Sensex closes over 400 points lower, Nifty ends Nov series below 10,250

3:30 pm Market at Close: Intense selling pressure gripped frontline indices on Thursday as the market witnessed a big correction. The Nifty managed to close below 10,250-mark.

The Sensex closed lower by 424.50 points at 33178.26, while the Nifty was down 131.90 points at 10229.40. The market breadth was in favour of declines as 1268 shares advanced against a fall of 1409 shares, while 145 shares were unchanged.

Bajaj Auto, GAIL, L&T and Bosch gained the most on both indices, while Tata Motors DVR, Reliance Industries, UPL and Hindalco lost the most.

3:26 pm Index Changes: Vakrangee share price touched a fresh record high of Rs 737.90 on the BSE, rising more than 5 percent intraday ahead of addition in MSCI Global Standard Index.

The MSCI is going to add the IT company in its Global Standard Index after market hours today.

It will also add Britannia Industries and Petronet LNG in the index but will remove Apollo Hospitals Enterprises.

3:18 pm Buzzing: Archies share price gained more than 2 percent as the company turned profitable for quarter ended September 2017.

Profit stood at Rs 0.2 crore against loss of Rs 1.2 crore in year-ago as EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) came in at Rs 1.7 crore against loss of Rs 0.3 crore YoY.

Revenue during the quarter, however, declined 13.4 percent to Rs 40.8 crore, from Rs 47.1 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

3:14 pm Oil Price Check: Oil prices edged up, ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna at which producers are expected to extend a supply-cut deal that came into effect in January with the goal of tightening supplies and propping up prices.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will be meeting at its headquarters in the Austrian capital, along with ministers from other oil producing countries, most importantly Russia.

Brent crude oil futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at USD 63.53 a barrel, up 0.67 percent, from their last close.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at USD 57.46 a barrel, up 0.28 percent.

3:09 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices extended losses in late trade on worries over fiscal deficit. Banks and rupee also fell further.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 452.83 points or 1.35 percent to 33,149.93 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 135.90 points or 1.31 percent to 10,225.40.

Nifty Bank plunged 472 points and the Indian rupee declined 28 paise to 64.60 against the US dollar.

3:02 pm FM on fiscal deficit: India intends to follow the glide path as far as the fiscal deficit is concerned, the finance minister, who is scheduled to present his last full budget in February ahead of next general elections in 2019, said.

"The last three years we have an exemplary record as far as maintaining that glide path is concerned. We intend to move on that track," Arun Jaitley said today while addressing a leadership summit organised by local media The Hindustan Times.

India aims to trim the fiscal deficit to 3.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2017/18 compared with 3.5 percent in the previous year.

Jaitley also said the government will focus on spending more in infrastructure and rural sectors.

2:59 pm Acquisition: Piramal Enterprises today acquired the Digeplex and the associated brands from Shreya Lifesciences for an undisclosed sum to expand its consumer products business.

The acquisition will help the Ajay Pirmal-led company expand its gastro-intestinal product portfolio.

"We believe Digeplex and its associated brands are a strategic fit for our portfolio that will help us move closer towards our stated objective," executive director Nandini Piramal said.

She said the company's aim is to be a significant player in the healthcare segment and this acquisitions is an important route for the same and in the last two years, it has completed three such transactions in the consumer products business alone.

2:55 pm Mid-term review of foreign trade policy: The government will unveil the much-awaited mid-term review of the foreign trade policy on
Tuesday, which among other things would address exporters' woes with an aim to arrest the declining trend of shipments.

Exporters have been voicing concerns about challenges on account of the implementation of GST, even suggesting that they be kept out of the ambit of the new indirect tax regime and the drawback refund be expedited as it was blocking their working capital.

2:50 pm WHO Approval: Drug major Cipla today said it has received approval from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for Q-TIB, a combination drug indicated to help prevent tuberculosis infection in people living with HIV.

Q-TIB is a novel fixed dose combination in a single tablet and it is for the first time that such a combination has been made available in the world.

The company will market the product globally, Cipla said in a statement.

2:44 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses after fiscal deficit widened to Rs 5.25 lakh crore. Investors await GDP data for July-September quarter.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 311.95 points or 0.93 percent to 33,290.81 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 93.40 points or 0.90 percent to 10,267.90.

