Nifty plunges below 8,400

The market witnessed second round of selling amid reports that GST Bill may miss the April 2016 deadline. Metal stocks bear brunt of the selling pressure.The India VIX (Volatility) index has soared over 7 percent to 17.02.The breadth too is fairly bearish, with over 1,150 declining stocks versus 328 advancing shares on the NSE.

The market has extended losses in the noon deals amid reports that the Rajya Sabha has again been adjourned for the day, and hence GST Bill may now miss the April 2016 deadline.

The BSE Sensex is now languishing around the lows of the day at 28,645 - down 221 points. The NSE Nifty has tumbled 74 points to 8,389.

The India VIX (Volatility) index has soared over 7 percent to 17.02.

The broader market has also seen deep cuts. The CNX Nifty Junior, Midcap and the Smallcap indices are down around 2 percent each.

The breadth too is fairly bearish, with over 1,150 declining stocks versus 328 advancing shares on the NSE.

Among sectors - the CNX Realty index has plunged over 4 percent to 173.80, and the Metal index has tumbled over 3 percent to 1,971. The Bank Nifty has declined 1.8 percent to 18,291. Most of the sectoral indices are down 1.5-2.5 percent each.

BPCL is the major loser in the Nifty-50. The stock has slumped over 6 percent to Rs. 869.

Hindalco and Vedanta have plunged over 5.5 percent each to Rs. 97.35 and Rs. 117, respectively. Coal India has shed 4.6 percent at Rs. 375.

Cairn India, SBI, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel have declined over 3 percent each to Rs. 157, Rs. 260, Rs. 358 and Rs. 393, respectively.

On the positive front, Sun Pharma has surged 3.5 percent to Rs. 871.

HCL Technologies, Infosys and TCS have rallied around 2.5 percent each to Rs. 965, Rs. 1,135 and Rs. 2,665, respectively.

Tech Mahindra and Tata Steel too have jumped nearly 2 percent each.

Fin Min: Petroleum subsidy for FY17 projected at Rs. 32,000 Crore for FY18

The Food Subsidy for FY17 projected at Rs. 1.32 Lakh Crore & Rs. 1.41 Lakh Crore for FY18, according to Finance Ministry.

Finance Ministry said that the petroleum subsidy for FY17 projected at Rs. 32,000 crore & Rs. 34,000 Crore for FY18.

The Food Subsidy for FY17 projected at Rs. 1.32 Lakh Crore & Rs. 1.41 Lakh Crore for FY18, according to Finance Ministry.

The total spending in FY18 is likely to be Rs. 20.6 Lakh Crore.

Apollo Tyres surges on plans to raise funds

The company's board has approved raising up to Rs. 2,000 crore for meeting its capex requirements.

Apollo Tyres has rallied nearly 4 percent to a high of Rs. 188 on the back of positive news flow.

The company's board has approved raising up to Rs. 2,000 crore for meeting its capex requirements.

Further the company's Q1FY16 net profit jumped by 27.5 percent to Rs. 290.59 crore from Rs. 227.94 crore. Total income, however, declined over 12 percent to Rs. 2,871 crore from Rs. 3,269 crore.

The stock is now up 2.3 percent at Rs. 187. The counter has seen trades of around 278,000 shares as against the two-week daily average volume of around 698,000 shares on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has recouped losses and is now down 85 points at 27,781.

Cabinet may consider Coal India stake sale proposal

A report says that the government holds 79.65% stake in Coal India (CIL). Coal India stake sale proposal may be placed before the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Cabinet may consider 5-10% stake sale in Coal India that could fetch up to Rs. 24,800 crore to the exchequer, according to reports.

A report says that the government holds 79.65% stake in Coal India (CIL).

Coal India stake sale proposal may be placed before the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The government has set a target of Rs 69,500 crore to be garnered through PSU stake sale. 

Coal India cracks on stake sale plan

The stock is now down 4 percent on the BSE.

Coal India is trading on a weak note in early morning deals on the BSE, on reports that the Cabinet may consider today a 5-10 percent stake sale in company.

The firm will also scheduled to report its Q1 results later today.

The stock tumbled all-the-way to a low of Rs. 375, and is now down 4 percent at Rs. 377.

The counter has seen trades of around 193,000 shares as against the two-week daily average volume of 340,000 shares.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex has slipped almost 200 points at 27,675.

Record low: Indian Rupee crashes to 64.84/$ against US dollar

On Monday, rupee ended at 64.20/$, weaker by 34 paise from its previous close of 63.86/$ . The currency touched a high and low of 64.78/$ and 64.87/$ respectively.

Indian Rupee fell sharply in early trade today, as it opened at 63.55 against the US dollar. It is currently trading at 63.85 against the greenback, which is its lowest level since September 2013.

A global rout in currency and financial markets triggered by Chinese central bank's policy move combined with concerns about capital outflows in the face of imminent US interest rate hike weighed on the local currency. Besides, dollar demand by importers in view of its strength of American currency overseas added to negative triggers.

On Monday, rupee ended at 64.20/$, weaker by 34 paise from its previous close of 63.86/$ . The currency touched a high and low of 64.78/$ and 64.87/$ respectively. The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) reference rate for the dollar stood at 64.1732 and for Euro stood at 70.36 on August 11, 2015. While, the RBI’s reference rate for the Yen stood at 51.37, the reference rate for the Great Britain Pound (GBP) stood at 99.8471.

