Sensex tanks 465 points, Nifty ends Sept F&O series below 8600

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has posted biggest one-day fall in last three months. The Nifty falls below 8600 for first time since August 26. The 50-share index fell 153.90 points or 1.8 percent at 8591.25 while the Sensex is down 465.28 points or 1.6 percent at 27827.53.

ITC and ONGC were gainers while BHEL fell over 7 percent. Adani Ports, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and Lupin were losers in the Sensex.

3:25 pm Market experts: Hemant Thukral, National Head-Derivative Desk, Aditya Birla Money. The Nifty will rebound to 8700 levels in 2-3 sessions. He recommends buying on every dip and suggests investors avoid shorting.

During the Kargil War, the market had not reacted so sharply due to various reasons, says Ashwani Gujral, ashwanigujral.com. There was a software boom across the globe and a market rally had just started in the country. The current market rally is 7 months old and the market had to get hit by this news.

3:20 pm Steel trade: The steel market remained steady today as prices continued to move in narrow range in scattered deals and settled around previous levels. Traders said adequate stocks position against limited deals from construction units kept steel prices at previous levels.

3:15 pm Market Turnover: Total turnover of the market crossed Rs 11 lakh crore, including NSE F&O turnover of Rs 10.63 lakh crore on expiry day for September futures & options contracts.

3:10 pm Plant expansion: Tata Steel is planning to initiate second phase expansion at Kalinganagar plant in Odisha to double its capacity to 6 mtpa, but has no proposal to set up another green-field steel plant in immediate future.

"Sometime in next six months a proposal will be sent to our board for its approval to start the second phase work at Kalinganagar, while the focus now is to achieve full 3 mtpa capacity in first phase fast," Tata Steel MD (India and South East Asia) T V Narendran said.

He also said that Kalinganagar plant, set up at an investment of over Rs 25,000 crore, is likely to reach break even by the end of this fiscal.

After achieving the first phase rated capacity of 3 mtpa, second phase expansion can be taken up, Narendran said.

3:05 pm USFDA approval: Pharma Major Lupin announced that it has received final approval for its Memantine hydrochloride extended-release capsules, 7 mg, 14 mg, 21 mg, and 28 mg from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market a generic version of Allergan's Namenda XR capsules, 7 mg, 14 mg, 21 mg, and 28 mg.

Lupin's Memantine hydrochloride extended-release capsules are the AB rated generic equivalent of Allergan's Namenda XR capsules.

Memantine Hydrochloride is indicated for treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Namenda XR capsules had US sales of USD 1.22 billion, according to IMS MAT June 2016.

3:00 pm Market volatile: Benchmark indices were too much volatile amid selling pressure. The Sensex was down 448.16 points or 1.58 percent at 27844.65 and the Nifty down 148.25 points or 1.70 percent at 8596.90.

About 6.5 shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

2:58 pm Pakistan's MFN status: The meeting scheduled to review the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status granted to Pakistan has been postponed and will now take place next week, reports News18 quoting unnamed sources.

After the Uri attack, India has stepped up the diplomatic offensive against Pakistan.
The review of MFN status is part of that diplomatic offensive.

The term 'Most Favoured Nation' doesn't mean any kind of special treatment to goods imported from Pakistan. It only means that there will not be any discriminatory tariffs on any product imported from Pakistan as compared to that same product being imported from any other country.

The MFN status was accorded to Pakistan in 1996 when India joined the WTO and signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

2:55 pm FII View: Robert Parker of Credit Suisse says that reaction of the currency market has not been as volatile as the equity. He expects investors to be in a wait and watch mode and unless things escalate further, there will only be a short-term reaction.

Parker has a positive stance on the Indian economy and sees the country maintaining a 7.5 percent growth rate.

2:52 pm Europe shines: European stocks were higher as investor sentiment was buoyed by a surge in the oil price after major oil producers agreed to cut production levels.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index was higher with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. The near-6 percent rise in oil prices on Wednesday came after OPEC members reached an agreement to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, down slightly on August's output of 33.2 million barrels a day.

