Sensex, Nifty at record closing high; RIL, HDFC Bank lead

Buying in oil & gas and banks stocks in last hour trade helped the equity benchmarks end at record closing highs on Friday ahead of big events next week – NDA government's Budget for 2014-15 (on July 10) and April-June quarter earnings starting off with Infosys (on July 11). However, it was a volatile session till last hour of trade today with the indices moving in a tight range.

The Sensex rose 138.31 points to 25962.06 while the Nifty climbed above the 7750 level, up 36.80 points at 7751.60. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.6 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

As the market approaches Budget day, experts believe it will remain in positive terrain and may touch 7800-8000 level around Budget. But post this event, it may see some profit booking that may take Nifty to 7500 level again, they add.

''Technically, having seen the correction and consolidation in last month, the market is definitely set for an up move which could possibly take Nifty to 7950-8000 levels. Whether, it happens before Budget, on Budget or after Budget is difficult to predict,'' says Deven Choksey KR Choksey Shares.

According to him, the Budget is expected to be a positive event which has already been factored-in and so, investors should focus for staying long-term into the market than just investing for the near-term event.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with food ministers of all states to review the situation on food price rise and monsoon, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asked the states to take measures to crackdown on hoarding to rein in prices . He blamed hoarders for the rise in food inflation, saying there is no "panic situation.

Petrochemical major Reliance Industries was the leading gainer today, rising 2.5 percent followed by private sector lender HDFC Bank with 2.3 percent. Drug maker Dr Reddy's Labs gained over 1.5 percent.

Shares of Infosys, ICICI Bank, ITC, ONGC, HDFC and State Bank of India too supported the market in last hour trade, up 0.3-0.9 percent. However, L&T, Sesa Sterlite, Wipro, TCS, M&M, Tata Steel and Coal India fell 0.3-1.7 percent on profit-taking.

In the broader space, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore rallied 4-11 percent after SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank will have associate bank merger roadmap in 3-4 months.

Prestige Estate gained 8 percent after the company bought 8 acre land parcel in Bangalore from Siemens for Rs 345 crore. United Bank of India surged 13.5 percent on reports of fund raising plan.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1679 to 1363 on the BSE.

03:55 pm Price hike?
The Oil Ministry is likely to move the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) soon with an expert panel recommendations of raising kerosene price by Rs 4 a litre and cooking gas (LPG) rates by Rs 250 per cylinder.

The ministry is preparing a draft note for consideration of the CCPA on pricing of diesel, kerosene and LPG, official sources said here. Endorsing the previous UPA government's monthly 40-50 paisa per litre increase in diesel prices, the ministry is likely to propose that the monthly revisions may continue till the present Rs 3.40 a litre loss on the fuel is fully bridged.

After the diesel subsidy is eliminated during the course of the year, the ministry wants CCPA to authorise it to decontrol or free price of diesel as was done in case of petrol in June 2010.

03:35 Market closing
The market gathered steam after falling prey to profit booking for sometime. Both the benchmark indices closed at record high. The Nifty ended up 36.80 points at 7751.60. The Sensex is up 138.31 points at 25962.06.

Reliance, HDFC Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, GAIL and NTPC were top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers were Wipro, Sesa Sterlite, Tata Steel, Coal India and Hindalco.

03:20 pm Bond market
Dealings in corporate bonds at the country's capital markets dropped by 27 percent to Rs 68,381 crore in June over the preceding month -- the lowest recorded so far in the current fiscal.

Trading worth about Rs 93,946 crore in corporate bonds was reported by NSE, BSE and Fixed Income Money Market and Derivatives Association of India (FIMMDA) during May, the latest data released by market regulator Sebi showed.

June figures were also 21.6 percent less than Rs 87,226.5 crore recorded in the same month last year.

03:10 pm Tata Motors launch plans
Tata Motors is looking at launching a couple of models each year till 2020 as the company looks to ramp up its portfolio in the competitive Indian car market.

"We are working on a product strategy that started last year. The plan is to bring a couple of new vehicles every year," Tata Motors President, passenger vehicles, Ranjit Yadav told PTI.

The new vehicles will also cater to global markets and service various "attractive" segments, he added. He, however, did not share more details on the product launches.

03:00 pm Market Update
The market gained strength in last hour of trade. The Sensex climbed 129.63 points to 25953.38 and the Nifty rose 33.65 points at 7748.45 supported by Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank that rallied over 2 percent.

