Sensex ends 174 points lower, Nifty ends below 10,200; Kotak Bank up 1%

3:30 pm Market at Close: Selling pressure intensified on the D-Street in the final hour of trade, as the Sensex closed over 140 points lower, while the Nifty shed 0.37 percent, but ended above 10,200.

The Sensex closed down 174.95 points or 0.53% at 33053.04, while the Nifty was down 47.20 points or 0.46% at 10193.00. The market breadth was negative as 944 shares advanced, against a decline of 1718 shares , while 150 shares were unchanged.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, HPCL and IOC were the top gainers, while BHEL, Tata Motors DVR, Vedanta and Cipla lost the most.

3:20 pm Buzzing Stock: Rico Auto Industries shares rallied more than 3 percent intraday Wednesday on signing joint venture agreement with Singapore-based company.

The company informed exchanges that it has signed the joint venture agreement with Ultra Fairwood PTE Limited, Singapore.

The joint venture will manufacture PODs (autonomous electric vehicles to be run on dedicated track) for PRT (personal rapid transport), GRT (group rapid transport) or any variant thereof.

3:06 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices are extending their losses from the morning session, with the Sensex losing over 200 points, while the Nifty shed 10,200-mark as well.

At 15:06 hrs IST, the Sensex was down 226.91 points or 0.68% at 33001.08, while the Nifty was down 62.20 points or 0.61% at 10178.00. The market breadth was negative as 808 shares advanced against a decline of 1,742 shares, while 116 shares were unchanged.

State Bank of India was down around 2 percent. Among gainers and losers, Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, HPCL and IOC gained the most on both indices. BHEL, Vedanta, Cipla and Tata Motors DVR were the top losers.

PSU banks have corrected, with Nifty PSU Bank index falling over 2 percent, while the midcap index is down over 1 percent.

2:45 pm Equity dilution by Interglobe Aviation promoter : InterGlobe Aviation shares fell 3 percent on equity dilution by promoter entities through offer for sale that opened for subscription today.

Two promoter entities of the IndiGo owner planned to offload shares worth at least Rs 1,245 crore through the offer for sale route on Wednesday and Thursday.

The share sale will help the company meet the minimum public shareholding norms. As per Sebi norms, listed companies should have at least 25 percent public shareholding.

2:20 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices reversed all their gains and were trading in the red, owing to intense selling pressure in PSU banks.

At 14:14 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 99.57 points or 0.30% at 33128.42, while the Nifty was down 23.70 points or 0.23% at 10216.50. The market breadth was negative as 1060 shares advanced, 1431 shares declined, and 116 shares are unchanged.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, ONGC, UltraTech Cement and HPCL were top gainers, while ICICI Bank and Vedanta lost the most.

1:50 pm Crackdown on bitcoin: The Income Tax Department today conducted survey operations at major Bitcoin exchanges across the country on suspicion of alleged tax evasion, official sources said.

They said various teams of the sleuths of the department, under the command of the Bengaluru investigation wing, today visited the premises of nine such exchanges in the country including in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Gurugram, since early morning.

The survey, under section 133A of the Income Tax Act, is being conducted for "gathering evidence for establishing the identity of investors and traders, transaction undertaken by them, identity of counterparties, related bank accounts used, among others," they said.

1:35 pm Aadhaar linking: The government has amended rules requiring mandatory quoting of national biometric identifier Aadhaar and PAN for certain financial transactions like opening of a bank account by keeping the deadline open-ended in place of the current December 31.

A new rule modifying the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002 has been notified to replace the requirement of submitting "the Aadhaar number and Permanent Account Number by December 31, 2017" with "submit the Aadhaar number, and Permanent Account Number or Form No. 60, by such date as may be notified by the Central Government".

The notification by the Department of Revenue in the finance ministry effectively paves the way for extending the deadline for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar for activities like the opening of a bank account.

1:10 pm LIC cuts stake: State-owned Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has reduced its stake in IT firm Mastek by 3.09 per cent after selling 7.30 lakh shares in the open market.

As per a BSE filing, LIC, which had 6.14 per cent stake in Mastek earlier, brought down the shareholding in the company to 3.05 per cent.

LIC sold the stake between December 18, 2014 and December 11, 2017.

1:00 pm NSE auction: Leading bourse National Stock Exchange (NSE) will auction investment limits for overseas investors for purchase of corporate bonds worth over Rs 7,300 crore tomorrow.

The auction will be conducted on NSE's e-bid platform from 1530 hrs to 1730 hrs after the close of market hours, the exchange said in a circular.

The auction quota gives overseas investors the right to invest in debt up to the stipulated limit.

