Sensex, Nifty continue to fall; Bharti, Cipla, HUL gainers

Moneycontrol Bureau 11:50 am Acquisition: India’s largest tractor manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has acquired a 75.1 percent stake in Hisarlar — a Turkish company engaged in farm equipment — for Rs 127 crore. The all-cash deal is expected to be completed in three months, M&M informed the bourses in a statement. M&M will acquire 1.42 billion shares of the Turkish company. “The company seeks to acquire Hisarlar to get both distribution network in Turkey market as well as further strengthen its current agri-machinery product portfolio in Europe," M&M informed the bourses in a statement.11:30 pm FII view: Indian markets haven’t completely factored risks such as protectionism in IT sector and earnings which can lead to short-term volatility in the markets, according to BNP Paribas’s management. Besides, consensus earnings estimates for FY17 and FY18 are way off charts, said Manishi Raychaudhuri, Asian Equity Strategist - Equity Cash Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas. Raychaudhari pegged earnings growth for FY17 in single-digits and for FY18 in low double digits. He told CNBC-TV18 he expects a 7-8 percent EPS growth in FY17 and a 12-14 percent EPS growth in FY18. Auto sector has withered demonetisation and the worst of the note ban has been put past, Raychaudhari said, adding, the sales volumes should improve going ahead. Companies are generating cash organically and he expects inorganic expansion abroad to pick up significantly.Don't miss: Buy, sell, hold: 3 crucial stocks that analysts are watching outThe market is still slipping away but the Nifty has managed to holdds 8400. The 50-share index is down 27.40 points or 0.3 percent at 8407.70 while the Sensex is down 105.47 points or 0.4 percent at 27203.13.

Bharti Airtel, Cipla, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank and HUL are top gainers while Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Coal India and NTPC are losers in the Sensex.

Gold rose by Rs 122 to Rs 28,650 per ten grams in futures trading today as speculators enlarged their positions, tracking a firming trend overseas.

Analysts said, speculators widened their bets, tracking a firming global trend as weakness in dollar boosted safe-haven demand, which influenced gold prices at futures trade here.