Nifty ends above 6200; Jindal Steel, Sun Pharma gain 4%

4:00 pm Market closing: It was a stellar rally to begin trade in December. The Sensex ended up 106.08 points at 20898.01, and the Nifty closed up 41.75 points at 6217.85. About 1447 shares have advanced, 999 shares declined, and 166 shares are unchanged.

Bank, capital goods and pharma stocks added strenght to the indices. Sun Pharma , Jindal Steel , Wipro , L&T and BHEL are top gainers in the Sensex. ONGC remained to be one of the top laggard with a loss of over 1 percent. HUL , GAIL , Maruti Suzuki and Hindalco are top losers.

3:50 pm Market outlook: The Nifty may rally to 6,400-6,500 if poll results are favourable, but India is yet to overcome lot of economic headwinds, says Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he pointed out that the recent run up seen in the market is largely because of politics, but it is also backed by better-than-expected Q2 corporate earnings results and the sentiment that economy is beginning to bottom out.

3:40 pm Rupee update: The Reserve Bank of India said on Monday state-run oil companies were now sourcing their entire dollar demand in markets, but added it would consider re-opening a special swap window on "rare days" of strong greenback demand, reports Reuters.

The RBI also asked the oil marketing companies to smoothen their daily dollar demand so that upcoming bunched up demand was covered in advance in forward markets or on days with low dollar demand.

3:30 pm Stock in news: Shares of Alstom T&D continued to rally for the third consecutive session on Monday as the company successfully raised more than Rs 279 crore through institutional placement programme (IPP) on Friday. The stock surged 4 percent in intraday trade today and 13 percent in three sessions.

IPP issue was subscribed 2.5 times on support from FIIs and long only funds. Promoters sold 1.69 crore shares through this issue at Rs 165 apiece.

The Sensex is up 115.68 points at 20907.61, and the Nifty up 45.90 points at 6222.00. About 1383 shares have advanced, 956 shares declined, and 145 shares are unchanged.

Jindal Steel (up 4 percent), Sun Pharma (up 4 percent), L&T (up 3 percent), Wipro (up 2 percent) and BHEL (up 2 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are HUL, ONGC, GAIL, Maruti Suzuki and Hindalco.

Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak Institutional Equities says unfavourable poll results may lead to a short-term correction. "If you look at the fundamentals of the industrial cycle I think it is still very weal. We need to fix a lot of issues before we see the investment cycle starting to recover. The first important thing to keep in mind is that the balance sheet of most of the companies in infrastructure sector are shot to pieces," he explains in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

It's going to be a week of big data for global markets as Asia endeded with losses despite a weaker yen, better than expected Chinese PMI data and an Australian monetary policy announcement tomorrow.

The rupee holds strong on the back of a weak dollar, bond prices rise on GDP data.

Government sets power grid OFS price band at Rs 85-90 per share, with a 5 percent discount to retail investors and employees. Power minister says he's confident of a successful issue.

03:05pm Apollo Tyres in focus
The tyre maker has closed the transaction with Sumitomo Rubber Industries (SRI), where in SRI takes over Apollo Tyres South Africa (ATSA) including the Ladysmith passenger car tyre plant and Dunlop brand rights in 32 countries of Africa for USD 60 million.

Apollo retains the Durban plant which manufactures truck and bus radial (TBR) tyres and off highway tyres (OHT) used in the mining and construction industries.

Post this transaction, Apollo Tyres will continue to sell Apollo, Vredestein and Regal branded tyres in Africa. Both companies will also undertake contract manufacturing of their respective brands at each other's facility to have locally manufactured products available for the market, the company said in its release. The stock gained 0.75 percent at Rs 81.05.

03:00pm Gold Update
Gold dropped on Monday, with investors jittery ahead of key US data this week that could provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back its monetary stimulus.

US data including nonfarm payrolls, third quarter GDP and manufacturing PMI will be released this week, giving more insight into the strength of the economy.

