Nifty ends above 8100, Sensex flat; ITC, Bharti, ONGC gainers

3:30 pm Market closing: After a choppy session, market has ended flat as the Sensex is up 33.83 points or 0.1 percent at 26350.17, and the Nifty up 12.60 points or 0.2 percent at 8126.90. About 1659 shares have advanced, 934 shares declined, and 173 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Hero MotoCorps, ONGC and ITC are gainers in the Sensex while SBI, ICICI Bank, Lupin, M&M and TCS are losers.

2:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex was up 73.14 points at 26389.48 and the Nifty gained 22.35 points at 8136.65. About 1626 shares advanced against 895 declining shares on the BSE.

2:50 pm Earnings: State-run oil exploration company Oil India has reported profit of Rs 580.3 crore in July-September quarter, down 17.8 percent compared with Rs 705.7 crore in year-ago period. Lower revenue and operational income dented bottomline.

Revenue during the quarter declined 7.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,331.4 crore and other income was also down 9.3 percent to Rs 389.5 crore.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) fell 9 percent to Rs 836.5 crore and margin contracted by 40 basis points to 35.9 percent.

The company said it board of directors today has recommended issue of bonus shares in the ratio of one bonus share for every three shares held.

2:37 pm Order win: Wind turbine maker Suzlon Group has bagged an over 50 MW wind power project in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh.

Suzlon, a leading global renewable energy solutions provider, today announced winning this order from a "leading business house".

"The project consists of 24 units of S95 90m tubular tower with rated capacity of 2.1 MW," the company said in a BSE filing today.

Located at Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, the project is scheduled for completion in March 2017. This order win takes the current year's total order portfolio with the business house to 84 MW, out of which 33.60 MW was announced earlier as a part of order wins from SMEs, it said.

2:25 pm EPFO investment: Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has invested a total of Rs 9,723 crore in exchange traded funds as on October 31 this year and the absolute returns till that time has been 9.17 per cent, the government told the Lok Sabha today.

"The total corpus of EPFO was Rs 7.49 lakh crore as on March 31, 2016. The total amount invested by EPFO in ETFs is Rs 9,723 crore as on October 31, 2016 and the absolute return was 9.17 per cent as on October 31, 2016," Labour and Employment Minister Bandaru Dattatreya said replying to questions.

He also said EPFO's investment in exchange traded funds (ETFs) would be increased to 10 per cent from the current level of 5 per cent within the scope of investment pattern notified by the Finance Ministry.

As a precautionary measure, EPFO is investing only in Nifty and Sensex ETFs, he added.

2:15 pm Coal mining revenue: The government has so far generated a revenue of approximately Rs 2,779 crore from the auction and allotment of 83 coal blocks, Parliament was informed today.

"Till now, 83 coal mines have been allocated to private and public sector under the provisions of the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act 2015. So far, a revenue of Rs 2,779.36 crore (approx) has already been generated," Minister of state for Coal, Power, New and Renewable Energy and Mines Piyush Goyal said in a reply to Rajya Sabha.

'The amount, he said, is being transferred to the respective state governments where the coal mines are located, he said.

2:00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks remained lacklustre in afternoon trade while the broader markets came off day's high. European stocks were lower as oil falls ahead of OPEC meeting.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 29.76 points at 26346.10 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 7.20 points at 8121.50 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbed more than 0.6 percent on positive breadth.

About 1573 shares advanced against 898 declining shares on the BSE.

European markets were lower amid continued political uncertainty in Italy and fading hopes of an OPEC production cut which pushed oil prices lower. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE fell nearly a percent.

Brent crude futures were trading at USD 46.72 per barrel, down 1.12 percent from their last close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 1.06 percent at USD 45.57 a barrel.

1:45 pm Tata woes: S&P Global Ratings today said the continuing discord between the shareholders of Tata Group holding firm Tata Sons Ltd, has created uncertainty at the board level for group companies and could lead to slow decision-making in these entities.

Expecting the group companies to be all professionally managed, the US-based firm said that it hoped that all these firms will continue to deliver on their business and financial plans as they are "currently unaffected by the developments".