2:50 pm UK MHRA inspection: Drug firm Wockhardt today said that the UK health regulator has completed inspection of its Chikalthana plant at Aurangabad in Maharashtra without making any critical observations.

"The inspection of our manufacturing unit at L-1, Chikalthana, Aurangabad, Maharashtra by UK MHRA has since been completed without any critical observations and the approval status of the said unit continues," Wockhardt said in a filing to BSE today.

It further said: "The said audit was as per schedule." The UK regulator had in October 2013 withdrawn the GMP certificate to the Chikalthana plant and had also initiated recall of five prescription medicines from there.

2:43 pm Former army chief comments: Through the surgical strikes undertaken yesterday, the right message has been conveyed to the target audience, says former army chief General Bikram Singh who welcomed the move.

Sharing his thoughts on the strikes with CNBC-TV18, Singh noted there is a marked difference in government response to the recent attacks compared with earlier responses. However, the army by no means intends to go beyond political will that has been charted out, he adds.

Singh is happy there is adoption of more assertive & aggressive policy at national level this time.

2:40 pm Zee forays into radio biz: Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) has forayed into the radio segment by acquiring UAE's leading radio station Hum 106.2 FM for an undisclosed amount from Shamal Media Services.

Following the acquisition, the Essel group firm has become the first entertainment network in the region to provide media solution to its partners through television, radio and digital platforms, ZEEL said in a statement.

It was the first to launch a Bollywood TV channel, Zee Aflam, in 2008 for the Arab audience as well introduce the Arab world to Hindi programmes dubbed in Arabic with Zee Alwan in 2012.

2:35 pm Market Expert: Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS says it is not the right time to sell investments. He advised buying on such correction for long term investors.

It is just a panic selling, he says, adding the bounceback will happen soon.

2:29 pm Market near day's low: Equity benchmarks traded nearly day's low with the Sensex falling 530.53 points or 1.88 percent to 27762.28 and the Nifty down 172.45 points or 1.97 percent at 8572.70.

The Nifty Bank plunged 575.45 points or 2.93 percent to 19078.10, dragged by Bank of India, Federal Bank, PNB, Canara Bank, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda and SBI that cracked 4-7.5 percent.

About seven shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

2:25 pm Anti-dumping duty: The commerce ministry has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of steel wire rods from China to protect the interest of domestic players from cheap in-bound shipments.

In its preliminary findings, the directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties (DGAD) has recommended the duty.

DGAD has suggested that for certain Chinese companies, the duty should be the difference between the landed value of the steel products and USD 499 per tonne while for others, it should be the gap between the landed value and USD 538 per tonne.

2:21 pm FII View: Global brokerage major Credit Suisse is 'underweight' on Indian equities and said that the country is one of the four most overvalued markets along with Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Underweight refers to a below-average chance of matching the performance of its peers, and hence investors should have less exposure to the stock in their portfolios.

Based on Credit Suisse's price-to-book ratio (P/BV) versus return on equity (ROE) valuation model, India, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia are the four most 'overvalued' in the world.

2:18 pm The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 424.70 points or 1.50 percent to 27868.11 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 131.80 points or 1.51 percent to 8613.35.

2:16 pm Market Outlook: The Indian Army has conducted surgical strikes crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir inflicting significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure across the border.

The market fell more than 1 percent but Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities says although the geopolitical risk is disconcerting, he does not think the military situation would go out of control.

Dutt says these in fact could be opportunity to accumulate stocks. India's fundamental story does not change even if there is a 15-20 days conflict. The secular trend remains intact. However, he cautions against going out and buying now and advices to wait and see what happens.

The Director General of Military Office (DGMO) also said the surgical strikes have stopped as of now.

2:14 pm Market Update: Nifty Midcap plunged 3.1 percent to 15206 and Nifty Bank shed 466 points to 19187.40.