02:50 pm Century Ply eyes 25% growth in FY15
Sanjay Agarwal, CEO & MD, Century Ply believes the plyboards market is growing at 15-18 percent. He hopes to outdo the industry average by pegging a 25 percent revenue growth for FY15.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout in the forthcoming Budget will be a game changer for the plyboard industry, mostly as it falls under the unorganised sector, which comprises 70 percent of the overall market.

The ply manufacturer resonates their tight budget maintenance of expenses with a forex loss of Rs 44 crore in the previous year, he says in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

02:40pm Jain Irrigation up 5%
Jain Irrigation, the world leader in micro irrigation, has been issued a letter of intent of project by Himachal Pradesh government involving an outlay of Rs 97.52 crore.

02:30pm Interview
Hariprakash Pandey, vice president (finance), HDIL says the company has sold its multiplex business for Rs 105 crore. He says it is now focused on exiting non-core business. ''We will reduce debt by another Rs 600-800 crore by FY15-end,'' he told CNBC-TV18.

HDIL is also looking to monetise its land parcel outside Mumbai. However, Pandey says the developer will not sell any major land parcels in the city.

Meanwhile, he declines to comment on company's Kurla land parcel sale.

02:20pm New banking license
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will issue the guidelines that will be used to grant on-tap and differentiated banking licenses later this year, deputy governor R Gandhi told reporters on the sidelines of an event today.

Gandhi also said the assessment of the monsoon rains on the economy would not be carried out until later.

The monsoon strengthened at the start of the key planting month after recording the weakest first month of the June-September rainy season in five years, weather officials said on Thursday, reports Reuters.

02:10pm Market Expert
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Amit Khurana of Dolat Caital says Budget remains the biggest risk for the market because the expectations from the event are too high.

According to him, markets have already factored-in weak monsoon and so in case rainfall is better then it would be good news for market. And globally too there don't seem to be any visible risks as of now.

India is in a structural uptrend rather than near-term one and advices one to buy quality stocks on every dip from FY16 perspective, says Khurana.

02:00pm Equity benchmarks remained in a tight range with the Nifty holding 7700 level. The index rose 1.10 points to 7715.90 and the Sensex climbed 11.15 points to 25834.90.

Dr Reddy's Labs, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, Axis Bank, Asian Paints and DLF were prominent gainers among largecaps, up 0.8-1.7 percent. However, Sesa Sterlite, Wipro, Larsen & Toubro, Hindalco, Tata Steel, ACC, Jindal Steel, PNB and United Spirits lost 0.8-1.6 percent on profit booking.

State Bank of India's subsidiaries State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur shot up 5-11 percent. SBI chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya said the bank will have associate bank merger roadmap in 3-4 months.

2:00 pm Rupee outlook: Jayesh Mehta, MD & Country Treasurer, Bank of America see rupee trading in the range of 58-62/USD going ahead and would not be surprised to see the Indian currency touch 58.50/USD in the run up to the Budget on July 10. He does not see rupee retracing the 62/USD levels under normal circumstances.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Mehta spoke about the Narendra Modi government's plan to tackle borrowing and fiscal deficit in FY15. According to him, the market is already factoring in additional Rs 30,000 crore of borrowing from the Vote on Account. But an additional borrowing of Rs 50-60,000 crore will be disappointing.

He further adds that a fiscal deficit between 4.1-4.4 percent is acceptable while 4.5 percent will be slightly negative. He also expects a token relaxation in gold import duty on July 10.

1:50 pm Gold swaps to cut imports: A plan by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to swap old gold in its vaults for purer metal abroad that it could pledge or sell would have the added benefits of reducing gold imports and easing pressure on the balance of payments.

The RBI would sell relatively impure gold from its own vaults - some dating back to before independence - and receive the equivalent worth of purer yellow metal delivered to the Bank of England, under a scheme outlined on Wednesday.

The swaps would not involve money changing hands, according to three officials aware of the development. The RBI has parked gold abroad in the past, once in the throes of the 1991 financial crisis. It did a similar swap in 1998, according to a report at the time, before Russia's default and devaluation caused a meltdown across emerging markets.

1:40 pm FM's assurance: Blaming hoarders for the rise in food inflation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said there is "no panic situation" and asked the states to take measures to crackdown on hoarding and black marketing to rein in prices.

