Sensex falls 160 pts; HUL, ONGC, ICICI Bank laggards

03:30 pm Market close: The market ended lower. The Sensex ended down 159.54 points at 27425.73 and the Nifty slipped 23.60 points at 8299.40. About 1389 shares have advanced, 1535 shares declined, and 332 shares were unchanged.

ONGC, HUL and ICICI Bank were laggards.

03:10 pm RBI buying dollars?

The RBI was likely buying dollars via state-run banks starting at around 62.02 levels to prevent a further appreciation in the rupee, four traders said.

The partially convertible rupee was trading after moments earlier hitting as much as 61.0175, its strongest level since December 10.

Traders estimated the central bank likely bought USD 200 million to USD 500 million so far in the day.

02:50pm Market Update

The market saw selling pressure in last hour of trade on profit booking. The Sensex lost 241.36 points to 27343.91 and the Nifty dropped 48.35 points to 8274.65 weighed by technology, banks and oil stocks.

About 1275 shares have advanced, 1551 shares declined, and 335 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

02:25pm Fall in oil prices a boon?

RBI Deputy Governor Urjit Patel says "dramatic" fall in global oil prices a "boon" for Indian economy, may help save USD 50 billion on import bill.

RBI deputy says fall in oil prices to increase disposable incomes, reduce input cost of businesses and bring down energy subsidy burden

Both Brent and US. crude are at their weakest since early 2009 after dropping for seven straight weeks as oversupply clashes with slowing demand. They have plunged almost 60 percent since June last year, reports Reuters.

"It (oil fall) saves, on an annualised basis, around USD 50 billion, roughly, one-third of our annual gross POL (petroleum, oil and lubricants) imports of about USD 160 billion ... But our external situation undoubtedly improves."

02:00pm Market Check

The market gained marginal strength amid consolidation in afternoon trade with the Nifty rising above 8350 supported by banks, cement and paint stocks. The broader markets outperformed frontline indices with market breadth positive. The BSE Midcap index gained 0.7 percent and Smallcap rose 0.5 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex advanced 9 points to 27594.27 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 28.70 points to 8351.70. About 1524 shares have advanced while 1212 shares declined on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Veteran investor Ramesh Damani says all indications are good for bull market to continue. It would be a mistake to short or exit this market, says Damani, adding he will continue to be bullish on HUL as it never dilutes its equity and represents good investment.

Private sector lender IndusInd Bank matched street expectations by reporting a 28.8 percent growth in profit at Rs 447 crore for the quarter ended December 2014. The profit was supported by higher other income & net interest income and lower provisions. Net in the year-ago period was Rs 347 crore.

The rupee strengthened against the dollar for the fifth consecutive trading session, appreciating marginally to 62.05 versus a close of 62.16 in previous session while bond yields fell to 7.76 percent, the lowest since July 15, 2013.