The Finance Ministry has called a meeting of heads of public sector banks to clear stalled projects.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended up 28 points at 25,844 and the Nifty50 ended flat at 7,915.
Pharma shares extended losses after the government's ban on combination drugs.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Govt diverts Rs 253-crore subsidy savings to the poor.
Banks, real estate and metal scrips among the top losers.
Since April, India has seen multiple strains of the coronanavirus sweep the nation, upending life and businesses alike. Out-of-home retail and discretionary categories such as durables, auto, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, food services, travel, and tourism have been the worst-hit as Covid cases remain high, leaving state governments with no option but to curtail mobility and economic activity.
In the long run, the decision could bring clearer rules to a sector that has failed to provide India with enough power because it has been so hamstrung by confusion and scandals over concessions allegedly handed to government cronies.
S&P upgraded India's credit outlook to 'stable' from 'negative' earlier.
More than 10% (40 of 498 companies) have lost at least half their market value.
The government is auctioning 42 coal mines among 204 coal blocks.
22 companies won bids for the 31 contracts on offer; 15 were new entrants to the oil and gas business. Three years on, none of them have started production.
The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court it would examine the current status of development in 61 coal blocks allocated to companies, on a case-by-case basis, and take a decision within six weeks.
The BSE Sensex was down 326 points at 23,277 and the Nifty was down 107 points at 7,056.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap was down 0.2%, while BSE Smallcap fell 0.1%.
RIL, HDFC twins, M&M, Infosys among the top losers for the day.
BAOA says the recent downgrade of India by the America's FAA was triggered primarily by a shortage of qualified staff for conducting safety and airworthiness inspections of aircraft.
IT majors along with metal names Sesa Goa and Hindalco buck trend.
Programme will create world's largest energy saving certificate-trading platform.
Elaborating on this theme, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan pointed out that if the power sector had not been opened up through reforms initiated in 2003, India would still have been in darkness.
Eight Sensex biggies such as Reliance, L&T, BHEL, SBI and ICICI Bank are among the worst hit.
Month-end dollar demand from importers resulted in the rupee touching a new all-time low on Wednesday against the dollar.
The 30-share Sensex ended down 208 points at 28,261 and the 50-share Nifty closed 64 points lower at 8,571.
Railway Board Chairman Arunendra Kumar said the discussions at the day-long meet involved an overview of five models of participative policy, framework of engineering, procurement and construction contracts and sectoral guidelines for foreign and domestic investment.
India's $121 billion troubled debt pile, over $100 billion of which is on the books of state-owned banks, has come under close scrutiny from prosecutors, the media and politicians
Once Bhushan Steel is into its fold, Tata Steel will increase its capacity from 12.7 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) to 18.3 mtpa
The 30-share Sensex lost 54 points at end at 27,086 and 50-share Nifty shed 19 points to close at 8,096.
The Hinduja Group, Mukesh Ambani, Murugappa, and the Adani groups were the other gainers in the Modi regime, while Naveen Jindal and Sun Pharma groups saw the most erosion in their m-cap in the last five years, reports Krishna Kant.
Market breadth depicted gains with 1,476 advances over 1,403 declines on the BSE. 140 stocks remained unchanged.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 26,190, up by 43 points and Nifty50 settled above 7,950 to end at 7,963, up by 17 points
Essar group, Bhushan Steel and JSW group likely to be impacted by changes
ITC, Infosys, Wipro and HDFC Bank among the major losers.
The broader markets, however, outperformed the benchmark indices -- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices ended up 0.6%-1%.
Tata Steel, SBI, L&T and Sun Pharma advanced 2-5% each.
