BSE Sensex ends 382 pts higher; Maruti, Wipro, Cipla losers

4:00 pm Market closing: The Sensex ends 381.94 points up at 19676.06 while the Nifty closes the day at 5935.10, up 118.40 points. About 1361 shares have advanced, 957 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

3:50 pm: Rupee outlook: The Indian currency reversed its early morning gains by mid afternoon when it depreciated by 30 paise to 59.96 per dollar. This weakness, according to Moses Harding of IndusInd Bank , is due to the currency's fundamental weakness. He expects the rupee to be trading between 59 and 61 against the dollar for now.

Meanwhile, Harding expects the RBI to ease rates by 75 basis points (bps) in the next one to three months if Brent and US bonds yields trend up.

3:40 pm Movers and Losers: Sterlite Industries (up 4.8 percent), Hindalco (up 4.7 percent), Hero Motocorp (up 3.4 percent), HDFC Bank (up 3.32 percent) and Bharti Airtel (up 3.3 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex. Maruti Suzuki (down 2.4 percent), Wipro (down 0.45 percent) and Cipla (down 0.11 percent) are among lsoers in the Sensex.

3:35 pm Companies Bill: The government has asked Sebi to set up a committee to look into compatibility of market watchdog's regulations for private placement of securities with the proposed measures in this regard in the new Companies Bill.

The suggestion has been made by the Corporate Affairs Ministry amid rising instance of private placement being misused by various entities for raising funds from public.

Private placement of securities, a relatively faster way to raise funds is governed by both the Companies Act and the Sebi regulations.

While the existing Companies Act has been in place for decades, the new Companies Bill, currently awaiting Rajya Sabha nod, provides exhaustive changes in the way that future private placements can be carried out and regulated.

3:25 pm : Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in India witnessed a significant surge in the April-June period of the year, taking the year-to-date tally to USD 10.9 billion through 130 transactions, says global deal tracking firm Mergermarket.

Deal activity in the second quarter of this year more than doubled to USD 7.7 billion over the first quarter of 2013 (January-March), when deals worth USD 3.2 billion were announced.

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The market managed to maintain upmove throughout the day as Federal Reserve's Ben Bernanke boosted markets worldwide. The Nifty held 5900 with smart gains and is  currently at 5933.85,  up 117.15 points. The Sensex is up 382.88 points at 19677.00, and About 1304 shares have advanced, 919 shares declined, and 148 shares are unchanged.

Zuari Industries rose close to 2 percent after the company hiked its stake in Mangalore Chemicals by another 3.5 percent to a total of 13.5 percent, six days after Deepak Fertilisers acquired just under 25 percent in the company. Mangalore Chemical rallied nearly 10 percent.

Kalindee Rail gained 5 percent today ahead of a board meet to consider raising funds via a preferential issue. Jupiter Metal has come out with an open offer to acquire 30 percent for Rs 24.17 crore. Jupiter Metal does not hold any stake in Kalindee Rail currently.

02:55pm Prime Focus shares climbed 2 percent. Promoter released a pledge on 1.16 crore shares or 20 percent of promoter shareholding between July 8-10.

BGR Energy Systems surged 4 percent as the company received order worth Rs 1,573 crore.

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02:50pm Housing finance company HDFC and private sector lender HDFC Bank gained 3 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

Top lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank rose 2 percent each.

Infosys shares continue its upmove for the fourth consecutive session today ahead of its first quarter earnings that scheduled to be announced on Friday. Brokerage houses expect around 1 percent degrowth in its profit on quarter-on-quarter basis.

Metals stocks rallied quite sharply; Hindalco Industries jumped 5 percent and Sterlite Industries rose 4 percent while Tata Steel gained 2 percent.

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02:45pm Unitech has begun process to raise Rs 1100-1200 crore from Gurgaon IT SEZ, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. The realty developer has 40 percent stake in SEZ, UCP listed on AIM.

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02:35pm Jaiprakash Power Ventures shares gained 2.7 percent as Barclays is overweight on the stock with a target price of Rs 37. Key catalysts include commissioning of Nigrie and Bara power plants and approval of Dongri Tal mine, Barclays report said.

Oberoi Realty is up over 1 percent after Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 331. Rising rental income from commercial assets and new launch visibility in Goregaon, Worli and Mulund should provide further upside, Bank of America report said..

02:25pm It is a strong session for the market with the Nifty holding the 5900 level quite nicely, supported by buying across the board.

The BSE Sensex is up 412.10 points or 2.14 percent at 19706.22, and the Nifty is up 123.95 points or 2.13 percent at 5940.65.

