Sensex ends 115 points higher, Nifty above 7400; Tata Motors up

3:30 pm Market clsoing: The market has ended higher, snapping three days of weakness. The Sensex was up 115.11 points or 0.5 percent at 24338.43, and the Nifty up 42.20 points or 0.6 percent at 7404. About 1074 shares have advanced, 1571 shares declined, and 126 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, ONGC, L&T, Adani Ports and Tata Motors were gainers while Lupin, NTPC, Cipla, Bajaj Auto and SBI were losers in the Sensex.

3:00 pm Bajaj Auto result: Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto's third quarter earnings surpassed analysts' expectations on Thursday with profit rising 4.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 901.5 crore on better-than-expected operational performance and other income.

Revenue declined 1.6 percent to Rs 5,565 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 5,657.2 crore in year-ago period due to lower sales volume growth.

Sales volume in December quarter declined 3 percent to 9.51 lakh units YoY due to slowdown in many export markets. Export volumes fell 16 percent YoY to 4.1 lakh units in Q3 due to sharp slowdown in demand in Africa and Latin America. Lack of availability of dollars in key markets also impacted export sales.

2:50 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks trimmed gains in last hour of trade. The Sensex rose 41.85 points to 24265.17 and the Nifty advanced 13.80 points to 7375.60.

The market breadth turned negative as about two shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

2:30 pm IPO: The initial public offer of staffing firm TeamLease Services has been oversubscribed by 1.83 times till afternoon on the last day of the offer today.

The Rs 423-crore IPO received bids for 52,86,555 shares against the total issue size of 28,92,063 shares, as per the NSE data till 1200 hrs. TeamLease Services has raised Rs 190 crore through issue of shares to 15 anchor investors, including Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch.

The shares were allotted to anchor investors at a price of Rs 850 apiece, the upper end of the price band. The IPO would close today and the price band is Rs 785-850 per share. At the upper end, the share sale can fetch Rs 423 crore.

The market is consolidating with support from capital goods, IT and metals. The Sensex is up 152.95 points or 0.6 percent at 24376.27 and the Nifty up 58.20 points or 0.8  at 7420. About 1314 shares have advanced, 1144 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, ONGC, L&T, Infosys, Adani Ports are top gainers while Lupin, GAIL, NTPC, Cipla and SBI are among losers in the Sensex.

The Indian economy is looking in much better shape than it was, say, six months ago and both the consumption and investment engines are picking up, says Neelkanth Mishra, India Equity Strategist for Credit Suisse, who says this has implications for a number of sectors whose stocks will make for a good investment.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Mishra said he was seeing traction in a number of sectors such as cement and plastics and said investors should stay away from stocks that have global exposure. Among financials, he advises investors pile into shares of retail-focused lenders.

12:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks extended rally in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 268.67 points or 1.11 percent to 24491.99 and the Nifty climbing 87.50 points or 1.19 percent to 7449.30.

12:40 pm Interview: NH Bhansali, CEO, Finance, Strategy & Business Development and CFO, Emami Group said the company has continued to gain market share despite a relatively weak sentiment, and the third quarter performance was satisfactory in spite of delayed winter, erratic rainfall.

Bhansali is upbeat on the outlook for the fourth quarter and next fiscal on hopes of improving global sentiment, normal monsoons in India, and more new launches both in the healthcare and personal care segments, as well as investments in existing products. He is confident of maintaining margins in 17-19 percent range.

12:20 pm Earnings: ABB India , the power and automation technologies leader has reported a massive 53.6 percent year-on-year growth in profit Rs 129 crore for October-December quarter. Bottomline growth was driven by strong operational performance in power systems, power products and process automation businesses.

"Efforts towards increased localisation coupled with strong focus on cost savings and project execution helped improve profitability," the company reasoned for earnings growth. Employee cost as well as raw material cost for the quarter remained flat at Rs 195.5 crore and Rs 1298.8 crore on yearly basis.

Revenue increased 8.3 percent to Rs 2,425 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,238.4 crore in year-ago period, aided by base orders.

