SBI falls 8%, pulls Sensex down by 283 points

3.30 p.m: A sharp fall in the second half of the day saw Sensex falling by 283 points to 18,145 while Nifty trades 102 points lower at 5505.

SBI witnessed a sharp drop of 8 percent to Rs 2257 on market rumors of the bank willing to fund Kingfisher. Other banks also fell alongwith SBI but to a lesser extent. ICICI Bank closed 3 percent lower at Rs 962 while Axis Bank closed 6 percent lower at Rs 1208.70.

Among the other major losers were United Spirits which fell by 13.6 percent to Rs 574 while Kingfisher fell by 5.44 percent to Rs 24.40 on news of the IT department continuing to keep the account frozen.

Real Estate stocks saw profit booking with Unitech falling by 8.9 percent at Rs 32.35 while HDIL fell 8.83 percent at Rs 119.25.

Sterlite closed the day 9.8 percent lower at Rs 120 as the Vedanta group is expected to go through a restructuring. Sesa Goa closed 3.7 percent lower at Rs 235.50 on news of IT department disallowing a tax deduction to the tune of Rs 243 crore.

United Spirits falls 21% as KFA accounts remain frozen

2.45 p.m: United Spirits has fallen by 21 percent at Rs 550 after the IT department continued to keep its account frozen. Kingfisher on the other hand trades 5 percent lower at Rs 25.50.

Markets meanwhile have slipped further with Sensex falling to 18,191 down 237 points while Nifty is down 85 points at 5524.

SBI has slipped further and is down 6 percent at 2305, Axis Bank is down 3.4 points while ICICI Bank is down 2.4 points at Rs 967.

Sesa Goa has fallen by 3 percent to Rs 239.90 on news of the company being denied a tax deduction of Rs 243 crore.

Sterlite falls 7% on restructuring buzz

2.00 p.m: Sterlite has slipped further and trades nearly 7 percent lower at Rs 119 on market news of a restructuring in the group, where the company will be burdened with the loans for acquiring Cairn India.

Banks have fallen further, as bond yields rise. SBI is down over 5.16 percent at Rs 2325 while ICICI Bank is down 1.6 percent at Rs 975 and Axis Bank is down 1.5 percent at Rs 1267.

Airline stocks have fallen as debate over Kingfisher’s bailout continues. Jet Airways is down 5 percent at Rs 334.25 while Kingfisher is down 1 percent at Rs 26.50.

Sensex meanwhile has fallen down to 18,356 down 72 points while Nifty is down 25 points at 5581.

Tata Comm gains 6% ahead of partnership deal announcement

12.30 p.m: While Sesa Goa has moved up by nearly 3 percent at Rs 253.60, Sterlite has dropped by 4 percent to Rs 123 on news of the restructuring.

SBI has dropped further to Rs 2342 a fall 4.1 percent.

Sensex meanwhile has slipped marginally and is down 58 points to 18,370 while Nifty is down 25 points at 5582. Markets are rangebound as traders shift their derivative position to March.

Tata Communication has gained 5.6 percent at Rs 252 as the company announced sale of unused residential units and a likely announcement of its biggest strategic tie-up on Thursday.

Sesa Goa gains 3% on Vedanta group restructuring

11.15 a.m: Sesa Goa trades nearly 3 percent higher at Rs 253 on news of the group going in for a resturcturing. Sterlite Industries on the other hand is down 2 percent at Rs 125.80 while Cairn India trades flat at Rs 393.

SBI continues to trade low, down about 3.9 percent at Rs 2356.

Sensex meanwhile has bounced back from the day’s low and trades at 18,400 down 28 points while Nifty is down 16 points at 5592.

Tata Communication has jumped 4 percent at Rs 248.40 on news of the company expected to announce a strategic tie-up on Thursday.

Dhanlaxmi Bank trades 2.5 percent lower at Rs 62.85 after being downgraded by Fitch.

Investors punish SBI for bailing out Kingfisher, stock down 3%

10.15 a.m: Indian markets have come off the high on profit booking. Sensex trades at 18,433 up 5 points while Nifty is down 2 points at 5603.

SBI trades near the day’s low as investor have started booking profits after the bank agreed to a bail out of Kingfisher. The bank agreed to fund Kingfisher to the tune of Rs 1000 crore in the hope that the airline will revive. The stock trades at Rs 2375 down 3.16 percent, Axis Bank trades 2.5 per cent lower at Rs 1256.50 while ICICI Bank is down to Rs 974 a drop of 1.65 percent.

Nifty above 5600, Reliance gains on Russia JV

9.30 a.m: US markets have crossed the 2008 highs with Dow touching the 13,000 mark and Nasdaq touching a new 11-year high. The next big target for the Nasdaq to scale is the 2000 highs.

Indian markets are reflecting the buoyant mood in the global markets with BSE Sensex trading 59 points higher at 18,481 while NSE Nifty trades at 5618, a gain of 10 points.

Sterlite after opening higher is currently trading near the day’s low at Rs 128.90, up by 0.3 percent over the previous day’s close. The Vedanta Group is expected to announce a restructuring where Sesa Goa is likely to be merged with Sterlite. Sesa Goa trades 1 percent higher at Rs 249.65. The purpose of the restructuring is due to the high debt burden of the parent Vedanta which was taken to acquire Cairn India. Dividend outgo is likely to increase from all Indian companies. Cairn India trades 2 percent higher at Rs 399.50.

ONGC continues to trade higher on news of gulf-based funds willing to pick up the entire divestment quota of the government. The stock trades 4 percent higher at Rs 303. The company along with GAIL is likely to make a joint bid for UK based Cove Energy which has operations in East Africa.

Dhanlaxmi Bank trades 1 percent lower at Rs 64 after the bank was downgraded by rating agency Fitch.

Reliance trades 0.2 percent higher at Rs 845.35 on news of the company forming a joint venture with Russia’s SIBUR to set up a 100,000 tonne butyl rubber plant.

Sun Pharma trades 1.28 percent higher at Rs 550 on news of the company planning to go in for a out-of-court settlement in the $960 million patent litigation suit file by US based Wyeth.