Live Stock Market Updates - Nifty holds 8,650 mark

At 9:33 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,088 up 11 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,668 up mere one points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.25% at 13,067 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.33% at 12,500.

Adani Ports, GAIL, ITC, HUL, Cipla, NTPC, Bajaj Auto are among the gainers, whereas Lupin, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, TCS and Axis Bank are losing sheen on BSE.

Some of important earning announcements are scheduled  HPCL, NTPC, Tata Power are prominent name from the list of corporates, who will announce their numbers.

Urjit Patel has been named as the 24th governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Patel will take over from Raghuram Rajan when the latter leaves office after his term ends on 4 September

Trai announced new rules that would allow telecom companies to offer data packs with validity of 365 days. The earlier regulations allowed telecom companies to offer data packs with a maximum validity of 90 days.

India's foreign exchange reserves jumped the third consecutive week,  foreign exchange reserves increased by $73.2 million to $365.822 billion in the week ended August 12, the Reserve Bank of India said.

Sensex, Nifty end flat amid lackluster session

After Thursday's smart run up, indices took a breather today amid lackluster day of trades. Weak global cues, profit booking and weak rupee dampened the sentiments. On the other hand, Nifty Bank index continued to out-perform.

Today’s decline was led by the realty, telecom, IT and pharma stocks, while metal, consumer durables, oil & gas, banking and industrial stocks were among the gainer.

Finally, the BSE Sensex ended with a loss of 46 points at 27,127. The BSE Sensex opened at 28,168 touched an intra-day high of 28,212 and low of 28,026.

The NSE Nifty closed with a loss of mere six points at 8,667. The NSE Nifty opened at 8,694 hitting a high of 8,697 and low of 8,647.

Among the 50-stocks of Nifty, Bank of Baroda, SBI, Hindalco, Aurobindo Pharma, Ambuja Cement, Yes Bank, BHEL, Tata Power and UltraTech Cement were among the gainers on NSE, whereas Eicher Motors, Bharti Infratel, TCS, Coal India, Lupin and Wipro were among the losers today.

The India VIX (Volatility) index was slightly down 0.08% at 14.5375. Out of 1,860 stocks traded on the NSE, 701 declined and 899 advanced today.

The rupee was trading down 22 paise at 67.02 per US dollar.

On the global front, Japan’s Nikkei and China’s Shanghai Composite ended marginally higher, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 0.37%.

European shares were trading in red. The FTSE 100 is trading marginally down. The CAC 40 and DAX dropped over 0.77% each.

SBI jumped 4.2% to Rs.258.50 on BSE. The board of State Bank of India Ltd cleared the proposed merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself.

Shipping Corporation of India dropped 5% after the company's net profit slipped 72.56% to Rs.55.91 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2016, compared to the same period last year. The company had posted a net profit of Rs.203.78 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

V-Guard Industries gained 1% to Rs.1,763 after the company announced that it has fixed 31 August 2016 as the record date for 10 for 1 stock split.

Coal India dropped 1.4% to Rs.334. As per media reports, Government of India's impending stake-sale in the company. GoI currently holds 79.65% in Coal India as on 30 June 2016.

UltraTech Cement gained 1.1% to Rs.3915 on the BSE. The cement company is planning to raise Rs.500 crore through issuance of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on private placement basis.

Bharti Airtel slipped 0.44% to Rs.350. Singapore Telecommunications said that it has signed a conditional share purchase agreement with Temasek Holdings to acquire 7.39% stake in Bharti Telecom Ltd, holding company of India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel Ltd, and 21% in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings public Co. Ltd for a total of $1.8 billion.

India Cements soared 5.2% to Rs.132. The company reported 16% jump in its net profit at Rs.44 crore for the April-June quarter. India Cements had reported a net profit of Rs.38 crore on sales of Rs.1,221 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

A total of 87 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, whereas 18 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Some of the stocks to log a fresh 52-week high during intra-day are Accelya Kale Solutions Limited, Aptech Limited,Berger Paints (I) Limited, Birla Corporation Limited, Birla Cotsyn (India) Limited, Britannia Industries Limited, Cairn India Limited, Carborundum Universal Limited, City Union Bank Limited, Cybertech Systems And Software Limited, Delta Corp Limited, Dhanuka Agritech Limited, Divi's Laboratories Limited.