Zuari Industries rose close to 2 percent after the company hiked its stake in Mangalore Chemicals by another 3.5 percent to a total of 13.5 percent, six days after Deepak Fertilisers acquired just under 25 percent in the company. Mangalore Chemical rallied nearly 10 percent.

Kalindee Rail gained 5 percent today ahead of a board meet to consider raising funds via a preferential issue. Jupiter Metal has come out with an open offer to acquire 30 percent for Rs 24.17 crore. Jupiter Metal does not hold any stake in Kalindee Rail currently.

IndusInd Bank jumped 2 percent post strong earnings yesterday. Brokerages have given a thumbs up to the earnings. Nomura has retained a buy rating and increased target price to Rs 580. Goldman Sachs also has a buy on the stock and raised the target to Rs 620.

1:55 pm Rupee outlook: The choice of WPI in calculating inflation creates an anomaly in determining the real effective exchange rate (REER), points out a day-old CLSA note.  At 9.3 percent YoY in May, India's CPI inflation was nearly double WPI inflation of 4.7 percent. Since the Reserve Bank will consider WPI inflation, there is a scope for an easy monetary policy, Rajiv Malik of CLSA told CNBC-TV18.

The report also mentions that RBI is not wedded to managing the rupee on the basis of REER. It has a hands-off approach, which means that global liquidity headwinds will cause INR to weaken.

Speaking on the subject of rupee depreciation, Malik said the the currency can fall to 65/dollar by the end of FY14 and even then it cannot be called a bottom. He expects the currency depreciation factor to dominate Reserve Bank of India's policy moves.

1:50 pm Oil update: US crude oil prices surged nearly USD 3 a barrel on Wednesday to their highest in 16 months, narrowing its discount to Brent crude to less than USD 2 after US data showed the biggest two-week decline in crude stockpiles on record.

US crude oil inventories plunged about 10 million barrels for a second week in a row, highlighting the unexpectedly rapid tightening of the market after three years of pent-up supply due to a dramatic resurgence in domestic production.

Signs of the strongest refinery demand in six years and a more than 2 percent increase in gasoline demand from a year ago also aided gains, with New York Harbor gasoline futures topping USD 3 per gallon for the first time since March.

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1:45 pm Houseview: Macquarie downgrades Maruti Suzuki India Ltd to "neutral" from "outperform" and cut its target price to Rs 1,525 from Rs 1,850 citing continued weakness in passenger vehicle demand and discounts on models.

The investment bank cuts its fiscal 2013-14 sales estimates for Maruti Suzuki by 5.7 percent as a result.

Macquarie also says a weak rupee and higher discounts are offsetting the beneficial impact to Maruti Suzuki from a weaker Japanese yen.

1:40 pm Losers: Maruti Suzuki, Wipro and Cipla are top losers in the Sensex.

1:35 pm Oil expert's take: In an interview on CNBC-TV18 , Amit Rustagi of Antique Stock Broking said he doesn't see any harm in putting a band on gas prices. He says the markets, investors as well as consumers will be okay if a cap is set at USD 9-10/mmbtu, instead of the one worked out by the Rangarajan Committee formula at USD 8-10/mmbtu since it is still going to be a 100 percent jump from the current USD 4.2/mmbtu.

The positive impact of gas price hike is not reflected in the stock prices of these companies.

However, he believes even if these oil companies have to provide subsidies to the consumers, it won't be more than USD 2-2.5/mmbtu. Besides, he says that gas price hike will definitely go up to USD 6, which will then take up FY15 earnings at least 25 percent higher than what they are making right now. And hence it will be a 20 percent upside for both ONGC and Oil India .

1:30 pm Buzzing: Debt-ridden Gammon India is likely to sell its 185 acre Dombivali property in Mumbai, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. The company's current debt stands at around Rs 3,500 crore and aims to cut it by Rs 2,000 crore by asset sale, sources add.

CFO Girish Bhat recently told CNBC-TV18 that its corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package, which includes a two-year moratorium plus eight years of repayment schedule, is almost through.

Gammon India has an exposure of Rs 14,000 crore to a consortium of eight banks led by ICICI Bank and Canara Bank . Banks of around Rs 10,000 crore of the debt is in the form of non-fund based exposure, and Rs 4,000 crore is fund-based exposure. The debt is supported by bank guarantees and letters of credit.

The stock is quoting at Rs 19.80, up Rs 1.25, or 6.74 percent on the BSE.

