Nifty ends below 8750, Sensex up 377 points ahead of RBI policy

3:30 pm Market close: The market has ended with gains ahead of Reserve Bank of India monetary policy review. The Sensex is up 377.33 points or 1.3 percent at 28243.29 and the Nifty is up 126.95 points or 1.5 percent at 8738.10. About 2224 shares have advanced, 671 shares declined, and 119 shares are unchanged.

Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Ports, Asian Paints and L&T are top gainers while TCS was only loser stock in the Sensex.

3:10 pm Interview: After the government cut gas prices to USD 2.50 per MMBTU, Gujarat Gas says it will try to maximise the benefit of the price cut that can be passed on to the customers.

Gujarat Gas is working on gas pricing and will try and pass on benefits as much as possible to customers and will likely revise prices by Monday evening, said Nitin Patil, Chief Executive of the company.

Patil said the company expects a volume growth from the revised prices and is targeting 10-15 percent volume growth in FY17. He added that Gujarat Gas has started working on its projects like Dahej and Thane and volumes from such projects will start kicking in from next quarter onwards.

3:00 pm Market Update: Benchmark indices recouped some of losses seen last week. The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 370.69 points or 1.33 percent at 28236.65 and the Nifty up 122.00 points or 1.42 percent at 8733.15.

2:55 pm Credit Suisse on Hind Zinc: With maintaining outperform rating on Hindustan Zinc, Credit Suisse says it has raised target price on the stock to Rs 270 (from Rs 225 earlier) after expected rise of 8-14 percent in earnings per share for FY17-19.

Zinc/Lead have been the best performing base metals over the last one year (up 42 percent/30 percent against 7 percent gain for aluminium and 5 percent drop in prices for copper).

2:40 pm NSE market share: In a sign of growing investor interest in equity and equity derivatives, NSE today said its market share has surged in these segments in April-September 2016 period, mainly on account of awareness programs organised by the bourse.

The National Stock Exchange's market share in equity cash market segment stood at 86 percent with traded volume of Rs 24,17,500 crore during April-September, while the same for equity derivatives was 99 percent with a trade volume of Rs 4,17,80,500 crore.

During the last financial year, the exchange had recorded around 85 percent and 93 per cent market share in equity and equity derivative segments respectively.

2:30 pm BHEL's new project: State-owned power equipment maker BHEL has bagged two renovation and modernisation (R&M) orders of hydropower plants worth Rs 430 crore, including one from NHPC.

"BHEL has secured R&M contracts of hydro electric plants (HEPs). The company has won orders worth around Rs 430 crore, for the R&M of the 6x60 MW Balimela HEP of Odisha Hydro Power Corp Ltd (OHPC) and the 3x60 MW Bairasiul HEP of National NHPC Ltd," the company said in a statement.

According to a statement, the units at both Balimela and Bairasiul have been in operation for over 35 years and the R&M of these units will result in restoration of output capacity, improvement in efficiency and reduction in auxiliary power consumption, in addition to leading to better plant availability.

2:20 pm Stressed assets sale: Axis Bank has sold its entire exposure to Essar Steel, worth about Rs 1,000 crore, to Edelweiss ARC, according to people privy to the development. With this, the bank joins ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank to sell exposure in Essar Steel.

Essar Steel has a debt book of about Rs 40,000 crore and with the Axis Bank's sale of exposure, Edelweiss ARC has about 7 percent of Essar Steel's total debt.

2:00 pm Market Check
Benchmark indices as well as broader markets surged further in afternoon trade ahead of RBI policy tomorrow and due to short covering & positive European cues.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 337.18 points or 1.21 percent at 28203.14 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 114.35 points or 1.33 percent at 8725.50.

Laurence Balanco of CLSA says as long as price action remains above the upper boundary of the minor range which had formed in July-August between 8,547-8,565 and resistance at 8,747-8,760 the benefit of doubt should be given to the uptrend which has been unfolding off the February lows in anticipation of an ultimate break above the March 2015 highs.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices climbed over 2 percent each on strong market breadth. About 2144 shares advanced against 625 declining shares on the exchange.