HeidelbergCement India Limited, Hindalco Industries Limited, Hindustan Copper Limited, Hindustan Zinc Limited Indraprastha Gas Limited, The India Cements Limited, Indian Hume Pipe Company Limited, JSW Steel Limited, Jubilant Life Sciences Limited, K.P.R. Mill Limited, Kalyani Steels Limited, L&T Finance Holdings Limited, Lakshmi Vilas Bank Limited, Man Infraconstruction Limited, Manpasand Beverages Limited, Mercator Limited, MOIL Limited, Mukand Limited, NMDC Limited, NTPC Limited, Piramal Enterprises Limited, Prakash Industries Limited Prakash Constrowell Limited, Punjab & Sind Bank, Shriram City Union Finance.

Alstom T&D India Limited, Birla Cotsyn (India) Limited, Goenka Diamond and Jewels Limited, KSS Limited, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited, Pokarna Limited, Prakash Steelage Limited, Rainbow Papers Limited,Raj Rayon Industries Limited, Rasoya Proteins Limited,Shrenuj & Company Limited, STI India Limited, Usher Agro Limited, Vindhya Telelinks Limited, Visesh Infotecnics Limited, Visagar Polytex Limited, VKS Projects  were some of the notable stocks to record new 52-week low during the day.

Alstom T&D India Limited, Birla Cotsyn (India) Limited, Goenka Diamond and Jewels Limited, KSS Limited, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited, Pokarna Limited, Prakash Steelage Limited, Rainbow Papers Limited,Raj Rayon Industries Limited, Rasoya Proteins Limited,Shrenuj & Company Limited, STI India Limited, Usher Agro Limited, Vindhya Telelinks Limited, Visesh Infotecnics Limited, Visagar Polytex Limited, VKS Projects  were some of the notable stocks to record new 52-week low during the day.

Nifty hovers around 8650; TCS, HDFC, Bharti major laggards

The market is struggling in red with the Sensex down 61.38 points or 0.2 percent at 28062.06. The Nifty is down 14.40 points or 0.2 percent at 8658.85. About 1368 shares have advanced, 1168 shares declined, and 166 shares are unchanged. 

SBI, BHEL, Cipla, ONGC and ICICI Bank are gainers while Coal India, TCS, Adani Ports, HDFC and Bharti are losers in the Sensex. 

Mutual funds' allocation for bank stocks slumped to Rs 82,000 crore at the end of July, after touching a record high in the preceding month. Prior to that, fund managers have been raising their allocation to banking shares since February. Although, they had trimmed exposure to the sector between November and January due to higher bad loans.

 Experts have attributed the trim in allocation to banking stocks to mounting bad loans of public sector banks.

 In percentage terms, exposure to banking stocks fallen to 19.86 percent of equity AUM in last month as against 20.4 percent in June.

With up to 200% jump in profits, these 80 midcap stocks are bucking the trend

At a time when most of the large-cap companies are struggling to grow, about 80 midcaps have reported consistent growth in revenues over the past four quarters. 

Most of the consistent performers are financial service companies such as Manapuram Finance, Motilal Oswal, Capital First, Equitas Holding, Repco Home and Ujjivan Finance. 

However, there are a few from other sectors like Tata Elxsi, First Source, Gulf Oil Lubricants and Delta Corp that are doing well Most of these companies have grown between 15% and 100% in the last four quarters in terms of revenues and 15-200% in terms of profits .

Top 15 stocks in focus today: SBI, Shipping Corp, Fortis Healthcare

SBI: The board of State Bank of India Ltd cleared the proposed merger of five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank with itself, taking one step closer to creating the first Indian lender to rank among the world’s top 50.