A strong recovery could prompt the Fed to begin cutting back its USD 85 billion in monthly bond purchases, denting gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. The US central bank next meets on December 17-18, when it could decide the fate of its stimulus.

02:55pm Power Grid slips ahead of FPO

Shares of Power Grid slipped over 3 percent intraday ahead of its follow-on-public offer (FPO) on December 3.

The 17 percent stake sale in the state-run company is expected to garner up to Rs 7,083 crore. The price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 85-90 a share, The company may garner close to Rs 5,717 crore, while the government will get around Rs 1,758 crore.

The issue opens on December 3 and closes on December 5 for institutional investors and December 6 for retail category of investors and employees. The stock declined 1.8 percent to Rs 93.3 on the BSE.

02:45pm Nomura revises FY14 GDP forecast

Good exports and good monsoons have supported growth, evident in the marginal uptick seen in the country's Q2 GDP numbers, says Sonal Varma of Nomura. This positivity has lead to an upward revision in FY14 growth estimates by the brokerage firm- from 4.2 percent to 4.7 percent.

However, this does not mean it will be all smooth sailing for the growth prospects. While Varma says the worst of the economic slump is behind us, she doesn't see any immediate triggers for the domestic demand cycle to pickup.

''Domestic fixed investment as well as the consumption numbers are languishing at lower levels, they are not falling any further but they are just at the lows and continue to be at the lows,'' she highlights.

Additionally, Varma says she doesn't see the Reserve Bank of India changing any rates in the December policy.

02:35pm Sushil Finance positive on Voltas 

Brokerage house Sushil Finance says the company's balance sheet continues to remain strong with shareholders' equity increasing to Rs 1,731.5 crore; additionally, the overall debt has been toned down to Rs 242.2 crore and the debt-equity-ratio to 0.14x, which mainly pertain to the overseas operations.

"The Sidra Medical & Research Centre project is now over 93 percent complete. The testing and commissioning phase has begun in several parts of the project, the main contractor is simultaneously negotiating a supplementary agreement to cover its entitlements relating to extension of time. The company also continues to pursue its claims and variations vigorously through all possible channels. The Management focuses on a strategy to remain highly selective in choice of projects keeping in mind risk based parameters," according to report.

Sushil Finance recommends investors to hold the stock as it continues to maintain positive outlook for the stock.

02:25pm The market continued to trade in a positive territory in afternoon trade with the Nifty holding the 6,200 level supported by heavyweights like Reliance Industries and ITC .

The Sensex gained 80.67 points at 20,872.60, and the Nifty rose 32 points to 6,208.10. Advancing shares outpaced declining ones by a ratio of 1379 to 951 on the BSE.

The Nifty may rally to 6,400-6,500 if poll results favourable, but India is yet to overcome lot of economic headwinds, says Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he pointed out that the recent run up seen in the market is largely because of politics, but it is also backed by better-than-expected Q2 corporate earnings results and the sentiment that economy is beginning to bottom out.

According to him, high inflation is the key concern at the moment because for the bull market to sustain or the economy to see significant improvement, interest rates need to be lower, which can happen if inflation eases.

Sun Pharma and Jindal Steel are the prominent gainers, rising 3.5 percent followed by ICICI Bank and Tata Steel with a 2 percent upmove.

2:00 pm Buzzer: Telecom operator Idea Cellular gained nearly 2 percent in intraday trade on Monday after the board of directors on Friday approved hike in foreign institutional investors' (FIIs) limit to 49 percent from 24 percent present.

The company has convened an extraordinary general meeting on December 26, for obtaining approval of the members for the proposed increase in the aggregate investment limit of FIIs.

1:50 pm Commmodity: Gold dropped on Monday, with investors jittery ahead of key US data this week that could provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back its monetary stimulus.

US data including nonfarm payrolls, third quarter GDP and manufacturing PMI will be released this week, giving more insight into the strength of the economy.

