Nifty ends below 7500, Sensex flat; Hindalco up 4%, Maruti down

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market close: The Sensex ended up 12.75 points at 24659.23, and the Nifty slipped 0.05 points at 7485.30. About 1322 shares have advanced, 1325 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged. Hindalco, Lupin, GAIL, Reliance and HDFC were top gainers in the Sensex while Maruti, SBI, HUL, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were losers.3:10 pm Hot IPO market: To tap the upbeat investor sentiments, as many as 21 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have filed draft papers this year to raise funds totalling Rs 180 crore through their initial public offerings. The shares will be listed on the SME platforms of the BSE and National Stock Exchange (NSE). Since the beginning of this year, 21 companies have filed draft documents to collectively raise over Rs 180 crore through IPOs, according to an analysis. Of these, 13 firms have filed papers to launch IPOs on BSE's SME platform, while the remaining eight plan to list on NSE Emerge.2:59 pm Market recovers: Equity benchmarks recovered from day's low, aided by Reliance Industries, ITC and HDFC.The Sensex rose 7.84 points to 24654.32 while the Nifty fell 3.55 points to 7481.80.The market breadth remained negative as about 1352 shares declined against 1220 advancing shares on the BSE.2:45 pm Environment clearance: As many as 943 projects entailing investments worth Rs 6.72 lakh crore received environmental clearance in the last 20 months, government said today.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar informed the Lok Sabha the government has reduced the time taken for giving environmental clearance to around 192 days from 600 days and efforts would be made to reduce it further.

"During the last 20 months, the Ministry has accorded environmental clearance to 943 projects involving an approximate investment of Rs 6,72,422.60 crore," Javadekar said during Question Hour.

According to him, the average time taken for giving environmental clearances has come down to around 192 days after the launch of the online system for applications.2:25 pm Dalmia Bharat gets CCI nod: Dalmia Bharat has got fair trade regulator CCI's approval to acquire 15 percent stake in its subsidiary Dalmia Cement Bharat from private equity giant KKR for over Rs 1,218 crore in a cash and stock deal.Post the deal, Dalmia Cement Bharat (DCBL) will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dalmia Bharat (DBL). Competition Commission of India (CCI) has cleared the proposed deal, as per information on the regulator's website.

The deal has earned KKR Mauritius Cement Investment a return of 2.4 times on its investment of Rs 500 crore that it made in September 2010.Also read - FM rolls back Budget proposal to tax EPF

Equity benchmarks wiped out gains in afternoon trade, especially after weak opening of European markets. Banks, technology and infra stocks dragged market.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 107.73 points to 24538.75 and the Nifty declined 34.20 points to 7451.15. The BSE Midcap also declined half a percent.

The market breadth turned negative as about 1349 share declined against 1164 advancing shares on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Infosys, ICICI Bank, SBI, HUL, TCS, Maruti Suzuki, L&T, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hero Motocorp were down 1-3 percent.

European equities were trading lower after a recent rally petered out in Asian markets and China trade data hit European miners hard. France's CAC, Germany's DAX and Britain's FTSE lost a percent each.