1:20 pm Update: The government today cleared a proposal to replace DGCA with a new aviation regulator with full operational and financial autonomy. The proposal was cleared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, sources said here. The new regulatory body would be called the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and would replace the DGCA.

It will administer and regulate civil aviation safety and manage safety oversight over air transport operators, air service navigation operators and operators of other civil aviation facilities.

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The market gives up some ground in afternoon trade after a gap up opening. However, the Nifty continues well above 5900 led by commodities, banks.

The Sensex is up 368.75 points at 19662.87 and the Nifty is up 114.80 points at 5931.50. About 1265 shares have advanced, 763 shares declined, and 126 shares are unchanged.

The mid and small caps also give up some gains. The Midcap index is now less than a percent up. Midcap infra, capital goods and rate sensitives are among the lead gainers.

12:55pm The market shed some gains from day's high. The BSE Sensex is up 361.48 points or 1.87 percent at 19655.60 after hitting more than one month high of 19723.51 intraday. The Nifty is up 110.95 points or 1.91 percent at 5927.65.

12:50pm Indian rupee is moving towards 60 level in afternoon trade after erasing morning gains of 34 paise. It depreciated by 30 paise to 59.96 per dollar.

Rajiv Malik of CLSA said the currency can fall to 65/$ by the end of FY14 and even then it cannot be called a bottom. He expects the currency depreciation factor to dominate Reserve Bank of India's policy moves.

12:40pm TD Power Systems shares rose 2 percent as its subsidiary DF Power Systems receives EPC order worth Rs 150 crore.

Gammon India spiked nearly 7 percent as the company will sell 185 acre Dombivali property in Mumbai, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that Gammon is planning to reduce debt by Rs 2,000 crore. Its current debt is at around Rs 3,500 crore.

State Trading Corporation ( STC India ) dropped nearly 4 percent after the cabinet approved stake sale in the company, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources. Sources say cabinet also approved stake sale in India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). Department of divestment had sought cabinet nod for 5 percent. divestment in ITDC and 1.02 percent in STC.

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12:30pm European markets rose one percent in early trade Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday said a highly accommodative policy was needed for the foreseeable future as inflation remains low and the employment rate may be overstating the health of the labour market.

Reliance Communications gained two percent as the telecom operator says securitisation under Rs 1,200 crore inter-city fibre agreement with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio completed. The proceeds from securitisation will repay debt, he adds.

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12:20pm Indian equity benchmarks rallied further in noon trade with the BSE Sensex hitting more than one month high of 19723.51 on broadbased buying, but the Indian rupee is flat after erasing all its morning gains.

The BSE Sensex is up 425.14 points or 2.20 percent at 19719.26, and the Nifty is up 131.10 points or 2.25 percent at 5947.80, but the broader markets are up just one percent.

More than two shares advanced for every share falling on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

US gold August futures surged 3 percent to USD 1285.75 an ounce today after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank will continue to pursue an accommodative monetary policy for now to support the economy. Silver September futures jumped 4.5 percent to USD 20.01 an ounce.

11:50 am Current Affairs: India is expected to grant an iron ore exploration licence to POSCO for its planned USD 12 billion steel plant in the country, two government officials told Reuters, in a step that should speed up the project stuck for eight years.

The Supreme Court in May handed a decision on a licence to the government, raising the South Korean firm's chances of getting access to iron ore for the project billed as India's largest foreign direct investment.

11:45 am Update: Bharti Airtel  said it is "shocked" and "disappointed" to receive a demand notice of Rs 650 crore from the Department of Telecom. The company said it believes that demand for penalty is "devoid of any merit" and has no justification both on facts and in law, reports Reuters.

The company added that the DoT order leaves company with no choice but to litigate.

11:40 am Expert's view: Bullish Sanjay Dutt, director, Quantum Securities said that the time and price correction for the Indian indices is over as most negatives have been already factored in. The Nifty is likley to touch 6,300 by this year-end led by key sectors like oil and gas and power, which have seen some policy actions recently.

"Issues in oil and gas and power sector will get sorted out in the next year or two and there would be growth. The leadership is definitely set to change in the Nifty. Some IT and banking stocks may contribute to this 500 odd point gain from the current levels," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

5700-5750 will act as key support levels for the Nifty, he added. Dutt expects the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to cut rates aggressively beyond November-December.

From a sector specific view, he does not advice investors to invest in real estate as he believes the sector is still plagued with huge inventory, debt, execution issues and consumer off take. He, however is bullish on the financial services sector and sees higher prices going ahead.