Nifty Bank also fell more than 300 points on caution ahead of GDP data.

2:40 pm Fiscal Deficit: India reported a fiscal deficit of Rs 5.25 lakh crore for April-October, or 96.1 percent of the budgeted target for the current fiscal year that ends in March 2018.

The deficit was 79.3 percent of the full-year target during the same period a year ago.

Net tax receipts in the first seven months of 2017/18 fiscal year were Rs 6.34 lakh crore, government data showed.

2:35 pm Capital infusion: Edelweiss Financial Services share price rallied nearly 4 percent intraday following the capital infusion in its insurance joint venture.

"This capital infusion will support our expansion plans, and in particular, the development of our Bancassurance channel," Deepak Mittal, MD & CEO, Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance said.

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance today announced that it has received equity capital infusion of Rs 670 crore, from Edelweiss Financial Services and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.

The fresh capital infusion is testimony to the long-term commitment by Tokio Marine and growth potential of Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance, the company said in its filing.

Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance is a joint venture between Edelweiss Financial Services and Tokio Marine Holdings Inc.

Edelweiss Financial Services owns 51 percent stake in insurance JV and Tokio Marine owns the balance 49 percent.

2:20 pm Buzzing: Global brokerage house CLSA has maintained its sell rating on Adani Transmission with a target price of Rs 95, implying potential downside of 50 percent.

The research house expects the stock to fall as it has turned out to be the most expensive utility after recent sharp rally.

Adani Transmission share price rallied 236 percent year-to-date.

CLSA said exit from MSCI Small Cap Index would trigger passive selling in the stock and could stop future fund-flow to this excessively valued stock.

Its profit for quarter ended September 2017 declined to Rs 66.69 crore, from Rs 99.54 crore in year-ago while revenue from operations increased to Rs 746 crore from Rs 683 crore YoY.

Adani Transmission stock was quoting at Rs 189.20, down Rs 1.25, or 0.66 percent.

2:15 pm Money Laundering Case: The Enforcement Directorate today
conducted multiple searches in Delhi in connection with a Rs 5,000 crore money laundering probe against the directors and associates of Gujarat-based pharma firm Sterling Biotech.

Official sources said the raiding teams seized documents and computer hardware like hard drives and CDs from the associates of the owners of the firm.

Seven residential and business premises are being covered under the action, they said.

The Enforcement Directorate had registered a case against the firm and the Sandesara family under sections of the Prevention of the Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

2:05 pm SEBI nod for IPO: Reliance General Insurance Company, part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, today said it has received markets regulator Sebi's go ahead to float an initial public offering.

The IPO comprises fresh issue of little over 1.67 crore shares by Reliance General Insurance besides an offer for sale of 5.03 crore shares by Reliance Capital.

The company plans to utilise the proceeds from the fresh issue towards augmenting the solvency margin and consequently increasing the solvency ratio.

Besides, the money will be used to meet future capital requirements, which are expected to arise out of growth.

1:54 pm USFDA Approval: Panacea Biotec today said the US health regulator has accepted its filing for approval of generic version of cancer treatment injection Abraxane.

The company's abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Paclitaxel Protein bound particles for injectable suspension, 100mg/vial has been accepted for filing by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Panacea Biotec said in a BSE filing.

This product is a generic version of Abraxane, which is used for treatment of breast cancer, non-small lung cancer and adenocarcinoma of pancreas, it said.

1:45 pm FM on economy growth: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said India has standardised itself for a 7-8 percent growth rate on the back of improving macroeconomic fundamentals.

"India has standardised itself ordinarily for a growth rate between 7 to 8 percent. If it slows down, it is more towards 7 and if it paces up it is more towards 8 percent growth. It's already close to USD 2.5 trillion economy in
terms of GDP," he said while delivering a lecture here.

1:35 pm Buzzing: Shares of Reliance Naval and Engineering lost over 5 percent intraday as investors turned cautious on the stock on insolvency proceeding.

According to a report by CNBC-TV18 quoting Cogencies, IFCI has filed an insolvency case against the company in a bid to recover loans.

The fall in share price also spilled over to Reliance Infra, the parent firm of Reliance Naval. Shares there fell over a percent intraday.

