Sensex ends 520 up; metals, oil & gas, cap goods on fire

4:00 pm Market closing: The gas price hike fires up the market. Both the Nifty, and BSE Sensex surge almost 3 percent each. The Sensex gains 519.86 points to end the day at 19395.81, while the Nifty adds 159.85 points to close comfortably at 5,842. The rupee also recovers and regains the 59 level versus the dollar. It is up over 1.5 percent.

3:50 pm Winners and losers: Jindal Steel (up 7.9 percent), BHEL (up 6.9 percent), Tata Power (up 5.7 percent), Coal India (up 6 percent) and Sterlite Industries (up 5.2 percent) are top gainers in the Sensex. Meanwhile, HUL (down 0.7 percent) is the only losing stock in the Sensex.

3:40 pm: Midcap gainers: BSE Midcap index ends the day gaining over 2 percent from its previous close. Apollo Hospital, Sintex, United Breweries , IFCI,  Piramal Enterprise, GSPL , Chambal Fertilisers, Unitech , South Indian Bank , Hindustan Zinc are some of the midcap gianers.

3:30 pm Market closing: The Sensex ends up 474.73 points or 2.51 percent at 19350.68, and the Nifty closes at 159.85 points or 2.81 percent at 5842.20 (provisional). About 1527 shares have advanced, 851 shares declined, and 133 shares are unchanged.

3:20 pm News update: State -run power producer National Thermal Power Corporation ( NTPC ) has tied up with German entity KfW for a fixed interest term loan facility of 95 million euros (about Rs 738 crore), reports PTI.

The loan facility would be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure on renovation and retrofitting of Electro Static Precipitators at various generation stations of NTPC to reduce fly ash emissions.

In a statement, NTPC said the term loan facility of 95 million euros would have a fixed interest.

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It is a massive rally on Dalal Street as the Sensex jumps 530.92 points or 2.81 percent at 19406.87, and the Nifty add 162.70 points or 2.86 percent at 5845.05. About 1467 shares have advanced, 811 shares declined, and 128 shares are unchanged.

All the indices are on fire especially Metals (up 4.5 percent), Oil and Gas (3.4 percent), Capital Goods (3.8 percent), Bankex (up 3.1 percent).

The Midcap index (up 2 percent) too is in good shape with Chambal Fertilisers, Hind Zinc , Punj Lloyd and Crompton Greaves powering ahead.

After initial weakness GAIL recovers on hopes that it will be kept out of the subsidy net. However, sources indicate the government has given no such assurance to GAIL.

03:05pm Information and Broadcasting ministry called FM radio companies to discuss foreign direct investment (FDI). Mayaram panel has proposed 49 percent FDI in FM radio. Entertainment Network India shares rose 6 percent and Reliance Broadcast Network surged 10 percent.

02:59pm The Bank Nifty surged 3 percent or 350 points as top private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rallied 3-3.5 percent while State Bank of India gained 2 percent.

Housing finance company HDFC surged 4.8 percent and commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors soared 4.6 percent.

02:55pm Ranbaxy Labs shares lost 3 percent and Hindustan Unilever lost 0.7 percent.

Among midcaps, IFCI topped the buying list on banking license hopes, rising 15 percent. Crompton Greaves rallied 9 percent as the board of directors of the company has decided to buyback shares worth upto Rs 266 crore at a maximum price of Rs 125 apiece.

Indian rupee recovered quite nicely from Thursday. It appreciated by 83 paise or 1.4 percent to 59.36 per dollar. It has touched a record low of 60.76 per dollar on Wednesday.

02:45 pm HCL Tech shares lost 2.5 percent as the country's fourth largest software services exporter will lay off 250 employees in Finland, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that 200 Finland employees are part of HCL Tech-Nokia deal and lay-offs will be done after performance evaluation.

The BSE Sensex is up 501.42 points or 2.66 percent at 19377.37, and the Nifty is up 147.15 points or 2.59 percent at 5829.50.

02:30pm Indian equity benchmarks extended gains in afternoon trade, rising more than 2.25 percent on further buying in index heavyweights like Reliance Industries and HDFC that gained 3.3 percent and 4 percent, respectively

The BSE Sensex is up 451.66 points or 2.39 percent at 19327.61, and the Nifty is up 131.15 points or 2.31 percent at 5813.50.

Indian rupee rose above the 59.50 level, gaining 77 paise to 59.42 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 60.18 per dollar.

The appreciation seen in the Indian currency today is on the back of upbeat equity market, global risk-on sentiment and recent gas price hike, says Ashutosh Raina of HDFC Bank. He sees the rupee stabilising at 59 against the dollar for sometime now.