Till yesterday, the total investment in the corporate debt category reached Rs 2,10,448 crore, which is 96.61 per cent of the total permitted threshold of Rs 2,17,822 crore, as per the latest update with depositories.

12:50 pm Buzzing Stock: HSBC has raised target price of DLF to Rs 217 (from Rs 185 per share) while maintaining a hold rating on the stock due to weak real estate market environment.

"The target price is hiked to capture deal-implied asset value and renewed focus on business," the research house said.

According to HSBC, large inventory would take 4-5 years to be sold as the real estate market environment remains weak.

The research house cut earnings estimates for FY18/19 by 60 percent. Quick monetisation of ready inventory is an upside risk, it said.

The cash infusion by promoters will improve balance sheet strength and will allow promoters to follow business strategy of their choice, it feels.

12:30 pm Buzzing Stock: JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals shares gained 3 percent on receiving approval from the US health regulator for anti-hypertensive drug.

"The United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has approved the company's supplementary Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Atenolol tablets USP 25mg, 50 mg and 100 mg," the pharmaceuticals company said in its BSE filing.

The company, which plans to commercialise this product in the next quarter, said currently the market for approved product is about USD 70 million.

12:15 pm Market Check: Frontline indices have advanced their gains from the morning session, with the Sensex gaining around 150 points, while the Nifty was advancing towards 10,300.

At 12:15 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 148.52 points or 0.45% at 33376.51, and the Nifty up 51.30 points or 0.50% at 10291.50. The market breadth was positive as 1,335 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,021 shares declined, and 125 shares are unchanged.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, HUL, HPCL and BPCL were the top gainers, while ICICI Bank, Tata Motors DVR, Vedanta and HCL Tech were the top losers.

12:05 pm Oil view: In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Edward Morse, Global Head-Commodities at Citi Research shared his views and readings on the commodity market and spoke at length about crude.

According to him, commodity markets had a good 2017 and most of the commodities closing the year in positive even after profit taking.

He further said that we see robust global gross domestic product (GDP) growth in emerging markets.

Talking about crude, he said Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia efforts have supported crude prices.

11:45 am Expert Speak: The S&P BSE Sensex rallied by about 25 percent so far in 2017, largely on the back of P/E re-rating while earnings stayed flat. Going into 2018, earnings are likely to pick up and P/E multiple could see de-rating, Manish Sonthalia, Head Equities- PMS at Motilal Oswal AMC said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The market is unlikely to break out in a hurry and sectors which did well so far could underperform in the next one year, while the beaten-down sectors such as PSU banks, roads, metals, industrials etc. will remain in demand in the next 6-9 months.

11:20 Unitech Case: The share price of Unitech declined 12 percent intraday Wednesday after Supreme Court has stayed National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) order on government takeover of Unitech. The government is said to have apologised for having moved NCLT when the case was being heard at the apex court.

Supreme Court will hear Unitech case on January 12.

11:00 am Market Check: The benchmark indices turned positive after a gap down opening in the early trade. The Sensex was up 122.37 points at 33350.36, and the Nifty was up 39.60 points at 10279.80.

About 1245 shares have advanced, 988 shares declined, and 113 shares are unchanged.

About 1219 shares have advanced, 1008 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, TCS, HPCL, BPCL, IOC, Bharti Infratel and GAIL are the top gainers on the indices, while top losers are Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Steel, SBI, Vedanta, HCL Tech and Power Grid Corp.

10:42 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of MphasiS gained over 3 percent intraday on Wednesday after IIFL initiated coverage on the stock.

IIFL has a buy call on the stock with a target of Rs 810. This implies an upside of 14 percent from Tuesday's closing price.

The brokerage house believes that the company is in the middle of a turnaround w.r.t growth & profitability. It envisages 13% CAGR each in HP & direct core, driven by strong new-gen-led deal wins.

Further, cost optimization and new-gen-led-deals drive 10%/12% Rev/EPS CAGR Over FY17-20.

10:22 am Oil prices: Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Wednesday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles.

Brent crude was up 50 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $63.84 a barrel by 0152 GMT. It had settled down $1.35, or 2.1 percent, at $63.34 on Tuesday on a wave of profit-taking after news of a key North Sea pipeline shutdown helped send the global benchmark above $65 for the first time since mid-2015.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was up 36 cents, or 0.6 percent, at $57.50 a barrel, having earlier settled down 85 cents at $57.14.

10:10 am Punj Lloyd surges: Punj Lloyd shares surged nearly 14 percent in morning Wednesday on receiving orders from GAIL India for construction of pipeline and NHAI for road project.

