Sensex, Nifty end marginally higher; Axis Bank down 1%

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended with marginal gains as the Sensex was up 50.96 points or 0.2 percent at 27308.60. The Nifty is up 18.10 points or 0.2 percent at 8435.10. About 1417 shares have advanced, 1322 shares declined, and 303 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, ONGC, Tata Motors, ITC and Bharti were top gainers while Lupin, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Wipro and HDFC were losers in the Sensex.

3:15 pm Market Update: The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 52.33 points at 27309.97 and the Nifty up 17.30 points at 8434.30.About 1425 shares advanced against 1292 declining shares on the BSE.2:59 pm Sugar import duty: India, the world's biggest sugar consumer, has no plan to lower import duty on the sweetener, at least in the near term, a government official said.

Sugar prices in the local market have risen more than 10 percent in a month on an expected drop in production after back-to-back drought ravaged cane crop in the top producing western state of Maharashtra.

Traders were speculating that the price increase may force the government to lower import duty.

India's sugar production in 2016/17 is likely to fall to 22 million tonnes, down 4.3 percent from an earlier estimate, as mills in Maharashtra are closing early due to a cane shortage, industry officials told Reuters.2:40 pm Interview: Panacea Biotec’s revenue from the US market is likely to grow exponentially, says Joint Managing Director Rajesh Jain. The company on Wednesday received the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) approval for an anti-migraine drug for which it had filed the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) in 2012.

Jain said the company expects three more approvals of the balance five ANDAs that are still under evaluation of the regulator.Currently, the company generates annual revenue of Rs 10-11 crore from the US markets. 2:20 pm Earnings: Yes Bank's third quarter earnings beat analysts' expectations on Thursday, with profit rising 30.6 percent to Rs 882.6 crore compared to year-ago period. The growth was driven by strong net interest income, other income and lower provisions.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew by 30.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,507 crore, with loan growth of 38.7 percent at Rs 1.17 lakh crore at the end of December 2016.

According to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was estimated at Rs 813 crore and net interest income at Rs 1,477.2 crore for the quarter.

Other income or non-interest income surged 33.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 998.35 crore and operating profit jumped 26.46 percent to Rs 1,453.8 crore in the quarter ended December 2016.Also read - Don't see conditions for a big market rally in short term: Ambit2:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate in afternoon trade with the Nifty gyrating in a range of 30 points. Oil & gas, FMCG and PSU banks supported the market while private banking & financials, healthcare and select technology stocks were under pressure.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 25.16 points at 27282.80 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 2.10 points at 8419.10 while the broader markets continued to outperform with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indice rising 0.2-0.3 percent.

Cholamandalam, SBI, Yes Bank, Power Grid Corp, GAIL, Axis Bank, Infosys and GAIL were most active shares.

GAIL surged 4 percent as a meeting of the board of directors is scheduled on January 25 to consider issuance of bonus shares and fund raising by issuance of bonds on private placement basis.

European markets were mixed as investors digest remarks from US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen and wait to hear from President Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank.