Sensex, Nifty end session on a subdued note; Axis Bank gains big

3:30 pm Market at Close: Equity benchmarks ended the session on a subdued note, with the Nifty ending almost quarter of a percent lower.

The Sensex was down 36.11 points at 33230.05, while the Nifty closed lower by 24.50 points at 10339.20. The market breadth was narrow as 1,368 shares advanced against a decline of 1,304 shares, while 146 shares were unchanged.

Axis Bank and ONGC were the top gainers on both indices, while Infosys, M&M, UPL and Vedanta were the top losers.

3:00 pm Europe check: European stocks were slightly higher on Tuesday morning as investors digested a fresh batch of corporate earnings.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 edged around 0.1 percent higher during early morning deals, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory.

2:49 pm Buzzing stock: Bharti Infratel gained 3.5 percent intraday on Tuesday as investors cheered its decision to buy Indus Towers along with reacting to the September quarter results.

The company reported a 17 percent drop in second-quarter profit, missing analysts' estimate, as higher expenses weighed.

Profit after tax fell to 6.38 billion rupees (USD 98.40 million) in the quarter ended Sept. 30, from 7.74 billion rupees a year earlier, the company said on Monday.

2:31 pm Seeking clarity: Foreign portfolio investors are seeking clarification from SEBI on whether they are also bound by the market regulator's mandate of linking Aadhaar with 'all demat accounts', reports Business Standard.

The August mandate, which asked the stock exchanges to freeze demat accounts of traders failing to provide Aadhaar details by December 31, was thought to be meant for domestic investors. But it did not offer any clarification as to whether overseas investors were also bound by the circular.

As the unique 12-digit Aadhaar number cannot be acquired by institutions, the ''authorised signatory'' of the demat account can get it and thus, that person has to link his unique identity number with the account.

2:25 pm Buzzing Stock: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals added around 8 percent intraday on Tuesday, while HPCL fell by about 2.5 percent following report of an acquisition of the former by the latter.

Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is likely to acquire Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) in a share-swap deal to become India's second-largest oil refiner.

The merger is likely to take place after ONGC, country's biggest oil and gas explorer, completes acquisition of HPCL in an all-cash deal by December or January, officials in know of the development said.

2:00 pm Results: FMCG major Dabur's performance for the September quarter met analysts' expectations as the company posted net profit of Rs 362.7 crore against the analysts' expectation of Rs 369 crore.

Its revenues grew to Rs 1,959 crore against Rs 2,061 crore assumption by analysts.

At an operating level, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was reported at Rs 420 crore, while the operating margin came in at 21.4 percent.

1:45 pm Buzzing Stock: Axis Bank added over 9 percent intraday on Tuesday as investors bet positively on the developments surrounding share purchase talks.

According to a report in The Economic Times, Bain Capital was in talks with the lender to invest around USD 750 million to USD 1 billion, which could help it attrain 5 percent stake.

The paper also reported that the funds is likely to help the lender meet capital requirements for the medium term. JPMorgan is working with Axis for the transaction, which is expected to be conducted within a few weeks.

1:27 pm Acquisition: Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) is likely to acquire Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) in a share-swap deal to become India's second-largest oil refiner.

The merger is likely to take place after ONGC, country's biggest oil and gas explorer, completes acquisition of HPCL in an all-cash deal by December or January, officials in know of the development said.

MRPL is a subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC). At present, ONGC owns 71.63 per cent stake in MRPL while HPCL has 16.96 per cent.

1:08 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices continued to trade mildly lower, with rangebound move continuing through the first hour of the afternoon as well.

The Sensex was down 27.41 points at 33238.75, while the Nifty was down 13.50 points at 10350.20. The market breadth was narrow as 1,308 shares advanced against a decline of 1,158 shares, while 131 shares were unchanged.

Axis Bank and ONGC were the top gainers on both indices, while Infosys, Tata Steel, Vedanta and Hindalco lost the most.

12:55 pm Gold update: Gold prices fell by 0.20 percent to Rs 29,324 per ten gram in futures trading today as participants trimmed their positions, tracking a weak trend overseas.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in far-month December declined by Rs 60, or 0.20 per cent to Rs 29,324 per ten gram in a business turnover of 221 lots.

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12:10 pm Bond yields: Indian government bond yields spiked Monday, with the 10-year benchmark bond yield climbing 7 basis points in the session to close at 6.88 percent. This was the highest single-session rise in the benchmark yield since September 21.

Yields opened flat on Tuesday morning in the absence of any other triggers. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Dealers said the rise was on account of the open market operation (OMOs) announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last week. The RBI on Friday announced it would sell government bonds worth Rs 10,000 crore on November 9 through OMOs.

