Sensex ends up 216 points, Nifty above 7650; Reliance gains 4%

3:30 pm Market closing: The Sensex is up 216.27 points or 0.9 percent at 25252.32, and the Nifty up 70.80 points or 0.9 percent at 7683.30.
About 1830 shares have advanced, 837 shares declined, and 181 shares are unchanged.

Reliance were 4 percent, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Bajaj Auto and GAIL were top gainers while M&M, Lupin, Tata Motors, BHEL and SBI were down.

3:10 pm Coal auction: Government has added another coal block to the list of mines to be auctioned in the fourth round next month, taking the total number of blocks on sale to
nine.

It had kick-started the process last month for the fourth round of e-auctioning eight coal blocks. Bhaskarpara mine in Chhattisgarh "is added to the list of
coal mines earmarked for 4th tranche of auction", according to the Coal Ministry.

The mine is earmarked for the non-regulated sector, iron and steel, cement and captive power plants, it said. The next round of mines auction is slated for January 18-22 next year.

2:58 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks maintained short covering-led rally in late trade. The Sensex rose 168.72 points or 0.67 percent to 25204.77 and the Nifty went up 51.75 points or 0.68 percent to 7664.25.

About 1727 shares have advanced, 845 shares declined, and 185 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

2:45 pm Shipbuilding reforms: Cabinet cleared a Rs 4,000 crore aimed at boosting shipbuilding and ship repair industry in the country.

As per the policy, incentives like 'Right of First Refusal' for Indian shipyards for government purchases, tax benefits and infrastructure status will help the shipyard industry.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Nikhil Gandhi, Chairman of Pipavav Defence says the reforms are a pleasant surprise and will be 'game changer' for the whole industry. The two main benefits, he says, will be the infrastructure grant at competitive prices and more contracts for the shipyard industry.

The move will also help in generating employment and make companies globally competitive, he adds.

2:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Mandhana Industries jumped 12 percent intraday after Salman Khan has been acquitted of all charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case. The accident that took place on September 28, 2002 allegedly left one pavement dweller dead and four others injured.

The Mumbai-based textile and apparel manufacturing company, is into an exclusive license agreement with Being Human-The Salman Khan Foundation for designing, marketing and distributing Being Human Clothing Products. The company has exclusive rights to promote and use the Being Human brand name worldwide for its Clothing Products for the next 9 years and 3 months with Salman Khan as the brand ambassador.

2:20 pm India-Japan rail contract: India's cabinet has cleared a USD 14.7 billion Japanese proposal to build the country's first bullet train line, a government minister and an official said today, one of the biggest foreign investments in Indian infrastructure.

The decision ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit beginning on Friday gives Tokyo an early lead over China, which is also bidding to construct high-speed train lines along large parts of India's largely British-era rail system.

"It's been done," a government minister who attended the cabinet meeting headed by Modi on Wednesday night told Reuters.

2:10 pm Havells in News: Havells is the most active stock on exchanges after stake sale.

Havells India , the lighting and electrical products manufacturer, today said it has decided to sell 80 stake in Havells Sylvania Malta BV owned by its subsidiary Havells Holdings (HHL) and Havells Exim to Chinese company. It is subject to shareholders approvals.

"Havells Holdings, the wholly owned subsidiary of Havells India, has proposed to enter into definitive agreement with Shanghai Feilo Acoustics (Feilo) to divest 80 percent stake in Havells Sylvania Malta BV (excluding its subsidiaries based in United States, Brazil, Chile and Thailand)," the company said in its filing to the exchange.

Feilo, which has business of manufacturing and distributing lighting equipment, is the first listed company in China with key shareholding held by Inesa Limited, a state owned enterprise (SoE) of Shanghai Government.

2:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks extended uptrend in afternoon trade with the Nifty scaling above 7650 level, driven by index heavyweights Reliance Industries (up 3.3 percent) and HDFC (up 2 percent).

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 139.41 points or 0.56 percent to 25175.46 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was up 43.05 points or 0.57 percent to 7655.55. The market breadth turned strong as about two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

1:45 pm Yogesh Dhingra, CFO & COO of Blue Dart , believes that even if the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill is passed in the Winter Session, it will take atleast two to three years for the tax's benefits to become evident.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Dhingra said that initial years will be difficult as there could be some hike in administrative costs due to the new tax.

On the business front, he expects significant volume growth and improved capacity utilization. Margins will not be under any impact, he added. The recent Chennai floods has impacted business considerably, he said.

1:30 pm Real estate: A "great unwinding" on the part of high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) is taking place in Indian stocks, and smart money is moving out from equities to -- you read that right -- real estate. That is the view of Ajay Srivastava, CEO of Dimensions Consulting, who says that the recent decline in stocks has unnerved investors who were looking for quick gains. "They've been sitting on losses, after having realized that the expectation of 20 percent returns this year is not happening," Srivastava told CNBC-TV18 in an interview, adding that a number of premium real estate projects in plush areas such as south Mumbai have attracted investor attention of late.