A strong recovery could prompt the Fed to begin cutting back its USD 85 billion in monthly bond purchases, denting gold's appeal as a hedge against inflation. The US central bank next meets on December 17-18, when it could decide the fate of its stimulus.

1:40 pm Buzzer: Shares of JM Financial touched a 31-month high to Rs 31.75 on Monday on reports that Azim Premji may buy additional five percent stake in the company. The stock rallied more than 10 percent in early trade.

Premji, Chairman and founder of leading IT firm Wipro , currently holds 2.9 percent stake as part of his individual investment portfolio in Nimesh Kampani-led JM Financial, one of the 25 aspirants eyeing banking foray.

Market sources said that the company may allot fresh shares amounting to up to five percent additional stake to the IT czar. While there was no official confirmation, sources said that the shares can be allotted at a significant premium to the current share price.

1:30 pm Market outlook: The outcome of state elections will be key to sentiment near term and unfavourable results could trigger a short term correction, says Sanjeev Prasad of Kotak Institutional Equities. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said the fundamentals of the investment cycle are still weak, and that the balance sheets of many large companies were in a bad shape.

He said there were plenty of non-performing loan issues in private banks. Prasad expects ONGC to appeal against the Gujarat High Court order directing it to pay dues of over Rs 5000 crore to the state government towards differences in royalty of crude extracted since 2008. He is of the view that there is no case for ONGC to pay higher royalty. Prasad is positive on the telecom sector and feels regulatory risks are over. He expects the new spectrum pricing to be rational and sees further consolidation in the telecom sector.

01:00pm Market and Rupee Update
The market continued to trade higher in afternoon trade as the Sensex soared 130.91 points to 20,922.84, and the Nifty climbed 46.10 points to 6,222.20. About 1312 shares have advanced, 824 shares declined, and 135 shares are unchanged.

Indian rupee gained 34 paise to 62.10 against the US dollar.

12:55pm Power Grid FPO
State-controlled Power Grid Corporation of India will launch follow-on public offer of 78.7 crore equity shares on December 03.

The issue comprises fresh issue of 13 percent equity or 60.1 crore shares and the balance is offer for sale by the Government of India.

Price band for the issue is fixed between Rs 85-90 apiece. The company fixed discount of Rs 4.50/share for retail investors and its employees.

The issue will close on December 05 for qualified institutional buyers and December 06 for other investors.

12:51pm NTPC launches Rs 1,000 crore tax-free bond issue

State-run power generation company NTPC has launched Rs 1,000 crore tax-free bond issue that will be open for subscription during December 03-06.

The issue will have green shoe option of another Rs 750 crore that means total issue size will be Rs 1,750 crore.

NTPC has fixed coupon rate between 8.66-8.91 percent with tenure of 10-20 years for retail investors while coupon rate for high-networh individuals is between 8.41-8.66 percent for same tenure.

While addressing press conference, NTPC says there are no outstanding dues with any state electricity boards.

12:41pm Maruti's November sales numbers

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today reported 10.7 percent decline in its total sales at 92,140 units in November as against 1,03,200 units in the same month last year.

12:31pm Manufacturing sector sees expansion in November

India's manufacturing sector activity witnessed an expansion in November for the first time since July, driven by rising new domestic orders, an HSBC survey said today.

The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing industry climbed from 49.6 in October to 51.3 in November on the back of a rebound in new orders and output.

This was the first manufacturing PMI reading above 50.0 since July and is the highest in seven months. The PMI reading of above 50 differentiates growth from contraction, reports PTI.

"Manufacturing activity picked up, led by a rise in new domestic orders which helped pull up output growth," HSBC Chief Economist for India and ASEAN Leif Eskesen said.

12:21pm Shoppers Stop soars 4%
More than 9 lakh equity shares exchanged hands at Rs 331.05 apiece via two block deals on the BSE and NSE. Both deals were worth Rs 30 crore.