European stocks were higher as markets eye developments on the Deutsche Bank settlement and Britain's Brexit process. Britain's FTSE gained 1 percent and France's CAC was up 0.2 percent.

1:55 pm Buzzing: Jubilant Life Sciences shares touched a record high of Rs 676.10, up 10 percent intraday Monday after approval from the US health regulator for Ruby-Fill.

"Wholly own subsidiary Jubilant Pharma, through one of its units Jubilant DraxImage Inc, Montreal Canada, has received US Food and Drug Administration approval for Ruby-Fill, for its new drug application (NDA)," the Noida-based healthcare company said in its filing.

This approved new drug application provides for the use of Ruby-Fill for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of the myocardium under rest or pharmacologic stress conditions to evaluate regional myocardial perfusion in adult patients with suspected or existing coronary artery disease.

1:45 pm ARC sale: Axis Bank has sold its entire exposure to Essar Steel, worth about Rs 1,000 crore, to Edelweiss ARC, according to people privy to the development. With this, the bank joins ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank to sell exposure in Essar Steel.

Essar Steel has a debt book of about Rs 40,000 crore and with the Axis Bank's sale of exposure, Edelweiss ARC has about 7 percent of Essar Steel's total debt.

1:30 pm Market outlook: The recent correction in the stock market has opened up a buying opportunity for investors, according to Manishi Raychaudhuri of BNP Paribas, who expects earnings and returns to broadly pick up for emerging markets. In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Raychaudhuri said the house had a target for 29,000 by 2016 end, and said investors should consider seeking exposure to four themes.

"We are bullish on the consumption theme, especially that on the rural side. We also like well-diversified, de-leveraged capex plays. We are positive on private sector banks, especially those focused on retail lending," he said. "Finally, we like the largecap IT space." On IT, which has undergone a correction recently, Raychaudhuri said the street's pessimism has been factored in into valuations.

The market continues to rally ahead of Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy review. The Sensex is up 307.92 points or 1.1 percent at 28173.88 and the Nifty is up 104.20 points or 1.2 percent at 8715.35. About 2052 shares have advanced, 586 shares declined, and 97 shares are unchanged.

Zee Entertainment, Maruti, IndusInd Bank, Adani Ports and M&M are top gainers while Bharti Infratel, TCS, HUL, Wipro and Infosys are losers in the Sensex.

In a major deal for India's private defence industry, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group and Rafale maker Dassault Aviation today announced a joint venture (JV) that will be a "key player" in execution of offset contract worth about Rs 22,000 crore as part of the fighter jet deal.

The announcement of the JV, Dassault Reliance Aerospace, comes within days of India and France on September 23 signing an agreement for 36 Rafale fighter jets at a value of euro 7.87 billion, or about Rs 59,000 crore.

The agreement includes a 50 percent offset obligation, the largest-ever offset contract in the history of India.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained strong with the Sensex rising 302.85 points or 1.09 percent to 28168.81 and the Nifty up 103.85 points or 1.21 percent at 8715.

About 2043 shares advanced against 587 declining shares on the BSE.

12:40 pm Europe opens: European stocks opened mixed as markets eye developments on the Deutsche Bank settlement and Britain's Brexit process.

The London FTSE 100 index was was up around 0.1 percent, while the French CAC was down around 0.1 percent. Germany markets are closed for a national holiday.

12:20 pm Rate cut likely?: The newly-constituted Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel is unlikely to lower rates at its maiden policy review on Tuesday as it awaits more supporting data on inflation, experts said.

The monetary policy review on October 4 will be the first by the six-member MPC as well as Governor Patel, who as the deputy governor had described the RBI as an owl when it comes to inflation management.

"I don't think the Reserve Bank is going to change rates as inflation -- both WPI and CPI -- have not softened much," Bank of Maharashtra Managing Director and Chief Executive R P Marathe told PTI.

August retail inflation eased to a five-month low of 5.05 percent but WPI inflation climbed to a two-year high of 3.74 percent.

Before the dip in August, both the retail as well as wholesale price indices were on a continuous upward spiral.

