Sensex, Nifty in red; BHEL up 4%, Indiabulls plunges on I-T raid

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am Kerosene: Former Chairman and Managing Director RS Sharma of the upstream oil company ONGC is very happy with the government's announcement of  hike in kerosene price, which will help reduce the subsidy burden of these companies.

According to him investors want certainty and a proper subsidy sharing mechanism will bring that making the investors bullish on the sector. Also, the companies can make investment decisions accordingly.

Now with the oil companies likely to get a go ahead to hike kerosene price by 0.25 paise a litre per month till April 2017, the upstream companies will save around Rs 1000 crore annually. And with ONGC sharing 80 percent of the subsidy burden, it will save around Rs 800 crore, says Sharma.

11:45 am Loan restructing: Infrastructure firm Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) today said its lenders have agreed to restructure its loans under RBI's recent S4A scheme. "The joint lenders' forum meeting of HCC held on July 12, 2016 has passed to resolve the account under the recent RBI guidelines 'Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)'," the company said in a BSE filing. The company said it will help it bridge the gap of 'Cashflow Timing Mismatch' between claims realisation (including its interest) and debt servicing. It further said: "Under S4A scheme, the debt of the company will be bifurcated into two parts - sustainable debt, which cannot be less than 50 percent of existing debt and will have to be serviced over the same terms as that of existing facilities.11:30 am Interview: With anticipation rising over the next Reserve Bank governor, Jahangir Aziz of JPMorgan believes that whoever is chosen must continue to focus on macro stability in the country. Inflation should continue to be the main focus of RBI going forward. It is unlikely that inflation target is changed as the current target has blessing of the government, he says. He added that the room for easing will continue to stay limited as the RBI is likely to stick to its 4 percent inflation target. The consumer price index (CPI) for June came flat at 5.8 percent due to higher vegetable and fruit prices. While monsoon will ease prices, inflation is likely to slowdown. Aziz expects inflation to hit 5 percent by March 2017.Don't miss: Leather stocks rally; govt to beef up boosters for industry

The market has turned negative slightly but the Nifty is still holding 8500. The 50-share index is down 10.80 points or 0.1 percent at 8510.25 and the Sensex is down 8.04 points at 27800. About 796 shares have advanced, 1491 shares declined, and 110 shares are unchanged.

BHEL, ONGC, GAIL, Tata Steel and Reliance are top gainers while Maruti, Axis Bank, L&T, Adani Ports and Tata Motors are down.

Indiabulls group stocks are under severe pressure as I-T officials search Indiabulls offices across the country.

Oil prices turned lower again in Asia today after data indicated a rise in US stockpiles, reigniting concerns about a supply glut, while profit-takers stepped in after the previous day's surge.

The American Petroleum Institute reported a 2.2 million barrel rise in reserves last week, confounding expectations of a dip at the height of the crucial summer driving season when Americans go on holiday. The figures rattled traders as the Department of Energy prepares to release later on official data, which is considered a key gauge of demand in the world's top oil consumer.