Indices snaps 2-day losing streak... Sensex, Nifty end flat

After falling for past two trading sessions, the Indian stock market closed on a flat note on Tuesday. Market participants were also jittery as the speech by Fed chair Janet Yellen at an annual summer gathering in Jackson Hole was awaited, for indications of how policymakers view the interest rates outlook and ahead of the expiry of the derivative contracts on Thursday.

Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in oil & gas, power, metal, energy, utilities and basic materials stocks, while IT, telecom, tech and banking stocks were among the gainers.

Among the 50-stocks of Nifty, Idea Cellular, Bank of Baroda, Infosys, TCS, Bharti Infratel, Zee, Asian Paints and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers on NSE, whereas Grasim, BHEL, BPCL, Tata Power, NTPC, Aurobindo Pharma and Bajaj Auto were among the losers today.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended with a gain of mere five points at 27,990. The BSE Sensex opened at 28,013 touched an intra-day high of 28,029 and low of 27,854.

The NSE Nifty closed with a gain of three points at 8,632. The NSE Nifty opened at 8,628 hitting a high of 8,639 and low of 8,580.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was down 2.37% at 13.8975. Out of 1,400 stocks traded on the NSE, 721 declined and 622 advanced today.

The rupee was trading up nine paise at 67.09 per US dollar.

On the global front, Asian stocks closed on a mixed trend. Oil prices fell for a second straight session on supply concerns. Japan’s Nikkei slipped 0.61%. China’s Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng ended marginally higher.

European stocks edged higher after the latest data showed that eurozone's economic recovery gained speed in August. The FTSE 100 was trading inched up 0.5%. The CAC 40 and DAX gained 0.87% each.

Tata Power Company tumbles 3.2% to Rs.74 on the BSE. The company has posted a net profit after taxes, minority interest and share of profit of associates of Rs.72.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.303 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

HPCL dropped 5.3% after the company has posted a net profit of Rs.2,098 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.1614.1 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Welspun India closed lower for the second consecutive sessions after Bloomberg report said Target Corp is ending all business with Welspun India Ltd, one of the world’s biggest textile manufacturers, after saying the supplier was sending it phony Egyptian cotton sheets. Welspun India Ltd hit 20% lower circuit for the second day to Rs.65.85 on BSE.

Shriram EPC jumped 10.6% to Rs.24 after it said that the company through its 100% subsidiary, Shriram EPC FZE, Sharjah has been awarded an overseas contract for an amount of $230 million (around Rs.1530 crore).

Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd dipped 3.5% to Rs.16.35 after the company said its net profit for the June quarter fell 58% to Rs.46.18 crore against Rs.109.40 crore a year ago. Net sales fell 20% to Rs.503.99 crore.

Hotel Leelaventure Ltd climbed 3% to Rs.18.35 after the company said in a notice to BSE that it has sought shareholder approval to sell its properties The Leela Palace Delhi and The Leela Palace Chennai to pare debt.

NTPC Ltd skid 3% to Rs.159. The company has posted a net profit of Rs.2369.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.2276.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The company to raise funds upto Rs.15,000 crore through issue of Bonds/Debentures on Private Placement basis.

Allcargo Logistics Ltd fell 3% to Rs.189. The company reported 11.8% decline in its net profit to Rs.28.30 crore in June quarter against Rs.32.07 crore a year ago. Total income rose 0.5% to Rs.306.15 crore.

MEP Infrastructure Developers Ltd rose 3.8% to Rs.44. The company has received the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) dated 22 August 2016 from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informing that MEP has been engaged as the Contractor for the Project of “Collection of user fee through Fee Collection Agency on the basis of competitive bidding through (e-tender) for Ghangari at 346.100km (Gorhar to Barwa Adda) from 320km-398.750km of National Highway No. 2 in the State of Jharkhand.

Pfizer gained 2.3% to Rs.1949 after the company said it would buy U.S. cancer drug company Medivation Inc for $14 billion in cash, adding its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi to the company's growing oncology roster.

A total of 74 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, whereas 17 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Sensex below 28000, Nifty ends at 8632; Idea Cellular top gainer

Equity benchmarks remained in a consolidation mode. The Sensex was up 4.67 points at 27990.21 and the Nifty up 3.45 points at 8632.60. 

Idea Cellular surged nearly 8 percent on hopes of merger with Vodafone.