1:25 pm Market Check: Sluggishness in the Indian market continued from the morning session, with the Nifty trading firmly below 10,300.

The Sensex was down 291.44 points at 33311.32, while the Nifty was down 86.50 points at 10274.80. The market breadth was negative as 1092 shares advanced against a decline of 1387 shares, while 129 shares were unchanged.

Bajaj Auto, DRL, Bosch and Indiabulls Housing continued to lead the charts, while Axis Bank, Reliance, and Hindalco fell the most.

1:15 pm IL&FS Transportation surges: IL&FS gained over 6 percent intraday as investors bet on an award going in the company's favour.

The company's subsidiary, Pune Sholapur Road Development Company (PSRDC) had invoked arbitration against National Highways Authority of India with respect to development, maintenance, and management of a highway in Maharashtra.

The highway was on the Pune-Solapur section of NH-9 and had been done on DBFOT basis. The arm had claimed compensation for losses suffered by it on account of time overrun in construction phase of the project.

The Arbitral Tribunal asked NHAI to pay Rs 547.96 crore to PSRDC.

12:55 pm Buzzing Stocks: Indiabulls Housing Finance gained over 1.5 percent intraday on Thursday as investors cheered positive brokerage views on the stock.

Ratings agency Crisil upgraded the long-term rating of Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IBHFL), and its wholly owned subsidiary Indiabulls Commercial Credit Limited (ICCL), to the highest rating of AAA/stable", from its earlier assigned rating of "AA+/positive".

Further, it said that the company is the second private non-bank lender on standalone strength to be rated AAA by Crisil.

12:40 pm Motilal Oswal on Capital First: Motilal Oswal has retained its buy call on non-banking finance company Capital First with a target price of Rs 925, implying a potential upside of 33 percent as growth prospects appear bullish.

"The stock trades at 2.1x Sep'19 book value per share, which we believe is attractive from a risk-reward perspective, considering more than 25 percent AUM growth and 15 percent return on equity (RoE) in the near-to-medium term. Buy with a target price of Rs 925," the research house said.

Given the strong performance in first half of FY18, coupled with better-than-expected demand in the festive season, assets under management (AUM) growth in FY18 should comfortably exceed management's guidance of 23-25 percent and could possibly be north of 30 percent, according to the research firm.

Motilal Oswal expects 28 percent AUM growth, driven by growth of 50 percent in consumer durables (CD) loans and 30 percent in two-wheeler (2W) loans.

12:25 pm Fund Action: Shares of Den Networks added 3.3 percent intraday as Norges Bank has bought stake in the company.

On November 29, 2017 Norges Bank on Account of The Government Pension Fund Global bought 23,88,209 shares of company at Rs 92.75 per share through a block deal.

However, The Spruce House Partnership LP sold 29,48,000 shares at Rs 92.76 per share.

12:15 pm GDP Poll: The Central Statistics Office (CSO) will release gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimates for the second quarter (July-September) of 2017-18 at 5.30 pm today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects GDP at 6.39 percent for second quarter.

The Indian economy grew 5.7 percent in April-June, the slowest in 13 quarters. It was sharply lower than last year's 7.9 percent expansion in the same quarter as also the previous quarter's 6.1 percent growth, reeling under the stock management shock caused ahead of GST's rollout.

Three things to watch out for from today's national income data are the impact of GST restocking, tax accounting change and Nominal versus Real GDP data.

12:05 pm Joint Venture: Heritage Foods has incorporated the joint venture company - Heritage Novandie Foods Private Limited.

The joint venture company was incorporated with 50:50 equity shareholding between Heritage Foods and Novandie SNC, France, the company said.

11:59 am Gold Update: Gold held close to a one-week low hit in the previous session, pressured by upbeat US growth data for the third quarter and Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's bullish view of the economy.

A lack of clear drivers has kept gold between USD 1,265 and USD 1,300 an ounce throughout November, its narrowest monthly range in 12 years.

Despite the volatility overnight, it was another subdued session across the precious complex today in Asia, with gold struggling above USD 1,285 an ounce consistently, MKS analyst Alex Thorndike said in a note.

11:34 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses in late morning deals and the rupee also depreciated as investors maintained cautious stance ahead of second quarter GDP data due later today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects GDP at 6.39 percent for the quarter against 5.7 percent in the previous quarter.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 273.15 points at 33,329.61. The 50-share NSE Nifty continued to trade below 10,300 ahead of expiry of November futures & options contracts, falling 79.30 points to 10,282.

The gap between advances and declines narrowed. About five shares declined for every four shares rising on the BSE against advance:decline ratio of 1:2 in early trade.

11:25 am Listing: India's Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has listed its first international bond in almost two decades on the London Stock Exchange to finance renewable energy projects in the UK.

The 10-year dated green bond raised USD 400 million, paying a 3.75 percent semi-annual coupon and listed on London Stock Exchange's new International Securities Market (ISM) this week.

"The funds raised will help promote renewable energy projects across the country and aid in achieving the government's target of 175GW of installed renewable energy capacity by 2022," said PFC chairman Rajeev Sharma.

"The bond issuance allows PFC to access a new offshore investor base and also diversify its funding sources," he said.

11:10 am Buzzing: Sagar Cements shares gained more than 2 percent intraday after Edelweiss has initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating, citing attractive valuations.

"The stock trades at an attractive valuation of 7.7x/4.6x FY19E/FY20 EV/EBITDA," it said while setting target price at Rs 1,137 per share, implying a potential upside of 32 percent from Wednesday's closing price.

The acquisition of BMM's 1 million tonne cement plant has taken company's capacity to 4.3 million tonne.

The Hyderabad-based cement manufacturer bought BMM Cements at an enterprise value of Rs 540 crore in September 2014.

According to Edelweiss, the company is expected to be key beneficiary of the uptick in demand on Andhra Pradesh & Telangana bifurcation.

10:59 am PM Modi at HT Summit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that he is ready to pay the political price for the steps taken by him for a better India and asserted he would not be deterred.

Addressing a gathering here, he said his government is committed to developing a development-centric eco system which is free of corruption and is citizen centric.

He also said that post demonetisation, the black money, which was part of a parallel economy, has now become part of the formal system.

10:45 am Buzzing: Global brokerage house Goldman Sachs has upgraded Healthcare Global Enterprises to buy from hold and raised its target price to Rs 355 from Rs 270 per share, citing solid growth story. The stock rallied 6 percent intraday Thursday.

The company has been delivering consistently in an underserved cancer market.

"We gain more confidence that HCG will maintain EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) growth pace based on upcoming capacity and pricing power," the research house said.

It expects EBITDA to grow at a CAGR of 26 percent over FY17E-20.

The research house said positives are pricing power and good management track record.

10:35 am Order Win: Steel Strips Wheels share price rallied 3.3 percent intraday on bagging another exports order for European Trailer market.

"...has bagged fresh exports order for its truck wheels plant in Chennai. Total order size is close to 6,000 truck wheels," the automotive steel wheels manufacturer said in its filing.

The order will be supplied over period of 12 months and supplies will begin from December 2017.

"SSWL is in advanced stage of discussions to finalise long term contracts with multiple European customers and expects to close them by early next year," it said.

10:25 am Management Interview: Cipla Health, the consumer healthcare arm of Cipla, plans to revitalise its over-the-counter (OTC) consumer business through more in-house launches and brand acquisitions in the coming quarters.

''We are looking at switching Cipla's prescription products into consumer products and organic launches wherever there is a huge unmet need of it like the immune-boosters that we launched now,'' said Anantha Nayak, Chief Executive Officer of Cipla Health.

''We are also actively looking at any kind of inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions,'' Nayak added.

He said the company is looking at new product launches in segments such as gastrointestinal, pain and analgesic, cough and cold and nutritional supplements.

The company recently launched kids nutritional supplement ActivKids Immuno Boosters developed by Cipla's in-house research and development team.

10:19 am Funding for Green Power: Reaffirming its green credentials, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has made an equity investment of USD 15 million in CleanMax Solar.

This is IFC's first equity investment in grid-connected distributed generation globally, an official statement stated.

CleanMax Solar, a leading sustainability partner for large corporates, enjoys the No. 1 position in India as a rooftop solar developer with 24 percent market share, according to Bridge to India May 2017 report.

It is commissioning over 250 MW of open access solar farms to provide power to corporate users.

10:11 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended their losses in the morning session, with the Sensex falling over 200 points, while the Nifty traded below 10,300-mark.

