Sensex, Nifty end at 1-mth closing high; largecaps hog limelight

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended at 1-month closing high with largecaps hogging limelight. The Sensex was up 575.70 points or 2.3 percent at 25881.17, and the Nifty ended up 186.05 points or 2.4 percent at 7934.90. About 1563 shares have advanced, 970 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, L&T and Maruti were top gainers while Cipla lost 5 percent in the Sensex.

3:20 pm Gold check: Continuing its losing falling streak for the second straight day, gold prices slumped by another Rs 370 to trade at a six-week low of Rs 29,200 per ten grams at the bullion market on May 25 in tandem with a weakening global trend amid muted demand from jewellers at spot market.

Silver too remained under selling pressure and shed Rs 50 at Rs 39,450 per kg.

Sentiment dampened largely in tune with a weak trend overseas where gold had a fifth straight decline, the longest slump since November, on speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as next month strengthened the dollar, denting demand for the metal as an alternative asset, bullion traders said.

2:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex surged 568.53 points or 2.25 percent to 25874 and the Nifty jumped 182.65 points or 2.36 percent to 7931.50.

About 1544 shares advanced against 926 declining shares on BSE.

2:50 pm Dr Reddy's Labs in news: Dr Reddy's today announced the acquisition of over-the-counter brands in the cough-and-cold, pain and dermatology categories. The company acquired six OTC brands from Ducere Pharma, including Doans, Bufferin, Nupercainal, Ointment, Curex Nail Gel, Comtrex and Myofloex.

2:35 pm Interview: Both Bangalore and Kochi parks saw flat footfalls combined at around 4.96 lakh, said Arun K Chittilappilly, MD of Wonderla Holidays in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

Footfalls of Bangalore went up 6 percent while the Kochi park saw a decline of 4 percent.

Non-ticket revenue for the company saw a jump of 45-50 percent, and the average revenue per costumer also went up by 10 percent, he added. 

He maintained that the Bangalore resort recorded an unchanged revenue growth of Rs 46 crore in the fourth quarter of FY17. He expects an uptick in Bangalore's revenue and footfall in FY17.

2:20 pm Tata Steel in news:  Tata Steel 's board will assess all binding bids submitted by prospective buyers for its UK assets when they meet later today. Around 2-3 bidders could be shortlisted in the meeting and if talks with the UK government progress smoothly, the final buyer could also be announced soon.

Sajid Javid, business secretary of the UK, wrote in a tweet that he met Tata management in Mumbai ahead of the board meeting to discuss the sales process.

The biggest hiccup for the buyers is pension liability. But most bidders have confirmed that it will be partly borne by the UK government.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 488.32 points or 1.93 percent to 25793.79, driven by banking & financials, IT, infra and FMCG stocks.

The Nifty climbed 158.55 points or 2.05 percent to 7907.40. The market breadth remained in favour of advances with 2:1 ratio.

Bajaj Auto rallied more than 4 percent after the two-wheeler maker's fourth quarter earnings met analysts' expectations. Profit grew by 29 percent and revenue increased 14 percent YoY.

Ashok Leyland tanked 7 percent after the commercial vehicle reporting a 66 percent decline in Q4 profit due to exceptional loss of Rs 379 crore.

1:50 pm Market check: The Sensex is up 458.60 points or 1.8 percent at 25764.07, and the Nifty is up 156.10 points or 2 percent at 7904.95. About 1515 shares have advanced, 884 shares declined, and 165 shares are unchanged.

1:30 pm Interview: Diagnostic company Thyrocare saw a spectacular initial public offering (IPO) and listed with over 30 percent premium. The biggest surprise in the IPO was retail interest where the company got nearly 8 lakh applications, says A Velumani, Chairman, CEO & MD of the company. ''It means that 'aam aadmi' believes in it,'' he adds. Velumani believes that Thyrocare can sustain its margins at its current 40 percent and can even improve it by another 1-2 percent. ''Ever since I knew the spelling of EBITDA and its meaning, it has been 40 percent,'' he says. The company has maintained its margin at the same level in the last 10 years.

The market continues to surge ahead as the Nifty eyes 7900. The 50-share index is up 143.75 points or 1.9 percent at 7889.40 and the Sensex is up 428.93 points or 1.7 percent at 25734.40. About 1520 shares have advanced, 852 shares declined, and 155 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, BHEL, Maruti, HDFC and L&T are top gainers while Cipla underperforms losing over 5 percent.

Amid a weakening global trend, gold futures today traded lower by Rs 140 at Rs 29,160 per 10 gram as speculators trimmed their positions. The fall in gold futures was mostly in step with a weak trend overseas where it had a fifth straight decline, the longest slump since November, as speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as next month strengthened the dollar, denting demand for the metal as an alternative asset, analysts said.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to rally in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 420.30 points or 1.66 percent to 25725.77 and the Nifty climbing 138.55 points or 1.79 percent to 7887.40.

