BSE Sensex ends up 359 pts, Nifty above 6200; ICICI up 6%

4:00 pm Market closing: It was a spectacular rally as the Nifty ended at 6220.90, up 120 points or 2 percent. The Sensex was up 358.73 points or 1.74 percent to close at 20929.01 Maruti was the highest gainer, while BHEL remained major loser in the Sensex.

3:50 pm Earnings: JSW Steel posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 115.5 crore in three-month period ended September 2013 as against profit of Rs 691.2 crore in a year ago period, dented by foreign exchange loss on weak rupee. "Due to 5.16 percent depreciation in the value of Indian rupee against US dollar during the quarter, there was a net loss of Rs 839 crore on foreign currency monetary items," the company said in its release.

3:40 pm: Both the Sensex and the Nifty end at highest closing level in 2013. Bank Nifty closes at highest closing level since July 15. The market records seventh highest turnover. All Bank Nifty stocks close in the green with gain of 4-7 percent.

3:30 pm Bankers' reaction to the RBI policy: With the lowering of MSF rates and providing window for incremental funds through seven and 14 days repo bucket below the MSF rate, rates are likely to come off, says Janak Desai of ING Vysya Bank . Ranjan Dhawan, ED, Bank of Baroda agrees that public sector lenders will see their marginal cost for borrowings reduced but doubts if it will lead to reduction in overall rates. Instead, he fears that high inflation in the economy may compel the central bank to raise rates again. Shilpa Kumar, ICICI Bank does not think so. RBI's move to hike repo rate by 25bps and cut MSF by 25 bps will mean a minor change at the short end of the borrowing cost and hence most banks cannot afford to make substantive change in their overall rate structure immediately.

Reserve Bank of India's Diwali gift boosts market sentiment as the Sensex holds its 300-points gain. The Sensex is up 318.88 points or 1.55 percent at 20889.16, and the Nifty up 106.90 points or 1.75 percent at 6208.00. About 1204 shares have advanced, 1043 shares declined, and 155 shares are unchanged. Rate sensitive stocks have seen major buying interest today. ICICI Bank jumps 6 percent while Tata Steel , M&M and SBI are other gainers.  Maruti, gaining over 8 percent, is star of the day. Its second quarter net profit grew 6 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 3 times year-on-year) to Rs 670 crore due to lag impact of currency benefits. However, the auto major is cautious about the road ahead and expects operating margins to take a hit due to indirect imports. Among the losers are GAIL , BHEL and TCS.

02:40pm Leaders ICICI Bank is the leader among largecaps with nearly 6 percent gains followed by Tata Steel and Hero Motocorp with 4 percent gains in the Sensex. Shares of State Bank of India , HDFC Bank , HDFC, Hindustan Unilever , M&M, Sesa Sterlite and Hindalco Industries rallied 2-3 percent.

02:26pm Maruti extends upward journey Maruti Suzuki shares rallied 8 percent amid hefty volumes as brokerage houses upgraded the stock after strong Q2 earnings. CLSA upgraded the stock from outperform to buy with a target price of Rs 2000 as the stock is relatively inexpensive at 12.8 times FY16 P/E. Meanwhile, Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) and Barclays maintained overweight rating on the stock. BoAML raised target price on the stock to Rs 1,800 from Rs 1,650 a share while Barclays revised from Rs 1,764 to Rs 1,794. BoAML raised profit forecasts by 6-11 percent over FY15-16 while Barclays upped FY14/15 earnings per share forecast by 1 percent each for better than expected H1 performance.

02:17pm The market is on fire in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising more than 300 points and the Nifty trading above the 6200 level on RBI move. The Sensex is up 355.64 points or 1.73 percent at 20925.92, and the Nifty is up 119.95 points or 1.97 percent at 6221.05. It is a broadbased rally with the BSE Bankex gaining nearly 4 percent followed by Metal, Realty and Auto with 2-2.5 percent gains. In the second quarter monetary policy review, Reserve Bank of India hiked repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.75 percent and cut marginal standing facility rate by 25 basis points to 8.75 percent with immediate effect, which was in-line with economists' expectations. Marico shares gained 1.5 percent as its second quarter operating profit margin was better than analysts' forecast, though it disappointed on topline front. Net profit was largely in-line with a CNBC-TV18 poll. Operating profit margin expanded by 210 basis points year-on-year to 15.1 percent during September quarter as against 13.6 percent expected by analysts.

