Nifty to Witness Gap Down Opening on Weak Global Cues

9:08 a.m.: Sensex falls 140 points to 28,031 and Nifty slips 71 points to 8,439 in the pre-market session.

9:00 a.m.: Rupee opens lower at 63.54/dollar against Tuesday's close of 63.46

8:56 a.m.: CLSA has recommended buy on Bharti Airtel. CLSA says that Bharti Airtel is their top pick in the telecom sector and the sector is likely to see a renewed phase of consolidation. Spectrum-sharing and trading rules will come out soon and the top three incumbents will gain markets share.

8:42 a.m.: Macqauire has come out with an 'underperform' rating on NMDC for target price of Rs 90 per share. Macqauire says that company is facing a bleak business cycle and NMDC looks expensive as it trades at 1.3 times to its price to book value. The brokerage sees low demand and little possibility of improvement.

8:38 a.m.: Back home, these stocks will be in focus today:

Hindalco: Hindalco is looking to refinance debt worth $2.4 billion. The company is in discussions with banks about extending the maturity of loan and the company is also looking to negotiate on lower interest cost. Total debt of Hindalco has more than doubled in four years.

Crompton Greaves: Crompton Greaves has signed pact with Lafarge for global supply agreement for electric motors.

Vascon Engineers: Vascon Engineers has got an EPC order worth Rs 286 crore.

Stock Brokerage Firms: Stock brokerages such as MOSL, IIFL and Religare will be in focus as Warburg, General Atlantic are eyeing stake in Sharekhan.

NMDC: NMDC plans to set up 3 million tonnes per annum steel plant in Karnataka.

8:15 a.m.: The drop in China extended a savage correction that has clipped 30 percent off Chinese shares since mid-June, threatening a new blow to the country's already slowing economy despite a slew of market support steps from Beijing.

Shanghai's benchmark composite index was down 6.4 percent, while the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen slipped 6.7 percent.

Chinese media reported that possibly more than half of China's listed companies have suspended or will seek trading suspensions in an attempt to escape the market rout. (Read)

8:10 a.m.: The foreign institutional investors purchased Indian shares worth Rs 23.5 crore on Tuesday while the domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 94.7 crore.

In the derivative segment, the FIIs bought index futures worth Rs 960 crore while they sold stock futures worth Rs 60 crore.

8:00 a.m.: The Indian markets are likely to witness a gap down opening on the back of weak global cues on concerns over plunging Chinese markets and ongoing Greece debt concerns.

The Nifty which is traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty plunged over 1 per cent or 94 points to 8,432 indicating a weak start for the Indian equities.

7:55 a.m.: Asian shares fell on Wednesday as investors fretted over Greece's debt crisis and a recent plunge in Chinese stocks, while the euro steadied.

Euro zone members gave Athens until the end of this week to propose reform measures in order to secure the funding it needs to stay in the euro zone.

7:45 a.m.: Euro zone members have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe's currency bloc and into economic ruin. 

Sensex, Nifty crack at start

US markets clocked some gains with Dow adding 0.5% and Nasdaq paring its losses. If Nifty manages to sustain above 8,450 on a closing basis, the uptrend remains intact.

Just when you thought that the Greece issue will remain an isolated incident for the Indian market comes a crash closer home in China. Despite unprecedented measures taken over the weekend to prop up the Chinese market, there seems to be no respite as Shanghai stock index came crashing down over 8%. Over 200 Chinese companies announced separately that trading in their shares had been suspended. Most of the industrial commodities are hitting multi-month lows. Prolonged volatility may well continue in equity and commodity markets as several measures initiated by the Chinese regime of late have failed to stem the rout

The outlook is a weak start. Indices could come tumbling down after a breather on Tuesday. US markets clocked some gains with Dow adding 0.5% and Nasdaq paring its losses. If Nifty manages to sustain above 8,450 on a closing basis, the uptrend remains intact. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Russia for three-day visit to attend the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summits. Modi is expected to meet Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Greece of course remains in focus as eurozone finance ministers meet for an emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss what’s next for Greece after Sunday’s referendum. Reports state that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has proposed an interim financing until the end of July. Greece asked for extra funds in exchange for some overhauls being demanded from Greece’s parliament, according to The Wall Street Journal.

An ET poll of 14 market participants shows that the INR-USD pair may head to 64.50. Some feel the Indian currency could fall to as low 65.50/dollar in the next three months, the survey added.

Essar Oil rallied over 4% to Rs. 181 on buzz that the National Stock Exchange has approved the company's proposal to delist the shares from the stock exchanges.

Puravankara Projects surged to a high of Rs. 82.60 after the company generated Rs. 140 crore by selling its 18 acre land off Kanakpura Road in Bengaluru for Rs. 140 crore to Godrej Properties and Dutch pension services provider APG. The stock eventually ended with a loss of 0.8 percent at Rs. 79.