About 1500 shares advanced against 796 declining shares on BSE.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European stocks extended gains today, underpinned by strong US housing data and a boost from Asia.

The London FTSE index opened up 0.8 percent, the German DAX up 0.8 percent and the French CAC up 0.6 percent.

Asia markets traded higher, with several major indexes advancing more than 1 percent each, after encouraging reports on the U.S. housing market on Tuesday propelled gains in US stocks.

12:20 pm CLSA on BoI: Brokerage house CLSA has reduced its price target for Bank of India (BoI) to Rs 65 from Rs 70 earlier and maintained its 'sell' rating after the bank's fourth quarter earnings.

Public sector lender Bank of India disappointed the Street on Tuesday by reporting a loss of Rs 3,587 crore in Q4 that widened significantly from a loss of Rs 56 crore in year-ago period. This was majorly led by provisions that shot up 52 percent quarter-on-quarter and 142.5 percent year-on-year to Rs 5,470 crore.

Bank's gross non-performing loans (NPL) rose to 13 percent of loans in the quarter, pushing up credit costs, resulting in a loss of Rs 3,600 crore. The downgrades handed out by the RBI based on the asset quality review of the bank, together with the downturn in steel and infrastructure sectors led to a rise in the bank's slippages, said the brokerage house.

Although the management aims to lower its gross NPL ratio in FY17 with lower slippages and higher recovery/upgrades, the broking house still remains cautious.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks maintained morning gains, tracking global cues. The Sensex surged 427.80 points or 1.69 percent to 25733.27 and the Nifty rose 139.30 points or 1.80 percent to 7888.15, driven by banking & financials, technology, infra and auto stocks.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1 percent each. The market breadth remained positive as about two shares advanced for every share falling on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Asia markets mostly closed higher today, with Hong Kong leading gains and several major indexes advancing more than 1 percent each. Japan's Nikkei 225 closed up 258.59 points, or 1.57 percent, at 16,757.35, with shares receiving an additional boost from a relatively weaker yen against the dollar. Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi advanced 22.83 points, or 1.18 percent, 1,960.51. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was higher by 2.47 percent. Chinese mainland markets gave up morning gains, with the Shanghai composite and the Shenzhen composite trading nearly flat.

Bank Nifty topped buying list, rising 2.5 percent or 400 points as ICICI Bank, SBI and Axis Bank surged 2-4 percent. Tech Mahindra surged more than 7 percent after a 18 percent rise in Q4 profit.

11:45 am Zee Media: Shares of Zee Media Corporation gained 20 percent intraday Wednesday as it has turned profitable in the fourth quarter. The company's Q4 net profit was at Rs 18.3 crore versus loss of Rs 7.2 crore, in the same quarter last year. The consolidated total income was down 2.6 percent at Rs 136.2 crore versus Rs 139.9 crore. The company has recommended payment of equity dividend at 15 percent on the paid up equity capital, to the equity shareholders for the FY 2015-16. At 09:40 hrs Zee Media Corporation was quoting at Rs 21.30, up Rs 3, or 16.39 percent on the BSE.

11:30 am Interview: With Supreme Court dismissing Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) provision of a penalty for call drops, the body is now mulling over steps that can be taken to protect consumer interest. Earlier this month, the apex court had said that telecom companies cannot be fined for call drops and had also said that the Parliament can make and enact a call drop compensation rule. Any decision taken by the TRAI will be preceded by a consultation paper, said the regulatory body's chairman RS Sharma.

The market is surging ahead with strong support from auto, banks, IT and capital goods stocks. The Sensex is up 374.03 points or 1.5 percent at 25679.50, and the Nifty is up 122.05 points or 1.6 percent at 7870.90. About 1448 shares have advanced, 649 shares declined, and 120 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, HDFC, SBI, Tata Motors and Maruti are gainers while Cipla and Coal India are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices edged towards USD 50 a barrel after a larger-than-expected dip in US stockpiles resulting from wildfires that have disrupted oil production in Canada. There have been high expectations of a decline in stockpiles because of wildfires in western provinces of Canada, the biggest supplier of crude to the US market.

Crude prices have rebounded since plunging to near 13-year lows below USD 30 a barrel in February amid abundant global supplies. But they are still well short of peaks of more than USD 100 reached in June 2014.

10:59 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks maintained gains with the Sensex rising 348.30 points or 1.38 percent to 25653.77 and the Nifty climbing 118.50 points or 1.53 percent to 7864.15.

About 1387 shares advanced against 615 declining shares on BSE.

10:40 am Oil at $50/bbl: Oil prices edged towards USD 50 a barrel in Asia today after a larger-than-expected dip in US stockpiles resulting from wildfires that have disrupted oil production in Canada.