 The Rs 1,200 crore public issue of RBL Bank, erstwhile Ratnakar Bank, has received overwhelming response from investors as it already received bids for Rs 37,897 crore worth of shares on last day of subscription. 

The issue has oversubscribed 44.44 times as the IPO received bids for 168.4 crore equity shares against the total issue size of 3.79 crore shares (excluding anchor investors' portion), according to the latest data available on the exchange (15:00 hours IST). 

The reserved portion of qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) is oversubscribed 72 times while the non-institutional investors' portion subscribed 98 times. The quota reserved for retail investors saw oversubscription of 5 times. RBL Bank is the first private sector lender came out with initial public offering in a decade. 

Idea and Vodafone merger may breach 50 percent market share in few circles and will create India's largest telecom company. Regulatory approvals are crucial for Idea and Vodafone potential merger, say sources. Vodafone India may not need to bring in its IPO if it seals a deal with Idea. Idea shares surged 5 percent. 

The Centre has rejected a proposal of software major Infosys to set up an IT special economic zone (SEZ) in West Bengal due to lack of state's recommendation. The decision was taken in a meeting of the Board of Approval (BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia, on August 12. "After deliberations, the board rejected the proposal due to lack of recommendation from the state government," the minutes of the BoA meeting said. Infosys had proposed to set up IT-ITeS SEZ over an area of 20.14 hectares in South 24 Parganas. 

The state government's recommendation is important to get approvals from the BoA. On the other hand, the BoA approved four new proposals to set up SEZs.

 Equity benchmarks extended losses amid consolidation in afternoon trade with the Nifty breaching 8600 level, dragged by ITC, L&T, ICICI Bank, HDFC and Reliance Industries. The Sensex fell 85.51 points to 27900.03 and the Nifty slipped 37.20 points to 8591.95. 

About 1326 shares declined against 1211 advancing shares on the BSE. Railways increased freight rates by upto 19 percent. Star Cement said that will impact cement and freight rates. UltraTech Cement, ACC and JSW Steel declined over a percent. 

BHEL extended sell-off, down 4.4 percent as Macquarie has retained its underperform rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 79. The brokerage house says the stock has held up on hopes of turnaround in orders & earnings but there is likelihood of scrapping of large tender by NTPC where the company was L1. 

It expects BHEL to return to meaningful profit only in FY19. European stocks extended gains, buoyed by data which showed that the euro zone economy had yet to feel a negative impact from the 'Brexit' vote. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.8 percent. Markets in wait-and-see mode ahead of a speech on Friday by US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen at Jackson Hole and clues about the timing of the next US interest rate hike. 

Live Stock Market Updates - Sensex, Nifty trade flat

The Indian equity market declines for third straight session and trading flat below its crucial 28,000 level, while the broader Nifty50 was heading down towards its key 8,600 mark.

The Sensex opened 27.02 points up at 28,012.56, while Nifty opened 0.80 points down at 8,628.35

At 10:58 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 27,959 down 26 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,623 down mere six points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading down 0.33% at 12,939 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.09% at 12,453.

TCS, Infosys, GAIL, Wipro, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Adani Ports are among the gainers, whereas ITC, Bajaj Auto, SBI, L&T, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in IT, utilities, metal and telecom sectors, while oil & gas, FMCG, capital goods, finance and power showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 0.57% at 14.1525. Out of 1,850 stocks traded on the NSE, 739 declined, 779 advanced and 332 remained unchanged today.

A total of 46 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 11 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 773, up by Rs. 43.85 or 6.01% from its previous closing of Rs. 729.15 on the BSE. The company has posted a net profit after tax of Rs.148 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.102.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

The rupee opened higher by six paise at 67.12/$ against US Dollar Tuesday as against the previous close of 67.18/$.

Asian markets are trading mixed. Shanghai Composite is trading in green, while Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng are trading lower by 0.22%.

Wall Street stocks closed mostly lower on Monday, as investors looked ahead to a key speech from a top Federal Reserve official. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.12% lower, at 18,529.42 points. The S&P 500 slipped 0.06% to end at 2,182.64 points, while the Nasdaq gained 0.12% to 5,244.60 points.

Oil remained under pressure after shedding 3 percent on Monday. Prices retreated from two-month highs on worries about burgeoning Chinese fuel exports, more Iraqi and Nigerian crude shipments and a rising US oil rig count.