Shipping Corporation of India: The company's net profit slipped 72.56% to Rs.55.91 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2016, compared to the same period last year. The company had posted a net profit of Rs.203.78 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Bharti Airtel: Singapore Telecommunications said that it has signed a conditional share purchase agreement with Temasek Holdings to acquire 7.39% stake in Bharti Telecom Ltd, holding company of India’s largest telco Bharti Airtel Ltd, and 21% in Thailand’s Intouch Holdings public Co. Ltd for a total of $1.8 billion.

Fortis Healthcare: The company is expected to announce demerger details of SRL Diagnostics into a separate entity on August 19.

Claris Lifesciences: Claris Lifesciences will announce its Q1 numbers today.

NHPC: The company will start commercial operations from the 40-MW unit beginning Friday. The power generated from the unit will be supplied to West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Co. 

RIL: The government has imposed an additional penalty of $380 million (around Rs 2,500 crore) on Reliance Industries and its partners for producing less than targeted natural gas from eastern offshore KG-D6 fields.

India Cements: The company reported 16% jump in its net profit at Rs.44 crore for the April-June quarter. India Cements had reported a net profit of Rs.38 crore on sales of Rs.1,221 crore in the corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Dilip Buildcon: The company said it has bagged Rs.2,016 crore road project in Uttar Pradesh.

Apollo Tyres: The company has initiated talks with two-wheeler manufacturers in India to supply tyres as part of its plans to expand business in the new segment where it is currently present only in after sales market.

Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd: The Company proposes to issue upto 7,000 Secured Non-Convertible Redeemable Debentures with a face value of Rs.10 lakh each aggregating to upto Rs.700 Crores (Plus Greenshoe Option, if any), on Private Placement basis.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd: The company said it was extending its contract with US airline JetBlue and will expand its innovation centre in Pune to support the airline's digital initiatives.

Oberoi Realty: The company will announce its Q1 numbers today.

Zydus Cadila: Roche has sued Zydus Cadila and India's central drug regulator at the Delhi High Court over the approval and launch of breast cancer drug Vivitra (trastuzumab), as per media report.

Opening Bell - Nifty above 8650 mark

At 9:15 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,175 up 51 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,694 up 21 points.

The rupee opened lower by 14 paise at 66.95/$ against US Dollar Friday as against the previous close of 66.81/$. The rupee opened on fresh dollar demand from banks and importers on the back of strong dollar in overseas markets. The rupee seen at lowest level since August 9.

Asian markets are trading mixed on Friday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng trading lower by 0.56%. Shanghai Composite is marginally down.

On the economy front, PM Narendra Modi and FM Arun Jaitley met on Thursday to discuss candidates for RBI governor. The successor to Raghuram Rajan, who completes his three-year term on September 4, is expected to be announced shortly.

Wall Street closed slightly higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.13% to close at 18,597.7, while the S&P 500 added 0.22% 2,187.02 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.22% to 5,240.15.

Moody's Investors Service retained India's growth forecast at 7.5% for 2016 but revised upwards estimates for China to 6.6 % citing strong fiscal and monetary support.

Oil prices surged 3% overnight, with Brent hitting an eight-week high as the world's biggest producers prepare to discuss a possible freeze in production levels.

Nifty hovers around 8,650 mark

The BSE Sensex opened 73 points up at 28,078. while NSE Nifty opened 25 points up at 8,649. The Indian stock market opened higher after two days of losses as the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes showed there is a lack of consensus among policy makers about when the Fed should raise rates.  

At 2:18 PM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,103 up 97 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,667 up 43 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.29% at 12,948 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.91% at 12,391.

Adani Ports, Power Grid, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, ICICI Bank and NTPC are among the gainers, whereas Coal India, Asian Paints, GAIL, L&T, Wipro and HUL are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in banking, power,auto, finance, basic materials, utilities, finance, basic materials and auto sectors, while metal, capital goods and consumer durables showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 1.55% at 14.5500. Out of 1,851 stocks traded on the NSE, 445 declined, 1,121 advanced and 445 remained unchanged today.

