Nifty ends at 8220, Sensex in red; Tata Motors, ONGC, Wipro up

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended lower with the Nifty below 8250. The 50-share index closed down 18.60 points or 0.2 percent at 8219.90 while the Sensex was down 54.14 points or 0.2 percent at 26812.78.

ONGC, Wipro, M&M, Tata Motors and HDFC were top gainers while NTPC, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, BHEL and Asian Paints were losers in the Sensex.

2:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained marginally lower. The Sensex declined 53.59 points to 26813.33 and the Nifty fell 17.30 points to 8221.20.2:50 pm Tata Power bags solar project: Tata Power Renewable Energy has won 30 mw solar grid connected photovoltaic project in Maharashtra.

A unit of Tata Power, TPREL has received the letter of intent (LoI) to develop the project and will sign a 25-year power purchase agreement with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam.

"The project have been awarded in the DCR (Domestic Content Requirement) category under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) Phase-II Batch-III tranche-I under 'State Specific Bundling Scheme'," Tata Power said in a statement today.

2:35 pm JP Morgan on UK referendum: JPMorgan researchers said that Britain's referendum on European Union membership in two days was too close to call.

"We will go into the vote without high confidence in predicting the outturn in either direction," JPMorgan researcher Malcolm Barr said in a research note to clients titled "Brexit polling update: It's close".

While polls have painted a contradictory picture of public opinion ahead of Thursday's vote, betting odds have consistently indicated a high probability of a vote to remain.

Betting odds indicated a 75 percent probability of a Remain vote, according to Betfair.

"In our view, the sub-30 percent odds of an exit vote being implied by betting markets, for example, are placing more weight than we would on the accuracy of the polling and the magnitude of a status quo bias effect," JPMorgan said.2:20 pm SEBI to probe against rating firms: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has initiated a probe against rating agencies CARE and CRISIL in the Amtek Auto and JP Morgan case, respectively, reports CNBC-TV18.While Credit Analysis and Research (CARE) Ratings suspended its rating on Amtek Auto's bank facilities and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) as the company did not furnish the information required for monitoring last year, CRISIL reduced the rating of JP Morgan mutual fund schemes several notches in a short span of time which imapcted the market sentiment. Sebi's view is that ratings cannot be withdrawn if obligations on rated securities are outstanding but the agencies can suspend the rating only in the case of a merger or closure of a company. Sebi rules do not allow suspension even if pertinent information is not disclosed.Also read - Are Domino's pizzas expensive in India?2:00 pm Market check

Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate in afternoon trade after yesterday's rally. Global markets were also mixed after a spike in previous session due to easing of Brexit fears.

The Sensex declined 30.34 points to 26836.58 and the Nifty fell 12.25 points to 8226.25.

European stocks traded flat, taking a breather after sharp gains seen in the previous session following polls that allayed fears of a Brexit.

Oil prices fell 1 percent in Asian trade after a strong two-day rally. Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports also dropped despite high production levels, suggesting demand remains in a deficit to supply.