Market Live: Sensex, Nifty continue to trade lower; Schaeffler India surges 16%

12:29 pm Debt reduction: Majestic Auto told CNBC-TV18 that it would like to reduce debt by selling assets. The current consolidated debt on books stood at Rs 328 crore.

“We are focussing on increasing profitability and are expecting topline growth of 15 percent for FY18,” the company said.

12:20 pm Lending rate cut: Punjab National Bank has reduced its lending rate by 20-25 bps w.e.f September 1.

The bank cut base rate by 20 bps from 9.35 percent to 9.15 percent.

12:10 pm Fortis stake sale case: Supreme Court on Thursday reaffirmed its status quo order against Singh brothers in Fortis share sale case.

The court has refused to vacate stay on Singh Brothers from alienating and selling assets.

The court also clarified that it maintained status quo applicable to both encumbered & unencumbered assets.

Fortis shares pledged with Yes Bank and Axis Bank can’t be disposed as well.

The next hearing on the said matter in Supreme Court will be held on October 31.

Fortis Healthcare shares lost 4 percent.

11:59 am Stake sale: Hexaware promoter made a voluntary disclosure on possible transaction to sale stake in the company.

Promoter HT Global, which holds 71.25 percent in Hexaware, may look to sell stake in company, reports CNBC-TV18.

11:45 am Buyback: Wipro shares gained 1.8 percent intraday as the company received approval from its shareholders for the proposal of share buyback worth Rs 11,000 crore through postal ballot.

The board of directors gave their approved for the buyback proposal on July 20, 2017.

The software firm has fixed September 15 as record date for the purpose of determining the entitlement and the name of equity shareholders who are eligible to participate in the buyback.

11:30 am Market Check: The NSE Nifty continued to trade lower in morning ahead of expiry of futures & options contracts but it continued to hold 9,850 level.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 86.33 points at 31,560.13 and the 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 24.15 points to 9,860.25 despite positive market breadth.

About 1,243 shares advanced against 882 declining shares on the BSE.

Schaeffler India gained 16 percent on merger of Indian entities with parent company.

11:25 am Drug approval: Shares of Ajanta Pharma advanced nearly 3 percent intraday as the company has received USFDA nod for its migraine drug, Eletriptan hydrobromide tablet.

The company has launched Eletriptan Hydrobromide tablets in the US market through its wholly owned subsidiary Ajanta Pharma, USA Inc.

Ajanta Pharma has launched the product in two strengths, 20 mg and 40 mg tablets, which is a bioequivalent generic version of Relpax Tablets.

11:15 am Interview: “We do see sentiment pretty positive and now with monsoon expected to be more than average, definitely the rural sentiment is extremely positive. We are seeing it both in terms of loan growth as well as customers repaying their loans,” Ramesh Iyer, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Inventory levels are high at dealership in order to meet the festival demand and festive season should aid in loan growth, he added.

Non-performing assets (NPAs) do go up because of the customer cash flows not doing well. Post demonetisation, we have seen substantial improvement to asset quality, said Iyer.

Credit losses have not moved up due to collateral lending.

Sentiment both from the business side as well as from the collection side seems to be positive, he said.

He expects to see some improvement in margins both from borrowing cost efficiency as well as from an overall efficiency.

11:00 am GDP expectations: Gross domestic product (GDP) and gross value added (GVA) numbers for Q1FY18 will be released today.

“We are looking at numbers of around 6.7 percent for Q1 largely helped by government services and consumption,” Abheek Barua of HDFC Bank said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He expects to see some buoyancy in agricultural sector. It is 6.7 percent GVA and 6.8-6.9 percent for GDP, he said.

Anubhuti Sahay of Standard Chartered Bank said, “We are looking at a GDP number of 6.5 percent and a GVA of 6.3 percent.”

10:50 am API supplier in action: Neuland Laboratories shares rallied nearly 14 percent intraday after Teva Pharmaceuticals has received approval from US Food & Drug Administration for Austedo drug.

The company is expected to be the API supplier for this particular drug to Teva.

The drug is used for the treatment of tardive dyskinesia in adults.

Tardive dyskinesia is a debilitating and often irreversible movement disorder characterised by repetitive and uncontrollable movements of the tongue, lips, face, trunk, and extremities.

This is the second indication that Teva has got approval for the same drug.

Austedo was earlier approved for treatment of chorea associated with Huntington’s disease in April 2017.

10:35 am FM on demonetisation: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the object of demonetisation was not confiscation of money and demonetisation was widely politically accepted.

Income tax returns have increased by over 25 percent after demonetisation, he added.

He said people found ways to deposit money in banks irrespective of consequences. Just because money gets deposited in banks doesn’t mean it becomes genuine, added.

He said digitisation has become centre-stage agenda for the Indian Economy.

It is nobody’s case that black money is completely eliminated, Jaitley said.

10:30 am Maruti gains further: Country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India extended gains today.

The company on Wednesday said it would progressively overhaul its retail network over the next five years and make digital integration a pivotal point in front-end sales.

Christened as Maruti Suzuki Arena, the company’s showrooms will sport “modern looks, offer warm, friendly and comfortable environment to customers”.