The market has risen with support. The Sensex is up 91.39 points or 0.4 percent at 25127.44 and the Nifty is up 26.60 points or 0.3 percent at 7639.10. About 1547 shares have advanced, 920 shares declined, and 174 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Reliance, NTPC, Hindalco and HDFC are top gainers in the Sensex. Among losers are M&M, Lupin, SBI, Tata Motors and Maruti are losers.

Sectors that are primed to benefit when the rollout of the ambitious goods and services tax (GST) happens are logistics and auto, says Pankaj Sharma, Head of Equities, Equirius Securities.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Sharma said he also expects sectors where the market is steadily moving in the hands of organized players will also get benefited.

He, however, held out little hope for the GST Bill to be passed in the Winter Session of Parliament, something that will likely push the tax's rollout to mid next fiscal or in early FY18. "The tone of the two parties (BJP and Congress) has of late changed from one of reconciliation to one of combat," he said.

12:59 pm Market Update: Equity benchmarks remained higher. The Sensex rose 89.15 points to 25125.20 and the Nifty gained 25.85 points at 7638.35. About 1499 shares have advanced, 922 shares declined, and 158 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

12:50 pm Market Expert: Eternal bull Gautam Shah, Associate Director & Technical Analyst, JM Financial would not be surprised if Nifty is at 9500 by June-July, 2016 because 2015 has been a great year of consolidation and the time correction has happened, adding that the risk reward is now favourable to build a long-term portfolio.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Shah says, one should follow what Warren Buffet says: be greedy when others are fearful. "This is apt in the current scenario where people are fearful and seem to be losing focus of the medium or long-term trend of the market," he said.

According to him, the screen is telling us that there is capitulation, so 7500 would prove to be a good support for the Nifty. ''Market will find a durable support around 7450-7550 zone, and if we were to see recovery from these levels then we can get back to level of 8000 and then 8300,'' he adds.

12:20 pm Asian markets update: Most Asian stock markets fell today, taking cues from a weak finish in the US. Japan's Nikkei dropped over 1 percent, Hang Seng declined 0.3 percent and Australia fell 0.8 percent. Shanghai also declined 0.5 percent.

Oil prices, which remain under pressure due to a global supply glut, stayed in focus in commodity-heavy markets such as in Australia.

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, traded in the US, were up 26 cents or 0.73 percent at USD 37.43 a barrel while the internationally traded Brent futures were trading 35 cents or 0.87 percent higher at USD 40.46 in Asian afternoon trade.

12:00 pm Market Check
Equity benchmarks gained marginal strength in noon trade, supported by index heavyweights Reliance Industries (up 2.5 percent), HDFC (up 2 percent), HDFC Bank (up 0.8 percent) and Infosys (up 0.7 percent). Selling in Sun Pharma (down 1.9 percent), Tata Motors (down 1.5 percent), ICICI Bank (down 0.7 percent) and SBI (down over a percent)limited upside.

The Sensex rose 82.79 points to 25118.84 and the Nifty climbed 24.55 points to 7637.05. The broader markets also saw marginal gains with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.2-0.5 percent.

Even the market breadth has been positive as about 1434 shares have advanced against 934 declining shares on the BSE.

11:55 am China inflation: China's consumer inflation picked up slightly in November but remained well under the government's 2015 price target of 3 percent, raising concerns that the world's No. 2 economy could be sucked into a Japan-style deflationary trap. With the economy sputtering after years of double-digit growth, analysts predict Chinese consumer prices are unlikely to pick up significantly in the near future due to crumbling commodity and energy prices, overcapacity and weak demand.

11:45 am Market outlook: Financial would not be surprised if Nifty is at 9500 by June-July, 2016 because 2015 has been a great year of consolidation and the time correction has happened, adding that the risk reward is now favourable to build a long-term portfolio. In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Shah says, one should follow what Warren Buffet says: be greedy when others are fearful. "This is apt in the current scenario where people are fearful and seem to be losing focus of the medium or long-term trend of the market," he said. According to him the screen is telling us that there is capitulation, so 7500 would prove to be a good support for the Nifty. ''Market will find a durable support around 7450-7550 zone, and if we were to see recovery from these levels then we can get back to level of 8000 and then 8300,'' he adds.

11:30 am Sell-off: Havells India, the lighting and electrical products manufacturer, said it has decided to sell 80 stake in Havells Sylvania Malta BV owned by its subsidiary Havells Holdings, to Chinese company. "Board of directors of the company today in its meeting (in China) has approved divestment plans proposed by one of its wholly owned subsidiary, Havells Holdings (HHL), Isle of Man," the company said in its filing to the exchange.

The market is still refusing to budge as the Sensex is up 30.38 points at 25066.43. The Nifty is up 7.90 points at 7620.40. About 1265 shares have advanced, 927 shares declined, and 147 shares are unchanged.

GAIL, Hindalco, Reliance, NTPC and HDFC are top gainers in the Sensex while Sun Pharma, Lupin, Tata Motors, BHEL and M&M are losers.

Gold was treading water as investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of a widely anticipated US rate hike next week, with even a slump in the dollar failing to trigger interest in the metal.
A softer dollar makes greenback-denominated gold cheaper for holders of other currencies, and typically sends gold prices higher. But the looming US rate hike is keeping a lid on prices, which fell to near-six-year lows last week.