"The continuing discord between the shareholders of Tata Sons Ltd (unrated), the holding company of the India-based Tata group, has created uncertainty at the board level for the group companies," S&P Global Ratings said.

1:30 pm Demonetisation: Demonetisation will have a significant impact on the gross domestic products (GDP) growth in the short term due to the cash crunch but for the medium term it does not alter the Indian growth story compared to its peers, says Thomas Rookmaaker, Director, Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings, India Ratings.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said that for fiscal year 2017 the real GDP growth is likely to fall by 50 basis points from the previous estimate of 7.4 percent.

The economy should come back on track from the first quarter of FY18 onwards, he said.

The market is absolutely flat with the Nifty above 8100. The Sensex is up 1.44 points at 26317.78 and the Nifty is up 1.00 points at 8115.30. About 1634 shares have advanced, 788 shares declined, and 163 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC, ITC and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex while SBI, ICICI Bank, Lupin, Wipro and L&T are losers in the Sensex.

India's economy grew at 7.1 percent in the first six months of the current financial year despite subdued growth in the world economy, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Noting that the government has been taking steps to boost industrial production and growth, she said the country's economy grew 7.1 per cent during April-September period of current fiscal which ends on March 31, 2017.

"Despite subdued growth in the world economy, India has maintained a GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent in 2014-15, 7.6 percent in 2015-16 and 7.1 percent during April to September of 2016-17," the Commerce and Industry Minister said in a written reply during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha.

12:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex was up 57.11 points at 26373.45 and the Nifty up 15.95 points at 8130.25.

About 1640 shares advanced against 737 declining shares on the BSE.

12:45 pm Interview: Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of SpiceJet, said the performance of the airline has been creditable given the fact this is the weakest quarter for industry.

Demonetisation will give rise a temporary blip, but hopefully things will normalise in the following quarter, he said.

Fuel prices have hovered in the USD 45-55 range, which is comfortable for the industry, he maintained.

Spicejet hasn't had a huge impact, but it is bracing for ripple effect, he said, adding that bookings and international travel will likely take a hit from the cash ban.

He expects industry to grow at about 20 percent in this fiscal year.

12:30 pm Nomura on RBI move: Nomura says the RBI move is marginally negative for banks as it will lead to a negative carry on Rs 3.25 lakh crore of deposits and possibly some pull-back in treasury yields.

Hence, banks, especially PSU banks that have rallied in the past two weeks, will see some near-term correction, it feels.

However, the brokerage house doesn't see any reason to turn negative on banks beyond the initial negative reaction as the net interest margin impact will be temporary and that too of just 2 basis points on FY17 NIMs; while G-Sec downtrend could get limited in the near term, it does provide macro stability, especially to the currency; and this move does not have any bearing on SME/LAP asset quality risk that could manifest due to demonetisation.

12:20 pm Issue price fixed: Sagar Cements says the board has fixed an issue price of Rs 800 per equity share for the 6,11,986 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each of the company being issued for cash on a preferential basis, subject to receipt of further necessary approvals as may be required.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks gained strength in noon trade with the Nifty inching towards 8150 level, supported by auto, FMCG, oil and telecom stocks. HDFC Bank and Axis Bank turned positive while SBI and ICICI Bank remained under pressure after RBI move.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 65.54 points at 26381.88 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 20.20 points to 8134.50 while the broader markets extended rally.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1 percent each as about 1610 shares advanced against 664 declining shares on the exchange.

Bharti Airtel was the biggest gainer among Sensex 30 stocks, followed by ITC, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, NTPC and Cipla with 1-2.5 percent.

State Bank of India and ICICI Bank fell more than 1.5 percent.

Asian markets were mixed. The Japanese benchmark closed lower today after seven straight sessions of gains as the yen rose sharply against the dollar and oil prices slipped.

11:55 am Exclusive: Speaking to CNBC-TV18 from the sidelines of Pune Inc Conclave Power Minister Piyush Goyal said demonetisation has huge advantages. It will take India to digital banking and make it a cashless society.