Kenichi Ayukawa, Managing Director and Chief Executive of Maruti Suzuki India, said: “Digital technology makes it possible for us to offer more convenience, more information, enhanced transparency and better service to our customers”.

This transformation is the fourth important pillar of the company’s journey to achieve its targeted 2 million sales by 2020. Nexa, True Value and the Commercial Vehicle business are the other pillars.

According to Maruti Suzuki, about 75 percent of car buyers in India research online before deciding on a purchase.

10:25 am Market Check: The market continued to trade mildly lower amid volatility ahead of expiry of August derivative contracts. Investors also looked for Q2 GDP data due later today.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 52.44 points at 31,594.02 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 8.55 points to 9,875.85.

However, the broader markets outperformed benchmarks as the BSE Midcap index was up 0.2 percent and Smallcap gained 0.4 percent on positive breadth.

About three shares advanced for every two shares declining on the BSE.

10:20 am Rupee weakens: The Indian rupee fell by 2 paise to 64.04 against the US dollar in morning today on month-end demand for the American currency from importers and banks.

Sustained foreign fund outflows and a strong dollar in global markets weighed on the rupee, currency, traders said, adding domestic stock markets opening lower also weakened the sentiment locally.

The US dollar advanced against the euro and yen after strong US growth data fuelled speculations that the Federal Reserve could consider hiking interest rate for a third time this year.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 62.62 points at 31,583.84 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 14 points to 9,870.40 but the market breadth was positive as about 1,136 shares advanced against 711 declining shares on the BSE.

10:11 am FII View: Markets around the world have been on its feet, following the rise in geopolitical tensions after North Korea fired a missile that flew over Japan on Tuesday. Soon after the news broke, global indices tanked as investors were spooked due to the uncertain situation and thus eroded a huge chunk of their wealth.

Going forward, Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies expects the volatility in the market to continue as well.

There could be more volatility in the next few weeks,” Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer, Avendus Capital Alternate Strategies said. But, is this the big catalyst for a big correction in the market? He thinks otherwise. Having said that, valuations are still high on the back of strong liquidity and there is no fear in the market, he added.

9:58 am Economic growth: Economic activity as measured by Gross Value Added (GVA) is expected to expand by 7.3 percent in the current fiscal, up from 6.6 percent in 2016-17, the Reserve Bank said noting the risks are evenly balanced.

The headline inflation, it said, is expected to be in the range of 2-3.5 percent in the first half of 2017-18 and 3.5-4.5 percent in the later part.

Global growth is gaining traction in 2017-18 with the recovery, driven primarily by a cyclical upturn in investment, manufacturing and trade, the RBI said in annual report for 2016-17.

Favourable domestic conditions are mainly expected to enable a quicker pace of overall economic activity during the year, it said.

While growth is again expected to be consumption-led, continuing remonetisation should enable a pick-up in discretionary consumer spending, especially in cash-intensive segments of the economy, the central bank said.

9:47 am Gold falls: Gold prices edged lower early as the dollar gained on positive US. economic data, but the yellow metal was buoyed by safe haven demand amid a standoff over North Korea.

US gold futures for December delivery eased 0.44 percent to USD 1,308 an ounce.

9:37 am Buzzing: Shares of Majestic Auto has locked at 20 percent upper circuit as the company is going to divest its assets not exceeding Rs 300 crore.

There were pending buy orders of 132,524 shares, with no sellers available.

The company at its meeting held, on August 30, has considered the sale of assets more than the net worth at such time in such form for an amount not exceeding Rs 300 crore.

The board approved the unaudited standalone and consolidated financial results for the 1st quarter ended June 30, 2017as recommended by audit committee.

The company also approved the resignation of Prakash Patro, Chief Financial Officer of the company with effect from August 30, 2017

9:29 am Aditya Birla Capital to list on September 1: The demerged company from Grasim which holds controlling stake in financial services businesses of the group, would be listed on Friday.

The demerger and listing of financial services business under one umbrella was part of the group restructuring exercise and was aimed at unlocking value for shareholders.

Sharekhan expects the company to list in the range of Rs 165-180 per share which would be 12-15 percent premium to recent large transaction where Azim Premji Trust invested Rs 700 crore for 2.2 percent stake in the company.

“Quality company with controlling stake in Aditya Birla group’s asset management, insurance and lending businesses is good investment opportunity for long term investors,” the research house said.

9:15 am Market check: Equity benchmarks erased opening gains in early trade due to profit booking amid volatility.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 43.45 points at 31,603.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 5.95 points to 9,878.45.

Bharti Infratel, NTPC, Bosch, Coal India, HUL, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma, Vedanta and Asian Paints were under pressure while Wipro, Reliance Industries, ONGC, Adani Ports, Cipla and Hindalco gained.

Nifty Midcap was up 10 points as about 700 shares advanced against 465 declining shares.

Majestic Auto surged 20 percent as the board will consider sales of assets and Schaeffler India gained 8 percent on merger.
Adani Enterprises, Ujjivan Financial, Grasim, Aditya Birla Money, Ajanta Pharma, BEML, Concor, Surya Roshni and Aksh Optifibre rallied up to 7 percent while DCB Bank, Biocon and HPCL lost up to 6 percent.