12:11pm South Indian Bank rallies nearly 4%
Shares of South Indian Bank gained 3.65 percent in intraday trade today on a block deal worth Rs 4.7 crore.

More than 22.7 lakh equity shares changed hands on BSE at Rs 20.70 apiece via block deal.

12:01pm Equity benchmarks maintained strong momentum in noon trade with the Sensex inching up towards the 21,000 level led by financials and heavyweights.

The  Sensex rallied 126.07 points to 20,918.00, and the Nifty rose 45.20 points to 6,221.30. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1261 to 740 on the BSE.

Rakesh Arora of Macquarie believes the market is already factoring in a win for the BJP in three out of four states. "While it is difficult to predict which way the tide will turn, a clear win for BJP could push cyclical stocks into a higher orbit. Risks remain to the upside. We advise adding beta to your portfolio," Arora said.

ICICI Bank and Sun Pharma are the biggest gainers among largecaps in the Sensex, rising 3 percent each. L&T and State Bank of India climbed 2 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Shares of Reliance Industries , HDFC and Bharti Airtel gained more than 0.8 percent while ITC rose 0.5 percent.

However, ONGC plunged nearly 3 percent as the Gujarat High Court has directed the PSU to pay dues worth Rs 5,000-6,000 crore to the state government towards differences in royalty of crude it extracted since 2008. However, analysts estimate the royalty amount to be Rs 10,000 crore.

Hindustan Unilever , GAIL and Hindalco Industries lost over 1 percent.

11:50 am Update: State Bank of India , the country's largest lender, will raise up to Rs 9576 crore through a share sale to institutional investors or a follow-on public offer, it said in a statement late on Frida, reports Reuters.

It plans to raise another Rs 2000 crore through sale of shares to the government on a preferential basis.

SBI posted its steepest quarterly profit fall in more than two years in the three months to September as non-performing loans increased, putting pressure on the lender to raise funds quickly.

11:40 am Udayan comments: Outcome of state elections of four key states will be the most important near-term trigger for the market now. Results of state assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram and Delhi will be declared on December 8. Globally, investors will be closely watching key data like the US jobs report due next week, which will decide US Fed's future action on its stimulus plan.

After consolidating for a while now, the Nifty is very unlikely to spend December trapped in the 6,000-6,200 zone, feels CNBC-TV18's Udayan Mukherjee. According to him, two likely scenarios would be, either the market may head higher fuelled by these triggers and will knock on the doors of 6,350 or may breakdown below the key support level of 6,000.

11:30 am Buzzer: Shares of JM Financial touched 31-month high to Rs 31.75 on Monday on reports that Azim Premji may buy additional five percent stake in the company. The stock rallied more than 10 percent in early trade.

Premji, Chairman and founder of leading IT firm Wipro , currently holds 2.9 percent stake as part of his individual investment portfolio in Nimesh Kampani-led JM Financial, one of the 25 aspirants eyeing banking foray.

Market sources said that the company may allot fresh shares amounting to up to five percent additional stake to the IT czar. While there was no official confirmation, sources said that the shares can be allotted at a significant premium to the current share price.

The market kick-starts December in high spirits. The Sensex is up 142.25 points at 20934.18, and the Nifty is up 49.30 points at 6225.40. About 1192 shares have advanced, 550 shares declined, and 88 shares are unchanged.

Banking, infra and pharma stocks are leading the indices while oil and gas stocks are under pressure. ICICI Bank , Sun Pharma , Jindal Steel , L&T, Hero Motocorp are major gainers in the Sensex. Among the top losers are ONGC , HUL , GAIL , Hindalco and Tata Steel .

The rupee finds strength in the absence of month-end dollar demand from importers. Bunch-up dollar inflows after the weekend provides a boost and bond prices inch higher as Friday's GDP data offers no rude shocks.

The Asian markets start December on a muted note with Shanghai tanking 1.5 percent as fears over IPO reforms overshadowed better than expected manufacturing data.