He said the government will use the money from demonetisation to pump prime economy.

When asked what one should expect from the Union Budget on February 1, Goyal said 'Good things'. He said: ''The Finance Minister over the last three Budgets – July'14, Feb'15 and Feb'16 has consistently worked on a series of measures. He focused on a sustainable framework for India's development.''

FM Arun Jaitley never tinkered with rates, minor changes but looked at structural improvements, so that India could move towards and economy, which like China sees 2-3 decades of high-level growth, said Goyal.          

11:45 am Sameer Nair Group CEO of Balaji Telefilms says that new shows have a much lower margin and hopes to have 10 shows on air by FY17 end.

TV business gross margin is likely to be up 25 percent by this fiscal year, he believes.

The plan now is to get next releases of movies in the next fiscal year, he says, adding that film business will likely book profit in FY18.

Balaji Telefilms will look to air new shows on Sony, Sun TV and Doordarshan.

11:30 am Exclusive: The demonitisation move by the government on November 8 seems to have put the buzzing FMCG sector on a pause mode.

Industry sources told CNBC-TV18 that top FMCG companies like HUL , Nestle India , ITC, as well as Dabur are adopting a 'wait and watch' mode with regards to new product launches and may defer new launches of high-end, premium products by one-two quarters.

They would look at geography specific launches to minimise the impact of demonetisation, say sources, adding that the worst hit categories are luxury chocolates, premium cookies and ice-creams.

Nestle, ITC may defer launches in premium chocolate, confectionery & cookies space, and HUL, Dabur may defer product launches in premium personal care space, say industry sources.

The market has recovered from early weakness but the Nifty is almost nearing 8150. The 50-share index is up 6.80 points at 8121.10 and the Sensex is up 21.34 points at 26337.68. About 1457 shares have advanced, 652 shares declined, and 112 shares are unchanged.

Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Hero MotoCorp, BHEL and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Wipro, TCS and Axis Bank are losers in the Sensex. SBI is down 5 percent intraday on Monday after RBI increased cash reserve ratio (CRR).

India is proving to be immune from the heavy selling in global emerging market debt, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clampdown on undeclared cash has sparked expectations of a rate cut and pushed issuers to take advantage of low yields.

Indian Railways Finance Corporation, NTPC, Vedanta Resources, Exim India and Axis Bank all rushed to print rupee notes last week to access cheaper funding.

"The debt market is very compelling," said Killol Pandya, head of fixed income at Peerless Funds Management. "Issuers that were otherwise going to banks are approaching the bond market as banks are yet to cut lending rates."

10:59 am Market Update: The Sensex was up 21.34 points at 26337.68 and the Nifty gained 6.80 points at 8121.10.

About 1457 shares advanced against 652 declining shares on the BSE.

10:50 am CRR hiked: RBI has raised CRR to 100 percent on incremental deposits, post a deluge of liquidity to the banking system due to demonitisation. The additional CRR is applicable on incremental deposit growth from September 26 to be reviewed periodically (every fortnight), but with a likely influx of liquidity continuing, it seems that it would continue beyond the near term and possibly over next 3-4 months. The CRR hike for now would reduce the market liquidity by Rs 3-3.5 trillion and will suck out more as deposit influx increases, says Deutsche Bank.

10:40 am IPO this week: Sheela Foam, which makes mattresses under Sleepwell brand, will launch its initial public offer this week to raise Rs 510 crore.

Sheela Foam had filed draft papers with Sebi in July and received the market regulator's approval earlier this month.

The company has fixed the price band at Rs 680-730 for the offer, which will remain open to bidding from November 29-December 1.

Edelweiss Financial Services and ICICI Securities are the book running lead managers to the issue.

Sheela Foam manufactures foam-based home comfort products like mattresses, furniture-cushioning, pillows, cushions and sofa-cum-beds.

10:20 am FII View: Markus Rosgen of Citi says Asian markets look attractively valued. Mean-reversion on valuation over the next five years would deliver an annual return of 8.9 percent.