2:10 pm Rupee at 1-week low: Rupee is at one-week low with complacency seen across clients. Importers are rushing for hedging positions and hence there could be further movement on Indian currency. Experts say 66.65 is a crucial support.

Meanwhile, hopes of rate cuts reduced as yields hardened. RBI could become cautious on account of geo-political issues. Profit booking and chances of rate cuts reducing in October 4 policy weigh. The market is likely  to watch fund flow into debt post geopolitical developments. Foreign instituional investors have put in around USD 1 billion in debt markets over past one month Yields may harden to even 7 percent levels.

2:05 pm Buzzing: ICICI Bank shares plunged 6.5 percent intraday after the sharp fall in stock price of its insurance subsidiary on debut.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance fell below the Rs 300 level on listing day itself. It crashed 11 percent intraday to hit an intraday low of Rs 297.10 compared with issue price of Rs 334 per share.

The insurance company lost its market capitalisation of more than Rs 5,000 crore in one day to Rs 42,643.4 crore from Rs 47,939.8 crore.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance is the largest private sector life insurer by total premium and assets under management in FY16.

2:00 pm Market Check
Bears kept tight control over Dalal Street as equity benchmarks as well as broader markets fell 1-3 percent today after the Indian Army conducted surgical strike on Pakistan last night.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 389.80 points or 1.38 percent at 27903.01 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 119.55 points or 1.37 percent to 8625.60.

The market breadth was largely in favour of declines as more than five shares declined for every share advancing on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

2:00 pm Rupee & bond: Rupee is at one-week low with complacency seen across clients. Importers are rushing for hedging positions and hence there could be further movement on Indian currency. Experts say 66.65 is a crucial support.

Meanwhile, hopes of rate cuts has reduced as yields hardened. RBI could become cautious on account of geo-political issues. Profit booking and chances of rate cuts reducing in Oct 4 policy weigh. The market is likely  to watch fund flow into debt post geopolitical developments. Foreign instituional investors have put in around USD 1 billion in debt markets over past one month
Yields may harden to even 7 percent levels.

1:55 pm Meanwhile in Europe: European stocks were higher as investor sentiment was buoyed by a surge in the oil price after major oil producers agreed to cut production levels. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 600 Index was higher with all sectors and major bourses in positive territory. The near-6 percent rise in oil prices on Wednesday came after OPEC members reached an agreement to limit production to a range of 32.5 million to 33.0 million barrels per day, down slightly on August's output of 33.2 million barrels a day.

1:45 pm Is market heading to a bigger crash? Rajat Bose of rajatbose.com says intermediate uptrend could be broken, and Nifty might head to 8400. So a long-sideways correction could take place and 9000 would only come after some time. Now, crossing 8700 would be tall order.

1:40 pm Pak reacts: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif warned India not to take Pakistan's peaceful intent "as our weakness".

Minutes after India announced that it carried out surgical strikes across the LoC on Wednesday night, Sharif denounced what he called was an "unprovoked and naked aggression" by Indian forces.

Radio Pakistan quoted him as saying that the Indian operation led to the death of two Pakistani soldiers.

1:35 pm Trading tip: Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigural.com says do not buy any dips and if there are leverage positions exit because uncertain market tend to fall.

However, although some retaliatory action would happen from Pakistan it would be short-term phenomenon.

Gujral says as long as 8000 on Nifty is held, the uptrend is not threatened. This correction could maybe allow market to correct and help the next leg of the rally.

1:30 pm: BHEL is down 5 percent while ICICI Bank slipped 4 percent. Adani Ports, Axis Bank and Sun Pharma were laggards in the Sensex. ONGC, TCS and Hero MotoCorp.

The Sensex is down 277.83 points or 0.9 percent at 28014.98, and the Nifty down is down 86.95 points or 0.9 percent at 8658.20. About 395 shares have advanced, 2210 shares declined, and 165 shares are unchanged.

