Nifty ends at 7192, Sensex up 267 points; Dr Reddy up 4%

3:30 pm Market closing: The Sensex was up 267.35 points or 1.1 percent at 23649.22 and the Nifty was up 83.30 points or 1.2 percent at 7191.75. About 1419 shares have advanced, 1118 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged. Dr Reddy Labs, ONGC, Hindalco, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank were top gainers while Maruti, BHEL, Axis Bank, Reliance and Adani Ports were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Royalties: As many as 32 multinational companies listed on BSE paid royalties worth Rs 6,300 crore to their global parents in the last financial year, says a report.

Proxy advisory firm IiAS today said the payout amount translates to around 21 per cent of the 32 companies' pre-royalty pre-tax profits.

Its study of 32 MNCs in the BSE 500 index showed that they 'paid royalty aggregating Rs 63 billion," in FY15.

"Multinational companies based in India pay royalty because they use brands/technology know-how that have been developed outside India by their global parents and are a result of extensive product research and knowledge," IiAS said. While royalty is a legitimate payout, it noted that such payments must be linked to performance.

2:55 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks gained strength again. The Sensex rallied 269.20 points or 1.15 percent to 23651.07 and the Nifty climbed 71.20 points or 1 percent 7179.65.

The BSE Midcap rebounded half a percent while the BSE Smallcap index advanced further.

European markets were choppy with the CAC and DAX rising marginally while FTSE declined half a percent. Oil prices rose further after Iran welcomed plans by Russia and Saudi Arabia to cap production. Brent crude advanced 0.84 percent to USD 34.79 a barrel and Nymex was up 2.4 percent to USD 31.38 a barrel.

2:40 pm Coal imports may drop: Higher output of domestic coal may see India's import of the dry fuel drop to 155-160 million tonne in the current fiscal from 185 MT in 2014-15.

The imports may decline further to about 150 MT in the next fiscal.

"India's import of thermal coal in FY16 will be around 155-160 MT compared with around 185 MT in FY15 because of low imports by power generation companies on increased availability of domestic coal," Viresh Oberoi CEO and MD Mjucntion services told PTI. Mjunction Services is a e-auction joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL .

Coal imports will continue to taper down in FY'17 as well and will fall to around 150 million tonnes primarily because of fall in imports by non-coastal-area based state power generation companies, Oberoi said, adding that imports by coastal power plants and other sectors are likely to increase a little.

2:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Just Dial rallied 10 percent intraday. Brokerage Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to neutral from sell as it sees limited downside to the stock price but slashed 12-month target price to Rs 490 from 640 earlier.

The brokerage says since it downgraded stock to sell on December 2 (2015), Just Dial has declined by 52 percent against Sensex down 11 percent. Hence, it now sees limited downside to the stock price as it believes that concerns around slowing growth and execution are largely priced in.

With USD 140 million of cash (30 percent of market cap), Goldman sees valuation support for the stock.

2:00 pm Market Check
The 30-share BSE Sensex lost more than 200 points from day's high in afternoon trade, dragged by Reliance Industries, HDFC, Maruti Suzuki and Axis Bank. Healthcare, technology, FMCG and select banks stocks remained supportive.

The Sensex rose 147 points to 23528.87 and the Nifty advanced 45.50 points to 7153.95. The BSE Midcap turned negative while the BSE Smallcap index was up 0.3 percent.

The market breadth was slightly positive as about 1324 shares advanced against 1059 declining shares on the BSE.

Reliance Industries, Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, SBI, Tata Steel and BHEL were down 1-4 percent while Infosys, ICICI Bank, ITC, Dr Reddy's Labs, L&T, ONGC and TCS gained 1-4 percent.

1:50 pm Stake sale: Private equity firms KKR & Co LP bought a 10 percent stake in Max Financial Services for an undisclosed sum, looking to benefit from "robust growth" in India's life insurance market. The investment was made from KKR's Asian Fund II, the company said in a statement. Max Group split several of its businesses last month into three separately listed entities, Max Financial Services, Max India , which have businesses in healthcare and health insurance, and Max Ventures and Industries Ltd, which makes specialty film for the packaging industry.

1:30 pm Interview: Bajaj Finserv 's third quarter earnings were boosted by strong two-wheeler sales because of the festive season, the company's Managing Director, Sanjiv Bajaj tells CNBC-TV18. Going forward, the company plans to finance products on e-commerce websites, he said. Bajaj FinServ reported a 48 percent gain in its net interest income (NII) to Rs 1320 crore year-on-year (YoY) for the third quarter and net profit grew 58 percent to Rs 408 crore (YoY).

The market is still firm as the Sensex is up 191.98 points or 0.8 percent at 23573.85. The Nifty is up 54.30 points or 0.8 percent at 7162.75. About 1420 shares have advanced, 926 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, ONGC, Hindalco, Hero, ICICI Bank are top gainers while BHEL, Maruti, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and HDFC are losers in the Sensex.

While the current market mood is a little pessimistic, the long-term outlook continues to be positive, says Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Securities. "Since the mood was bullish for quite some time, most investors didn't see this global volatility coming and hence are not sitting on too much cash to buy now," he told CNBC-TV18. Investors are still struggling with losses, he adds.