The Fed will move very gradually after it delivers what is widely expected to be its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade next week, according to a Reuters poll that points to a tame inflation outlook for next year.

A slide in the oil price to a seven-year low, along with a dip in the broader commodity markets, added pressure to gold.

10:59 am Market Update: Equity benchmarks continued to consolidate. The Sensex rose 36.61 points to 25072.66 and the Nifty went up 7.65 points to 7620.15.

About 1280 shares have advanced, 842 shares declined, and 130 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:45 am Havells stake sale: Havells India today said it has decided to sell entire stake in two companies owned by its subsidiary Havells Sylvania, to Chinese company.

"Board of directors of the company today in its meeting (in China) has approved divestment plans proposed by one of its wholly owned subsidiary, Havells Holdings (HHL), Isle of Man," the company says in its filing to the exchange.

It will sell 100 percent shareholding in Havells Malta and Havells Exim for 148.8 million euro to Shanghai Feilo Acoustics Company.

10:30 am Govt-UK agreement: The Union Cabinet gave its ex-post facto approval to the signing of an agreement with the UK for cooperation in the energy sector.

"The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on cooperation in the energy sector," a press statement said.

The areas of cooperation under the agreement include market reforms, regulatory structures and the role of competition in the supply and distribution of electricity, including regulations and incentives for renewable energy deployment and the integration of renewable energy into the grid.

10:15 am FII View: Ajay Kapur, Bank of America Merrill Lynch says he is changing bullish stance on India, it goes from overweight to underweight.

According to him, India looks expensive versus it's own history on a range of valuation metrics. "We are comfortable paying up, as long as the earnings numbers come through. In India, they are not paying up as the economic recovery has been delayed for many quarters now. And the earnings revisions are awful," he says.

There is clear investor frustration on the lack of breakthrough reforms, he feels.

10:00 am Market Check
The market is consolidating after seeing more than 1100 points fall in previous six consecutive sessions. The Sensex rose 36.73 points to 25072.78 and the Nifty gained 8.45 points at 7620.95.

The market breadth was positive as about 1285 shares advanced against 815 declining shares on the BSE.

Lupin and Sun Pharma fell more than 2 percent followed by Tata Motors, ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki, SBI and BHEL with 1-1.8 percent losses.

Reliance Industries, HDFC, NTPC, GAIL, Hindalco and Vedanta topped the buying list on Sensex, up 1-2 percent.

9:55 am Market outlook: Ben Luk, Global Market Strategist, JPMorgan Asset Management clearly believes that the US Federal Reserve will hike rates next week on back of strong payroll numbers and wage rates adding that it will be a mistake if Fed decides not to hike. Until the rate hikes next week, global markets are likely to remain quiet and consolidate, says Luk in an interview to CNBC-TV18. However, the focus, he says will be on how Fed plans its strategy to raise rates through 2016.

9:45 am Buzzing: Shares of Bharat Forge rebounded 3 percent intraday Thursday post announcement of supply agreement with Rolls-Royce for long term co-operation. The stock has been weak, falling 6 percent on Wednesday after the management lowered its revenue guidance for FY16.

The agreement envisages supply of critical and high integrity forged and machined components for a range of aero engines including the flagship trent engine.

"This award follows a period of collaboration over the last 18 months to define and secure the necessary level of stringent quality and process approvals. Both
companies consider this award to be a significant milestone to cement a strong and long-term relationship," as per BSE release.

9:30 am Reform: The Union Cabinet has approved the Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Bill, 2015. The Bill will now be taken up for consideration and passing by the Parliament. In a statement the government said the Bill will provide uniform regulatory environment to ensure speedy adjudication of disputes and orderly growth of the real estate sector. "It will boost domestic and foreign investment in the real estate sector and help achieve the objective of Government of India to provide 'Housing for All' by enhanced private participation."

After weakness for six consecutive days, the market has rebounded on Thursday. The Sensex is up 106.93 points or 0.4 percent at 25142.98, and the Nifty is up 31.85 points or 0.4 percent at 7644.35. About 682 shares have advanced, 201 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Hindalco, Vedanta, Sun Pharma, Reliance and Tata Steel are top gainers while ONGC, Lupin, Dr Reddy's Labs and HDFC Bank are among losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee opened marginally lower at 66.88 per dollar on Thursday against previous close of 66.83.

Mohan Shenoi of Kotak Mahindra Bank said, "Currency markets have already priced in a US Fed rate hike on the 16th of this month. Less than expected monetary easing by ECB and year-end unwinding of positions has led to a risk-off scenario."

"With Indian equities biased lower, USD-INR is expected to trade today in a range of 66.75-67," he said.

The dollar fell as commodity currencies reverse steep losses and as the euro rises after investors shift back into the single currency.

Asian stocks slipped as weak oil prices continued to feed global growth worries, while the euro held solid gains after a policymaker poured cold water on market expectations of more easing by the European Central Bank.

US stocks closed lower on Wednesday in a choppy session as oil resumed its decline, fuelling investor worries about global economic growth and causing the S&P 500 index to track the move in the commodity.