Going ahead, the rupee is likely to be range bound between 58-61/USD as rollback of stimulus by US Fed will happen sooner or later, he said.

Also Read- Rupee gains; around $300 million flows from Diageo seen

Shares of Coal India climbed around 7.55 percent after finance minister P Chidambaram said that the government will issue an Executive Order to immediately set up coal regulator .

2:00 pm Expert opinion: In an interview to CNBC-TV18 , Abheek Baruah, Chief Economist, HDFC Bank  said that the fiscal deficit is likely to increase by 0.3-0.4 percent of GDP post the gas price hike. "Given the fact that the gas price has doubled, it will certainly have a significant impact on things like the fertiliser subsidy", he added.

Also on Thursday the March quarter current account deficit data was announced. It stood at 3.6 percent, which was lower than expectations. In Baruah's view the trend is suggesting moderation in current account deficit (CAD) and that moderation will continue in FY14.

1:55 pm Alert: HCL Tech is likely to lay off 250 employees in Finland. Out of the total, 200 Finland employees part are of HCL Tech-Nokia deal, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.  It is learnt that the lay-offs will be done after performance evaluation and the company is in talks with labour union to negotiate terms.

1:45 pm Alert: The government has cleared the proposal of private sector lender Yes Bank to raise Rs 2,650 crore through qualified institutional placement (QIP) from overseas, reports PTI.

The approval, given by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), would result in foreign investment amounting to about Rs 2,650 crore being received in the country, Finance Minister P Chidambaram told. YES Bank proposes to increase the foreign equity participation upto 60 per cent through a QIP of its equity shares to eligible non-resident investors. The stock is currently at Rs 455.80, up Rs 11.90, or 2.68 percent on the BSE.

1:40 pm Macro data: April-May fiscal deficit is at Rs 1.8 lakh crore while net tax receipts during the same period is at Rs 27,783 crore, reports Reuters.

1:35 pm Buzzing: Board of Crompton Greaves has decided maximum buyback price at Rs 125 per share. The company will buy back upto Rs 266 crore worth shares. The stock is currently at Rs 87.25, up Rs 7.10, or 8.86 percent on the BSE.

1:25 pm Gold rates: Amid a weak trend overseas, gold prices fell 0.92 per cent to Rs 25,267 per 10 gm in futures trade today as speculators indulged in trimming positions, reports PTI.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in far-month October contracts eased by Rs 235, or 0.92 per cent, to Rs 25,267 per 10 gm in business turnover of 134 lots.

1:20 pm Rupee check: The rupee gains as stocks post strong rally and on corporate flows, dealers say. The pair is at 59.76-77, retreating from its close of 60.19-20 on Thursday. Dealers cite inflows related to Diageo Plc's stake purchase in United Spirits . They estimate the flow size at around USD 300 million, reports Reuters.

United Spirits approved the allotment of 14.5 million shares on a preferential basis to a wholly owned unit of UK drinks group Diageo Plc , as part of an around USD 2.1 billion stake sale announced in November last year.

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It's a firm Friday as the Nifty rallies to 5800 on day one of the July series. Commodities and capital goods lead the upmove. The Sensex is up 409.28 points at 19285.23, and the Nifty is at 5806.00, gaining 123.65 points. About 1331 shares have advanced, 752 shares declined, and 132 shares are unchanged.

Jindal Steel (up 6.2 percent), BHEL (up 6 percent), Coal India (up 4.5 percent), Tata Motors and HDFC are lead gainers in the Sensex.

The FM clarifies that the government has only fixed output prices for gas and input prices for power and fertiliser will be fixed later. ONGC and Oil India come off highs due to fear of higher subsidy burden. Power and fertiliser companies get excited on the news.

Rupee rises nearly one percent and dollar falls to 59.7 on fed reassurance on quantitative easing.

12:59pm Indian rupee gained 67 paise or 1.13 percent to 59.51 per dollar Friday from its previous day's closing of 60.18 per dollar.

Among smallcaps, Shasun Pharma surged 13 percent. The company's operations at its Pondicherry facility resumed after workers call-off strike.

Suven Life Sciences jumped 6 percent after it received 2 product patents for new chemical entities in Japan and US.

12:55pm The Bank Nifty surged 2.5 percent while Metal and Capital Goods indices gained 3.5% each.

Oil & Gas and Auto indices rose 2 percent, but  ONGC is trading 8 percent off day's high on profit booking.