12:00 pm Market Check
The market gained strength in noon trade with the Sensex rising 182.07 points to 24405.39 and the Nifty climbing 62.95 points to 7424.75. The broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.4-0.7 percent.

The market breadth was positive as about 1345 shares advanced against 933 declining shares on the BSE.

Hindalco Industries topped the buying list on Sensex, up 5 percent followed by Infosys, L&T, Tata Motors, ONGC and Adani Ports with 2-3 percent upside.

Lupin fell 3 percent ahead of third quarter earnings due on Friday, which are expected to be hit by US business. Cipla, NTPC and GAIL were down 1-2 percent.

11:55 am Results: ABB India, the power and automation technologies leader has reported a massive 53.6 percent year-on-year growth in profit Rs 129 crore for October-December quarter. Bottomline growth was driven by strong operational performance in power systems, power products and process automation businesses.

Revenue increased 8.3 percent to Rs 2,425 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 2,238.4 crore in year-ago period.

Bottomline and operational earnings beat analysts' expectations while revenue matched estimates. Profit was expected at Rs 98 crore on revenue of Rs 2,428 crore and operating profit was estimated at Rs 207 crore with margin expansion of 50 basis points for the quarter, according to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

11:45 am Deal: Godrej Consumers is in process to buy majority stake in Kenya-based company Canon Chemicals. This will be an all cash deal where Godrej will enjoy a 75 percent stake in the profit-making branch. Canon deals in personal and household care products and has been reporting strong earnings over the last three years, says Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he says Canon Chemicals has strong market share in Kenya's market, particularly in the petroleum jelly segment, and Godrej already has 4,000 employees in the region's hair extensions business-Darling. "In fact in Kenya, our per capita sales are already higher than in India," Godrej adds.

11:30 am IPO details: The initial public offer of staffing firm TeamLease Services was subscribed 89 percent on the second day of the offer. The Rs 423-crore IPO received bids for 25,72,185 shares against the total issue size of 28,92,063 shares, as per the NSE data till 1700 hours. The retail investor category has been oversubscribed four times, sources said. The portion reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 28 percent while non-institutional investors mopped up four percent.

The market is still holding early gains. The Sensex is up 139.19 points or 0.6 percent at 24362.51 and the Nifty is up 47.25 points or 0.6 percent at 7409.05. About 1270 shares have advanced, 853 shares declined, and 88 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, L&T, ONGC, Adani Ports and Tata Motors are top gainers while Lupin, Cipla, NTPC, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma are down.

Oil prices extended their rebound in Asia today, buoyed by a weaker dollar, bargain buying and fresh speculation of a possible output cut by the OPEC producers' group.

Traders brushed aside bearish data showing another increase in US commercial crude inventories, but analysts said any rally in a market awash with barrels of oil is bound to be short-lived.

10:55 am Market Update: The Sensex rose 145.19 points or 0.60 percent to 24368.51 and the Nifty climbed 49.45 points or 0.67 percent to 7411.25.

About 1248 shares have advanced, 853 shares declined, and 86 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:40 am DLF in news: Realty major DLF 's promoters are likely to complete the proposed sale of 40 percent stake in rental arm DCCDL by July as more than 25 institutional investors have shown interest to take part in bidding process.

With the proposed stake sale likely to get completed in next fiscal, DLF promoters has also deferred the conversion of their compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) in DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL) to March 18, 2017, on the same coupon rate of 0.01 percent per annum. DLF in October last announced that its promoters will sell their 40 percent stake in the DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL).

DLF owns remaining 60 percent stake in DCCDL, which holds the bulk of office and retail complexes.

10:20 am Earnings Estimates: Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto 's third quarter earnings are expected to be weak on lower volume growth and exports, though domestic volume growth was strong. Profit is seen falling 5.9 percent year-on-year to Rs 810 crore and revenue may decline 3.3 percent to Rs 5,466 crore in Q3, according to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Earnings will be announced on February 4.

Sales volume in December quarter declined 3 percent to 9.51 lakh units YoY due to slowdown in many export markets. Export volumes fell 16 percent YoY to 4.1 lakh units in Q3 due to sharp slowdown in demand in Africa and Latin America. Lack of availability of dollars in key markets also impacted export sales.