"When production of food items is higher than last year and still prices rise, then it means that intermediaries are keeping the stock somewhere," Jaitley said at a conference on food inflation. He said the test of the good governance is how to de-hoard the stock kept by intermediaries into the market to rein in prices.

"This is the biggest challenge." Stating that prices of some food items increase every year during the July-December period due to hoarding, Jaitley said: "There are reports of below normal monsoon this year. Hoarders are taking advantage of the situation." "Prices of some items had touched Rs 70-100 per kg last year. Prices are still lower this year. There is no panic situation," he said.

1:30 pm Market outlook: Technically, Nifty is poised to go up to 8000 and plus levels around Budget feels Deven Choksey KR Choksey Shares. However, there could be some intermediate correction due to profit booking and sector rotation. According to him Budget is expected to be a positive event which has already been factored-in and so, investors should focus for staying long-term into the market than just investing for the near-term event.

Buying quality companies whenever there is correction in the market would be a good strategy feels Choksey. The house is upbeat on PSU companies like NTPC , BHEL , Power Grid and Coal India which he thinks could be the biggest beneficiaries of more clarity from the government on the policy front, and the likelihood of infrastructure thrust in the upcoming Union Budget.

1:20 pm Buzzing: Shares of Akzo Nobel India gained more than 7 percent after the paint manufacturer has inaugurated a new laboratory facility at its Thane site (in Mumbai) on July 02, 2014.

"This Lab has been established at a cost of about Rs 1.3 crore and will primarily focus on catering to the needs of agro-chemicals sector in India," says the company in its filing.

Akzo Nobel India manufactures and markets a wide range of coatings and specialty chemicals. Its decorative paints business-line manufactures the Dulux brand of paints for interior and exterior decoration and protection as well as products for surface preparation and wood care.

The market is still in red with the Sensex at 25729.8, down 93.93 points. The Nifty is down 32.95 points at 7681.85. About 1292 shares have advanced, 1515 shares declined, and 122 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Bharti Airtel, Infosys, HDFC Bank and GAIL are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Sesa Sterlite, M&M, Tata Power, Wipro and L&T.

In an effort to tame inflation, Finance Minister at his meeting with the food ministers said that there is an urgent need to check hoarding and that the onus is on states. He assured states of support from the centre to check hoarding. Food minister has said that implementation of food security act postponed for three months.

Rupee is higher tracking gains in Asian currencies and as RBI relaxes overseas direct investment limits.

01:00pm Oil India completes buy out of 50% in WorldAce investments
Oil India, the second largest government-owned exploration and production company in India, has completed the acquisition of 50 percent shareholding in WorldAce Investments, a Cyprus-based wholly owned subsidiary of PetroNeft Resources. PetroNeft owns license 61 in Tomsk Oblast region in western Siberia, Russia.

The total commitment from Oil India will be USD 85 million, including USD 45 million for development capex.

12:50pm Hatsun in News
Hatsun Agro Product has commenced commercial production at the company's dairy plant situated at Poolam Village near Moondradaippu, Nanguneri Taluk, Tirunelveli with effect from July 01, 2014.

12:40pm Akzo Nobel India up 7%
Akzo Nobel India says the company has formally inaugurated a new laboratory facility at its Thane site on July 02, 2014. "This Lab has been established at a cost of about Rs. 13 million and will primarily focus on catering to the needs of Agrochemicals sector in India," it adds.

12:30pm Prime Minister on railway
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Udhampur-Katra rail link by flagging of the Vaishno Devi Express. Speaking at the event, the PM assured that there will be no obstacles to the development of J&K.

The train to Katra, near Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, is part of the 292 kilometre Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line that would eventually connect Kashmir with the rest of the country.

The PM said that he is committed to the development of the Himalayan range, which will not only benefit Kashmir, but also the north east.

Modi said he wants to make railway stations as modern as airports, adding that modernising it is viable as it would attract private investment and has held meetings in this regard.

12:20pm Market Expert
Technically, the Nifty is poised to go up to 8000 and plus levels around Budget, feels Deven Choksey KR Choksey Shares. However, there could be some intermediate correction due to profit booking and sector rotation.

According to him, Budget is expected to be a positive event which has already been factored-in and so, investors should focus for staying long-term into the market than just investing for the near-term event.

Buying quality companies whenever there is correction in the market would be a good strategy, feels Choksey.