1:55 pm Boardroom: Dilip G Piramal, Chairman, VIP Industries expects volume growth to be lower in the second half of FY14 at around 9-10 percent. The Q2 FY13 volume growth had been impacted because of absolutely no sales to Canteen Stores Department (CSD). However the sales have now resumed and at normal levels, he says in an interview to CNBC-TV18. He is confident of maintaining margins at current levels of around 5-5.5 percent and expects margins to improve on back of volume growth.

1:45 pm Alert: The US Justice department is expected to resolve on Thursday a visa fraud investigation against Infosys , according to a media report. The company is expected to be slapped a fine of USD 35 million - said to be the largest immigration fine ever - by the Justice Department for allegedly violating visa norms, the Wall Street Journal said.

1:30 pm Buzzer: Shares of Apollo Hospital rose over 2 percent. The healthcare major Apollo Hospitals entered into a partnership with private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to raise Rs 550 crore to repay promoters' debt and build more hospitals. As per the deal, KKR will subscribe to the convertible debentures issued by Prathap Reddy's holding company PCR Investments with an option to convert these debentures into equity shares of listed Apollo Hospitals at the end of five years. The promoters also will have the right to buy back these instruments at the end of two years, it said. Don't miss: 10 stocks to buy for a phataka Diwali The market is in high spirits buoyed by positive sentiments by the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review. The Sensex is up 298.67 points or 1.45 percent at 20868.95, and the Nifty is up 100.00 points or 1.64 percent at 6201.10. About 1037 shares have advanced, 1022 shares declined, and 113 shares are unchanged. Banking stocks lead the way with ICICI Bank , Axis Bank , Bank of Baroda , PNB , IndusInd Bank gaining. Midcaps and small caps also clock in gains. The rupee recovered its earlier losses against the dollar after the RBI policy announcement. Positive move in equity markets is also lending support. Bond prices see intra-day volatility and soften post the RBI policy Ranbaxy is trading soft ahead of its earnings today and all eyes are on whether the company shows a margin improvement is its base business.

12:59pm Movers & Shakers Index heavyweights Reliance Industries , ITC and HDFC gained 1 percent each. Metals stocks are also on fire with the Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco Industries and Tata Steel rallying 3-4 percent. However, shares of GAIL , TCS and BHEL are only losers among largecaps.

12:50pm Market Update Equity benchmarks extended upward journey on short covering and value buying in banks. ICICI Bank surged over 5 percent followed by Axis Bank with 4 percent gains. Their rivals HDFC Bank and State Bank of India soared more than 2 percent. Bank Nifty rallied over 3 percent. The Sensex is up 250.73 points or 1.22 percent at 20821.01, and the Nifty is up 86.95 points or 1.43 percent at 6188.05.

12:45pm Gold update Gold gained for a fourth session on Tuesday, edging closer to a five-week high, as weak US economic data boosted views the Federal Reserve would maintain its stimulus measures, burnishing the metal's appeal as an inflation-hedge. The Fed begins a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday in which it is widely expected to confirm it will continue buying bonds at an USD 85 billion monthly pace. Gold prices have fallen nearly 20 percent this year on fears the Fed could begin tapering its stimulus programme, but a budget battle in Washington and a string of weak economic data have raised questions over whether the bank would scale back, giving bullion a boost, reports Reuters.

12:39pm Equities strengthened in noon trade with the Nifty reclaiming 6100 level after Reserve Bank of India hiked repo rate by 25 basis points and reduced marginal standing facility rate by 25 basis points with immediate effect. Experts believe the RBI move is on expected lines. They expect further repo rate hike if inflation remains at elevated level. "The market is now fairly ready to expect maybe another one or two repo rate hikes, because it does seem that as long as inflation remains elevated RBI will increase that and hence we will see some subdued activity in banks. But on the whole, the market has slowly got adapted to it, so there will not be any shock in that," Rashesh Shah of Edelweiss said. The Sensex is up 149.63 points at 20719.91, and the Nifty is up 52.30 points at 6153.40. Country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank surged 4 percent while its rivals State Bank of India and HDFC Bank rose 1-1.5 percent after the central bank increased repo rate - at which the banks' borrow money from RBI - from 7.5 percent to 7.75 percent. RBI cut MSF rate - at which banks borrow funds overnight from it - from 9 percent to 8.75 percent with immediate effect while the bank kept cash reserve ratio - the amount of funds that banks have to keep with the central bank - unchanged at 4 percent. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki is the star today with 6 percent gains after reporting second quarter earnings higher than analysts' expectations.