Tilaknagar Industries hit the second straight 20% upper circuit at Rs. 25.40 on buzz that the company has initiated discussions with a few lenders to restructure its Rs. 790 crore debt. There were reports that Kishore Chhabria-controlled Allied Blenders & Distillers (ABD) is looking to buy a majority stake in the company.

Ortel Communications was up over a percent at Rs. 184 after the company announced the launch of free broadband option for a year to its cable TV subscribers in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. The stock hit an intra-day 52-week high at Rs. 214.

IRB Infrastructure Developers rallied to a high of Rs. 247 on receiving a Letter of Award from NHAI for the project of Six Laning of Agra-Etawah Bypass section of NH-2 in Uttar Pradesh for Rs. 2,650 crore. The stock finally ended a Re. lower at Rs. 238.

MEP Infrastructure Developers advanced over 2% to Rs. 62.25 after the company received the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) on July 06, 2015 from NHAI for collection of user fee through Fee Collecting Agency for Gaurau Toll Plaza, in Uttar Pradesh.

Sterlite Technologies soared 3% to Rs. 86.55 amid reports that the company is vying for another strategic project in the defence sector estimated to be around Rs. 7,000 crore.

Prestige Estates added 1.3 percent to Rs. 251 after the company informed the BSE that it plans to buy back Exora business park.

Unity Infraprojects surged nearly 10 percent to Rs. 15 after the company converted part of its debt into equity under the CDR scheme. The company allocated 3.6 million shares at Rs. 27.52 each to CDR lenders and another 26.42 million shares to the promoters group at the same price.

Sobha zoomed 5% at Rs. 383 after the company reported total sales of Rs. 531.80 crore in Q1FY16, as against Rs. 524 crore in a year ago period.

South Indian Bank slipped 3.3 percent to Rs. 24.85 on turning ex-dividend. The bank's board had approved a dividend of 60 paise per share to its shareholders.

Marksans Pharma ended higher for the sixth straight trading session, up 3.7 percent at Rs. 87.75. The stock has zoomed by 49 percent in the last six days on completing the acquisition of New-York based Time-Cap Laboratories.

Diageo-controlled United Spirits Ltd has exited from United Breweries Ltd by selling entire 3.21 per cent stake in the company for Rs. 872 crore.United Spirits sold its stake to Heineken International BV at a price consideration of Rs 1,030 per share, United Spirits said.

Nestle India has paid Rs 20 crore to Ambuja Cements for destroying Maggi instant noodles.

The government said it is committed to accomplishing the target of 1,75,000 MW renewable energy including 1,00,000 MW solar energy by 2022.

Government is looking at raising Rs 15,000 crore in the current fiscal through the gold bond scheme, according to reports.

SBI gains on plan to spend Rs 4, 000 crore on digital services upgrade

State Bank of India is currently trading at Rs. 273.00, up by 2.10 points or 0.78% from its previous closing of Rs. 270.90 on the BSE.

The scrip opened at Rs. 270.60 and has touched a high and low of Rs. 274.60 and Rs. 270.25 respectively. So far 373648 shares were traded on the counter.

The BSE group 'A' stock of face value Rs. 1 has touched a 52 week high of Rs. 335.90 on 28-Jan-2015 and a 52 week low of Rs. 234.52 on 08-Oct-2014.

Last one week high and low of the scrip stood at Rs. 274.60 and Rs. 261.90 respectively. The current market cap of the company is Rs. 206822.29 crore.

The promoters holding in the company stood at 58.60% while Institutions and Non-Institutions held 30.45% and 8.81% respectively.

State Bank of India (SBI) has increased its information technology (IT) budget by a third this financial year as part of its strategy to improve its digital offerings. The bank will spend nearly Rs.4,000 crore before March 2016 and significantly upgrade its IT back-end, while also investing in new equipment for the 250 InTouch Lite branches it plans to add during the year.

The InTouch Lite branches will have devices for customers to help themselves while opening a new account, getting a new debit card, transferring or depositing money, planning for savings and applying for new loans.

The bank has posted a rise of 65.52% in its net profit at Rs 134.42 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 as compared to Rs 81.21 crore for the same quarter in the previous year. Total income of the bank has increased by 11.55% at Rs 1308.04 crore for quarter under review as compared to Rs 1172.58 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014.

Transformers and Rectifiers bags order worth Rs 124 crore

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) has bagged order worth Rs 124 crore from Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation (GETCO). With this order, the company’s order book as on date stands around Rs 900 crore.

Transformers and Rectifiers (India) is one of India’s leading transformer manufacturers. The company is the main supplier of transformers to the Sardar Sarovar hydel project, state electricity boards and major international clients.