In commodities, crude prices extend gains. While gold prices drop, with investors are jittery ahead of key US data this week.

11:00am Midcaps and Smallcaps
In the midcap space, Amtek India surged 18 percent followed by Sintex Industries , Jaypee Infra, Jubilant Life and Eicher Motors with 6-7 percent upmove. However, Era Infra Engineering , Infotech Enterprises , Coromandel International , India Tourism and Kansai Nerolac lost 1.5-5 percent.

Among smallcaps, MBL Infra, Sabero Organics , SRF , JM Financial and Sundram jumped 7-14 percent whereas Banas Finance, Unisys Soft , Sundaram-Clayton, Global Capital Markets and Vascon Engineer lost 3-6 percent.

10:50am Growth in FY14 H2 unlikely to pickup
Despite the slight positivity seen in the Q2 GDP numbers , Leif Eskesen, chief economist - India & ASEAN, HSBC, says the country is likely to grow at similar levels and growth in FY14 H2 is unlikely to pickup.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Eskensen says India is currently working with 80 percent of the full year deficit already. Hence, there is a serious need for the government to scale back its spending in the second half, he adds.

''That, of course in some sense adds headwinds to growth. We still have inflation as relatively high, that is also something that has broad implications for growth, consumption investment decisions and potentially, there is also going to be a need for another round of tightening from Reserve Bank of India 's side,''

Eskensen highlights while adding that lower growth levels too can't be ruled out.

10:40am Market Update
The market remained on buyers' radar as the Sensex rose 93.23 points to 20,885.16, and the Nifty climbed 30 points to 6,206.10.

Jindal Steel is the top gainer in the Sensex, rising 3.3 percent followed by ICICI Bank with 2.65 percent gains.

L&T, State Bank of India, Sun Pharma , Bharti Airtel , BHEL , Sesa Sterlite, Cipla and Tata Power rallied between 1-2 percent.

However, HUL , GAIL and Hindalco dropped over 1 percent. ITC , Maruti and Tata Steel declined more than 0.4 percent.

10:30am ONGC dives
Shares of ONGC fell 3 percent in intraday trade on being asked to clear huge royalty due to the Gujarat government. The Gujarat High Court has directed the PSU to pay dues worth Rs 5,000-6,000 crore to the state government towards differences in royalty of crude it extracted since 2008.

According to the Oil Field Act, ONGC is required to pay 20 percent royalty of the market value of crude oil it extracts from oil blocks to the state government.

ONGC used to pay such royalty to the Gujarat government. However in 2004, the central government had asked it to provide crude to IOC as burden-sharing mechanism, at a discounted rate. This was since IOC was offering subsidies on diesel, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to consumers, resulting in huge losses to the latter.

10:20am Amtek India on fire
Shares of Amtek India saw huge buying interest in early trade on Monday after it reported spectacular performance in the quarter ended September 2013. Shares rallied more than 19 percent in early trade.

Net profit of the iron cast automotive components supplier jumped 86.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 55.1 crore despite higher total and tax expenses during July-September quarter.

During the same period, net sales climbed 49 percent to Rs 558.2 crore from Rs 374.8 crore.

Total expenses spiked 45 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 460.57 crore and tax expenses surged 162.8 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 30.22 crore during September quarter.

10:10am The market continued to trade higher in morning trade with the Nifty surpassing the 6200 level supported by banks and capital goods stocks. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 0.7 percent.

The Sensex climbed 77.59 points to 20,869.52, and the Nifty rose 27.30 points to 6,203.40. More than 4 shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

A favourable outcome in the state elections has already been factored in by the market, feels UR Bhat of Dalton Capital Advisors. The market is betting that BJP will win in at least three of the four important states (Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi), if not all four. But if the poll results disappoints, the Nifty could slide below its 200-day moving average of 5867, Bhat said.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Bhat said the market lacked triggers at this stage to be able to build on the recent rally. He said the upcoming divestment program would suck liquidity out of the secondary market. Also, excise tax numbers testified to the sluggishness in the manufacturing sector.