Indrani Mazumdar ' Mumbai April 23, 2015 Last Updated at 15:57 IST Stock Tips for Tomorrow Subscribe, Know which stocks to buy Tomorrow only Profitable Stock tips www.live-market-tips.com/Tomorrow Ads by Google Add to My Page Tiny URL RELATED NEWS Markets end flat after paring gains; HDFC Bank down 1.6% Sensex, Nifty extend losses; TCS, L&T down 2% Sensex gains over 100 points; Wipro surges nearly 6% Sensex, Nifty up 1%; bank shares zoom Nifty slips below 8,400 mark; HDFC down over 1% Hiranandani Properties Prices Starting at Just 15 Lacs. An Excellent Opportunity. Visit Nowhouseofhiranandani.com Aviva Term Plan Get 1 Cr Life Cover @Rs 16*/day. High Protection at Minimal Cost!avivaindia.com/Term-Insurance Ads by Google Markets ended lower on Thursday despite the clarification on minimum alternate tax by the government while a weak monsoon forecast raised concerns about an uptick in inflation. Further, investors turned cautious ahead of fourth quarter earnings from Infosys while worries about Greece also dampened sentiment. Meanwhile, rating agency Moody's today said emerging economies in Asia Pacific region, including India, have a high degree of immunity to external shocks, but will face challenges when the US Federal Reserve begins raising interest rates. The 30-share Sensex dropped 155 points to end at 27,735 and the 50-share Nifty shed 31 points to close at 8,398. MARKET VIEW "The last 6 out of 7 days, we have witnessed an extreme bout of selling in the key indices and stocks. Every rise getting sold and Bulls coerced to give in recently, with key supports breached. Today, was no different day, where volatility was extreme. We believe that the approach to the market remains cautious. If the indices break the previous low and close below that (i.e. 8270), then it could trigger a short term correction. Else, this could very well be termed as a bounce off the support levels. However, for a new trend to begin, Banknifty has to break 19000 levels. " said Kunal Bothra, Head -Advisory, LKP. ECONOMY The clarification from the Indian government that it would honor tax treaties while making a demand of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) at the effective rate of 20 per cent came as a relief for favorable treaty nations. But, dilemma still hangs over funds from other nations whose treaties do not grant an exemption from capital gains. The first monsoon forecast by the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) has predicted below normal rainfall during the season for the second straight year in 2015 primarily due to the build-up of El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean. Disruptions in the normal rainfall is likely to put further pressure on the agriculture sector which is already reeling under the impact of unseasonal rains that have damaged crops in parts of country and may lead to higher food inflation making further rate-cuts by Reserve Bank of India less likely. KEY STOCKS On the sectoral front, BSE Healthcare, Auto, Capital Gods, Oil & Gas, Realty and Power indices are trading lower up to 1%. However, BSE Consumer Durables and Metal indices are trading higher by 1% each. Metal stocks ended firm in today's trade after Bank of America-Merrill Lynch said the sector's return on equity will double by FY17 end. The research house reinstated coverage on Indian steel makers, with "buy" ratings on Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW and Jindal Steel and Power. Tata Steel gained 5%. Vedanta (earlier known as Sesa Sterlite) climbed nearly 0.5% and Hindalco was up 0.2%. Coal India advanced 1.3% after Brokerage firm CLSA maintained its 'buy' rating on the stock. YES Bank ended higher by 7% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on back of heavy volumes after the private sector lender said that its board approved a proposal to increase foreign institutional investor (FII)/foreign portfolio investors (FPI) limit to 74% from the existing limit of 49% of the paid-up share capital. According to media reports, Maruti Suzuki has plans of launching a series of new cars for the Indian market in 2015. Unveiled at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, the Maruti Suzuki YRA model will be named as 'Fronx' for the Indian market. The stock was up 1%. TCS ended the session with marginal gains after the company teams up with Solace Systems team to deliver digital Reimagination solutions and services. Select IT shares remained under pressure for the seventh straight session over concerns about quarterly earnings. Infosys shed over 0.7% ahead of the quarterly earnings due tomorrow and Wipro lost nearly 2%. According to reports, M&M is planning to invest Rs 2,500 crore in expaniding its existing auto manufacturing facility in Telangana., which