Nifty ends near 6-month closing low, Sensex in red; ITC drags

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended lower with the Nifty near 6-month low. The Nifty is down 5.85 points at 8074.10 and the Sensex is down 77.38 points at 26150.24. About 1312 shares have advanced, 1277 shares declined, and 166 shares are unchanged. NTPC, Sun Pharma, Bharti, Hero MotoCorp and M&M were gainers while Tata Steel, ITC, GAIL, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank.3:10 pm Acquisition: Bharat Forge Board has approved acquisition of Walker Forge Tennessee via US subsidiary. Walker Forge Tennessee is expected to collect revenue of USD 28 million in CY16 . Transaction value for Walker Forge Tennessee is USD 14 million. Acquisition will be funded through internal accruals & debt.   

2:57 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices were trading lower. The Sensex was down 51.83 points at 26175.79 and the Nifty declined 2.55 points to 8077.40.2:50 pm Buzzing: Punj Lloyd shares gained more than 3 percent intraday on agreement for development of solar assets in Uttarakhand.

"Punj Lloyd Infrastructure (PLIL), a wholly owned subsidiary, has executed definitive agreements with India Power Green Utility (IPGUPL) to co-develop 30 MW of solar assets in Uttarakhand, in respect of three solar power projects," the engineering company said in its filing.

Three solar power projects, each of 10 MW capacity was won by PLIL under the tariff based competitive bidding process in October 2015 that will be executed by its wholly owned subsidiaries PL Surya Vidyut, PL Sunrays Power, and PL Solar Renewable.

As per the transaction, PLIL will divest 49 percent of its shareholding in its three subsidiaries. The SPV's have signed 25 years power purchase agreements with Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited, the company said.

2:39 pm Gold Premium: Gold premiums in India jumped to two-year highs this week as jewellers ramped up purchases on fears that the government might put curbs on imports after withdrawing higher-denomination notes from circulation in its fight against black money.

Retail demand was subdued due to a cash crunch following the government's move on high-value banknotes, but dealers in the world's No.2 consumer of the metal were charging a premium of up to USD 12 an ounce this week over official domestic prices that include a 10 percent import tax.

The premium was the highest since mid-November 2014, and compared with a premium of up to USD 6 an ounce last week.

2:29 pm Demonetisation: The government is mulling banning exchange of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currencies in a few days, officials told CNBC-TV18. Officials cited misuse of currency as well as use of multiple IDs by people to exchange notes as the main reason behind considering stopping exchange, reports CNBC-TV18. Also, the government is likely to clarify the penalty provisions for high value cash deposits. The 200 percent tax penalty suggested earlier does not exist under any of the present laws. Officials said that the government could also amend tax laws to include a penalty provision on high cash deposits.2:20 pm Exhibition stocks fall: Inox Leisure declined 2 percent and PVR plunged nearly 7 percent.Also read - See 50-100 bps rate cut soon; high on banks, pharma: IL&FS2:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks remained directionless in afternoon trade with the Nifty hovering around 8100 level while the broader markets turned positive.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 76.57 points at 26151.05 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 9.05 points to 8070.90 whereas the BSE Midcap index was up 0.6 percent and Smallcap gained 0.2 percent on positive breadth.

About 1304 shares advanced against 1171 declining shares on the exchange.

SBI, Force Motors, ICICI Bank, Hero Motocorp, Petronet LNG, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and Maruti Suzuki were most active shares.

Tata Steel, Bharti Infratel, Hindalco Industries, ITC, Zee Entertainment, Adani Ports, HUL and HDFC Bank were down 1-2 percent while Eicher Motors, NTPC, Sun Pharma and Hero Motocorp gained 2-4 percent.