Nifty ends above 8700, Sensex down 135 pts; Bharti up 7%

3:30 Market close: The market ended on lower note. The Sensex was down 134.91 points at 28709.87 and the Nifty slipped 44.70 points at 8712.05. About 1261 shares have advanced, 1584 shares declined, and 200 shares are unchanged. Bharti was up 7 percent, while Coal India, M&M, BHEL and Hero are top gainers inthe Sensex. Among the losers were HDFc, Hindalco, HUL, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel. 03:19 pm Market check: The Sensex is down 142.66 points or 0.5 percent at 28702.12, and the Nifty down 44.95 points or 0.5 percent at 8711.80. About 1228 shares have advanced, 1592 shares declined, and 201 shares are unchanged. 03:10 pm Air India, HMT to shut down? Five public sector undertakings (PSUs) will be closed down by the government, which has included some of the best known state-run enterprises like Air India, MTNL and Hindustan Shipyard, in the list of 65 sick PSUs, Lok Sabha was informed today.  The five state-run organisations to be closed down include three HMT units whose brand of watches and tractors once ruled the market, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said during Question Hour, adding that their employees were being offered a "very good" VRS package. However, he did not name the other PSUs which are slated to be closed down. 02:50pm Gold schemes: Official says the government is likely to scrap existing gold deposit schemes as these schemes have not yielded desired results. The government is likely to launch gold monetisation scheme by May with nominal interest and is likely to price gold bonds in line with gold metal rates. 02:35pm Market extends losses: The Sensex dropped 232.58 points to 28612.20 and the Nifty shed 68.55 points to 8688.20. About 1144 shares have advanced, 1587 shares declined, and 211 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.  02:30pm Mphasis in News: Homegrown IT/ITeS firm Mphasis is looking to hive off its domestic business process outsourcing (BPO) into a separate arm while it explores the option of selling it. Sources have told CNBC-TV18 that the HP-owned company, which has likely appointed two investment bankers to conduct a sale for the business, is undertaking the move as part of its strategy to focus on high-margin businesses. The consolidation strategy is part of Mphasis’ own strategy before the US giant HP itself looks to sell its controlling stake in the company, sources said. Mphasis’ domestic business employs about 12,000 employees across four call centres in the country, and earns revenues of about Rs 1,200 crore. Mphasis was owned by Barings Private Equity Partners till it was purchased by EDS in 2006, after which it fell in HP’s lap after the latter acquired EDS in 2008. But under HP, Mphasis has seen its revenues fall, with analysts citing the US company’s struggle for strategic direction itself with respect to whether it should focus on services or products. Currently, HP owns a 60.5 percent stake in Mphasis. 02:00pm Market Check The market extended losses in afternoon trade with the Sensex losing 136.87 points to 28707.91. The Nifty lost 45.65 points to 8711.10. Banking & financials, oil, metals, power and FMCG stocks led the market down while telecom and select technology stocks outperformed. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices declined too, down 0.3-0.4 percent. About 1163 shares have advanced, 1524 shares declined, and 215 shares are unchanged on the BSE. Market is headed towards consolidation in the near term, cautions big bull Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. But there is nothing to worry until and unless Nifty moves below 8000. In an exclusive conversation with Ramesh Damani and N Jayakumar, Jhunjhunwala says he expects the market to pause for a while after what has been a dream run for the bull market in the last one year. Housing finance company HDFC topped the selling list, down 3.7 percent followed by HDFC Bank, L&T, Reliance Industries, ONGC, HUL, Wipro, Hindalco Industries, Sesa Sterlite and Tata Steel with 1-2 percent loss. However, Bharti Airtel shot up 7 percent. The stock saw a relief rally as the day on day jump in bid prices for 900 mhz has fallen to 2 percent versus 5 percent earlier raising hopes of some moderation in bidding. Meanwhile, the rupee fell further today, trading at fresh 2-month low of 62.69 against close of 62.55 yesterday due to rise in dollar and increased demand for the dollar from importers. On the global front, most of Asia had a weak session today. Hong Kong closed with more than 200 points cut while European markets too are trading in the red as Greek tensions grow. More information please visit this site www.sharemarket259.blogspot.in