1:25 pm Govt responds: India's surgical strike across the LoC was well planned and well-coordinated. It was long called for, says Niti Aayog Chief Amitabh Kant. The market should be confident and take government's move positively.
Foreign investors have nothing to fear and should not feel nervous, says Kant. India is going about its business and it has taken all possible actions to maintain peace, he adds.

Government's move is localised and Kant does not expect any further escalation.

1:20 pm Market Outlook: Deven Choksey of KR Choksey says he has not yet seen any panic selling, but the sell-off could be due to longs unwinding. However, if situation continuous to remain precarious then there could be pressure, the ETFs would be the first to offload position.

Since the market does not like uncertainty the fear of money being taken off the table is possible but as of now it is not happening, says Choksey. Although buying looks attractive but as of now he is not buying, says Choksey.

1:15 pm Market outlook: Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities says although the geopolitical risk is disconcerting, he does not think the military situation would go out of control.

Dutt says these in fact could be opportunity to accumulate stocks. India's fundamental story does not change even if there is a 15-20 days conflict. The secular trend remains intact. However, he cautions against going out and buying now and advices to wait and see what happens.

The market has seen severe cuts on geo-political risks. Director General of Military Operations Lt General Ranbir Singh told media that the Indian Army has conducted surgical strikes crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir inflicting significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure across the border.

The Sensex is down 392.81 points or 1.4 percent at 27900, and the Nifty is down 138.80 points or 1.6 percent at 8606.35. About 378 shares have advanced, 2182 shares declined, and 157 shares are unchanged.

BHEL, ICICI Bank, Adani Ports, Axis Bank and SBI are losers in the Sensex.

13:00 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices recouped some losses in afternoon trade. The Sensex was down 340.07 points or 1.20 percent at 27952.74 and the Nifty down 108.05 points or 1.24 percent at 8637.10.

12:59 pm Pakistan's response: Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif said, "Pakistan's army can thwart any evil design to undermine our sovereignty. We strongly condemned Indian aggression at LoC. Our desire for peace should not be interpreted as our weakness."

12:56 pm Subdued listing: ICICI Prudential, the subsidiary of country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, disappointed investors.

The stock fell 11 percent to trade below Rs 300 level.

12:54 pm Market Experts: Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities says he does not think the military situation will go out of hand. He thinks the military action will be contained and this is a short term phenomenon.

He continued with his bullish stance on Indian markets, saying this is an opportunity to accumulate stocks.

12:51 pm Gainers and Losers: ICICI Bank, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports and BHEL are top losers on the Sensex, down 3-6 percent.

However, TCS is the only gainer among Sensex 30 stocks.

12:49 pm Rupee: The Indian rupee and 10-year government bond yields are at 1-week low. The currency depreciated 0.5 percent to 66.78 a dollar.

12:47 pm Broader markets: The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices fell more than equity benchmarks, losing over 4 percent. Nifty Bank shed over 400 points.

12:45 pm Volatility index: Nifty India Volatility index jumped 26.76 percent 17.55, trading at 3-month high after the surgical attacks on Pakistan.

12:38 pm Market Update: The Nifty broke 8600 level to touch an intraday low of 8575 while the Sensex lost 555 points to trade below 28000.

12:35 pm DGMO comments: The Indian Army has conducted surgical strikes crossing the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan Occupied Kashmir inflicting significant damage to the terrorist infrastructure across the border.

The operation took place on Wednesday night and is now over, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt General Ranbir Singh told media in New Delhi.

The operation was undertaken after Indian Army received credible intelligence that a group of terrorists were waiting along LoC to cross over to India to launch terror attacks in Kashmir and other major Indian cities.

The surgical strikes destroyed the launch pads used for infiltration and has resulted in significant casualties.

12:25 pm Market sinks: Benchmark indices fell more than 1 percent after DGMO said the Indian Army conducted surgical strike on Pakistan last night.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 342.26 points or 1.21 percent at 27950.55 and the 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 103.15 points or 1.18 percent to 8642.

