Coal India (-6.6 percent), Bharti Airtel (-0.7 percent), Bajaj Auto (-0.4 percent) and Dr Reddys Labs (-0.2 percent).

In sectoral performance as reflected by the respective indices, auto (1.2 percent), FMCG (1.0 percent), oil & gas (0.8 percent) and capital goods (0.6 percent) gained, while metals (-1.6 percent) were under pressure.

10:45 am Pfizer in News: US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc's India unit said on Monday it had stopped selling its popular Corex cough syrup, after regulators banned it saying it was likely to pose a risk to humans.

Corex is a combination of chlopheniramine maleate and codeine syrup -- one of 344 drug combinations India banned over the weekend after a government panel of experts found they had "no therapeutic justification."

All these medicines have entered the market over the years based on approval from regulators of individual states, rather the central government, as legally required.

The decision on Corex is likely to hit Pfizer's revenue and profit. The brand brought in sales of about 1.76 billion rupees (USD 26.30 million) to Pfizer in the nine months ended December 2015, the company said in a statement.

10:30 am Market Expert: Despite recent rally in the market, fortunes have not turned in favour of the bulls, though fears about global recession have abated a bit, says Andrew Holland, CEO of Ambit Investment Advisors. "At the moment, we are seeing a rebound as we had corrected sharply earlier," he explains. He feels earnings can grow by 5-10 percent in FY17.

According to him, markets will keep an eye on how the European economy will pick up, going ahead. "We are underestimating the cost of migrants in Europe. We will continue to be a little bit more cautious about Europe for now."

10:15 am Buzzing: Cupid shares climbed more than 9 percent intraday on getting contract to manufacture female condoms.

"A non-exclusive long term agreement has been awarded to Cupid for manufacture and supply of female condoms to UNFPA for a period of 3 years," says the Maharashtra-based condoms manufacturer in its filing to exchange.

UNFPA is United Nations Population Fund, formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks remained strong in morning trade following positive global cues. Banking & financials, FMCG, auto and oil stocks gained while Coal India topped selling list on Sensex, down 6.5 percent after adjustment for interim dividend.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 188.15 points to 24906.14 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 55.90 points to 7566.10. The broader markets marginally outperformed benchmarks, up more than 0.8 percent.

The market breadth was strong as about three shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

ICICI Bank and Tata Motors were leading contributors to Sensex's gains, rising more than 3 percent followed by ITC, HDFC, L&T, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, SBI and ONGC with 1-2 percent upside while Bharti Airtel fell over a percent.

Asia markets traded higher across the board, as traders began to take a more positive view of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision last week. The Japanese Nikkei 225 was up 1.8 percent, extending Friday's 0.51 percent increase, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 1.32 percent. Shanghai surged 2.6 percent.

9:55 am Rain check: Rain and hailstorms have hit parts of northern and eastern India since last Friday, which have flattened wheat, mustard and coriander crops in states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. BP Yadav, director of India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that while crops have been affected, full damage cannot be quantified as of now. Rains are expected to halt for two to three days in the states of Punjab and Haryana, but will resume post March 17th, Yadav said adding that there are worries on the eastern side of the country.

9:45 am Buzzing: Shares of Coal India fell more than 8 percent after the stock adjusted for interim dividend. State-run coal mining company said board of directors, on March 5, approved payment of interim dividend for the financial year 2015-16 at Rs 27.40 per share on face value of Rs 10. Date of payment of interim dividend is on and from March 21, it added. The company has fixed March 15 as record date for payment of interim dividend. In FY15 and FY14, it paid dividend of Rs 20.7 per share and Rs 29 apiece, respectively. Meanwhile, "Coal India is likely to announce a 5 percent equity buyback in the new fiscal, helping the Centre raise up to Rs 10,700 crore, or about 19 percent of its disinvestment target," said a media report quoting unnamed sources.

9:30 am KFA woes: Labour Ministry will soon launch an investigation into the provident fund contributions made by Kingfisher Airlines for its employees when the carrier was functioning, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya has said. "We have not examined the issue so far. I will look into that. We will examine (all the issues)," Dattatreya told PTI. Beleaguered businessman Vijay Mallya, who is facing legal proceedings for allegedly defaulting on loans of over Rs 9,000 crore from various banks, is currently under scanner by multiple agencies, including CBI. An open letter written by women employees of KFA recently alleged that the company did not pay salaries, but kept depositing PF due to fear of action from the authorities.

The market has opened on a strong note Monday. The Sensex is up 174.69 points or 0.7 percent at 24892.68 and the Nifty is up 51.70 points or 0.7 percent at 7561.90. About 598 shares have advanced, 110 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Adani Ports and Tata Steel are top gainers while Coal India, Bharti Airtel and BHEL are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee has opened higher by 5 paise at 66.99 per dollar against 67.04 on Friday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity says, "We have a positive stance on the rupee. Looking at the FII flows, gold and crude prices, we believe that 66.80/dollar will
be challenged." He expects the rupee to trade in a range of 66.80-67.50/dollar today.

The US dollar was at one-month lows against a basket of major currencies with the Federal Reserve seen almost certain to stand pat at this week's policy review.

Asia markets traded higher, extending Friday's gains, as traders began to take a more positive view of the European Central Bank's (ECB) monetary policy decision last week.