He further says earnings in the region are recovering, most evidently in the cyclical markets of North Asia, as is liquidity. Sentiment remains too negative and investors are sheltering in the more defensive ASEAN and India markets.

By contrast, he advocates a more pro-cyclical, pro-value stance, and favoured markets are Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.

Sector-wise, he is overweight on technology, materials, banks and consumer discretionary.

While he likes risk as an investment factor, he acknowledges it could backfire on trade frictions, more political upsets and a stronger USD in 2017.

With valuations 0.5 standard deviation below mean, though, Asia ex-Japan looks to be pricing in too fearful an outlook, Rosgen says.

10:00 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks turned volatile after early sell-off, with the NSE Nifty hovering around 8100 level. Banks and select technology stocks were under pressure while auto, healthcare, telecom and select healthcare stocks gained.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 58.28 points at 26258.06 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 14.35 points to 8099.95 while the broader markets outperformed.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained half a percent each on positive breadth. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

Liquor stocks like Globus Spirits, United Spirits, GM Breweries and Som Distilleries surged 3-14 percent while aviation stocks like InterGlobe Aviation, Jet Airways and SpiceJet gained 1-5 percent.

Banks are still under pressure, though these stocks recovered a bit from day's lows. ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, SBI, PNB, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of India and Axis Bank were down 1-3 percent.

9:50 am Market check: The Sensex is down 45.46 points or 0.2 percent at 26270.88 and the Nifty is down 13.70 points or 0.2 percent at 8100.60. About 1110 shares have advanced, 627 shares declined, and 89 shares are unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp, Cipla, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while SBI, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Axis Bank and TCS are losers in the Sensex.

9:30 am FII view: Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley says the low return environment that India seems to be trapped but may get a breather in 2017 due to better equity valuations, bottoming of growth cycle (disrupted temporarily by the recent demonetisation) and higher correlations with world equities on which the brokerage house is more constructive.

If history is a guide, the trailing EPS growth sets up Indian stocks for strong medium term performance.

Proprietary sentiment indicator has still not hit the buy zone so there may be some downside in the near term and thus, the recovery from the recent damage to share prices may not be V-shaped, he feels.

Desai says India's macro stability remains in its best shape in several years and policy momentum is the best since 2007. Financial conditions look easy and the inflation trajectory suggests more rate cuts are in the pipeline, he feels.

The market has opened weak as the Sensex is down 118.97 points or 0.4 percent at 26197.37. The Nifty is down 39.25 points or 0.5 percent at 8075.05. About 437 shares have advanced, 396 shares declined, and 45 shares are unchanged.

Cipla, Asian Paints, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro and Adani Ports are top gainers while SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, ONGC and GAIL are losers in the Sensex. Banks are under pressure as Reserve Bank of India has asked banks to maintain an incremental cash reserve ratio of 100 percent, the  move is estimated to suck out around Rs 3.24 lakh crore of excess liquidity from the system and will be applicable on deposits between September 16 and November 11 fortnights. Bonds and bank stock will take a hit in trade today.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 68.42 per dollar on Monday versus 68.46 Friday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Positive cues from global as well as domestic equity market will help the rupee to trade with a positive bias. The trading range for the USD-INR pair will be 68.20-68.80/dollar."

The dollar fell against major rivals on Friday as investors took advantage of a pullback in US bond yields and a holiday-shortened week to consolidate gains that have propelled the currency to a nearly 14-year peak.

Expectations of rises in US inflation and interest rates have driven the greenback to a more than 6 percent gain in the past two months, its strongest showing over a similar period since early 2015.

Among global cues, Japanese stocks traded weaker after an 11 straight sessions of gains as the yen fell sharply against the dollar and oil prices slipped.

Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.82 percent, likely due to the yen strength, which is seen as a negative for Japanese export-oriented stocks. The yen surged more than 1 percent to 111.63 against the dollar as of 10:01 am HK/SIN, well below levels above 113 last week.

Last Friday, China and Hong Kong securities regulators announced that the long-awaited Hong Kong-Shenzhen stock connect would kick-off on December 5. The trading link would allow foreign investors to trade Shenzhen stocks from Hong Kong.