Bear rampage continues, Sensex & Nifty wobbly; Auto index up

Moneycontrol Bureau1:55 pm Result: Healthcare major Apollo Hospitals Enterprise  reported 14.96 percent rise in standalone net profit to Rs 109.23 crore for the December quarter.

The company had posted a net profit of Rs 95.01 crore for the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise said in a BSE filing.

Standalone total income from operations rose to Rs 1,380.52 crore for the quarter under consideration as against Rs 1,182.53 crore for the same period a year ago.

1:30 pm Fuel demand: India's annual fuel demand in January rose at its fastest pace in three months, thanks to higher gasoline consumption after the country's top court temporarily banned the sale of large diesel cars in its capital city.The Supreme Court of India imposed the ban in December to combat toxic smog in Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities, and said it would consider extending the ban to diesel cars with engine capacity of less than 2,000 cc.Fuel consumption, a proxy for oil demand in Asia's third-largest economy, surged 12.7 percent to 15.71 million tonnes, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) of the oil ministry showed.Don't miss: Ditch roses, buy largecaps below Rs 500/sh this Valentine's Day

Carnage in market continues as the Sensex is down 121.90 points or 0.5 percent at 22829.93. The Nifty is down 38.25 points or 0.6 percent at 6938.10. About 452 shares have advanced, 1982 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Axis Bank, NTPC, ITC and Bharti Airtel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among losers are BHEL, Adani Ports, Hindalco, L&T and ONGC.

Domestic passenger car sales fellfor the first time in 15 months after logging a marginally dip to 1,68,303 units in January as against 1,69,527 units in the year-ago period. Motorcycle sales last month, however, increased marginally to 8,72,325 units from 8,68,505 units a year earlier, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).