On the economy front, the selection panel to appoint three government nominees for the monetary policy committee (MPC) held its first meeting recently to consider the candidates, a top Finance Ministry official said.

Moody’s Investors Service said that India’s growth outlook is positive, in its annual credit analysis of government bonds.

The initial public offering of RBL Bank Ltd, excluding the anchor allotment, was subscribed 308.33% or 3.08 times on Monday, the second of the three-day offering. The Rs.1,211.2 crore IPO, which opened on Friday, will close on 23 August.

Top 18 stocks in focus today: Pfizer, HPCL, Future Enterprises, SpiceJet

Pfizer: Pfizer Inc, beating out numerous other bidders, said it would buy U.S. cancer drug company Medivation Inc for $14 billion in cash, adding its blockbuster prostate cancer drug Xtandi to the company's growing oncology roster.

Tata Power: Tata Power will announce its Q1 numbers today.

Birla Corporation, Reliance Infrastructure: Birla Corporation said it has completed acquisition of Anil Ambani's cement business, a wholly-owned arm of flagship Reliance Infrastructure, for an enterprise valuation of about Rs.4,800 crore.

Future Enterprises: Future Group is in early discussions with Aditya Birla Retail to buy or merge the latter's More supermarket business to consolidate its leadership in the brick-and-mortar retail sector and to build a large network of stores that could be leveraged in alliance with ecommerce companies for multi-channel sale of food and groceries, as per media report.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd: The company has posted a net profit of Rs.2,098 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.1614.1 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Shree Renuka Sugars: Shree Renuka Sugars has posted a net profit of Rs.3.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to net loss of Rs.150.2 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

NTPC: NTPC Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs.2369.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.2276.5 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The company has sought shareholders’ approval to raise up to Rs.15,000 crore through issuance of debentures/bonds on a private placement basis.

IGL: Indraprastha Gas reported a 44 per cent jump in its June quarter net profit on rise in gas sales and lower interest cost.

SpiceJet: SpiceJet will start flights to Silchar and Aizawl from October as the budget airline looks to boost air connectivity in the North East region.

Tata Motors: PT Tata Motors Distribusi Indonesia (TMDI), a Tata Motors’ unit, has launched two new-generation commercial vehicles in Indonesia - Tata ULTRA 1012 light truck and Tata Xenon XT D-Cab 4x4 pick-up - at the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show (GIIAS) 2016. 

RIL: Reliance Industries has sought quashing of an FIR against it on alleged irregularities in raising the price of gas from KG 6 basin, telling Delhi High Court that the AAP government was "never entitled" to lodge an FIR against it, as per media report.

Lupin: Lupin has received approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for Acotiamide 100mg tablets used for treatment of indigestion.

Leelaventures: The company said it is seeking shareholders' nod to sell properties in Chennai and Delhi to pay off debt.

Jindal Steel and Power Ltd: JSPL said it has secured long-term coal linkage of 1.18 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for power plants in Chhattisgarh.

Nestle India: Nestle India’s instant noodle brand Maggi, whose sales were severely hit by a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India ban last year, has regained its leadership position capturing 57% share of the market in June this year.

Aurobindo Pharma: Aurobindo Pharma will announce its Q1 numbers today.

GAIL (India): GAIL and Silicon Valley-based Bloom Energy announced a new partnership to transform India’s energy future through the use of innovative technology and signed a MoU to deploy revolutionary natural gas-based fuel cell technology to generate electricity.

MEP Infra: The company has received the Letter of Acceptance from National Highways Authority of India.

Sensex, Nifty under pressure in early trade; HPCL, NTPC fall

The market was marginally lower in early trade with the Sensex struggling below 28000 level amid consolidation. 

The Sensex was down 32.64 points at 27952.90 and the Nifty declined 16.20 points at 8612.95. 

The Indian rupee has opened higher by 7 paise at 67.12 per dollar against previous close of 67.19 a dollar.

 Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank says the market attention is fully focused on Fed Chief Janet Yellen's Jackson Hole speech this weekend, after some hawkish comments from Fed speakers have increased the probability of Fed hiking interest rates earlier than anticipated. 

He expects the USD-INR pair to trade in the 67-67.50/dollar range in the near term. The dollar stopped its advance against major currencies on hesitation ahead of a speech from the Fed chair on Friday.