About 1718 shares declined against 734 advancing shares on the BSE.

12:00 pm Market Check
Benchmark indices remained rangebound with the Nifty hovering around 8750 ahead of expiry of September derivative contracts.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 52.22 points at 28345.03 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 21.25 points to 8766.40. The market breadth was positive as about 1375 shares advanced against 1005 declining shares on the BSE.

Kotak Mahindra Bank was the most active stock on the National Stock Exchange after ING Mauritius sold 2.6 percent stake in the private sector lender through multiple block deals.

ICICI Bank fell 1.5 percent after subdued listing of its insurance subsidiary ICICI Prudential that lost more than 5 percent compared to issue price of Rs 334 apiece.

Multi Commodity Exchange of India gained nearly 9 percent after regulator Sebi allowed options trading on the exchanges. It is amongst top five most active shares.

11:45 am RBI poll: Countdown to the new RBI Governor Urjit Patel's maiden monetary policy meet on the October 4 begins. The market is hoping for a rate cut but majority of respondents that is around 65 percent do not expect action on the key repo rate.

CNBC-TV18 conducted a poll amongst all the eminent bankers, economist and bond dealers.  Almost 95 percent of the respondents do not expect action on the CRR.

As far as the total quantum of rate cut for the remaining part of fiscal is concerned, 50 percent respondents expect a 25 basis rate cut and 45 percent said they expect 50 basis, while 5 percent expect 75 basis point rate cut.

11:30 am FII view: From the lows in the February, Indian equity benchmarks have made a stellar comeback and have been trading range-bound, near all-time highs. Nifty has gained more than 1700 points as of today, since its low point of 6976, back in February 11, 2016. It won't be appropriate to say that this market rally is just a liquidity driven one, says Tushar Prashan of HSBC Global AMC. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, he said that the market is anticipating a better earnings growth going ahead, on the back of which it has rallied. He said that the market has stayed resilient over the last two years as bond yields have dipped 200 basis points and does not see a major rate cut going forward.

The Sensex is up 62.37 points or 0.2 percent at 28355.18, and the Nifty is up 22.35 points or 0.3 percent at 8767.50. About 1379 shares have advanced, 770 shares declined, and 174 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, M&M, Hero MotoCorp and HDFC Bank are top gainers while ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, HUL and ITC are losers in the Sensex.

Oil prices surged after the OPEC producers' group surprised the market with a deal to slash output. The informal meeting was held on the sidelines of an IEA meeting in a bid to stabilise prices that have been battered by a stubborn supply glut since 2014.

Oil prices soared by as much as six percent following the news and extended gains in Asian trade today although at a slower pace.

Market watchers had been pessimistic about a cut or a freeze after similar efforts fell apart in April due to disagreements between OPEC majors Saudi Arabia and Iran.

10:43 am ICRA on Sugar: Despite the government has imposed stock-holding limits on sugar mills, prices of the sweetener in the domestic market are likely to remain firm in the next 3-4 quarters due to tight stock position, says a report.

According to credit rating agency ICRA, sugar prices have remained firm and increased from around Rs 31,500/million tonnes in March to Rs 36,000/million tonnes in August and continue to hover around the same price in September, 2016.

This has been supported by an expected decline in the sugar production, actual decline in the domestic sugar stocks during sugar year (SY) 2015-16, and also a global sugar deficit scenario, which drove up international sugar prices, the report said.

10:37 am Buzzing: Shares of Eros International Media rose by nearly 5 percent after the entertainment firm said it has tied up with UAE's largest film distribution and exhibition network, Phars Film.

Eros International Media yesterday announced its association with Phars Film.

The partnership allows the two companies to jointly co-produce Malayalam films and explore theatrical rights between themselves, the company said in a BSE filing.

The deal licenses Eros to tap distribution of all Malayalam movies produced jointly in India while Phars Film will present the same overseas where it enjoys a dominant market share, it added.