Among midcaps, state-owned IFCI advanced 10 percent on banking license hopes whereas Gitanjali Gems is locked at lower circuit for the fifty consecutive session and now it is down 10 percent.

12:45pm The BSE Sensex is up 401.16 points or 2.13 percent at 19277.11, and the Nifty is up 120.60 points or 2.12 percent at 5802.95, supported majorly by financials.

European markets opened marginally higher Friday, tracking strong Asian cues after reassuring comments from top US Reserve official.

Amtek Auto shares rose more than one percent to Rs 72 after the company acquired 51.3 percent stake in JMT Auto for Rs 110 crore.

The company will initially buy 26 percent stake and then make mandatory open offer for remaining 26 percent stake. It will buy shares at Rs 148.7 apiece that is a significant premium to previous day's closing price of Rs 116.15.

Amtek will fund the entire transaction through internal cash accruals and debt. JMT Auto shares are locked at 5 percent upper circuit at Rs 121.95.

JMT supplies a wide range of automotive components through technology-based manufacturing processes.

12:35pm Promoter of Apollo Tyres bought 6 lakh shares in company from open market; the stock is unchanged.

McNally Bharat shares rose 0.5 percent as the company received order worth Rs 260 crore.

Shares of Gujarat-based Adani Power jumped 2.6 percent. Promoters' holding increased from 63.99 percent to 68.99 percent in the company. Promoters acquired 45 crore shares via preferential issue at Rs 53.11/share.

Aurobindo Pharma gained 1.5 percent; the pharmaceutical firm has received tentative approval from the US FDA for anti-HIV drug.

12:25pm Empowered group of ministers (EGoM) will approve floor price for divestment in Hindustan Copper , reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that EGoM on divestment will meet on July 2. The government, which holds 94.01 percent stake, is planning to sell 4.01 percent stake in Hindustan Copper via offer for sale (OFS). The stock gained nearly 3 percent amid high volumes.

12:15pm Equity benchmarks gained nearly 2 percent Friday afternoon on strong global cues after Fed comments and gas price hike. The BSE Sensex is up 353.58 points or 1.87 percent at 19229.53, and the Nifty is up 104.65 points or 1.84 percent at 5787.

Indian rupee recovered further, rising 48 paise to 59.71 per dollar from Thursday's closing price of Rs 60.18 and one rupee from its record closing low of 60.71 per dollar that touched on Wednesday.

ONGC shares erased about 8 percent gains from its day's high and is trading with 2 percent gains. Oil & gas shares rallied sharply after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the gas price hike to USD 8.4 per mmBtu from USD 4.2 per mmBtu earlier with effect from April 1, 2014. Also Read - PAT to increase by Rs 8500cr post gas price hike: ONGC

The broader markets gained more than one percent. About two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

11:50 am Rangarajan's exclusive interview : The increased gas prices will mean a larger royalty to government and bigger profit for the PSU oil companies, says C Rangarajan, former RBI chief and currently chairman at PMEAC. "We have also to maintain the subsidy burden at reasonable level for fiscal consolidation," he advised.

As far as new producers are concerned, Rangarajan says, they will operate under new gas price regime. The existing gas producers will be valued at the new price and that is critical calculation. The new formula will help producers get price inline with international prices, he says.

"There is nothing wrong in fixing gas price inline with international prices," he told CNBC-TV18.

11:40 am Experts view: Emerging Markets (EMs) have been the worst hit in the last few days after indications of stimulus rollback later this year took a toll on global markets. However, Nilesh Shah of Axis Direct is of the view that EMs haven't lost sheen yet and this gloomy sentiment is only a temporary feature, not a permanent one.

Shah says the CCEA hiking the gas prices to USD 8.4/unit is a positive for the sector as the gas based power plants, that were sitting idle for long, will now come back into production.

"What will be most important will be to see how State Electricity Boards (SEBs) absorb this additional power hike. With this new gas pricing, probably the gas based power plants will sell their electricity somewhere over Rs 5," he adds in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

11:35 am Buzzing: From the midcap pharma space, Shasun Pharma rallies 10.13 percent. The company's operations at its Pondicherry facility resume after workers call off strike. Suven life sciences jumps over 6 percent after it gets two product patents for new chemical entities in Japan and US.

11:30 am Movers: Smart gains for IFCI , India Infoline and Bajaj Finserv on news that they will apply for a banking licence with Reserve Bank of India .

11:25 am Losers: Technology stocks look nervous today after the US Senate passed the US Immigration Bill, however, the house is yet to pass it. Nomura says that the damage on account of H1-B salary rise , on IT stocks can be significant. Both Wipro and Infosys are down around 1 percent each.