12:10pm Finance minister on oil
India is worried about the impact of Iraq crisis on crude oil, though there were indications of moderation in prices in the last few days, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.

India imports nearly two-third of its oil requirements.

The Brent crude price has eased as investors grew less worried about potential supply disruptions from Iraq.

Heavy fighting between government-led forces and Sunni militants in the north of Iraq has spared refineries in the south, which process around 90 percent of the OPEC member's oil exports, reports Reuters.

12:00pm The market remained choppy in noon trade as it has been consolidating above 7700 level after hitting record highs on Wednesday. The Sensex fell 101.67 points to 25722.08 and the Nifty lost 34.25 points to 7680.55.

However, the broader markets beat benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.5 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. About 1451 shares have advanced, 1249 shares declined, and 95 shares are unchanged.

United Spirits, Vinati Organics, Jubilant Foodworks, Glenmark Pharma, Polaris Technology, Tata Motors, ONGC, Infosys and Reliance Communications were most active shares on exchanges.

Shares of Mahindra & Mahindra, Wipro, Sesa Sterlite and Coal India fell more than a percent followed by L&T, ICICI Bank, ONGC, State Bank of India, Hindalco, BHEL and Tata Steel with 0.2-0.9 percent.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs kept its top position in the buying list, up 1.7 percent. Reliance Industries, Infosys, HDFC Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Maruti gained 0.3-0.8 percent.

12:00 pm FM's worries: India is worried about the impact of Iraq crisis on crude oil, though there were indications of moderation in prices in the last few days, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

India imports nearly two-third of its oil requirements.The Brent crude price has eased as investors grew less worried about potential supply disruptions from Iraq.

Heavy fighting between government-led forces and Sunni militants in the north of Iraq has spared refineries in the south, which process around 90 percent of the OPEC member's oil exports.

11:50 am Rupee outlook: Jayesh Mehta, MD & Country Treasurer, Bank of America see rupee trading in the range of 58-62/USD going ahead and would not be surprised to see the Indian currency touch 58.50/USD. He does not see rupee retracing the 62/USD levels under normal circumstances.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Mehta spoke about the Narendra Modi government's plan to tackle borrowing and fiscal deficit in FY15. According to him, the market is already factoring in additional Rs 30,000 crore of borrowing from the Vote on Account. But an additional borrowing of Rs 50-60,000 crore will be disappointing.

He further adds that a fiscal deficit between 4.1-4.4 percent is acceptable while 4.5 percent will be slightly negative. He also expects a token relaxation in gold import duty in the Budget on July 10.

11:40 am Budget hopes: Pallavi Bakhru Head-Tax and Advisory, Grant Thornton says investors are hoping that the implementation of General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) will be postponed. GAAR was first introduced by UPA Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the 2012 Budget.

According to Bakhru, corporates are not expecting any changes in Income Tax slabs, though some feel there is a possibility of a fourth tax bracket for high earners. Taxation of indirect transfer is among the most desired Budget policies, Bakhru says.

11:30 am FII view: Masha Gordon of PIMCO is overweight on India on the bet that the government will be able to resolve some of the structural issues in the economy, by making good use of its political capital.

In the interview to CNBC-TV-18, Gordon sees Indian equities giving returns of 15-20 percent.

''We are positioned in consumer discretionary and that's for us a way of playing cyclicality at a lower price. Look at the car companies, we are finally starting to see better numbers coming through and that's only the beginning of the cycle,'' she told CNBC-TV18.

''If your macro story holds together, banks are a good conduit. So, finding franchises that have that hidden value, perhaps in NPLs that could be worked out, that have strong managements, that are adequately capitalized and that could start growing faster than they did in the past 2 years,'' she said.

11:20 am Buzzing: Shares of Videocon jumped over 9 percent intraday as its direct to home service provider arm Videocon d2h is firming up plans to launch IPO in FY14. The company had received the permission from market regulator Sebi in March 2013 for its proposed Rs 700-crore IPO but did not launch the same due to bad market conditions.

"We are engaged with our advisors and investment bankers. We have appointed Axis Capital among others to advise us on the same. We are planning the IPO this financial year itself," Videocon director Saurabh Dhoot.