10:15 am Oil Update: Oil futures fell on profit booking after rising nearly 6 percent the day before on a surprise move by OPEC to curb crude output.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to limit its production to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day (bpd) in talks held on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria.

But how much each country will produce is to be decided at the next formal OPEC meeting in November, when an invitation to join cuts could also be extended to non-OPEC countries such as Russia.

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets remained higher on positive global cues and ahead of expiry of September futures & options contracts.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 121.69 points at 28414.50 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 37.15 points at 8782.30. The market breadth remained strong as about 1369 shares advanced against 503 declining shares on the BSE.

Reliance Industries and ONGC remained strong, rising 1-2 percent whereas ICICI Bank fell nearly a percent after subdued listing of insurance subsidiary.

ITC, HUL, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Wipro and Dr Reddy's Labs were down 0.3-0.8 percent.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company saw subdued listing today. The stock has opened at Rs 329 apiece, a 1.5 percent discount to issue price of Rs 334.

9:55 am Outlook on oil: The OPEC deal to cut oil production may provide a short-term support for prices, but chances are it won't change the supply outlook much, Goldman Sachs said.

Goldman said in a note to investors that it was sticking with its forecasts for WTI at USD 43 a barrel for the end of this year and USD 53 a barrel in 2017. The investment bank had cut its year-end forecast this week from USD 50 a barrel.

"If this proposed cut is strictly enforced and supports prices, we would expect it to prove self-defeating medium term with a large drilling response around the world," Goldman's analysts said.

9:45 am Stake sale: Government will from today offload 7 percent of its stake in Hindustan Copper, through which it aims to raise about Rs 400 crore.

The President of India (acting through and represented by the Mines Ministry), promoter of Hindustan Copper, submitted a copy of notice of offer for sale of up to 6,47,65,260 equity shares of the company, the firm said in a regulatory filing.

Government holds 89.95 percent stake in Hindustan Copper.

The firm has invited non-retail investors for the share sale on September 29, 2016. On September 30, retail investors can participate in the share sale, it added.

The shares represent 7 percent of the total paid up equity share capital of Hindustan Copper, it said.

9:30 am FII view: Willem Buiter of Citi says he continued to expect sluggish, but fairly steady, global real GDP growth of 2.4 percent in 2016 and 2.7 percent in 2017.

According to him, central bank asset purchases are likely to remain large and indeed are likely to branch out into additional asset classes such as bank loans or equities in the coming years.

In the near term, Buiter expects the next easing step by the Bank of Japan to be a deposit rate cut, while the European Central Bank will likely tweak and extend its public sector purchase programme and the Federal Reserve rate hike in December.

The market has opened higher on September Futures and Options (F&O) expiry, mainly supported by firm global cues.  There is a positive sentiment in the market on oil price rally after Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members agreed to curb output - boosting investor risk appetite. The OPEC agreed to limit its production to a range of 32.5-33.0 million barrels per day (bpd) in talks held on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria.

The Sensex is up 144.05 points or 0.5 percent at 28436.86, and the Nifty up 45.65 points or 0.5 percent at 8790.80. About 393 shares have advanced, 51 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Bajaj Auto, ONGC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and Maruti are top gainers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened marginally higher at 66.44 per dollar on Thursday against previous close 66.46.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Global currency markets are rangebound in the absence of any major triggers. Rupee is resilient within a broad
range of 66-67/dollar."

Asian stocks gained. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.6 percent.

Commodity-heavy Australian shares advanced 0.6 percent and South Korea's Kospi gained 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei rose 0.9 percent after losing 1.3 percent the previous day.

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday after an OPEC agreement to limit crude output fueled a rally in oil and more than offset nervousness about a tight race for the US presidency. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.61 percent to end at 18,339.24 points and the S&P 500 gained 0.53 percent to 2,171.37.

The Nasdaq Composite added 0.24 percent to 5,318.55. Seven of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher. Telecom services fell 1.04 percent, the steepest of the decliners.