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The market is on fire today boosted by energy stocks. Strong momentum continues as the market starts the news series on a firm note.  The Nifty is inching close to 5800 at 5792.20, up 110 points while the Sensex is up 362.30 points at 19238.25. About 1226 shares have advanced, 543 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.

Oil and gas (up 2.8 percent), Capital Goods (up 3.4 percent), Metals (3.1 percent) are lending strength to the indices.  The midcap index too is in good shape, Chambal Fertilisers, Punj Lloyd , UCO Bank and Crompton Greaves power ahead.

After a big gap up, ONGC and Reliance cool off, but still hold up with gains. Last night the CCEA approved  a larger than expected hike in gas prices to USD 8.4 dollars per unit, with effect from April 2014. The new gas price mechanism will be valid for five years and gas prices will be revised every quarter. 

ONGC tells CNBC-TV18 that it sees a Rs 9000 crore increase in profit due to this gas hike. Oil India says while the hike will improve their profitability, it is keenly waiting for clarity on subsidy sharing. And GAIL says the government has given them assurance that the impact of the gas price increase will be compensated, it is likely to be excluded from the subsidy net.

Power and fertiliser companies get excited after the Finance Minister makes an important clarification on the new gas pricing mechanism. He says the policy is to fix only output prices and not input prices, at which Power and Fertiliser Ministries will buy gas. The input price of gas will be fixed before the April 1 next year.

It's a positive session for most of Asia. Japan is the star with 4 percent gains on encouraging economic data and a weaker yen. Meanwhile, the euro continues to trade around 1.30, but the dollar index has strengthened to almost 83. In commodities space, brent crude has now inched up to USD 103, while gold has recovered marginally to 1200/ounce.

10:59am The BSE Sensex is up 371.96 points or 1.97 percent at 19247.91, and the Nifty is up 111.45 points or 1.96 percent at 5793.80.

ONGC and BPCL shares surged 5 percent while BHEL, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Infrastructure and Coal India gained 4 percent each.

10:55am Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved divestment of 7.64 percent stake in National Fertilisers. The stock rallied more than 4 percent amid high volumes.

Shares of private sector lender YES Bank gained 1.5 percent after Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved a proposal to increase FII limit in the bank. The proposal was to raise foreign equity up to 60 percent via QIP.

10:45am Rohit Ahuja, oil & gas analyst of ICICI Securities feels ONGC is the biggest beneficiary of gas price hike followed by Oil India while volume ramp-up will be key for Reliance Industries (RIL).

Religare Enterprises shares slipped for the second consecutive session today, losing another 2 percent on top of previous day's 6 percent fall. Religare Finvest board has approved Religare Enterprises' banking license application.

10:35am Coal India shares soared 4 percent after the cabinet approved Coal Regulatory Authority Bill.

Finance minister P Chidambaram says the government is hopeful that Coal Regulatory Bill be passed as soon as possible in parliament.

Suven Life Sciences surged 6 percent after the company received 2 product patents for new chemical entities in Japan and US.

10:20am Technology stocks declined on profit booking after the Indian rupee rose above the 60 mark on Friday. Technology majors TCS " target="_blank" title="Tata Consultancy Services">Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys fell 1 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

ONGC and Reliance Industries have been the big outperformers from Thursday, rising 3-5 percent after the gas price hiked from USD 4.2 mmBtu to USD 8.4 mmBtu by CCEA.

10:10am Indian equity benchmarks soared quite smartly on Friday morning after the higher-than-expected gas price hike by the government.

The BSE Sensex is up 294.48 points or 1.56 percent at 19170.43, and the Nifty is up 88.10 points or 1.55 percent at 5770.45.

The rally is also led by positive global cues after three US Federal Reserve officials sought to downplay market fears that the central bank would soon ease its unprecedented bond-buying stimulus programme known as quantitative easing or QE, reports Reuters.

Asian markets rallied for the third consecutive session and amongst them, Shanghai snapped four days losing streak, rising 0.8 percent.

Nikkei outperformed its global peers, surging 3.6 percent. Hang Seng, Straits Times and Kospi gained 1 percent each.

Indian rupee recovers by 38 paise to 59.80 per dollar, continuing gains for the second consecutive session today after hitting record closing low of 60.71 on Wednesday.

Karun Mutha of HSBC Invest Direct feels today's rally is also on the back of short covering .