Shares of Videocon jumped over 9 percent intraday on Friday as its direct to home service provider arm Videocon d2h is firming up plans to launch IPO in FY14. The company had received the permission from market regulator Sebi in March 2013 for its proposed Rs 700-crore IPO but did not launch the same due to bad market conditions. "We are engaged with our advisors and investment bankers. We have appointed Axis Capital among others to advise us on the same. We are planning the IPO this financial year itself," Videocon director Saurabh Dhoot.

The market seems to be in a sluggish mood before winding up for the weekend. The Sensex is up 18.85 points at 25842.60 and the Nifty up 0.65 points at 7715.45. About 1487 shares have advanced, 1073 shares declined, and 113 shares are unchanged.

Shares of rail stocks are once again buzzing on buyers' radar as Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that the government will modernise railway stations with proper facilities. While flagging off the Vaishno Devi Express and inaugurating the Udhampur-Katra rail link, Modi assured about redeveloping the beleaguered railways.

Dr Reddy's Labs, HDFC Bank, Tata Power, Bharti Airtel and Cipla are top gainers in the Sesnex. On the losing side are L&T, Sesa Sterlite,  M&M , Coal India and Hindalco.

The rupee is expected to hold in a range of 59.40 to 59.80 during the session. Most other Asian currencies also trading stronger compared to the dollar. The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday restored the overseas investment limit of Indian companies to 400 percent of the firm's net worth after the rupee rebounded from last year's record low levels against the dollar.

11:00am Infosys' Q1 earnings on July 11
Infosys' operating profit may lag consensus estimates when India's second-largest IT services exporter reports quarterly results on July 11, Thomson Reuters StarMine's SmartEstimates shows.

StarMine's SmartEstimates, which places a greater emphasis on forecasts by top-rated analysts, expects Infosys to report an operating profit of Rs 3,327 crore (USD 558 million) in the quarter, compared with a consensus mean estimate of Rs 3,404 crore, reports Reuters.

10:50am Prestige Estates, Siemens on buyers' radar
Prestige City Properties, an arm of the Bangalore-based real estate developer Prestige Estates, bought an 8-acre land parcel in the IT city for Rs 345 crore from Siemens.

In a statement to the exchange, Siemens said, ''As part of our continuous asset optimisation exercise within Siemens, we have sold the land parcel in Bangalore today to Prestige City Properties. The proceeds of the sale is approximately Rs 345 crore."

The company is planning to fund land buy with internal accruals and will also undertake some debt. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Irfan Razack, CMD of the company said the debt to equity ratio is likely to remain comfortable at 0.7-0.8x. It is hoping to launch project in the area as soon as all approvals are clear.

10:40am Videocon Industries gains 7%
Videocon Industries' direct to home service provider arm Videocon d2h is firming up plans to launch IPO in FY14.

The company had received the permission from market regulator Sebi in March 2013 for its proposed Rs 700-crore IPO but did not launch the same due to bad market conditions.

"We are engaged with our advisors and investment bankers. We have appointed Axis Capital among others to advise us on the same. We are planning the IPO this financial year itself," Videocon director Saurabh Dhoot.

10:30am Shree Renuka Sugars' open offer fails
Shree Renuka Sugars' open offer has failed as the company has been able to acquire only 1,750 shares out of over 24 crore shares due to higher share price compared with the offer rate.

In February, the company had announced sale of 27.5 percent stake in the company to Singapore-based agri-business major Wilmar International for Rs 517 crore through a preferential allotment of fresh equity, triggering mandatory open offer by both Wilmar and existing promoters.

10:20am Bharti Airtel in News
The Reserve Bank of India said foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/registered foreign portfolios investors (RFPIs) can now invest upto 74 percent of the paid up capital of Bharti Airtel under the portfolio investment scheme.

The Reserve Bank has stated that the company has passed resolutions at its board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs.

10:10am Market Expert
Tirthankar Patnaik of Religare Capital Markets sees the Nifty climbing to 7800 by Budget day as overall sentiment remains bullish.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Patnaik says the priority of the government should be to stay the fiscal prudence course and rationalisation of subsidies will be key to the government being able to achieve its fiscal targets. Patnaik is betting on a staggered hike in LPG and kerosene prices.

10:00am Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate for the second consecutive day with the Sensex rising 42.05 points to 25865.80 and the Nifty gaining 11.75 points to 7726.55.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.7 percent each. About 1284 shares have advanced, 711 shares declined, and 85 shares are unchanged.