A total of 79 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 18 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

India Cements Ltd is currently trading at Rs. 127.25, up by Rs. 3.1 or 2.5% from its previous closing of Rs. 124.15 on the BSE.The company has posted a net profit of Rs.43.9 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 as compared to Rs.37.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2015.
Hero MotoCorp gained 0.50% to Rs.3,377.10 on BSE. ChrysCapital is set to invest $90 million (Rs.600 crore) in Hero FinCorp, the vehicle-financing unit of Hero MotoCorp, as per media reports.

The Nifty Bank are trading higher on NSE. The Nifty Bank opened at 19,087.20 and hits a high of 19,269.10 and a low of 19,083. The Bank Nifty is at 52-week high with gainers like Canara Bank, IndusInd Bank, PNB, ICICI Bank and BoB.

Axis Bank trading higher by 1.1% at Rs.596. The bank declared its marginal cost of funds based lending rate (MCLR) for one year at 9.25 per cent. The MCLRs with effect from 18th August, 2016.

Hathway Cable & Datacom slipped 0.64%. The company's board has given its approval to divest up to 90 lakh shares of the subsidiary through an OFS.

Bharti Airtel gained 1% after the Singapore Telecommunications is planning to spend about $2 bn to invest in Thailand's Intouch Holdings Pcl and raise its stake in India's Bharti Telecom, as per TV report.

Borosil Glass Works rallied 2% on BSE. The company has entered into a ‘Sale Deed’ for purchase of 4.73 hectares of land at Chomu in Jaipur, Rajasthan adjacent to the factory / office of its subsidiary viz. Hopewell Tablewar, for its future use, from unrelated parties at prevailing market rate.

Tata Motors gained 0.81% on BSE. The auto company has hiked the price of its recently launched hatchback Tiago in the range of Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 as the introductory pricing period ended this month.

Lupin is trading marginally lower on BSE.The pharma company said its subsidiary Gavis Pharmaceuticals has received final approval from the US health regulator to market potassium chloride extended release capsules, used for treating potassium deficiency in the bloodstream, in the American market.

Transport Corporation of India Ltd rallied 4.1% to Rs.359. The company will announce its Q1 numbers today.

Unitech rose 2.1% on BSE.  The SC ordered Unitech to refund Rs.15 crore to investors in delayed housing projects in Gurgaon, as per media reports. The real estate company has been directed to pay Rs.5 crore in two weeks, and the remainder by the end of December.

Shoppers Stop advanced 1.6% to Rs.376. The company said it will invest another Rs.20 crore over the next 18 months in technology and infrastructure to attain omni-channel status.

DHFL gained 1.7% to Rs.268.50. Dewan Housing Finance Corporation said it will raise up to Rs.10,000 crore through issuance of secured non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in one or more tranches.

Strides Shasun dropped 2.6% to Rs.1032. Strides Shasun is hiving off its active pharmaceuticals ingredients (API) business into a wholly-owned arm.

Nestle India is trading marginally higher at Rs.6736.The company launched new variants in its Maggi Noodles portfolio and re-launched cup noodles.

Suzlon Energy rose 0.60% to Rs.16.90. Suzlon Energy has received an repeat turnkey order for 132 MW from ReNew Power. The order comprises of suzlon's latest product offerings and includes 15 units of S97 90m tubular tower and 48 units of S97 120m Hybrid Tower with a rated capacity of 2.1MW each.

Gammon India jumped 10.3% to Rs.16.10.The company has won a Rs.870 crore contract from NHAI for widening of a highway in Karnataka under NHDP.

Dalmia Bharat soared 2.6% to Rs.1521. The company posted 76% rise in consolidated net profit at Rs.92 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, 2016 compared to the same period of last year. 

Power Grid Corporation of India climbed 2.9% to Rs.179.60 on BSE. The power company is looking to participate in intra-state projects, a deviation from its traditional role as the central power transmission utility that has been prompted by the reforms in state-run power distribution companies.

India Cements advanced 2% to Rs.126.55.  The cement company will announce its Q1 numbers today. 

Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is marginally down, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite are trading higher.

Wall Street closed marginally higher after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July meeting have strengthened the view that the US central bank is increasingly embracing a lower-for-longer interest rate regime. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.12% to 18,573.94, the S&P 500 had gained 0.19% to 2,182.22 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.03% to 5,228.66.