Yes Bank enters into partnership with Citrix

Yes Bank, India’s fifth largest private sector Bank, has entered into partnership with Citrix to achieve workspace mobility and faster rollout of new branches. The bank has announced the adoption of Citrix Workspace Cloud and Netscaler ADC to empower workforce mobility and ensure faster rollout of new branches.

With this adoption, Yes Bank sets a new standard of service delivery management, allowing secure and controlled delivery of all enterprise and cloud services to maximize the end user experience including mobile clients.

Citrix is a leader in mobile workspaces, providing virtualization, mobility management, networking and cloud services to enable new ways to work better.

Union Bank launches digital initiatives for its customers in Mumbai

Union Bank of India has launched digital initiatives for its customers in Mumbai. In this regard, the bank is looking for open 100 digital branches. The digital culture has percolated to other employees of the bank and is now being extended to the customers as well.

The bank’s net profit slipped by 23.34% at Rs 443.77 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2015 as compared to Rs 578.91 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. Its total Income grew by 11.11% to Rs 9383.71 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 8444.95 crore for the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Gold futures end higher on Monday

Gold futures ended higher on Monday, after Greek voters rejected terms of a bailout plan demanded by its international creditors, deepening the country's economic woes, and offsetting pressure from a rising US dollar.

Gold futures for August delivery gained $9.70 or 0.8 % to settle at $1,173.20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. While, spot gold was up by 0.2 percent at $1,170.01 an ounce.

Developments in Greece could have implications on international currency market: Sitharaman

The day Indian chief economic advisor (CEA) tried to soothe the nerves of the investors, dismissing the possibility of any material impact on the Indian economy from the developments in Greece, anticipating some impact on the rupee from investors pulling out in fear, the Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has supported the view and said that the government is “very closely” monitoring the developments in Greece as that could have implications on the international currency market. Sitharaman stated that 'I think the Greece affair is going to play out for a few more days and we will certainly have to watch that...India's foreign exchange reserves are comfortable. The RBI and the government are very closely monitoring the developments. I think we have to be alert and keep watching what is happening.' The Commerce and Industry Minister though said that is too early to gauge the impact on the domestic currency as it is euro vs dollar taking a fluctuation with euro resulting in further weakening and all this is going to have an implication on the international currency market. Sitharaman also said that negotiations of India-EU free trade agreement will not get impacted by the development as chief negotiators have been mandated. India and the European Union are expected to resume negotiations in August on the proposed free trade agreement for boosting two-way commerce and investment.

Crude oil slumps to three months low on Greek development

Crude oil futures plunged on Monday to end at three months low; on demand growth concerns after Greek voters rejected a bailout offer proposed by its international creditors. The 'no' vote in the referendum has added to recent concerns about Greece defaulting and exiting from the eurozone. Prices were also impacted on rising concerns of a global oversupply situation with a potential nuclear deal between Iran and the West in the offing. The two sides are expected to come to an agreement over Iran's nuclear program, the deadline for which is Tuesday.

Benchmark crude oil futures for August delivery slumped by $4.40 or 7.7 percent, to settle at $52.53 a barrel after trading in a range of $55.34 and $52.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for August delivery fell by around 6 percent to $56.55 a barrel on the ICE.

Nifty holds 8500 amid consolidation; HDFC, Wipro, CIL gain

10:15 am Oil Update: Oil rebounded in Asia today on bargain-hunting after prices plunged a day earlier as Greek defiance against austerity measures imposed by its creditors sparked turbulence in global markets. Prices rose ahead of an emergency summit on Greece by eurozone leaders in Brussels on Tuesday, after Greek citizens overwhelmingly rejected creditors' demands for further belt-tightening in a referendum. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery advanced 47 cents to USD 53.00 in late-morning Asian trade after plummeting nearly 8.0 percent, or USD 4.43, in US closing deals yesterday. Brent crude for August gained 69 cents to USD 57.23 after retreating more than 6.0 percent, or USD 3.78, in London. 10:00 am Market Check The market entered into consolidation mode after pricing in Greece crisis. The near term key trigger for the market would be April-June quarter earnings and monsoon. The Sensex rose 43.93 points to 28252.69 and the Nifty advanced 16.15 points to 8538.30. The broader markets outperformed benchmarks; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively. The market breadth remained positive as about 1398 shares have advanced against 465 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange. HDFC, Wipro and Coal India topped the buying list on Sensex, up 1-2 percent followed by ICICI Bank, Infosys, State Bank of India, Axis Bank and M&M with marginal gains. However, Reliance Industries, HUL, Lupin, Tata Motors, ITC, NTPC and ONGC declined 0.2-1 percent.