The American Petroleum Institute yesterday reported that crude inventories dropped by 5.14 million barrels last week, Bloomberg News reported. Data from the Energy Information Administration due later today are likely to confirm the fall in supplies.

There have been high expectations of a decline in stockpiles because of wildfires in western provinces of Canada, the biggest supplier of crude to the US market.

Brent crude futures rose 1 percent to USD 49.11 a barrel and US futures climbed 1.2 percent to USD 49.2 a barrel.

10:20 am Earnings estimates: State-run natural gas processing and distribution company GAIL is expected to show earnings revival in Q4 but that may somewhat offset by lower domestic gas availability (due to lower production from ONGC).

The company is likely to benefit from lower petchem losses and healthy transmission volumes post successful re-negotiation of contract with RasGas, a Qatar-based liquefied natural gas producing company.

Key thing to watch out for would be GAIL's commentary on transmission tariff revision order by PNGRB (Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board); petchem volume ramp-up/price recovery, any domestic gas price cut and any likely increases in tariffs.

According to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit in Q4 is likely to fall 6.8 percent to Rs 619 crore and revenue may decline 6 percent to Rs 12,613 crore compared to preceding quarter.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended rally in morning trade, rising more than 1 percent driven by positive global cues after strong US housing data. Banking & financials, technology, auto and FMCG stocks lead.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 318.23 points or 1.26 percent to 25623.70 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 104.55 points or 1.35 percent to 7853.40 while the broader markets underperformed, rising over 0.7 percent.

The market breadth remained strong as about three shares advanced for every share rising on Bombay Stock Exchange.

Cipla plunged 7 percent after disappointing set of earnings. Net profit in Q4 dropped 68.8 percent to Rs 80.9 crore while revenue increased only 5.6 percent to Rs 3,266.5 crore compared to year-ago period.

ICICI Bank surged 2.5 percent followed by Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC, TCS, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and L&T with 1-2 percent upside.

Asia markets traded higher, with several major indexes advancing more than 1 percent each, after encouraging reports on the housing market stateside propelled gains in US stocks.

9:50 am Poll: Tata Steel's fourth quarter consolidated loss may be narrowed to Rs 870 crore against Rs 5,674 crore in year-ago period, largely supported by domestic business but impacted by UK operations. Earnings will be announced on May 25.

In Q4FY15, there was a big exceptional write-down by the company, which was approximately Rs 4,800 crore.

According to analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, revenue is seen falling 8.5 percent to Rs 30,813 crore in Q4 compared to Rs 33,666 crore in corresponding period of last fiscal.

Operating profit may decline 7.3 percent to Rs 1,430 crore and margin may be flat at 4.6 percent compared to year-ago period.

9:40 am Ease of doing business: Although the ease of doing business has improved in the last two years of the NDA government, more work needs to be done especially in the real estate sector that has "complicated" approval process, according to leading industrialist Adi Godrej.

The USD 4.1-billion Godrej Group has a large presence in the real estate sector through its firm Godrej Properties, besides in a variety of other sectors, including FMCG, consumer durables and agri-products.

"Real estate permissions have become very complicated in our country. (As permissions are) given by the state governments, the Centre should work on improving the ease of starting in new real estate projects," Godrej told PTI in an interview.

9:30 am Market check: The Sensex is up 314.22 points or 1.2 percent at 25619.69, and the Nifty up 98.05 points or 1.3 percent at 7846.90. About 1071 shares have advanced, 290 shares declined, and 53 shares are unchanged.

The market has opened with gains. The Sensex is up 254.50 points or 1 percent at 25559.97 and the Nifty is up 79.25 points or 1 percent at 7828.10. About 602 shares have advanced, 102 shares declined, and 22 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, Tata Motors, SBI, Adani Ports and Lupin are top gainers while Cipla and Coal India are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened higher by 12 paise at 67.63 per dollar against previous close of 67.75. The US dollar hit its highest level against the euro in more than eight weeks and rallied against the yen and Swiss franc on increased expectations for an interest rate hike in coming months from the US Federal Reserve.

Bansi Madhvani of India Ratings said, "A strong US dollar, an uptick in oil prices, and overall weak portfolio flows are likely to keep the rupee under pressure in the near term."

Asia markets opened sharply higher on Wednesday, with most major indexes advancing around than 1 percent each, after encouraging reports on the housing market stateside saw gains in US stocks.

US stocks ended higher overnight, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing up 1.22 percent, the S&P 500 higher by 1.37 percent and the Nasdaq composite added 2 percent.

Gold slipped to a seven-week low as expectations of an early interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve pushed the dollar to a near two-month high. Further interest rate hikes by the US central bank will be "good news" for the world because they will show its largest economy is in good health, though they could pose a challenge for emerging markets, European Central Bank Vice President Vitor Constancio said.