Sensex, Nifty slide sharply; Hero loses 4%; sugar gains

01:45pm Rate cut likely in June?: Samiran Chakraborty, Head of Research, Standard Chartered Bank believes the WPI and CPI numbers alone won't charm the Reserve Bank to induce rate cuts in its June policy. But if conditions laid down by it show progress sans any untoward incidents and inflation stays in line with expectations, then there is quite a possibility that "in June we will see another 25 basis point of rate cut."

He says the apex bank acts on the preconditions set by it in terms of certain domestic, global and weather factors.

He adds that if world stays calm post Fed hike, then yet another rate cut post June won't be impossible.

WPI based inflation fell to a record low of (-) 2.33 percent in March on account of cheaper food and fuel products as well as manufactured items. It was 6 percent in March 2014.

01:30pm BHEL in News: State-run power equipment maker BHEL today said it has fully commissioned 2,400 MW OP Jindal thermal power project in Chhattisgarh.

"The unit has been commissioned at Jindal Power's  (JPL) OP Jindal 4X600 thermal power plant located at Tamnar in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh," BHEL said in a statement.

The previous three units were commissioned by BHEL in the last three months.

The scope of work in the contract includes design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of steam turbines, generators and boilers, along with associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides controls & instrumentation and Electrostatic Precipitators (ESPs).

01:00pm Market Check

Selling pressure mounts on the market with the Sensex seeing a sharp slide. The 30-share index is down 239.57 points or 0.8 percent at 28560.12 and the Nifty is down 86.35 points or 0.9 percent at 8663.85. About 864 shares have advanced, 1702 shares declined, and 150 shares are unchanged.

Hero MotoCorp slips 4 percent as the US company Erik Buell Racing in which it had invested USD 25 million, will cease its operations. The auto major had invested in Erik Buell Racing, a Delaware corporation, through a wholly owned subsidiary in Delaware, by the name of HMCL. EBR has a wholly owned subsidiary, Erik Buell Racing, a limited liability company organised in Wisconsin.

Sesa Sterlite, Infosys, Cipla and L&T are major losers.  On the gaining side are ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, M&M and GAIL.

Fear of a weak March quarter earnings seem to have worried investors. Rajat Rajgarhia, MD-Institutional Equities, Motilal Oswal Securities expects disappointing fourth quarter numbers to bring down full year earnings growth for FY15 around 4-5 percent from the earlier expectations of 14-15 percent. According to him, in the last six months there have been headwinds coming in from almost all quarters - with collapse in commodities, cross currency pains, lack of pick up in investment cycle, slowdown in rural consumption etc, so capital goods and cement companies are expected to report a decline in earnings. So the earnings growth for Q4 would be zero, while December was a negative number. For more information please visit this site www.appsmine.org