"A lot of short was built up in the June series and eventually when we were at the triple-witching day - the expiry day - yesterday, we saw short covering happening. The rollovers were not that exciting. We have seen in the marketwide rollovers of around 43 percent and the Nifty also slightly down, which clearly depicts that the rollovers were not enthusiastic and in fact the longs were seen at poor rolling over. The impact of this is definitely to be seen in the July series, which is starting with a lower figure of the marketwide in terms of value," Mutha explains.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by 964 to 364 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

10:00 am Management speaks: OIL major ONGC 's profit after tax (PAT) is likely to increase by Rs 8500 crore post the recent gas price hike, director-finance Aloke Kumar Banerjee told CNBC-TV18 in an interview .

The government approved hiking gas prices to USD 8.4 per mmbtu (metric million British thermal units) on Thrusday. The hike that will come in effect from April 1, 2014 is based on recommendations given by the Rangarajan committee and will apply uniformly to all producers.

9:50 am Gold update: Gold fell below USD 1,200 on Friday to its lowest since August 2010 and is on track to record its worst quarter since at least 1968 on persistent worries over the US Federal Reserve's plan to wind down its monetary stimulus.

Bullion has taken a beating since the beginning of last week - down 15 percent or over USD 200 an ounce - after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke laid out a strategy to wind down the bank's USD 85 billion monthly bond purchases on the back of a recovering economy.

9:45 am Tech check: Most of the technology stocks are losing as rupee recovers. After breaching 60 per dollar on Wednesday, the Indian currency has hit 59.85 per dollar on Friday. Infosys is down 1.1 percent, Wipro , TCS are weak by around 0.6 percent each.

Must read: Weeping boys: 5 stocks that lost 16-58% in June series

9.42 am Market check: The Sensex is up 311.99 points or 1.65 percent at 19187.94, and the Nifty is at  5779.70, up 97.35 points. About 810 shares have advanced, 275 shares declined, and 55 shares are unchanged.

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9:30 am FII view: The gas price hike shows the decisiveness of the government, but one will need to see how much benefit ONGC  and OIL are allowed, says Arvind Sanger of Geosphere. He sees a pick-up in oil and gas investments taking a while to play out, though the move will improve business confidence. From a stock-specific perspective, the hike could be negative for GAIL , but only in the short term, he says.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18 , Sanger says despite the recent policy moves, India will not be immune if there is a renewed sell-off in emerging markets.

9:20 pm Gainers: Shares of gas exploring companies like ONGC, Reliance Industries and Oil India rose anything between 5-8 percent after an expert panel approved gas price hike, a move that could  boost bottomlines of these companies by atleast 10 percent.

While ONGC rose the highest at 7.63 percent to Rs 345 post the announcement, Oil India followed trend and rose 5.35 percent to Rs 603.65. Private upstream player Reliance Industries also surged over 4 percent to Rs 866.40.

Check out what Udayan says about the market

Boosted by government's move to increase gas price, the market has opened on a strong note. The Sensex is up 293.36 points at 19169.31 and the Nifty is at 5771.35, up 89.00 points.About 375 shares have advanced, 69 shares declined, and 22 shares are unchanged.

The Cabinet Committee for Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the proposal to hike the natural gas price to USD 8.4 per mmbtu (metric million British thermal units) from April 1, 2014. The CCEA has approved the Rangarajan committee's formula for gas pricing. The new price will apply uniformly to all producers, be it state-owned firms like Oil and Natural Gas Corp ( ONGC ) or private sector Reliance Industries .

"It looks like a good Friday for the market after the gas price hike that happened on Thursday. The price hike should lift market's mood today. On the margin, good global cues will also support," says CNBC-TV18's managing editor, Udayan Mukherjee.

ONGC and Reliance are up 8.4 percent and 4.3 percent respectively.

The rupee appreciated by 28 paise to 59.91 per dollar in early trade, after opening at 60.02 as against previous day's closing of 60.18 per dollar.

The currency gained for the second consecutive session today to go above 60 mark from its record closing low of 60.71 per dollar. It had touched its all-time low of 60.76 on Wednesday.

Globally, Asian markets were trading higher on Friday morning with the Japanese market up nearly 3 percent on firm data.

Markets closed near their highs, rallying for a third-straight session, lifted by upbeat economic reports and more soothing commentary from Fed officials. The CBOE volatility index ended below 17 and US treasury prices were under 2.50.

Brent crude stood around USD 102 a barrel. Brent gained for a third week in four, but is looking at its third straight quarterly drop, its longest losing streak since late 1997 to mid-1998. From precious metals space, gold slipped further to a three year low, below USD 1200 an ounce.