However, he believes that 80 percent of the damage is done, though the mood has shifted to sell on rallies from buy on dips. But then again, market mood changes very fast, he adds.

12:58 pm Market Update: The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 184.04 points or 0.79 percent to 23565.91 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 53.40 points or 0.75 percent to 7161.85.

About 1447 shares advanced against 839 declining shares on the BSE.

12:45 pm Interview: Brigade Enterprises  will launch Brigade Atmosphere in Bangalore, which consists of 4 bedroom villas. The size of villas ranges from 3,010 to 3,410 square feet, says Suresh Kris, CFO of the company.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he says the project has 109 villas spread over 18 acres. Kris expects price escalation of 10 percent in this project and says the ticket price will be Rs 1.7 crore onwards.

The company expects to complete the sale of Brigade Atmosphere over three years.

12:30 pm Asia Update: China's Shanghai Composite slipped 1 percent from day's high to close down 0.2 percent at 2863.

However, Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained more than 2 percent following positive lead from Wall Street.

12:20 pm S&P on Union Bank: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has affirmed its 'BBB-' long-term rating on Union Bank of India (UBI) on expectations that the government will infuse capital into the lender.

"The affirmed rating reflects UBI's sound funding and liquidity positions and a very high likelihood of support from the government of India," S&P said in a statement. It retained the outlook on bank at stable.

The US-based agency said it expects the government to provide "timely and sufficient extraordinary support" to the bank if it comes under financial distress.

It anticipates UBI's asset quality to remain stressed over the next 12 months as the pickup in the economy and debottlenecking is likely to be gradual.

12:00 pm Market Check: The market remained higher in noon trade, though it erased some gains from day's high. Private banks, FMCG, technology, pharma and select infra stocks continued to support market while heavyweights like HDFC and Reliance Industries caught in bear grip.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 150.57 points to 23532.44 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 42.85 points to 7151.30.  The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.5-1 percent.

The market breadth remained in favour of advances as about two shares gained for every share declining on the BSE.

Maruti Suzuki and BHEL lost more than 1.5 percent followed by HDFC, Reliance Industries, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel and Axis Bank while L&T, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, ONGC, Hero Motocorp and Hindalco gained 3-5 percent.

11:55 am Interview: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved six railway orders worth Rs 10,700 crore. This news comes as a boost for KEC International, as the company is a L1 bidder for orders worth Rs 3000 crore and has 7 percent of its margins dependent on railway business. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Vimal Kejriwal, MD and CEO of KEC said that he expects fourth quarter revenues to grow by 5 percent because of weak commodity prices. However, on the back of the company's current orderbook of Rs 9200 crore, he expects revenue growth of 8-10 percent for FY17.

11:45 am Moody's GDP: Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2016 and 2017 as it is relatively less exposed to external headwinds, like China slowdown, and will benefit from lower commodity prices, Moody's Investors Service said today. The firm, however, warned the generally robust economic environment is constrained by "banks' balance sheet repair and elevated corporate debt" and corporate pricing power being limited by the impact on food price inflation and households budgets of two consecutive droughts." In its report 'Global Macro Outlook 2016-17 - Global growth faces rising risks at time of policy constraint', Moody's said growth will fail to pick up steam over the next two years as the slowdown in China, lower commodity prices and tighter financing in some countries weigh on the economy.

11:30 am Market check: The Sensex is up 214.05 points or 0.9 percent at 23595.92, and the Nifty is up 62.70 points or 0.9 percent at 7171.15. About 1538 shares have advanced, 588 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's is up 5 percent while Hindalco, L&T, ONGC and Hero are top gainers while Maruri, BHEL, HDFC, Adani Ports and Bharti are losers.

The market is rising with support from capital goods, pharma, metals and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex is up 332.62 points or 1.4 percent at 23714.49, and the Nifty up 101.85 points or 1.4 percent at 7210.30. About 1593 shares have advanced, 474 shares declined, and 77 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Hindalco, ONGC, L&T and Hero are top gainers while Bharti, Maruti and HDFC are losers in the Sensex.

The volatility in rupee continued as it trimmed initial gains, but was still quoting higher by 3 paise at 68.44 against the American currency in late morning deals on sustained selling of dollar from banks and exporters amid higher equities.

The domestic unit resumed higher at 68.39 per dollar as against yesterday's closing of 68.47 per dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market.

Overseas, the US dollar were mixed against its major rivals in early Asian trade, While, commodity currencies gained from having benefited hugely from a jump in oil prices, while an absence of fresh cues in minutes of the Federal Reserve January meeting saw the greenback shuffle sideways.

10:59 am Market Update: The Sensex rose 325.87 points or 1.39 percent to 23707.74 and the Nifty climbed 97.70 points or 1.37 percent to 7206.15.

About 1576 shares advanced against 471 declining shares on the BSE.

10:50 am Buzzing: Shares of Surya Roshni gained 5.7 percent intraday. The company has won orders from Energy Efficiency Services.

The said order is worth of Rs 55.19 crore for supply of 9W LED bulbs and LED street lights for various states.