11:35 am Buzzing: State-run manganese ore producer MOIL surges around 6 percent as it has been granted licence by Maharashtra government to prospect over 11 blocks measuring 597 hectares in Nagpur and Bhandara districts. MOIL is currently operating six mines in Maharasthra and four mines in Madhya Pradesh for over a century.

11:30 am Gainer: Hindalco (up 4.6 percent), Coal India (up 4 percent), Sterlite Industries (up 3.9 percent), HDFC Bank (up 3.6 percent) and Tata Steel (up 3.2 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex.

11:25 am Update: Finance Minister raises Indian concerns about US Immigration Reform Bill, related to skilled non-immigrant visas. Currently in a four-day US visit to attract investment, P Chidambaram has also discussed the bill's impact on future prospects of IT companies.

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It's a blockbuster big rally for the market as the Nifty races close to 5950 after a gap up opening. The Nifty gains 122.55 points at 5939.25 while the Sensex is at 19688.53, up 394.41 points. About 1168 shares have advanced, 464 shares declined, and 85 shares are unchanged.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Bank says they have downgraded the Sensex target to 21000 on liquidity and deficit concerns.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments boost Asian markets.  Dollar weakens significantly on Bernanke comments and FOMC outcome and trades below 83. Yen trades below 100, while euro holds 1.31.

Big surge seen in commodities, Nymex is above USD 106, the gap between Nymex and Brent reduces significantly. Gold moves towards USD 1280 per ounce.

The rupee is higher like all other risk assets on dovish statement from Bernanke but the Indian unit is underperforming rival emerging market currencies because of the sharp rally it saw yesterday. However foreign investors were noted selling dollars while oil companies were buyers.

Indian government bonds are higher following the sharp recovery of the rupee and in step with the recovery in bond prices in many emerging markets post the Bernanke statement. Yields fell over 10 basis points for some bonds and after a brief stoppage of trading, the circuit was raised to 15 bps by the FIMMDA.

10:50am Jain Irrigation spiked 4 percent on reports that the company is planning to sell the wind power business to bring down its debt by Rs 63 crore. The company will appoint a team to finalise the wind power operations' sale by the month of August.

Mahindra and Mahindra has decided to suspend production for a few days in July. M&M says it will have 'no production days' at its automotive plants for period ranging from 1 to 8 days for rest of July. The company added that it does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of vehicles in the market. The stock rose 1.5 percent.

Wockhardt lost nearly 3 percent, after the company is now barred from making medicines for Europe after its Waluj manufacturing facility in Maharashtra failed to meet the good manufacturing norms prescribed by the UK drug regulator. The stock has lost 40 percent since the start of the year.

STC India advanced nearly 2 percent. Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is likely to consider a proposal of STC and ITDC stake sale today. Department of Divestment sought cabinet nod to offload 5 percent stake in ITDC (India Tourism Development Corporation) and 1.02 percent in STC.

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10:40am Bajaj Auto says Waluj union is not supporting Chakan union workers and is not in favour of any kind of disruption.

Two-wheeler maker says it is likely to meet 95 percent production target at Chakan by Saturday.

After strike at Chakan, Bajaj Auto moved Pulsar production to Waluj and is producing around 800 units of Pulsar at Waluj unit. The stock gained more than one percent.

The BSE Sensex is up 353.51 points or 1.83 percent at 19647.63, and the Nifty is up 112.75 points or 1.94 percent at 5929.45.

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10:30am Mangalore Chemicals rallied 10 percent after Zuari Industries picked up another 41 lakh shares of the Mangalore Chemicals from the open market. Earlier in April, It has bought nearly 10 percent stake in Mangalore Chemicals, increasing its total stake to 14 percent now.

Kalindee Rail surged 4 percent today. Jupiter Metal has come out with an open offer to acquire 30 percent in Kalindee Rail Nirman, for Rs 24.17 crore. according to an announcement in the BSE. The company set a price of Rs 65 a share for the open offer. Jupiter Metal does not hold any stake in Kalindee Rail currently. There is a board meet today to consider raising funds via a preferential issue.

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10:20am GMR Infrastructure shares climbed 1.7 percent as the company says second unit of Kamalanga Thermal Power Plant synchronised.

IndusInd Bank jumped 2 percent after strong earnings yesterday. Brokerages have given a thumbs up to the earnings.

Nomura has retained a buy rating on the stock and increased target price to Rs 580 on loan growth, CASA and stable credit costs. Goldman Sachs says buy the stock and estimated EPS growth of 25 percent over the next 3 years.