12:00 pm Market Check
Bulls continued to keep control over Dalal Street in noon trade on short covering in auto, banks, infra and oil stocks. The broader markets outperformed equity benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising more than 1.5 percent.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 276.42 points or 0.99 percent at 28142.38 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rallied 93.65 points or 1.09 percent to 8704.80. About four shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

India is likely to see double-digit earnings growth in FY17 and FY18, feels Mahesh Nandurkar of CLSA. Tailwinds in the next couple of quarters from reasonably good monsoons and low base effect in the banking space should help in 12-14 percent earnings growth in FY17, he tells CNBC-TV18.

As a base case, he believes liquidity will continue to keep up the market run.

Maruti Suzuki shares hit a record high of Rs 5,707.25, rising more than 4 percent intraday after strong sales data in September followed by M&M, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto.

11:45 am Interview: In an interview to CNBC-TV18, S Ravikumar, President-Business Development at Bajaj Auto spoke about their September auto sales numbers.

He said that domestic motorcycle sales is up 23 percent. However, exports remain around 1.3 lakh units as expected, he added.

Ravikumar further said that the company does not expect exports to offset domestic sales growth going forward.

11:30 am Market outlook: Even as financial market professionals keep themselves busy predicting -- often without success -- how stock prices will behave in the future, Nilesh Shah, MD of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, says retail investors have a simpler recourse to investing: systematic investment plans.

"If you see our (analysts') track record in terms of predicting earnings, we have gone wrong, forget about the market," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview. An SIP, on the other hand, will allow investors to average their investments regularly and forget about worrying the market or timing it, Shah said. "If you look at the overall growth story, it continues to remain solid." Still, for active stock pickers, Shah said one could back automobiles, private banks and IT companies only if they show proof of ability to transition to new-age business models.

The market continues to rally with support from index heavyweights except IT stocks. The Sensex is up 345.34 points or 1.2 percent at 28211.30 and the Nifty is up 112.85 points or 1.3 percent at 8724. About 1937 shares have advanced, 406 shares declined, and 79 shares are unchanged.

Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, Adani Ports, M&M and Bajaj Auto are top gainers while Infosys, TCS and Wipro are losers.

Bajaj Auto today reported a 2 percent decline in total sales in September at 3,76,765 units as against 3,84,400 in the same month last year. Motorcycle sales during the month went up by 1 per cent to 3,31,976 units as against 3,30,228 in September last year, the company said in a BSE filing.

Amid weakening global trend, gold futures traded lower by Rs 45 to Rs 30,936 per 10 grams today as speculators trimmed positions. Market analysts said that the fall in gold futures was mostly in tune with a weak trend overseas where the precious metal dropped on speculation that Deutsche Bank is working to mend its finances, eroding demand for safe haven demand.

10:55 am Brexit process: British Prime Minister Theresa May today said she will formally begin the process of the UK's exit from the European Union (EU) by the end of March 2017, ending the speculation surrounding the timing of the move.

May confirmed the deadline for triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which sets in place a two-year process of withdrawal or so-called Brexit, as the first quarter of next year.

She has also promised a "Great Repeal Bill" in the next Queen's Speech, which sets parliamentary business for the year.

While the prime minister had long hinted that she would start the process early next year, many observers had speculated that she would hold off until the French presidential elections, due to conclude in May.

10:40 am Listing: Electrical equipment manufacturer HPL Electric & Power is set to list its equity shares on October 4. It has fixed issue price at Rs 202, the higher end of price band.

The Rs 361-crore initial public offering was oversubscribed nearly 8 times. The reserved portion of qualified institutional buyers was subscribed 5.77 times, non-institutional investors subscribed 22.2 times and retail investors 2.4 times.

The public issue was opened for subscription during September 22-26.

10:30 am Bags mine: JSW Steel has won the Rama Rao Paol mine among the 15-odd  mines in the ongoing iron ore auctions in Karnataka, reports CNBC-TV18. The mine has reserves of 31.5 MT approximately.

Other bidders for the mine include BMM Ispat, Kalyani Kirloskar, Vedanta and MSPL. Nitty-gritties like the bidding price which helped JSW Steel are unknown as yet.

