Nifty ends at 8274, Sensex gains 245 points; Tata Motors up 3%

3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended higher with the Nifty above 8250. The Nifty closed up 83.30 points or 1 percent at 8273.80 while the Sensex ended up 245.11 points or 0.9 percent at 26878.24. Adani Ports, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and ONGC were top gainers while TCS, NTPC, HDFC Bank and Infosys were losers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Former RBI governor on demonetisation: Former Reserve Bank governor D Subbarao today termed demonetisation as "creative destruction and the most disruptive policy innovation since 1991 reforms" that has helped destroy blackmoney.

"On November 8, the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) and the Reserve Bank have demonetised 86 per cent of currency in circulation overnight, which is what is arguably the most disruptive policy innovation in India since the 1991 reforms," he said.

"Demonetisation, in that sense, is creative destruction. But it is a very special type of creative destruction. Because what it has destroyed is a destructive creation -- blackmoney.

2:55 pm Exclusive: After a successful completion of a deal on its direct-to-home business, the Dhoot family's Videocon is back on the street with yet another deal. It has commenced the process to sell its majority stake in home appliance giant Kenstar, sources close to the development tell CNBC-TV18.

Companies like Havells, Bajaj Electricals and Symphony may likely be the favorites to acquire the stake. Private equity players like Advent have also been approached for the acquisition.

Videocon may utilise the sale proceeds of Kenstar for debt reduction.

2:45 pm Defence Budget: Nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence offset obligations would be discharged in India by foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by 2028, MoS for Defence Subhash R Bhamre said today, and indicated that the country envisages to reduce the defence budget by 50 percent within a decade.

He said the defence industry has the potential to become a huge foreign exchange earner and also lead the country to its professed goal of self-reliance.

"Nearly USD 14 billion worth of defence offset obligations will be discharged by the foreign OEMs by 2028," he said while delivering the inaugural address at seminar - Leveraging defence expenditure as a tool for nation building - organised by College of Defence Management here.

2:30 pm Steel update: Essar Steel India today said it has recorded highest-ever quarterly production of flat steel products with a 61 percent jump in output during the three months ended December 31.

The total flat steel production stood at 1.48 million tonnes (MT) in the third quarter ended December 31 as compared to 0.92 million tonnes in the same period last year. Pellet production grew 99 percent to 2.59 MT from 1.30 MT in the same quarter last year, a company statement said here.

Liquid steel output increased by 62 percent to 1.48 MT in Q3 FY17 from 0.92 MT in the same period last year, it said.

The Sensex is up 210.27 points or 0.8 percent at 26843.40, and the Nifty up 66.55 points or 0.8 percent at 8257.05. About 1867 shares have advanced, 823 shares declined, and 530 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Tata Motors, ONGC and ICICI Bank are top gainers while TCS, Infosys and M&M are losers in the Sensex.

Markets in Europe open lower after minutes from the last US Federal meeting showed willingness to increase rates at a faster pace.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 opened 0.39 points lower with most sectors trading in negative territory.

The retail sector should draw some attention, after contracting during Wednesday's trading, with the release of the latest retail PMI figures in the euro zone. Meanwhile, in the US, Amazon and Forever 21 are reportedly among those considering bidding for American Apparel.

1:45 pm Demonetisation: India expects growth of around 7 percent in the first half of the next fiscal year, two officials said, painting a rosier picture for the economy than many economists after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock move to abolish large banknotes.

Nearly 90 percent of transactions used to be in cash in India, which was gripped by a severe shortage of currency after Modi's Nov. 8 decision to take 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee notes, worth about USD 7.5 and USD 15, out of circulation overnight.

Several private economists have said the move could drag down growth in the next fiscal year to 6.5 percent to 7 percent, as small businesses fired workers, consumer demand fell and farmers' winter sowing efforts were hit.

1:30 pm Market outlook: Earnings have not grown in the last two years and this fiscal may not be an exception, says Manish Sonthalia, Head Equities- PMS, Motilal Oswal Asset Management. He expects a single-digit earnings growth in FY17. "Calendar year 2017 overall is going to be a tough year," says Sonthalia. He says a downside in the market is more likely after the upcoming Budget is announced. Pharma, banks and IT stocks look very cheap, he says. He is negative on NBFCs and says growth rates are bound to come down.

