Nifty still below 7150, Sensex in red; pharma, oil, metal slip

Moneycontrol Bureau1:55 pm Tax trouble: Tax woes seem to continue for Vodafone as government sources have indicated that the Income Tax Department is likely to pursue the demand notice issued to the company.CNBC-TV18 learns that the IT Department has issued a notice to Vodafone with respect to USD 2.1 billion tax demand and IT officials have been instructed to collect the amount demanded.Earlier in 2015, government had made attempts to frame terms of reference for negotiation with the company. However, these terms have not materialized yet. 1:30 pm Interview: In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Vir Advani, ED and President of Blue Star says the company expects a revenue growth of 20-25 percent and aims to grow market share to 12 percent in fiscal year 2017. Blue Star had reported its quarterly earnings on January 29. Revenue grew 12.4 percent to Rs 686 crore year-on-year (YoY) and EBITDA margins rose 260 basis points to 4.1 percent (YoY).

"For the quarter the market grew about 10 percent. We at Blue Star grew twice as fast and about 20 percent. We had a good festival season and that is a second season for buying air-conditioner. It was much stronger than last year. Moving into the Q4, January has been strong and we are looking at positive quarter end as well. So, things are looking a lot better than they were last year for us," he says.

Don't miss: Chased by banks, indebted midcaps cut informal deals with HNIsThe market is struggling to go in green territory as the Nifty is still below 7150. The 50-share is down 44.75 points or 0.6 percent at 7118.20. The Sensex is down 114.16 points or 0.5 percent at 23439.96. About 756 shares have advanced, 1549 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, NTPC, ONGC, Bharti Airtel and Dr Reddy's Labs are top gaienrs while SBI, L&T, Sun Pharma, Hindalco and GAIL are major losers in the Sensex.

Crude oil futures spurted by Rs 74 to Rs 2,276 per barrel today after participants widened their bets, tracking a firming trend in Asia. Marketmen attributed the rise in crude oil futures to a firming trend in Asian trade where Brent breaking past USD 34 a barrel on expectations that energy heavyweights Russia and Saudi Arabia will discuss the global oversupply issue in a Doha meeting.