10:40 am Economy growth: Indian economy will grow at 7.5 percent in 2016 and 2017 as it is relatively less exposed to external headwinds, like China slowdown, and will benefit from lower commodity prices, Moody's Investors Service said today.

The firm, however, warned the generally robust economic environment is constrained by "banks' balance sheet repair and elevated corporate debt" and corporate pricing power being limited by the impact on food price inflation and households budgets of two consecutive droughts."

In its report 'Global Macro Outlook 2016-17 - Global growth faces rising risks at time of policy constraint', Moody's said growth will fail to pick up steam over the next two years as the slowdown in China, lower commodity prices and tighter financing in some countries weigh on the economy.

10:20 am Market Expert: While the current market mood is a little pessimistic, the long-term outlook continues to be positive, says Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Securities.

"Since the mood was bullish for quite some time, most investors didn't see this global volatility coming and hence are not sitting on too much cash to buy now," he told CNBC-TV18. Investors are still struggling with losses, he adds.

However, he believes that 80 percent of the damage is done, though the mood has shifted to sell on rallies from buy on dips. But then again, market mood changes very fast, he adds.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks continued to see short covering with the Sensex rising 270.28 points or 1.16 percent to 23652.15. The Nifty climbed 81.30 points or 1.14 percent to 7189.75, aided by infra, banking & financials, pharma, oil and FMCG stocks.

The market breadth remained strong as about four shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

L&T, ONGC, Dr Reddy's Labs and Hindalco Industries topped buying list on Sensex, up 4-5 percent while HDFC, Bharti Airtel and Maruti Suzuki declined 0.4-1 percent.

Shares of Quick Heal Technologies saw tepid listing today. After a 5 percent fall in opening at Rs 305, the stock immediately bounced back with 3 percent gains to hit an intraday high of Rs 330 on the National Stock Exchange. However, it could not sustain those gains for long. It declined more than 9 percent to hit day's low of Rs 291.55.

9:55 am Upgrade: Jet Airways  said rating agency ICRA has assigned investment grade ratings for its long and short term debt instruments.

The agency has upgraded the long term rating of the airline's non-convertible debenture programme and fund-based facilities to 'BBB-' from 'BB'. The outlook on the long term rating is stable.

In a release, Jet Airways also said ICRA has upgraded the rating of its short-term fund based and non-fund based facilities to 'A3 from 'A4'.

9:45 am Interview: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved six railway orders worth Rs 10,700 crore.

This news comes as a boost for KEC International, as the company is a L1 bidder for orders worth Rs 3000 crore and has 7 percent of its margins dependent on railway business.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Vimal Kejriwal, MD and CEO of KEC said that he expects fourth quarter revenues to grow by 5 percent because of weak commodity prices. However, on the back of the company's current orderbook of Rs 9200 crore, he expects revenue growth of 8-10 percent for FY17.

9:30 am Market outlook: While the current market mood is a little pessimistic, the long-term outlook continues to be positive, says Vikas Khemani of Edelweiss Securities. "Since the mood was bullish for quite some time, most investors didn't see this global volatility coming and hence are not sitting on too much cash to buy now," he told CNBC-TV18. Investors are still struggling with losses, he adds. However, he believes that 80 percent of the damage is done, though the mood has shifted to sell on rallies from buy on dips. But then again, market mood changes very fast, he adds. Despite the current global volatility and the resultant India impact, Khemani has not seen any domestic redemptions. Though, he says, there is a slowdown in domestic inflows. He believes this is the best time to increase investments. Having said that, he also expects to see another 3-6 months of uncertain environment and volatile markets.

The market gained more than 1 percent in early trade, tracking positive trend in global peers and oil rally. All sectoral indices were trading in green.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 297.08 points or 1.27 percent to 23678.95 and the 50-share NSE Nifty jumped 86.90 points or 1.22 percent to 7195.35. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also gained more than 1 percent.

The market breadth was strong as about five shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Hindalco Industries, Dr Reddy's Labs, Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Bank of Baroda, Vedanta and Cairn India rallied 2-5 percent while Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular were in red.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 8 paise at 68.39 per dollar today against 68.47 on Wednesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Despite better-than-expected US industrial production data, the next Fed rate hike is unlikely to be before June 16."

"Given weak equity markets in India, the USD-INR is expected to trade today in a range of 68.30-68.60/dollar," he added.

The US dollar weakened against the yen after the Federal Reserve released the minutes from its January meeting.

Asian markets were trading higher with Hang Seng and Nikkei gaining over 2 percent each following a strong close in the US and Europe market.

US stocks closed more than 1.5 percent higher with their largest three-day gain since late August, helped by some recovery in oil prices and encouraging economic data..The Dow Jones and S&P 500 posted their first three-day win streak of 2016. The S&P also had its third-straight day of plus-1 percent gains since 2011.

European markets also finished sharply higher as investors cheered the recovery in oil prices and mining stocks.

In commodities, crude prices surged nearly 8 percent overnight, after an unexpected drop in crude inventories.  Also supporting the upmove was Iran voicing support for a move led by Russia and Saudi Arabia to freeze production in an oversupplied market.