The market is still higher on auto, bank, metals and oil & gas stocks. The Sensex is up 206.77 points or 0.9 percent at 26839.90, and the Nifty up 71.45 points or 0.9 percent at 8261.95. About 1858 shares have advanced, 771 shares declined, and 529 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, Tata Steel, ONGC, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank are top gainers while TCS, M&M, Infosys and HDFC Bank are losers in the Sensex.

Major oil producers have started cutting output but the rally in crude prices could be capped as US shale companies boost production in the latter half of the year, according to JPMorgan.

12:45 pm Budget woes: The 16-member delegation from the Opposition parties met the Election Commission today to discuss concerns over announcement of Budget just before the state elections next month.

The polls will be held three days after the Budget announcement on February 1. Five states - Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Punjab, Manipur and Uttarakhand - will go to polls between February-March.

The parties have said that the situation will not provide a level playing field for the parties with government announcing various schemes during the Budget.

12:30 pm MF Interview: Experts at DSP BlackRock Investment Managers are betting on mean reversion in financials segment to spur earnings growth. While FY17 earnings growth will be impacted due to demonetisation exercise, we expect a 20 percent growth in FY18 on account of mean reversion in financials and global cyclicals, said Anup Maheshwari, Vice President and Head of Equities & Strategy at DSP BlackRock. Earnings growth will be concentrated around 9 players, Axis Bank , HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , State Bank of India , ITC , M&M , and Tata Steel which will contribute about 70 percent to the 20 percent overall earnings growth in FY18, Maheshwari told CNBC-TV18. In FY18 banks, which have undertaken a lot of risk, are likely to return to profitable levels seen two years ago, Maheshwari told CNBC-TV18.

Buying interest continues on Dalal Street with the Nifty above 8250. The 50-share index is up 73.60 points or 0.9 percent at 8264.10 while the Sensex is up 226.42 points or 0.8 percent at 26859.55. About 1819 shares have advanced, 708 shares declined, and 524 shares are unchanged.

Adani Ports, Tata Steel, ONGC, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank are top gainers while TCS and M&M are losers in the Sensex.

A bill backing key changes in the H1-B programme that allows skilled workers from countries like India to fill high-tech jobs in the US has been re-introduced in the US Congress by two lawmakers who claim that it will
help crack down on the work visa abuse.

The 'Protect and Grow American Jobs Act' makes important changes to the eligibility requirements for H1-B Visa exemptions was re-introduced yesterday by Republican Darrell Issa and Scott Peters both from California. The bill among other things increase the minimum salary of H-1B visa to USD 100,000 per annum and eliminate the Masters Degree exemption.

The market continues to rise with the Nifty up 60.70 points or 0.7 percent at 8251.20 while the Sensex is up 189.45 points or 0.7 percent at 26822.58.

Tata Motors, Adani Ports, ONGC, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Steel are top gainers while M&M and HDFC are laggards in the Sensex.

Gold prices rose by 0.60 percent to Rs 27,808 per 10 grams in futures trading today as speculators created fresh positions, taking positive cues from global markets.

Market analysts attributed the rise in gold prices at futures trade to a firm trend overseas where gold rose to its highest in four weeks as the US dollar retreated from a 14-year peak touched earlier this week.

10:45 am Interview: With enough cash from deposits, the banks slashed interest rates significantly in last few days. The move is a welcome step for small finance companies like Repco Home Finance, whose Managing Director, R Varadarajan, says the move would help in bringing down cost of funds for the company. 

Repco's average cost of funds currently stants at 9.2 percent, says Varadarajan adding that its loan book is also increasing in size, with over 70 percent of its book falling under the affordable housing category.

But small housing finance companies don't cater to the salaried. Instead, it provides loans mostly to the unorganised sector for affordable housing.