11:45 am Earnings Estimates: JSW Steel's second quarter consolidated profit is likely to increase 43 percent to Rs 1,040 crore compared with Rs 726.5 crore in year-ago quarter.

Revenue from operations during the quarter may rise 22.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 15,965 crore driven by higher realisations, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit is seen rising 11.5 percent to Rs 3,300 crore, but margin may contract 20 basis points to 20.7 percent on year-on-year basis.

11:29 am Bank of Japan policy meet: The Bank of Japan kept monetary policy steady even as it slightly cut its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year, signalling its conviction a solid recovery will gradually accelerate inflation toward its 2 percent target.

But new board member Goushi Kataoka dissented from the BOJ board's decision to maintain its interest rate targets, arguing that the BOJ should buy government bonds so that 15-year JGB yields would remain at less than 0.2 percent.

"If there were a delay in the timing of achieving the price target due to domestic factors, the BOJ should take additional easing measures," Kataoka said, according to a statement by the central bank on its policy decision.

Kataoka did not make any proposal to top up stimulus, however, defying expectations he could do so after his decision last month to vote against keeping policy steady.

11:15 am Results: Dr Reddy's Laboratories has reported profit for July-September quarter at Rs 305.4 crore, lower by 1.1 percent compared with Rs 308.9 crore in year-ago period. The profit was far better than analyst estimates due to improvement in operational performance.

Revenue during the quarter fell 1.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,559.8 crore.

Numbers were ahead of estimates as profit was estimated at Rs 279.9 crore and operating income was expected at Rs 635.4 crore with margin at 14 percent for the quarter, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit for the quarter stood at Rs 690 crore with margin at 19.4 percent.

11:00 am Earnings Estimates: Pharma major Dr Reddy's Laboratories is expected to report consolidated profit for second quarter (July-September) at Rs 279.9 crore, lower by 9.4 percent compared with Rs 308.9 crore in same quarter last fiscal. Continued US pricing pressure may dent profitability.

Consolidated revenue during the quarter is seen rising 3 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,684 crore due to restocking post GST, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may fall 1 percent to Rs 635.4 crore and margin may contract 70 basis points to 17.2 percent compared with year-ago quarter.

North America business contributed around 45 percent to total sales in Q1FY18, India 14 percent and emerging markets 17 percent.

10:50 am Silver Update: Silver prices fell Rs 52 to Rs 39,213 per kg in futures trade today as buyers trimmed positions following weak cues from global market.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, silver for delivery in December was trading lower by Rs 52 or 0.13 percent to Rs 39,213 per kg in a business turnover of 187 lots.

The metal for delivery in far-month March too lost Rs 6 or 0.02 percent to Rs 39,858 per kg in a business volume of four lots.

10:40 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses amid consolidation in morning as investors await more corporate earnings and outcome of FOMC's two-day policy meeting that will begin tonight.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 81.65 points at 33,184.51 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 33.30 points to 10,330.40.

10:36 am IPO: Mahindra Logistics's initial public offering of 19,332,346 equity shares has opened for subscription today, with a price band of Rs 425-429 per share.

The company on Monday has finalised the allocation of 57,62,203 equity shares at Rs 429 per equity share aggregating to Rs 247.2 crore to 15 anchors.

The IPO comprises of an offer for sale of up to 96,66,173 shares by Mahindra & Mahindra; up to 92,71,180 shares by Normandy Holdings Limited; and up to 3,94,993 shares by Kedaara Capital Alternative Investment Fund – Kedaara Capital AIF 1.

10:25 am Factory Data: Chinese manufacturing expansion slowed in October after two consecutive months of acceleration, official data showed today, as weak demand weighed on the world's second-largest economy.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge of factory conditions, stood at 51.6 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, compared to 52.4 in September, which marked a five-year high.

Anything above 50 is considered growth while a figure below that number points to contraction. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a reading of 52.

10:15 am Acquisition: Bharti Infratel said it would explore acquiring an additional stake in Indus Towers, a move likely to create India's largest mobile tower company.

"The board of directors of Bharti Infratel, in their meeting held on October 30, 2017, has decided to explore and evaluate acquisition of stake in one or more tranches in Indus Towers with the aim of making it a subsidiary or wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Infratel," the company said in a statement.

Bharti Infratel and Vodafone India hold 42 percent stake in Indus Towers and rest is held by Idea Cellular.

The deal, if it happens, will create India's largest mobile tower company with about two and half times the size of its nearest rival BSNL, as per the industry figures.