11:50 am Market outlook: Dhiraj Agarwal of Standard Chartered Securities see the market even touching 6300 in the next six months. Given the current economic scenario, he cautions that risk in the market is much higher than returns and the macro data still continues to point on the downside. On his preferered stocks, Agarwal is bullish on Maruti Suzuki, but adds that it is more of a stock play than a sectoral play.

11:40 am Results poll: FMCG major Marico will announce its second quarter (July-September) results today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect consolidated profit after tax of the company to grow 26.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 109 crore during the quarter. Total income is seen going up by 10 percent to Rs 1,276 crore in three months period ended September 2013 from Rs 1,159 crore in a year ago period. Volume growth, which is the key for any FMCG company, is expected to largely remain sluggish in the quarter gone by.

11:30 am Reaction to RBI policy: Saying that the RBI credit policy is along expected lines, Prime Minister's economic advisory council chairman C Rangarajan, feels that repo hike indicates inflation may continue to remain high. In an interview to CNBC-TV18 he says,"Further actions on repo rate will depend on inflation movement." According to Rangarajan, WPI inflation is likely to be in the range of 5.5-6 percent. "What is coming out is a slightly elevated level of interest rate because the MSF rate will also go up as compared to what it was in July," he adds.

11:25 am Bank Nifty: Banks are gaining investors' confidence taking the Bank Nifty up over 1 percent. SBI , Axis Bank, ICICI Bank rise 1-3 percent.

11:15 am Movers and losers: Besides banking stocks, metals, auto and consumer durables are up while capital goods and FMCG stocks are reeling under selling pressure.

11:10 am Market check: After rising around 100 points, the market has gone flat again. The Sensex is up 12.85 points at 20583.13, and the Nifty is up 7.45 points at 6108.55. About 710 shares have advanced, 969 shares declined, and 95 shares are unchanged. Maruti Suzuki is still up over 6 percent on the BSE.

The market is still flat. The Reserve Bank of India has cut repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.75 percent in the second quarter monetary policy review. The central bank also cut marginal standing facility (MSF) rate by 25 bps to 8.75 percent and left cash reserve ratio (CRR) unchanged. The Sensex is up 4.47 points at 20574.75, and the Nifty up 6.55 points at 6107.65. About 666 shares have advanced, 1001 shares declined, and 94 shares are unchanged. Maruti, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma , Hero Motocorp , Sesa Sterlite are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the laggards are BHEL , L&T, ITC , Bharti Airtel and NTPC . Gold gained for a fourth session, edging closer to a five-week high, as weak US economic data boosted views the Federal Reserve would maintain its stimulus measures, burnishing the metal's appeal as an inflation-hedge, reports Reuters. The Fed begins a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday in which it is widely expected to confirm it will continue buying bonds at an USD 85 billion monthly pace. Gold prices have fallen nearly 20 percent this year on fears the Fed could begin tapering its stimulus programme, but a budget battle in Washington and a string of weak economic data have raised questions over whether the bank would scale back, giving bullion a boost.

10:59pm Market Update The market remained flat. The Sensex fell 33.53 points to 20536.75 while the Nifty is up 11.80 points at 6112.90. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by 990 to 670 on the BSE. As long as the Reserve Bank manages to articulate its stand on targeting inflation with the objective of achieving greater price stability and in the long term achieve sustainable growth, the market will react positively, says Arindam Ghosh, MD & CEO, Blackridge Capital Advisors. He believes RBI will go with the consensus and hike repo rate by 25 basis points and lower MSF by an equivalent amount.

10:45am Stocks In News BF Utilities continues its good run and is up 13 percent on top of a 20 percent rally in previous session after the company exclusively confirmed to CNBC-TV18 that the Karnataka High Court cleared Nandi Infra corridor project. It can commence infrastructure development soon as there was no other major approval needed. VIP Industries gained 1 percent  after strong numbers during September quarter. Apollo Hospitals surged 2 percent after it announced its association with KKR to raise Rs 550 crore.