10:30 am Market outlook: The upcoming Budget slated for February 1 will not have much to offer if there is no consensus on the Goods & Services Tax (GST) Bill, believes A Prasanna, Chief Economist at I-Sec PD. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Prasanna said that the government is unlikely to stick to its fiscal roadmap of 3 percent in the Budget scheduled for February 1. The fiscal deficit target could be set above the 3 percent mark, but is likely to be below 3.5 percent, according to him.

The market is still buying interest with the Nifty briefly hitting 8250. The 50-share index is up 57.35 points or 0.7 percent at 8247.85 and the Sensex is up 181.76 points or 0.7 percent at 26814.89.

Tata Motors, Adani ports, Wipro, ONGC and ICICI Bank are top gainer while M&M, HDFC and BHEL are losers in the Sensex.

The rupee firmed up 16 paise to 67.89 against the dollar today after the US currency saw higher selling by exporters and banks amid a higher opening in the
domestic stock market. Forex dealers said weakness in the greenback against other currencies overseas gave the rupee some relief.

Further, a higher opening in the domestic equity market gave the uptrend some momentum, they added.

9:55 am Investment proposals: Expenditure Finance Commission (EFC) under the Ministry of Finance cleared 29 proposals of various ministries involving expenditure of about Rs 2.11 lakh crore during the last year.

Besides, Public Investment Board (PIB) headed by Expenditure Secretary cleared 12 proposals involving expenditure of Rs 28,673 crore.

Of these, three proposals worth Rs 8,612 crore of Ministry of Power were cleared by the board during calender year 2016.

Proposals of Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Road, Transport and Highway involving investment of Rs 7,291 crore and Rs 6,461 crore, respectively, were also cleared, Department of Expenditure under Ministry of Finance said in its year-end review for 2016.

9:45 am M&A deals in India: Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) deals in the country hit a record 5-year high at USD 61.44 billion (about Rs 4 trillion) in 2016, says a report.

According to the latest report by News CorpVCCEdge, the number of M&A deals remained robust this year with 1,002 such transactions worth USD 61.44 billion.

The deal value in 2016 is not only a record five year high but is also 159 per cent more than USD 23.71 billion witnessed from 995 deals in 2015, the report said.

As per the report, there were 633 domestic M&A deals amounting to USD 32.77 billion -- a jump of over 278 per cent in value terms -- in 2016.

9:30 am FII view: Timothy Moe of Goldman Sachs said, "We expect total 10 percent returns from MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan, driven primarily by recovering earnings. Returns  may be back-loaded given softer sequential Q1FY17 China growth and India's demonetisation."

"Re-flation is a dominant theme in our allocations: overweight Australia, India, Indonesia and Philippines, marketweight on China and a cyclical tilt to sector picks," he added.

The market has opened on a positive note Thursday. The Sensex is up 127.51 points or 0.5 percent at 26760.64, and the Nifty up 38.85 points or 0.5 percent at 8229.35. About 704 shares have advanced, 103 shares declined, and 459 shares are unchanged.

Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank and ONGC are top gainers while Bharti and Lupin are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee gained in the early trade. It has opened higher by 15 paise at 67.90 per dollar versus 68.05 Wednesday.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Dollar strength has paused as market reassess the number of likely Fed rate hikes in 2017. FOMC minutes indicate that future monetary policy stance will be a function of fiscal policy stance of Trump Government.''

The dollar is off a 14-year high against a basket of currencies with investors cautious about increasing bets on the greenback before getting fresh clues on the US economy and timing of interest rate rises.  The euro climbed, boosted by data showing euro zone prices rose more quickly than expected in December.

Asian stocks edged higher, underpinned by a firm Wall Street after minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting suggested a less hawkish stance from policymakers.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan gained 0.2 percent, on track for a eighth consecutive session of gains. Early Asian markets such as Australia rose 0.4 percent.

US shares ended higher on Wednesday even after minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting showed concerns that quicker economic growth under President-elect Donald Trump could require faster interest rate increases to ward off inflation.

US stocks have surged over the past two months on expectations that Trump will stimulate the economy with tax cuts and infrastructure spending and eliminate regulations in the financial industry. But investors also worry that Trump's measures could stir inflation and push the US central bank to raise rates more aggressively than anticipated.