Bhat is bearish on the rupee in the medium term, and says that could weigh on FII outlook on equities.

10:00 am FII update: Foreign investors pumped in more than Rs 8,000 crore in Indian equities in November.Overseas investment in the stock market has reached Rs 97,050 crore so far in 2013, according to data from the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the market regulator.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were gross buyers of equities worth Rs 55,806 crore and sellers of Rs 47,690 crore of shares till November 29, a net inflow of Rs 8,116 crore.

FIIs had invested a net amount of over Rs 15,700 crore in October and more than Rs 13,000 crore in September.

9:50 am Result impact: Shares of Amtek India saw huge buying interest in early trade on Monday after it reported spectacular performance in the quarter ended September 2013. Shares rallied more than 19 percent in early trade.

Net profit of the iron cast automotive components supplier jumped 86.8 percent year-on-year to Rs 55.1 crore despite higher total and tax expenses during July-September quarter.

During the same period, net sales climbed 49 percent to Rs 558.2 crore from Rs 374.8 crore.

9:40 am FII view: Rakesh Arora of Macquarie feels that the market is already factoring in a win for the BJP in three out of four states. While it is difficult to predict which way the tide will turn, a clear win for BJP could push cyclical stocks into a higher orbit. Risks remain to the upside, he adds. Advising to add beta stocks portfolio, his preferred names are Larsen and Toubro , Axis Bank , SBI , DLF , Adani Ports and Reliance Industries .

Aditya Narain of Citigroup, says, "The economy, earnings, elections and expectations should make 2014 an eventful year; but, at the end of it, we see the market largely holding its 'old normal' pace, and valuation framework." According to the brokerage, 2014 December Sensex target is at 21,800 at 12.5x PE, consistent with December 13 Sensex target of 18,900.

9:30 am Buzzer: Shares of ONGC fell 3 percent in intraday trade on being asked to clear huge royalty due to the Gujarat government. The Gujarat High Court has directed the PSU to pay dues worth Rs 5,000-6,000 crore to the state government towards differences in royalty of crude it extracted since 2008.

According to the Oil Field Act, ONGC is required to pay 20 percent royalty of the market value of crude oil it extracts from oil blocks to the state government.

9:18 am Market check: After an initial downtick, the market gathers steam. The Sensex is up 77.58 points at 20869.51, and the Nifty is up 26.40 points at 6202.50. About 547 shares have advanced, 150 shares declined, and 26 shares are unchanged.

BHEL , ICICI Bank , Sesa Sterlite are up around 2 percent while SBI and Sun Pharma are other major gainers in the Sensex. On the top losers are ONGC, M&M, HUL , Tata Steel and Maruti Suzuki.

The market has opened on a soft note. The Sensex is down 21.42 points or at 20770.51, and the Nifty down 1.30 points at 6174.80. About 286 shares have advanced, 101 shares declined, and 22 shares are unchanged.

The rupee opened higher at 62.35 per dollar on Monday, up 9 paise compared to Friday's closing of 62.44 per dollar.

According to Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered, the rupee range for the day is seen between 62.20-62.50/USD.

Gross domestic product (GDP) of September quarter failed to provide any fireworks as the economy grew at 4.8 percent- slightly better than the 4.4 percent growth in the first quarter. Economists, however, worry that the growth is still stuck below 5 percent for the fourth quarter in a row.

Manish Wadhawan, managing director and head of department-interest rates, HSBC said for both bond and rate markets, other factors like the currency or liquidity, are far more important parameters than the Q2 GDP.

In commodities, crude prices extend gains this morning after data from China over the weekend showed industrial activity in the world's number two crude buyer remained high despite worries the economy facing a modest slowdown.

From precious metals space gold prices drop this morning with investors jittery ahead of key US Data this week that could provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will begin scaling back its monetary stimulus.