EPFO has asked its over 120 field offices across the country to ensure that all employers are depositing their PF contributions only through electronic mode by using the Internet banking.

Moody’s said that the steel demand in India will outpace the regional average while profitability of domestic steel companies will outperform regional peers on account of increase in domestic demand.

Nifty eyes 8700, Sensex firm; BHEL, ICICI, Bharti top gainers

The Sensex is up 132.07 points or 0.5 percent at 28137.44, and the Nifty up 49.25 points or 0.6 percent at 8673.30. About 1544 shares have advanced, 770 shares declined, and 150 shares are unchanged. 

Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, NTPC and BHEL are top gainers while Coal India, Tata Steel, L&T, GAIL and Asian Paints are losers in the Sensex.

 Oil prices eased slightly in Asia today amid reports OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia would further raise output in August. 

Prices hit five-week highs this week, supported by hopes that a Russian-Saudi cooperation may reach a pact to freeze output, easing the stubborn supply glut dogging the market since late last year. 

OPEC members and their non-OPEC rivals are to meet informally in Algeria next month, and both Saudi and Russia have indicated they could discuss measures to stabilise prices.

Nifty remains above 8650; Coal India, Asian Paints, Wipro down

The market is still in a buying mode as the the Sensex is up 167.57 points or 0.6 percent at 28172.94. The Nifty up 55.05 points or 0.6 percent at 8679.10. About 1452 shares have advanced, 688 shares declined, and 134 shares are unchanged. 

Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, NTPC, Bharti Airtel and BHEL are top gainers while Coal India, Asain Paints, L&T, Wipro and GAIL are losers in the Sensex.

 Moody's Investors Service today retained India's growth forecast at 7.5 percent for 2016 but revised upwards estimates for China to 6.6 percent citing strong fiscal and monetary support. 

In its latest assessment of the global economy, Moody's Investors Service said the outlook for emerging markets economies has stabilised but outlined the policy changes post the US presidential election in November as the most immediate downside risks to the global economic outlook.

 Moody's now expects China to grow at the rate of 6.6 percent and 6.3 percent in 2016 and 2017, respectively as compared to the previous forecast of 6.3 percent and 6.1 percent, with the higher growth rate being driven by significant fiscal and monetary policy support," it said in a statement.

Sensex rises over 100 points; Nifty above 8,650 mark

The BSE Sensex jumped over 150 points while Nifty rallied above its crucial psychological level of 8,650 on the back of gains in heavyweights such as ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries and TCS after US Fed minutes cooled rate hike views.

At 9:35 AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 28,133 up 128 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,656 up 32 points.

The BSE Mid-cap Index is trading up 0.36% at 12,958 whereas BSE Small-cap Index is trading up 0.61% at 12,355.

Power Grid, Adani Ports, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Axis Bank are among the gainers, whereas Coal India, GAIL, L&T, Wipro and Tata Steel are losing sheen on BSE.

Some buying activity is seen in power, banking, utilities, finance, basic materials and auto sectors, while metal and capital goods are showing weakness on BSE.

The INDIA VIX is down 1.37% at 14.5775. Out of 1,844 stocks traded on the NSE, 383 declined, 1,019 advanced and 383 remained unchanged today.

A total of 43 stocks registered a fresh 52-week high in trades today, while 12 stocks touched a new 52-week low on the NSE.

Asian markets are trading mixed on Thursday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is marginally down, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite are trading higher.

Wall Street closed marginally higher after the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's July meeting have strengthened the view that the US central bank is increasingly embracing a lower-for-longer interest rate regime. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 0.12% to 18,573.94, the S&P 500 had gained 0.19% to 2,182.22 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 0.03% to 5,228.66.

EPFO has asked its over 120 field offices across the country to ensure that all employers are depositing their PF contributions only through electronic mode by using the Internet banking.

Moody’s said that the steel demand in India will outpace the regional average while profitability of domestic steel companies will outperform regional peers on account of increase in domestic demand.