The S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange slid 0.44 per cent and 0.49 per cent to 26,599.11 and 8,057.30, respectively.

Overall market breadth remained negative as advances to declines ratio for Nifty remained 1:49 with Bharti Airtel being the only stock in green.

Ambuja Cements had reported a net profit of Rs 520 crore in the year-ago period, Ambuja Cements said in a BSE filing.

Selling pressure in FMCG, auto and metal stocks also pulled the key benchmark indices lower. The 50-share Nifty fell 0.62 per cent to close at 8,239.75.

The current market is not one to experiment but stick to fundamentals. Waiting on the sidelines might be a better idea than venturing into a market surrounded by uncertainty.

The inter-governmental panel, also cleared the pharma firm IPCA Laboratories' proposal to hike FII to 35 per cent entailing an investment of Rs 900 crore.

However, the government will decide the fate of four blocks, which came under the scanner for receiving low value bids, after an Inter-Ministerial Committee report.

The government on Sunday garnered Rs 5,164 crore from sale of two more mines to Jaypee Cement and Ambuja Cements with cumulative proceeds surging to Rs 1.57 lakh crore.

OP Puranmalka ensured growth for the company in these tough times through a series of capex initiatives such as brownfield expansion, new captive power plants and acquisitions.

This is the second public scrutiny of a M&A deal by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) after Ranbaxy-Sun Pharma merger.

Proceeds from the investment will be used for network expansion of Kalyan Jewellers, which is targeting to increase its network to 100 outlets by 2016.

Cement stocks, reflecting the hope of an increase in domestic cement demand, have risen 30-170% in the last one year.

Heavy profit-booking and concerns over high oil prices on Friday made sure that the index closed the week at 25,228.17, down 168 points from 25,396.46 on June 6. It had touched a high of 25,583.69 on June 10.

The arrest of Jignesh Shah in the National Spot Exchange scam will make it even more difficult for investors to recover their money.

Until the government takes serious steps to create a parallel force to counter foreign institutional investors, Indian market will continue to remain a FII-dominated market, writes Mahesh Nayak.

Quarterly earnings of bluechips such as HDFC Bank, Maruti Suzuki India and ICICI Bank would dictate the trend on stock markets this week which may also see volatility amid expiry of derivatives on Wednesday, say analysts.

The company, which has 27.25 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) capacity, is setting up three greenfield plants of 1.5 mtpa capacity each in Rajsthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

As per the deal, Ultratech, a leading manufacturer of cement in India, will acquire Jaypee's cement unit in Gujarat comprising an integrated cement plant at Sewagram, limestone reserves, captive power plant and mining leases, among others.

The report says Indian companies spend almost half of what they are required to do on CSR activities under the Companies Act, 2013. The report tracked 51 companies that are part of the Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex and the National Stock Exchange's Nifty indices.

Ultratech Cement, ACC and Ambuja Cements also don't see better days ahead in the remaining period of the current financial year due to challenging macro-economic conditions.