Also Read - M&M to suspend production for a few days in July

10:10am Indian equity benchmarks rallied 1.9 percent in morning trade Thursday, tracking strong Asian cues after Federal Reserve announced that it is not in a hurry to raise short-term interest rates though the unemployment rate in the US has come down markedly.

Shanghai, Hang Seng and Kospi rallied 2 percent each while Straits Times and Taiwan Weighted rose over 1.5 percent, but Nikkei fell 0.5 percent.

Back home, the BSE Sensex is up 356.28 points or 1.85 percent at 19650.40, and the Nifty is up 110.15 points or 1.89 percent at 5926.85.

The market breadth is strong; advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 927 to 232 on the BSE. The broader markets climbed one percent each.

Indian rupee gained for the third consecutive session today. Today it gained 15 paise to 59.51 per dollar while in three days, it rallied nearly 3 percent from record low of 61.21 per dollar touched on Monday.

Rate sensitives are on buyers' radar; Capital Goods, Realty and Bankex rose 2 percent each while Power, Oil & Gas, Auto, IT, Healthcare and FMCG jumped 1-1.7 percent.

10:00 am: Dealers say trading bands for government bonds is relaxed to 30 basis points, 20 bps and 15 bps across tenors. Trading in some government bonds were halted for sometime after yields hit daily lower limit. However, trading was resumed after FIMMDA widened band.

9:50 am Labour pangs update: M&M will observe no production days at its auto plants for eight days.

9:45 am: Buzzing: IndusInd Bank shares were up 2 percent to Rs 505.25 after the company's first quarter numbers declared Wednesday were better than market expectations.

Brokerage house Kotak Securities has raised its target price for the stock to Rs 530 from 490 and retained its 'add' recommendation on the stock, post the earnings.

9:40 am Houseview: CLSA has maintained sell rating on SAIL with a target price of Rs 35 per share.  The brokerage has reduced FY14-15 EPS by 38-47 percent.

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9:35 am Gold:  Gold jumped to 2.5 week high  in more than two weeks on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank will continue to pursue an accommodative monetary policy for now to support the economy, reports Reuters.

Spot gold was up 1.8 percent to USD 1,285.76 an ounce by 0024 GMT, extending gains into a fourth day. It earlier climbed to USD 1,289.35 - its highest since June 24.

US gold jumped as much as 3.3 percent to a two- and-a-half week high of USD 1,288.3. Spot silver also rose 3 percent to USD 19.93 - its highest in one and a half weeks.

9:30 am OFS Update: The offer for sale of Hindustan Media Ventures has begun today.  HT Media has set the floor price for its offer for sale at Rs 120 a share. It will divest over 19 lakh shares in Hindustan Media Ventures. HT Media holds 76.94 percent stake in Hindustan Media Ventures. HT Media is at Rs 97.50, up Rs 2.45, or 2.58 percent on the BSE.

9:24 am Gainers: Hindalco (up 2.80 percent), L&T (up 2.61 percent), ICICI Bank (up 2.41 percent), Tata Power (up 2.32 percent) and Infosys (up 2.13 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex.

9:22 am Market check: The Sensex surges 288.17 points at 19582.29, and the Nifty is up 91.40 points at 5908.10.  About 615 shares have advanced, 127 shares declined, and 39 shares are unchanged.

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The market opens on strong note climbing on global cues. The Sensex opens up 235.62 points 19529.74 while the Nifty is up 76.55 points at 5893.25.  About 276 shares have advanced, 36 shares declined, and 18 shares are unchanged. Asian shares climbed to a three-week high on Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assurance that highly accommodative monetary policy is needed now.

Indian rupee appreciated further in early trade Thursday, opening with 34 paise gains at 59.32 per dollar as against previous day's closing value of 59.66.

The domestic currency has been gaining for the third consecutive day today after hitting a record low of 61.21 per dollar Monday.

The euro spiked to 1.30 to the dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index slumped to sub 83 levels post dovish comments from fed chief, Ben Bernanke.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank feels dovish comments by Bernanke and indication in FOMC minutes that further improvement in the labour market outlook is needed for tapering asset purchases has led to dollar weakness.

Brent crude rose to USD 108 per barrel. From the precious metals space, gold rose to USD 1286 an ounce.

Markets finished largely unchanged in lacklustre trading as investors largely shrugged off the minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting that showed policymakers wanted further evidence of a sustainable jobs recovery before scaling back its bond purchases. The CBOE volatility index finished near 14.