10:20 am FII View: The recent correction in the stock market has opened up a buying opportunity for investors, according to Manishi Raychaudhuri of BNP Paribas, who expects earnings and returns to broadly pick up for emerging markets.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Raychaudhuri said the house had a target for 29,000 by 2016 end, and said investors should consider seeking exposure to four themes.

"We are bullish on the consumption theme, especially that on the rural side. We also like well-diversified, de-leveraged capex plays. We are positive on private sector banks, especially those focused on retail lending," he said. "Finally, we like the largecap IT space."

10:00 am Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended rally with the Nifty reclaiming 8700 level on hopes of easing geopolitical tensions at India-Pakistan border after Pakistan PM advisor's comments. Short covering lifted the Nifty above 8700 level.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 308.48 points or 1.11 percent at 28174.44 and the 50-share NSE Nifty up 99.95 points or 1.16 percent at 8711.10 while the broader markets outperformed benchmarks.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1.7-2 percent on strong breadth. About six shares advanced for every share falling on the exchange.

Sartaj Aziz, advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs, confirmed today that both India & Pakistan have decided to reduce tensions.

Auto stocks were strong after September sales data. Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata Motors, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto, Ashok Leyland and Eicher Motors gained 2-4 percent.

HDFC and HDFC Bank were major contributors to Sensex's gains, up over a percent whereas TCS, Infosys and Wipro were under pressure.

9:55 am Gas price: The government has cut gas prices by roughly 18 percent to USD 2.5 per mmbtu for the six-month period October 2016-March 2017.

The fall in local gas prices, which are decided by the government on the basis of a formula that draws from prevailing prices at several international hubs, has hit producer companies such as ONGC and Oil India who say they are incurring losses.

This could result in pressure on shares of the companies as the firms could offset some of the losses from increases in volumes.

On the retail front, however, companies have largely held on to prices of compressed natural gas and piped natural gas, used as an automotive fuel and for domestic use, respectively.

9:45 am Market check: Pak PM Advisor has confirmed that both India and Pakistan have decided to reduce tensions which may have cheered the market. The Sensex is up 231.69 points or 0.8 percent at 28097.65, and the Nifty up 80.25 points or 0.9 percent at 8691.40. About 1522 shares have advanced, 272 shares declined, and 49 shares are unchanged.

9:30 am FII view: Laurence Balanco of CLSA says as long as price action remains above the upper boundary of the minor range which had formed in July-August between 8,547-8,565 and resistance at 8,747-8,760 the benefit of doubt should be given to the uptrend which has been unfolding off the February lows in anticipation of an ultimate break above the March 2015 highs.

The market has opened on strong note Monday. The Sensex is up 155.79 points or 0.6 percent at 28021.75 and the Nifty is up 55 points or 0.6 percent at 8666.15.

Maruti, Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Tata Motors are gainers while ONGC, Wipro, Infosys, GAUL and PowerGrid are losers in the NSE.

Maruti, Adani Ports, Eicher Motors, Tata Motors are gainers while ONGC, Wipro, Infosys, GAUL and PowerGrid are losers in the NSE.

Most automakers post a solid show in September ahead of the crucial festival season. Maruti posts its highest ever domestic monthly sales, driven by demand for Baleno & and Brezza. M&M and Eicher Motors sales are in line with estimates.

The Indian rupee rose in the early trade on Monday. It has opened higher by 7 paise at 66.54 per dollar versus 66.61 Friday.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, "Weakness in equity market will persist which will put pressure on rupee. The trading range for the day is seen between 66.50-67.20/dollar." The dollar started off the week on a firmer footing as fears about deutsche bank receded and investors looked ahead to this week's US jobs data.

Asian shares began the new quarter cautiously firmer, while sterling took a spill as Britain set a March deadline to start divorce proceedings from the European Union.

Risk sentiment had benefited on Friday from reports Deutsche Bank was negotiating a much smaller fine with the US Department of Justice, though the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that the talks were in flux.

Just a hint of a deal was enough to nudge MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 0.2 percent. The index climbed 8.8 percent in the third quarter, its best performance since early 2012.