10:14am The market is directionless with the Nifty trading in a tight range around 6100 level as investors are cautious ahead of RBI's second quarter monetary policy review today. Expectations on the street are hike in repo rate by 25 basis points and cut in marginal standing facility. If the RBI hikes repo rate by 50 basis points, then the market may see kneejerk reaction, feel analysts. According to them, 25 basis points hike in repo rate is already priced in. Dhiraj Agarwal of Standard Chartered Securities says a 25 bps hike in repo rate is a given, but a 50 bps rate cut could lead to a correction in the equity markets, he adds. The Sensex is down 13.15 points at 20557.13, and the Nifty is down 6.70 points at 6094.40. Financials and rate sensitives are under pressure ahead of the RBI policy. State Bank of India , HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank and HDFC fell 0.5-0.8 percent. Capital goods majors L&T and BHEL dropped between 2-3 percent while BSE Realty Index lost over 1 percent. However, Maruti Suzuki shares rallied 5 percent after strong numbers in second quarter. CLSA upgraded the stock with a buy rating from outperform and set a target price of Rs 2,000 per share. Shares of ONGC , Sun Pharma and Sesa Sterlite gained nearly a percent.

9:50 am Bond market update: Government bond yields rose in early trade as the Reserve Bank of India's macroeconomic report released post-market hours on Monday was perceived to be hawkish, cementing rate hike bets at the central bank's policy review later in the day, reports Reuters. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was at 8.70 percent, up 4 basis points from its previous close. It is seen holding in a 8.65 to 8.70 percent range until the policy review release.

9:40 am Update: Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily has approved taking away five gas discoveries from Reliance Industries in the KG-D6 block over the company's failure to meet timelines but has allowed it to retain three other finds, reports PTI. The five discoveries - D4, D7, D8, D16 and D23 - hold 0.805 trillion cubic feet of reserves, or about one-fourth of the restated reserves in the currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 (D1&D3) fields in KG-D6 block, and are worth USD 10 billion. Moily in the October 9 order, however, agreed with RIL's contention that the company would retain D29, D30 and D31 gas finds to conduct tests for their confirmation, sources said.

9:30 am Buzzer: Shares of Maruti Suzuki jumps around 5 percent as its September quarter earnings beat estimates. Its second quarter net profit grew 6 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 3 times year-on-year) to Rs 670 crore due to lag impact of currency benefits.  However, the auto major is cautious about the road ahead and expects operating margins to take a hit due to indirect imports.

The market opened on a flat note ahead of the Reserve Bank's monetary policy review. While the street is expecting a 25 basis points (bps) repo rate hike, most market experts believe that this is already priced in and the policy may be a non-event today. The Sensex is up 34.54 points at 20604.82, and the Nifty up 6.45 points at 6107.55. About 189 shares have advanced, 113 shares declined, and 19 shares are unchanged. Maruti, Hero Motocorp , TCS , M&M and Bajaj Auto are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the top losers are BHEL , L&T, Reliance, SBI and Tata Motors . The rupee opened flat at 61.59 per dollar against 61.52 Monday.The dollar clung onto modest overnight gains but stayed near a nine-month trough as investors bet the Federal Reserve will set the course for its massive stimulus programme to be maintained into early next year. Pramit Brahmbhatt, Alpari India said, "Rupee will trade weak following a hawkish macroeconomic report by RBI. The Central Bank is expected to raise interest rates by 25 bps today." "Strong month-end dollar demand by importers and strong dollar in international markets will put further pressure on rupee. The range for the day is seen between 61.02-62.20/USD," he added. Meanwhile, global equities were quiet ahead of the two day FOMC meet that begins today. US and European markets ended narrowly mixed yesterday, but Asian markets slipped in early trade today morning with the Nikkei down a percent. In commodities, Nymex futures is edging towards USD 98 a barrel ahead of the Fed's meeting, but held within sight of a one-week high as a sharp drop in Libyan oil exports rekindled worries over supply. From the precious metals space, gold remain unchanged near its five week highs as weak US economic data boosted views that the Fed would maintain its stimulus measures to support the economy.