Sensex, Nifty slip into red; auto, infra stocks gainers

Moneycontrol Bureau12:50 pm Exclusive: Diageo is in initial talks to hike stake in United Spirits (USL) most likely via multiple open market transactions, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

Currently, Diageo holds 55 percent stake in USL and the company is considering increasing it to 72 percent over the next 1-2 years, sources say.

Diageo gained complete control of the board of USL post the exit of Vijay Mallya, but seeks to protect its shareholding by hiking stake.

12:40 am Market check: The Sensex is down 22.43 points or at 25414.54 and the Nifty is down 3.90 points at 7802. About 1434 shares have advanced, 926 shares declined, and 142 shares are unchanged. Sun Pharma, Lupin, Coal India, TCS and Dr Reddy's are losers in the Sensex. Bharti, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, L&T and Tata Steel are gainers.12:30 pm Deal: Insurer Aviva said it had purchased an additional 23 percent share in Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited from joint venture partner Dabur Invest Corp.

The acquisition, which takes Aviva's stake to 49 percent, followed a recent regulatory change in India. It will have a neutral impact on Aviva's net assets, the company said in a statement.

Aviva India contributed 36 million pounds (USD 52.96 million) to Aviva's net assets in 2015 and 4 million pounds to profits, it added.

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The Sensex is up 118.79 points or 0.5 percent at 25555.76, and the Nifty is up 39.85 points or 0.5 percentat 7845.75. About 1487 shares have advanced, 785 shares declined, and 146 shares are unchanged.

Auto, banks, infra and metals are gainers. Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, L&T and Tata Steel are top gainers while Sun Pharma, Lupin, Dr Reddy's Labs, Coal India and TCS are losers in the Sensex.

Gold prices moved down by 0.30 percent to Rs 30,204 per 10 ten grams in futures trading as participants booked profits at prevailing higher levels even as the precious metal glittered overseas. Analysts attributed the fall in gold futures to profit-booking by traders at existing levels but a firm trend overseas on speculation that the US central bank will be slow to tighten policy further, bolstering the metal's appeal as the dollar sagged.