Nifty above 7900, Sensex strong; ONGC, Coal India slip

Moneycontrol Bureau

10:59am Interview

Internet search engine JustDial’s board has approved the raising of funds for an amount up to Rs 1,000 crore through issue of equity or equity-linked securities, subject to approval of shareholders.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Ramkumar Krishnamachari, chief financial officer says this capital would allow the company to pursue strategic objectives.

While he refrained from sharing any details of the capital utilization, he says the company is maintaining its FY15 revenue growth target of 25-30 percent.

10:30am FII View

Bhuvnesh Singh, Barclays says the Q2FY15 earnings season is off to a positive start as 13 BSE-100 companies have reported so far and 54 percent registered 'beats' on earnings consensus estimates.

“FY15 EPS growth rate estimate for BSE-100 has steadied at 16.8 percent, up 40 basis points since the end of the last earning season. This compares with 8.6 percent EPS growth in FY14 and 2.8 percent in FY13,” he adds.

“We reiterate our long-term view that positive earnings momentum is required to sustain the returns of Indian equities,” says Singh.

10:00am Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended gains with the Sensex rising 173.90 points to 26603.75 and the Nifty jumping 49.40 points to 7928.80 supported by banks, capital goods, metals and telecom stocks.

More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The broader markets advanced too with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Jindal Steel and Gail India topped the buying list, gaining 5-5.5 percent followed by NTPC, Hindalco Industries, BHEL and Sesa Sterlite with 2-3 percent upmove.

ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Larsen and Toubro, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Wipro and Tata Steel jumped 1-1.7 percent. However, ONGC and Coal India were top losers, falling over a percent followed by ITC with 0.7 percent loss.

PNB gained nearly 2 percent ahead of its results. CNBC-TV18 poll expects a 10 percent NII growth at Rs 4,421 crore and a 142 percent jump in profits to Rs 1,224 crore.

BGR Energy surged 4 percent on the back of an order win of Rs 250 crore. Order is for the electrical sub stations segment of the electrical projects division.

Shriram Transport Finance fell 2.5 percent after Q2 profit declined 7.5 percent on the back of a rise in provisions. NII growth was steady at 12 percent.

Punjab Communications surged 5.5 percent as the Punjab government through a cabinet committee on disinvestment has decided to liquidate all assets of the company. The government holds 71.2 percent stake in the company.