Sensex ends down by 249 points at 36,034; Nifty closes at 11,050

Market close: The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down by nearly 250 points due to profit-booking in recent outperformers such as HDFC Bank Ltd, while caution prevailed ahead of the federal budget, due on Thursday. Also, traders adopted a wait-and-watch mode ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s two-day monetary policy meeting. Among BSE sectoral indices, consumer durables fell 1.74 per cent, followed by IT 1.07 per cent, TECk 1.02 per cent and banking 0.85 per cent, while oil & gas index gained 1.16 per cent and PSU 0.64 per cent.

Closing bell: The S&P BSE Sensex ended the session down by 249.52 points or 0.69 per cent at 36,033.73 and the Nifty50 closed lower by 80.75 points or 0.73 per cent at 11,049.65.

Pre-close trade: The Sensex was trading down by 215.24 points or 0.59 per cent at 36,068.01 and the Nifty down 79.5 points or 0.71 per cent at 11,050.90.

JSW Steel: With increasing demand in the domestic market and in China and high steel prices, the outlook for the sector looks positive over the next two to three years. JSW Steel is well poised to reap the benefits with expansion plans underway. Click here to read more

Shares of PowerGrid hit 10-1/2-month low, and the charts suggested further downside. The stock fell as much as 1.78 per cent to Rs 190.7, its lowest since March 10, 2017. Read more

Correction in stock prices seen: Elevated stock prices are a matter of concern and could correct sharply if they are not backed by growth, requiring “heightened vigilance”, says Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian. More on this

Chief Economic Adviser, Arvind Subramanian, says there has been convergence in price-earnings ratio of the Indian and the US stock markets in the last couple of years although the two economies have followed different paths.

CanFin Homes: Increased allocation for the affordable housing segment in the Budget and healthy financials are positives for the company. Click here to read the full article

MCX Lead: Traders with a medium-term perspective can go long at current levels and accumulate at ₹163 and ₹162. Keep the stop-loss at ₹158 for the target of ₹176. Click here to read more

MCX aluminium: Aluminium futures contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange has been stuck in a narrow range between ₹140 and ₹144 per kg over the past week. The immediate outlook is unclear. A breakout on either side of ₹140 or ₹144 will decide the next move. Click here to read more

The S&P BSE Sensex was trading down by nearly 200 points due to profit-booking in recent outperformers, while caution prevailed ahead of the Union Budget to be unveiled on Thursday. At 1.55 pm, the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 192.43 points or 0.53 per cent at 36,090.82 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 78.25 points or 0.7 per cent at 11,052.15 .

Bajaj Auto tests a key hurdle: A break above ₹3,350 can take the stock up to ₹3,500 in the medium run. Click here to read the full story

Consider a long strangle on Tata Motors: Tata Motors’ stock (₹402.85) has been moving in a wide range between ₹370 and ₹480 in the last one year. The stock will trend only if it breaks out of this range. It faces an immediate resistance at ₹433 and the crucial one at ₹462. Click here to read more

Benchmark indices fell up to 0.72 per cent due to profit-booking in recent outperformers amid a weak trend in global markets. Also, caution prevailed ahead of the Union Budget to be unveiled on Thursday. At 12.40 pm local time, the Sensex was down 208.78 points or 0.58 per cent at 36,074.47 and the Nifty was down 63.9 points or 0.57 per cent at 11,066.50. Among BSE sectoral indices, IT index fell the most by 1.06 per cent, followed by TECk 0.91 per cent, metal 0.8 per cent, healthcare 0.74 per cent. On the other hand, oil & gas index gained 0.64 per cent, PSU 0.43 per cent, and power 0.16 per cent.

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RCom rallies as Q3 loss narrows : Shares of Reliance Communications surged as much as 14.9 per cent to Rs 31.20, their biggest intraday percentage gain since December 29, 2017. Read more

The debt-laden company, which has faced a string of bankruptcy pleas, is selling most of its wireless assets to another carrier Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, a unit of Reliance Industries Ltd.

Apple skids on iPhone X production cut: Apple's shares fell to their lowest level in 2018, knocking off $14 billion from the company's market value. More on this

Customers looking to buy the iPhone X has dropped to 37 per cent. File Photo

Amber zooms on debut : Shares of Amber Enterprises zoomed on market debut after $94 million IPO. The stock rallied as much as 37 per cent to Rs 1,175 on its trading debut vs IPO price of Rs 859. Read more

Sterlite Power buys StanChart's stake : Sterlite Power has acquired Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE)’s 28.4 per cent stake in its transmission infrastructure business for ₹1,010 crore. Read more

Shares of Emami hit over 3-month low as Q3 EBITDA missed estimates. The stock slumped as much as 6.1 per cent to Rs 1,154.85, lowest since October 25, 2017. Read more

Emami's December quarter profit rose 9.5 per cent to Rs 147 crore ($23.08 million).

Crude oil extends decline : Oil prices fell for a second day as rising US output and a strengthening dollar sapped demand for crude, pushing Brent below $70 a barrel. Read more

Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, declined 33 cents, or 0.5 per cent, to $69.13 a barrel at 0331 GMT. The contract for March delivery settled down $1.06, or 1.5 per cent, at $69.46 a barrel on Monday.

At 10.55 a.m., the 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 215.67 points or 0.59 per cent at 36,067.58 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 76.95 points or 0.69 per cent at 11,053.45. Among BSE sectoral indices, metal index fell the most by 1.01 per cent, followed by healthcare 0.95 per cent, capital goods 0.92 per cent and IT 0.79 per cent. On the other hand, oil & gas index gained 0.84 per cent, PSU 0.63 per cent.

REC bond offer : Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd is set to complete the fund raising programme of the $ 1.5 billion dollar-denomiated bonds offer before March 2018. More on this

Speaking on the sidelines of launching an innovation platform for renewables at the T-Hub, the REC CMD said, “RBI has permitted REC to raise up to $1.5 billion. We are working towards closing this fund before March 2018.”

BEL buyback, IndianOil bonus : Bharat Electronics board will meet today to consider a buyback proposal along with quarterly numbers. Similarly, the board of Indian Oil Corporation will meet for bonus issue. Click here to read more

US stocks: Wall Street pulled back from record highs on Monday, with the Dow and the S&P 500 indexes marking their biggest one-day percentage declines in about five months, weighed down by a slide in Apple shares. Read more

SBI Life, RPower results today : About 75 companies, including Ashoka Buildcon, AU Small Finance, CARE, Cholamandalam, JK Paper, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Piramal Enterprises, Reliance Naval, RPower, SBI Life, and Sundram Fasteners will declare their quarterly numbers for December 2017 today. Read more

DPSC offer-for-sale: The offer-for-sale of DPSC will open for subscription today (to non-retail investors) and on January 31 (retail investors). More on this

Asian markets: Asian stocks retreated from record peaks after a selloff in Apple shares knocked Wall Street. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.3 per cent after rising to a record high the previous day. Read more

Asian stocks retreated from record peaks after a selloff in Apple shares knocked Wall Street

The Sensex and Nifty slipped into the negative zone as caution prevailed ahead of the Union Budget to be announced on Thursday.

The 30-share BSE index Sensex fell 74.55 points or 0.21 per cent to 36,208.70 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty shed 34.65 points or 0.31 per cent to 11,095.75.

Caution over market rally: The Economic Survey has sounded a caution note about the raging rally in the Indian stock market, which has outperformed many other major markets. Click here to read more

The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 168.97 points or 0.47 per cent at 36,452.22 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was up 38.35 points or 0.34 per cent at 11,168.75.