The Sensex was down 216.40 points at 33386.36, while the Nifty too was down 71.80 points at 10289.50. The market breadth was negative as 764 shares advanced against a decline of 1290 shares, while 81 shares were unchanged.

Bajaj Auto and Dr Reddy's Labs were the top gainers, while Kotak Mahindra, BHEL, and UltraTech Cement lost the most.

10:05 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri tumbled 15.5 percent in morning on the back of weak Q2 (August-September) numbers.

The company has registered 90 percent decline in its Q2 net profit at Rs 80 lakh against Rs 7.89 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue was down 27 percent at Rs 326 crore against Rs 447.30 crore.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) was down 50 percent at Rs 11.7 crore and margins was down 160 bps at 3.6 percent.

10:00 am Aadhaar violation: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has ordered a probe against Bharti Airtel for alleged violation of the Aadhaar Act, following the government's direction to link Aadhaar to mobile numbers, Times of India reported.

In addition, the regulator is said to have slapped a penalty on the company for discreetly opening Payments Bank accounts of customers while carrying out Aadhaar verification of their mobile numbers.

The probe was ordered after complaints of prima facie violations were found to be valid, said the report.

9:47 am Rupee Trade: The rupee dropped sharply by 19 paise to 64.50 against the American currency in early trade today ahead of the September quarter GDP data.

Currency dealers said apart from increased month-end demand for the US currency from importers and a lower opening of the domestic equity markets, dollar's gains against other currencies overseas on upbeat US economic growth data weighed on the rupee.

Yesterday, the rupee had maintained its upbeat trend for the third straight session and firmed up by another 10 paise to end at a fresh two-month high of 64.31 against the US dollar ahead of the GDP data.

9:40 am Earnings Reaction: Share price of Mukta Arts added 15 percent in the early trade as it turned profitable in the quarter ended Septemebr 2017.

The company has posted net profit at Rs 9.4 crore against loss of Rs 4.9 crore in a year ago period.

Revenue also increased by 43 percent at Rs 37 crore gainst Rs 25.91 crore.
The has reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) at Rs 8.7 crore versus loss of Rs 5 lakh.

9:30 am Market Update: Benchmark indices extended losses in morning, with the Sensex falling 181.97 points to 33,420.79.

The 50-share NSE Nifty has breached 10,300 level, trading lower by 59.40 points at 10,301.90.

The market breadth was also weak. About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

9:26 am Drug Recall: Drug major Lupin is recalling a single lot of Pravastatin Sodium USP tablets in the US, according to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA).

As per the information on the USFDA site, Lupin is voluntarily recalling the product due to "a pharmacy complaint where one Duloxetine delayed-release capsule, 30mg was found in a Pravastatin Sodium Tablets USP, 40mg bottle".

The US health regulator, however, did not give details on the number of bottles being recalled. A query sent to the company remained unanswered. The ongoing Class II recall was initiated on November 17.

9:20 am Interest Rate Increase: State-owned lender State Bank of India has raised interest rate on bulk deposits by 1 percentage point across certain categories, effective Thursday.

The lender hiked interest rates by 1 percentage point across all maturities for deposits above Rs 1 crore, while rates on deposits of less than that amount were kept unchanged, having been increased by 25 basis points at the beginning of this month.

Post revision, SBI's rate on bulk deposits of over Rs 1 crore with a minimum tenure of 1 year stood at 5.25 percent. Senior citizens get an extra 50 basis points added to their interest rate across all maturities.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off last day of the month on a negative note ahead of expiry of November derivative contracts. Investors also await second quarter GDP data and OPEC decision later today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 154.03 points to 33,448.73 and the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 49 points to 10,312.30, tracking weakness in Asian stocks.

Vedanta, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Motors and Reliance Industries were early losers.

Sun Pharma, Indiabulls Housing Finance, Bosch, IndusInd Bank, Wipro and Aurobindo Pharma were early gainers.

Nifty Midcap was down 0.4 percent. Future Retail, McLeod Russel, Balaji Telefilms, GNA Axles, Indiabulls Real, Puravankara, Delta Corp and Gati were down 1-4 percent.

TBZ fell 9 percent and Mukta Arts gained 13 percent post earnings.

Asian markets tracked lower as oil prices firmed after falling in the last session.