"Laying & construction of steel pipeline along with associated facilities for Dhamra-Angul Section of Jagdishpur-Haldia-Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline Project (JHSDPL) PH-II worth Rs 276.11 crore awarded by Gail (India)," the engineering and construction
company said in its filing.

In statement the company further said it has bagged order from National Highway Authority of India for upgradation of Yargi-Kalewa Road section in Myanmar to two lane with Earth shoulders on EPC mode, worth Rs 1,177 crore.

The road project in Myanmar is in joint venture with Varaha Infra.

10:00 am Market Check: Benchmark indices are trading flat, cutting some of the losses from the opening session.

At 10:00 hrs IST, the Sensex is down 12.68 points or 0.04% at 33215.31, while the Nifty is down 1.70 points or 0.02% at 10238.50. The market breadth is in favour of advances as 1,161 shares advanced against a decline of 803 shares, while 90 shares were unchanged.

ONGC, Bharti Airtel and GAIL are the top gainers, while Adani Ports, ITC and Vedanta lost the most on both indices.

9:59 am Buzzing Stock: Dish TV shares rallied as much has 4 percent in morning Wednesday on positive sentiment after the deal to stake sale in direct-to-home arm by Airtel with Warburg Pincus.

Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Tuesday said an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, would acquire up to a 20 percent equity stake in Bharti Telemedia, the direct-to-home subsidiary of Airtel, for approximately USD 350 million.

Under the deal, Bharti Airtel will sell 15 percent stake in Bharti Telemedia and the remaining 5 percent will be sold by another Bharti entity, it added. Post the deal, Airtel will own 80 percent stake in the DTH arm.

9:41 am Expert View: Retail inflation has surged to a fifteen month high in November. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Ananth Narayan, Market Expert shared his views and readings on the numbers.

Narayan said that inflation spike is a nasty shock.

He further said that there is a lot of negativity as well as uncertainty about the future which is not good for the market. In fact, can hardly see any silver lining as far as bond market is concerned, he added.

He also said that he will be data dependent on events such as Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and Gujarat elections.

9:30 am Buzzing Stock: Bharti Airtel shares gained nearly 2 percent intraday after the company decided to sell 20 percent stake in its DTH arm to US private equity firm

"...an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, will acquire up to a 20 percent equity stake in Bharti Telemedia, the direct-to-home subsidiary of Airtel, for approximately USD 350 million," the country's largest telecom operator said in its filing on Tuesday.

Under the deal, Bharti Airtel will sell 15 percent stake in Bharti Telemedia and the remaining 5 percent will be sold by another Bharti entity, it added.

Macquarie said given Airtel's superior ARPUs and margins, the deal is valued at just 2 percent premium at EV/FY17 EBITDA. Valuations reflect Airtel's strong recent performance, it added.

9:15 am Market Opens: Benchmark indices began the day on a lower note, with the Sensex falling nearly 100 points in the first minutes of trade before cutting those losses, while the Nifty was down by almost quarter of a percent.

At 09:17 hrs IST, the Sensex was down 91.65 points at 33136.34, while the Nifty fell 23.00 points or 0.22% at 10217.20. The market breadth was narrow as 409 shares advanced against a decline of 305 shares, while 43 shares were unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs continued its uptrend from Tuesday, along with Bharti Airtel, which gained 1 percent. Both were top gainers on Sensex and Nifty, while ITC, SBI, Power Grid and Vedanta were the top losers.

Midcaps were trading weak, but fell lesser as compared to benchmarks, while Nifty PSU Bank index was down around half a percent.

The Indian rupee declined in the early trade on Wednesday. It has opened lower by 13 paise at 64.53 per dollar versus 64.40 Tuesday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Strength in crude prices and stronger dollar ahead of Fed policy outcome will put pressure on rupee. Trading range would be 64.20-64.80."

The dollar index rose to its highest level in a month and treasuries lost ground ahead of interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve due later today.

Asian shares were treading water in early trade on Wednesday as crude oil futures steadied after a selloff, while a widely expected interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve underpinned the dollar.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was a few ticks higher in early trade.

Japan's Nikkei stock index edged down slightly, shrugging off data that showed Japanese core machinery orders rose a more-than-expected 5 percent in October in a sign of resilient capital spending.

U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday amid growing optimism that Republican lawmakers would be able to revamp the corporate tax system. Wall Street also looked to the Federal Reserve as its two-day policy meeting kicked off.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 118.77 points to 24,504.80, boosted by gains in Boeing and Verizon. The index also posted intraday and closing record highs.

The S&P 500 gained 0.1 percent to close at 2,664.11, notching intraday and closing all-time highs, with telecommunications and financials outperforming.