10:00 am Market check: The market continues to see firm buying in early trade. The Sensex is up 158.96 points or 0.7 percent at 24382.28, and the Nifty up 52.65 points or 0.7 percent at 7414.45. About 1272 shares have advanced, 459 shares declined, and 59 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Hindalco, L&T, Adani Ports and Bharti Airtel are top gainers while NTPC, GAIL, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and TCS are major losers in the Sensex.

Crude oil futures extended gains from the previous session on Thursday, as a weaker dollar and unconfirmed talk of producers potentially meeting to discuss output cuts lifted the market despite record US stocks.

Despite this, analysts said prices would remain low in 2016 and 2017 as production stays high, global demand slows, and inventories swell. Analysts said prices had recovered on a sliding dollar and from ongoing, yet unconfirmed, talk of a potential meeting of oil producers to cut output in support of prices, which have fallen around 70 percent since mid-2014.

9:55 am Realty: Realty major DLF's promoters are likely to complete the proposed sale of 40 percent stake in rental arm DCCDL by July as more than 25 institutional investors have shown interest to take part in bidding process.

 With the proposed stake sale likely to get completed in next fiscal, DLF promoters has also deferred the conversion of their compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) in DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL) to March 18, 2017, on the same coupon rate of 0.01 percent per annum. DLF in October last announced that its promoters will sell their 40 percent stake in the DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL).

9:45 am Reult poll: Tata Steel, one of the country's largest steel companies, is likely to disappoint analysts with third quarter earnings on February 4. It may post a loss of Rs 1,000 crore during the quarter against profit of Rs 157.11 crore in year-ago period, according to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Lower global steel prices and weak demand may impact overall earnings while higher steel imports may hurt operations.

Revenue is likely to decline 15.7 percent to Rs 28,355 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 33,633 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

Operating profit may plunge 49.6 percent year-on-year to Rs Rs 1,550 crore and margin may contract 360 basis points to 5.5 percent in Q3.

9:35 am Interview: Godrej Consumer is in process to buy majority stake in Kenya-based company Canon Chemicals. This will be an all cash deal where Godrej will enjoy a 75 percent stake in the profit-making branch. Canon deals in personal and household care products and has been reporting strong earnings over the last three years, says Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, he says Canon Chemicals has strong market share in Kenya's market, particularly in the petroleum jelly segment, and Godrej already has 4,000 employees in the region's hair extensions business-Darling. "In fact in Kenya, our per capita sales are already higher than in India," Godrej adds.

Further, the deal will be completed in next 90-120 days and is earnings-per-share (EPS) accretive, he says, adding, "it will also enable us to leverage many other growth opportunities in Kenya".

9:15 am Market Check
The market rebounded in early trade Thursday after losing nearly 700 points on the Sensex in previous three consecutive sessions. The Sensex rose 165.59 points to 24388.91 and the Nifty climbed 49.65 points to 7411.45.

ONGC, SBI, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda and Idea Cellular were early gainers, up 1.5-3 percent.

The Indian rupee gained in the early trade today. It has opened higher by 22 paise at 67.85 per dollar against 68.07 Wednesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "In-line with global trends, rupee is expected to show mild recovery and trade today in a range of 67.80-68.10/dollar."

Dollar slipped against a basket of currencies as weak US services data suggested another Federal Reserve rate hike seems more unlikely.

Asian markets were trading mixed with the Shanghai, Hang Seng and Kospi rising over a percent.

US stocks staged a late-day rally on Wednesday as an 8-percent jump in oil prices lifted beaten-down energy shares and financials rebounded. The Nasdaq stayed weaker but ended well off the day's lows.

Crude oil futures extended gains from the previous session today, as a weaker dollar and unconfirmed talk of producers potentially meeting to discuss output cuts lifted the market despite record US stocks. Brent crude rose 0.8 percent to USD 35.3 a barrel and Nymex crude gained 1 percent to USD 32.61 a barrel.