20 Stocks in focus today

Check out the companies which will be in focus during trade today based on recent and latest news developments.

KEC International: The company has bagged new orders worth Rs. 838 crore in transmission and distribution as well as telecom cable business.

Tata Motors: The company plans to invest up to 1 billion euros for the new JLR plant outside the United Kingdom. It has signed a letter of intent with the Slovakian government to build the factory in the western city of Nitra, its first European production plant outside of the United Kingdom. The new plant is likely to have a capacity of 300,000 cars per year.

Tata Steel: The company has posted a net profit after taxes, Minority Interest and Share of Profit/(Loss) of Associates of Rs. 7,629.60 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 as compared to Rs. 3,373.30 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Sun Pharma Ltd: The pharma company has posted a net profit after taxes & minority interest of Rs. 4789.60 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 as compared to Rs. 12045.90 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Bosch: The company reported 12 percent growth in Q1FY16 net profit at Rs. 343.74 crore when compared with Rs. 306.68 crore in Q1FY15. Total income was up 8.3 percent at Rs. 2,665 crore from Rs. 2,460 crore.

Coal India Ltd: The company is scheduled to announce its results today. The Cabinet may consider on Wednesday a 5-10% stake sale in Coal India that could fetch up to Rs 24,800 crore to the exchequer, as per media reports. 

JSW Steel: The company has registered a flat growth in crude steel production at 11.26 lakh tonnes in July, 2015 as compared to 11.13 lakh tonnes in the same period last year.

Godrej Ind: The company's net profit rose 21.39% to Rs. 94.3 crore in the quarter ended June 2015 as against Rs. 77.7 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2014. Sales rose 5.81% to Rs 2423.96 crore in the quarter ended June 2015 as against Rs 2290.88 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2014.

Jubilant Life Sciences Ltd: The company's consolidated net profit jumped by over 26 times to Rs 128.06 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. Sales declined 1.52% to Rs. 1,438.38 crore in the quarter ended June 2015 as against Rs. 1,460.53 crore during the previous quarter ended June 2014.

Titan Company: Tata Steel has sold 2.18% of its stake in group firm Titan to Tata Sons for over Rs. 637 crore, a move aimed by the steel maker to monetise its non-core and listed assets, as per media reports. 

The Great Eastern Shipping Company: G.E. Shipping has signed a contract to sell a new Kamsarmax Dry Bulk Carrier "Jag Aakash" (81,600 dwt).

SpiceJet & Jet Airways: CCI is investigating whether there is cartelisation among airlines in fixing passenger fares, the government said on Tuesday.

HPCL: The company posted a 35-fold jump in its first quarter net profit as the company achieved one of its best gross refining margins in recent times, said media reports.

Larsen & Toubro: The company announced the appointment of Sanjay Jalona as the Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of its wholly-owned subsidiary L&T Infotech, with a mandate to lead the company in its next phase of growth. He has also been inducted as a Director on the board of L&T Infotech. Prior to joining L&T Infotech, Jalona was with Infosys as Executive Vice President and Global Head of High-Tech Manufacturing & Engineering Services.

Apollo Tyres: The company plans to spend Rs. 12 bn to increase the truck and bus radial tyre capacity at the Chennai plant from 8,900 tyres a day to 12,000 tyres a day. The company informed the stock exchanges that its board of directors, at a meeting, approved raising Rs. 20 bn in debt to meet the capital expenditure requirements and proposed expansions at Chennai and Kalamassery (Kerala) plants.

Maruti Suzuki: The company posted its highest market share in more than a decade in July, when almost one in every two passenger vehicles rolled out of the country's manufacturing plants had a Maruti badge on it.

IL&FS Transportation Networks: The company said that its subsidiary has signed a concession agreement with the Jharkhand Government for the development of six-laning of Ranchi Ring Road at an estimated cost of Rs. 5.87 bn.

Power Grid Corporation: The company is likely to soon raise another Rs. 30 bn under its second round of fund raising plan through domestic bonds to meet working capital expenditure.

Uttam Galva Steels Ltd: Shree Uttam Steel & Power and South Korea’s Posco have signed an agreement to set up a 3 million tonne per annum integrated steel manufacturing plant in Maharashtra at an investment of US$3bn (Rs. 19,200 crore

Tata Steel jumps as Q1 net more-than-doubles

Tata Steel's Q1FY16 consolidated net profit more-than-doubled to Rs. 762.96 crore when compared with Rs. 337.33 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

Tata Steel has spurted over 3.5 percent to a high of Rs. 256 in opening trades this morning on the back of over 126 percent jump in Q1 consolidated net.

Tata Steel's Q1FY16 consolidated net profit more-than-doubled to Rs. 762.96 crore when compared with Rs. 337.33 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. Total income, however, was down 15.3 percent at Rs. 31,062 crore from Rs. 36,643 crore.

The stock is now up nearly 2 percent at Rs. 251, and around 500,000 shares have changed hands in the first few minutes of trade on the BSE.

Meanwhile, the Sensex has declined 124 points to 27,742.