Wipro, Reliance gain 1%; Sensex, Nifty under pressure

Moneycontrol BureauLive Market Commentary

2:00 pm Poll: Glenmark Pharma will declare its third quarter (October-December) earnings today. According to CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts expect profit after tax of the company to fall 14 percent year-on-year to Rs 184 crore. The growth in numbers is expected to moderate on yearly basis because it comes on a high base. In a year ago period (Q3FY13), the company had reported licensing income of Rs 49.3 crore that boosted earnings.

Revenues jumped 34 percent to Rs 1,382 crore and EBITDA grew 211 percent to Rs 320 crore. Revenues are seen going up 13.2 percent to Rs 1,565 crore in the quarter ended December 2013 from Rs 1,382 crore in a year ago period. Operating profit or earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation may grow 5.6 percent to Rs 338 crore and operating profit margin may drop 160 basis points to 21.6 percent compared to same quarter last year.

1:50 pm Market outlook: The Indian market is positively poised right now and there is no need to worry about global weakness. That’s the word coming in from Ajay Srivastava of Dimensions Consulting. Srivastava feels the Indian market remains well-balanced with low volatility and sees a pre-election rally in the offing. The next government will solve growth issues, he says.

“We were always a buyer in the market,” he told CNBC-TV18’s Latha Ventakesh and Sonia Shenoy in an interview. His advice to investors right now is to buy midcap stocks. He has a buy on YES Bank, Amara Raja Batteries and Fortis Healthcare . “We think Fortis could touch Rs 150-180 a share in the next 24 months,” he says.

1:40 pm Poll: Emerging Asian economies will contribute less to global growth in 2014 than earlier expected even as their major trading partners in the West show signs of recovery, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

From China to India, Indonesia, Taiwan and Thailand, over 225 economists polled between January 16-23 have collectively downgraded or left unchanged growth estimates for nine of the top 13 economies in Asia outside Japan.

India is expected to grow at a lacklustre pace of 5.4 percent in fiscal year 2014-2015, as a result of the weak investment cycle gripping the country, which goes to elections this year.

1:30 pm Result: Pune-based realty company Kolte-Patil Developers disappointed street with the third quarter consolidated net profit falling 33 percent year-on-year to Rs 20.4 crore on lower revenues.

Consolidated net sales dropped 16.5 percent to Rs 186 crore in the quarter ended December 2013 from Rs 222.8 crore in a year ago period.

Total expenses of the real estate developer declined 19.5 percent to Rs 132 crore compared to a year ago period, driven by fall in cost of construction (cost of land and materials consumed). 

Don't miss: Analysts advise how to trade Ranbaxy, say EBITDA may fall

The Sensex is down 148.32 points at 21225.34, and the Nifty is down 53.65 points at 6292.00. About 782 shares have advanced, 1665 shares declined, and 195 shares are unchanged.

Technology stocks are holding up with Wipro and TCS among the lead gainers in the Sensex. Other gainers are Reliance, Hindalco and NTPC.

Ranbaxy tanks on USFDA blow. The US FDA bans Ranbaxy's Toansa API plant and added it to consent decree.

Asian shares lurched to a 4-1/2 month low, extending the previous day's weakness as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data raised concerns over the economy, and emerging and commodity currencies took a beating.

Investors sought safety in gold, the yen and highly-rated government bonds, sending the 10-year US Treasury yield to a seven-week low. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.8 percent, adding to the previous session's 1.3 percent decline following the Chinese factory activity report.

As the yen strengthened against the dollar, Japan's Nikkei stumbled 1.9 percent to a one-month closing low in relatively active, extending Thursday's 0.8 percent drop.