Dr Reddy's Labs topped the buying list, up 2 percent followed by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Hero Motocorp, Tata Power, NTPC and Cipla with 0.5-1 percent.

However, shares of L&T, HDFC, M&M, Wipro, Sesa Sterlite, Hindalco, Coal India and Maruti fell 0.2-0.7 percent.

10:00 am Stock in news: Shares of Bharti Airtel, the largest telecom operator in India, gained more than 2 percent intraday after the Reserve Bank of India allowed foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/registered foreign portfolios investors (RFPIs) to invest upto 74 percent of the paid up capital of company under the portfolio investment scheme.

The Reserve Bank has stated that the company has passed resolutions at its board of directors' level and a special resolution by the shareholders, agreeing for enhancing the limit for the purchase of its equity shares and convertible debentures by FIIs.

"The purchases could be made through primary market and through stock exchanges and would be subject to regulation of FEMA notification and other terms and conditions stipulated by the Reserve Bank," said RBI.

9:50 am RBI eases norms: The Reserve Bank today relaxed norms for overseas investment by Indian corporates by raising their borrowing limit.

"It has, however, been decided that any financial commitment exceeding USD 1 billion (or its equivalent) in a financial year would require prior approval of the Reserve Bank even when the total financial commitment of the Indian Party is within the eligible limit under the automatic route...," RBI said in a notification.

The financial commitment should be limited within 400 percent compared to earlier level of 100 percent of the net worth as per the last audited balance sheet of the company, it said.

9:40 am Opinion: Adrian Mowat, JP Morgan says the brokerage house spent the previous two weeks meeting over 100 clients on its Global Emerging Markets (GEM) Strategy H2 Outlook. ''Our thesis is that GEM equities are in a two-stage rally. The first stage, mostly complete, is the reduction in risk premium. The second stage is the acceleration of EM GDP growth driving earnings growth in 2H14 and 2015,'' he adds.

He says the brokerage is pushing investors to rotate out of high return on equity (ROE) growth stocks into domestic cyclicals and value stocks. ''Our key overweight markets are India, Taiwan, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Turkey, and Greece. Our key underweight markets are China, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, Chile, Colombia and Poland,'' Mowat adds.

9:30 am Buzzing: Shares of Hindalco slipped over 1 percent intraday. Morgan Stanley remained underweight on the stock as it sees medium-term concerns about profitability trends from the new greenfield projects in India, even though it sees good long-term prospects in solid Novelis operations, top-notch assets at the new greenfield sites and the likelihood of balance sheet deleveraging from here.

After a recent management meet, the brokerage felt Hindalco's key medium-term focus is to consolidate the balance sheet and intense focus is on quick ramp-up and stabilisation of the Mahan, Aditya and Utkal projects.

Once all permissions are received the Mahan coal block may take about 12 months to reach the 60 percent  utilisation mark and about 18 months to reach 100 percent utilisation.

The market has opened flat once again as the Sensex is up 21.05 points at 25844.80 the Nifty up 5.70 points at 7720.50. About 475 shares have advanced, 147 shares declined, and 24 shares are unchanged.

Bharti, Tata Steel, Tata Power, Wipro and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Hindalco, HDFC, ONGC, GAIL and ITC.

The Indian rupee opened flat at 59.69 per dollar versus 59.73 Thursday. The dollar is at one-week high, having shown competitors a clean pair of heels after surprisingly strong US jobs growth added to hopes the economy is pulling out of a first quarter slump.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said that, ''Taking a cue from global equities, we can expect Indian equities to trade strong and post new all time highs during the day. Rupee is also expected to appreciate today backed by strong equities. Range for the day is seen between 59.20-60.30/dollar.''

Bullish jobs report in the US and continued dovishness from the European Central Bank push global equities to fresh records. Dow Jones industrial average tops 17000 for the first time while European markets rally over one percent. It's a truncated week for the US as markets are shut today for Independence Day.

In Europe, President Draghi made clear that the ECB is in no rush to further adjust its policy stance after a comprehensive package of easing measures was announced last month. The technical details on the new LTROs were released yesterday. Moreover, the ECB announced it would adjust its schedule of policy meetings to a six-week cycle in 2015 and publish regular accounts in between meetings.

Asian shares joined jobs-fueled rally. Nikkei gained on the back of weak yen. South Korean stocks were trading at near five-week highs. Taiwan was under pressure though for the week it was still up 2 percent.