will increase its capacity to 1.5 lakh vehicles per year. The stock slipped over 1%. On the concern of poor monsoons ahead of the June-to-September monsoon season, auto, financials and FMCG stocks ended lower. ITC was down 0.3%, Tata Motors lost over 2%, Hero motocorp shed 1%, HUL slipped 0.6%, SBI dropped 2.4%, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank dipped 0.3% each. HDFC Bank lost 0.4%. HDFC Bank posted a 20.6% rise in net profit in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2015 due to a higher loan growth. The bank had a net profit to Rs 2806.91 crore for Q4 compared to Rs 2,326.52 crore in same quarter previous fiscal. The number of new launches in residential real estate has come down by 55 per cent in the first quarter this year owing to subdued sales, according to a report. From the realty pack, Unitech, IB Realty, Godrej, Anantraj, HDIL and NBCC were down up to 2%. In the broader market, BSE Midcap index outperformed the peers and was up 0.6%. However, BSE Smallcap index lost 0.2%. Market breadth ended lower with 1,434 declines versus 1,377 advances. Read more on: Nifty ' Sensex ' Nse ' Bse ' Maruti ' Tcs ' Infosys ' Yes Bank ' Hdfc Bank ' Tata Steel Read More Sensex drops 189 points to end below 28,000 Provisionally, the 30-share Sensex ended down 189 points at 27,701 and the 50-share Nifty shed 39 points to close at 8,391 Add to My Page Tiny URL Recommended for you Monthly SIP Investments Invest as low as Rs 1000pm in Top SIPs in just 2mins. Start a ZipSip. www.myuniverse.co.in/ZipSip Luxury 2 & 3 BHK Mumbai Pay 10 lacs now, Rest on Possession 63 Storey Twin Towers in Kandivali lovealpine.com/Special-Offer Ads by Google Advertisements Prof. Mikkel Draebye explains the importance of corporate entrepreneurship. 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"Prof. Massimo Magni" Unveil the marvellous hill stations of Maharashtra Back to Top Quick Links Go LATEST NEWSAll NewsIn This Section Nifty ends shy of 8,400; YES Bank top gainer PDP-BJP coalition govt a change for the worse: Omar Abdullah Arms case: Salman Khan fails to appear in court for recording statement MRF Q2 net surges 95% to Rs 333 crore Banking sector fraud has gone up by more than 10%: Deloitte Building leadership, capabilities in big data labs critical for analytics: Nasscom YES Bank extends intra-day gain on board nod to hike FII/FPI limit to 74% Gammon India to issue Rs 100-crore debentures to promoters Smart maps an $8 bn opportunity for India: Study Exercise financial prudence: Parrikar to Armed Forces News you can use Rss icon Don't reduce PF contribution What is Gratuity? What are NEFT and RTGS? Check your Income Tax Credit credit status form-26AS online Saving capital gain tax on sale of property Calculate tax on your house property income How to Check your EPF Balance & status online Featured Videos Why some of Japan's elderly want to go to jail video The 1341hp electric car beats a Bugatti video The maps that tell you when it's safe to breathe video How to add Michael Jordan's shoes to your portfolio video MOST POPULARReadSharedCommented BK Birla group plans mega recast Samsung to set up $100-mn plant in Hyderabad Rains seen below normal for 2nd straight year Jet Airways puts its wide-body fleet on sale to reduce debt FIIs with tax pact shield may be exempt from MAT Market News Signs of steel prices bottoming out a ray of hope for steel players CNX Metal index that fell to one-year lows of close to 2,293 in mid-March now trading at 2,460 levels Markets under pressure; Sensex slips below 27,800 The auto and capital goods space are exerting pressure on the indices in noon trades. Ashoka Buildcon dips after pricing QIP issue at discount The board has approved issue of 2.84 crore shares to Qualified Institutional Buyers at Rs 175.80 per share Cardamom rises by 0.4% as demand picks up Speculators created fresh positions at prevailing levels, taking positive cues from spot market on pick up in demand Crude palm oil falls by 0.1% on sluggish demand speculators indulged in reducing positions due to subdued demand in spot market The 30-share Sensex dropped 155 points to end at 27,735 and the 50-share Nifty shed 31 points to close at 8,398.
Analysts said with more power sector companies referred to the NCLT by banks, large companies would be at an advantage.
India has attracted investment worth $1.6 billion for projects in the fields of power, steel, construction and engineering special economic zones from Japanese companies.
R-Power, Essar could be hit as state mulls benefit-sharing levy for ecology loss.
No one can fault India Inc for not taking care of shareholders; in fact, it has been extra generous.
Broader markets broke the winning streak and ended lower, underperforming the benchmark indices