10:05 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate ahead of Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting that will begin tonight, and corporate earnings.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 0.06 points at 33,266.22 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 9.30 points to 10,354.40.

The BSE Midcap index was up 0.3 percent and Smallcap gained 0.5 percent. About 1,219 shares advanced against 753 declining shares on the BSE.

Axis Bank, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics (BEL), PNB and Graphite India were most active shares on the NSE.

9:58 am Merger called off: The much talked about proposed USD 12 billion mega merger between IDFC Group and Shriram Group has been called off by the former as the two were unable to reach common ground on the swap ratio.

The confidentiality, exclusivity and standstill (CEST) agreement entered into to evaluate a strategic combination of relevant financial services of the Shriram Group with the IDFC Group stands terminated with immediate effect, according to a release by IDFC.

As per the proposed plans, Shriram City Union Finance was to be merged into IDFC Bank, while Shriram Transport Finance was to remain a standalone unit of IDFC.

The life and general insurance units of Shriram Group were to become units of IDFC, IDFC Bank Chief Executive Officer Rajiv Lall had said in July.

9:54 am Rupee Trade: The rupee made a cautious rise of 4 paise to 64.80 against the US dollar today as the US Fed's two-day policy meet gets under way.

Exporters and banks continued to give the American currency a wide berth.

However, the dollar's overseas strength and a lower opening in the domestic stock market cast a shadow on the rupee's gains, traders said.

Yesterday, the rupee had bounced back by a healthy 20 paise to end at 64.85 against the US currency on fresh bouts of dollar selling by exporters and banks amid buoyant local equities.

9:44 am Buzzing: Shares of Zen Technologies touched 52-week high of Rs 92.95, gaining 13 percent in morning on order win worth Rs 224 crore.

The company has won order from Government of India worth Rs 224 crore, which includes Rs 156 crore for equipment and Rs 68 crore for annual maintenance contract (AMC) which will accrue over the 5 years following the warranty period of 2 years.

This is a biggest ever contract, company has received from domestic market and expected to be executed during the next financial year 2018-2019.

As on October 30, 2017 the company's total order book stood at Rs 133 crore, comprising of Rs 68 crore for equipment's and Rs 65 crore for AMC.

9:34 am Earnings Estimates: Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel's July-September quarter earnings are expected to be subdued due to rising competition from Reliance Jio.

Profit for the quarter is expected to fall 13 percent sequentially to Rs 319 crore and revenue may decline 1 percent to Rs 21,746 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) is seen falling 4 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 7,520 crore and margin may shrink 40 basis points to 35.2 percent for quarter ended September 2017.

Analysts expect India mobility business revenues to decline on account of heightened competition. On top of that, second quarter is seasonally weak for telecom companies and higher GST rate may impact revenue.

9:25 am Results: Tata Steel's financials turned profitable during the September quarter as the company posted a net profit of Rs 1,017.8 crore against a loss of Rs 49.4 crore during the same period last year. On a standalone basis, the net profit came in at Rs 1,294.1 crore.

The company's consolidated revenue grew 35.7 percent at Rs 32,464 crore against Rs 23,921 crore. The standalone revenue came in at Rs 14,220.93 crore as compared to Rs 11,718.31 crore in a year ago period.

At the operational level, the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 53.7 percent to Rs 4,720.5 crore, while the operating margin came in at 14.54 percent against 11.85 percent.

9:20 am New debt repayment plan: Indian telecoms carrier Reliance Communications unveiled a new debt repayment plan, which included a pledge to raise up to Rs 17,000 crore through the sale of assets such as mobile towers.

RCom, as the debt-laden company is commonly called, also said it would repay lenders an additional Rs 10,000 crore through the sale of commercial real estate, and convert about Rs 7,000 crore of the debt to 51 percent of the company's equity.

RCom, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, will retain debt of Rs 6,000 crore after the completion of the new repayment plan, the company added.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened flat with a negative bias, led by some profit booking as investors looked for more earnings for cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 33.60 points at 33,232.56 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 11.50 points to 10,352.20.

SBI, IOC and HDFC were early gainers while Infosys was down over 2 percent post buyback.

ICICI Bank, GAIL, Coal India, Bharti Infratel, BPCL, Sun Pharma, Indiabulls Housing Finance and L&T were early losers.

Nifty Midcap index was up 0.3 percent on positive breadth as about two shares advanced for every share falling on the NSE.

Balaji Amines, LMW, Reliance Communications, Shriram Transport, Shriram City Union, Titan Company, Just Dial and Bharat Electronics rallied 2-10 percent.

SPARC, IDFC Bank, Central Bank of India and Astra Microwave fell 1-4 percent.