Sensex, Nifty end at new highs; ICICI up 5%, JSPL down 6%

After better-than-expected outcome in four state in favour of BJP, the market closed at record highs on Monday, supported by banks and capital goods stocks.

better-than-expected outcome in four state in favour of BJP, the market closed at record highs on Monday, supported by banks and capital goods stocks.

The Nifty touched a record high of 6,415, before closing at 6363.90, up 104 points or 1.66 percent from Friday's value.

The Sensex climbed 329.89 points or 1.57 percent to 21,326.42 after hitting an all-time high of 21,483.74, but the broader markets underperformed benchmarks. The BSE midcap and smallcap indices gained 0.4-0.5 percent.

Bhartiya Janata Party's (BJP) one-sided win in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh, and highest number of seats in Delhi indicated that India may have a fair chance of a BJP-led stable government in general elections 2014, feel experts.

"The prospects of a BJP led stable Government in 2014 elections are rising. Final outcome, to a large extent, would depend on whether BJP can replicate success in the state of UP, Bihar and Maharashtra. Cyclical sectors should continue to outperform," CLSA report says.

Sanjay Sinha of Citrus Advisors sees the Nifty hitting 6,500 level going forward and expects the market to rally leading up to the national elections, scheduled in May 2014. However, the floor for the Nifty has moved higher from 5,700 points to 6,000 now, he adds.

Meanwhile, the next key event market will be closely watching is the outcome of the FOMC meeting and the Fed's decision on its stimulus programme post better-than-expected November non-farm payrolls data.

Many experts are of the view that the market has already factored in the impact of QE taper, but Sinha doesn't agree. He feels that the market needs to take cognizance of the possibility of QE taper sooner than later. If the Fed decides to begin tapering then emerging markets should brace for FII outflows, he cautioned.

BSE Bank and Capital Goods indices were stars today, rising 3 percent each followed by Oil and Gas, Power and Auto with a 1-1.7 percent upmove.

Biggest gainers were ICICI Bank and Sesa Sterlite that rallied 5 percent each. Larsen and Toubro was up 4.5 percent and ONGC rose 3.5 percent.

Maruti Suzuki gained nearly 4 percent on reports of likely hike in product prices in January.

However, shares of Jindal Steel plunged 6 percent, the biggest loser in the Sensex. Tata Steel lost 0.44 percent.

03:40pm Market Update
The market closed at record high today. The Sensex rose 329.89 points or 1.57 percent to 21,326.42, and the Nifty climbed 104 points or 1.66 percent to 6,363.90.

03:29pm CCI meet today
Cabinet Committee on Investment will meet today, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that CCI may consider approval to power and petroleum projects. CCI may discuss Reliance Power's Tilaiya UMPP and giving pending Rs 14,000 crore loan to power projects.

03:29pm CCI meet today
Cabinet Committee on Investment will meet today, reports CNBC-TV18 quoting sources.

It is learnt that CCI may consider approval to power and petroleum projects. CCI may discuss Reliance Power's Tilaiya UMPP and giving pending Rs 14,000 crore loan to power projects.

03:25pm Anand Rathi sees Nifty moving to 6000-mark

Sandeep Shenoy of Anand Rathi Financial Services is certain that the market will first trend downwards before it moves up because all the positives are already factored in. He sees Nifty first going to 6000 before embarking on an upward journey.

"Once the euphoria of the election results gets passed and absorbed by the market you are going to see a slow and steady profit booking, which could get accentuated in days to come,'' he adds.

According to him the next trigger for the market is likely to be Q3 results, on back of better than expected Q2 performance.

03:20pm Barclays on Fed tapering
Michael Gapen of Barclays says steady improvement in US labour markets as shown by the non-farm payroll data increases the likelihood that the Fed tapers its purchases in December or January.

"But we see the committee as awaiting further evidence of a pickup in growth and firming inflation before tapering in March. Market moves were muted following the release of the employment report, perhaps since the report was largely in line with expectations," he adds.

03:15pm Market Update
The market is rangebound amid strong move seen from early trade after BJP won maximum votes in four states elections - Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh.

The Sensex jumped 354.57 points or 1.69 percent at 21,351.10, and the Nifty rose 113.90 points or 1.82 percent to 6,373.80.

BSE Bank and Capital Goods indices are the leaders in trade today, gaining more than 3 percent followed by Realty, PSU, Oil and Gas, Power, Auto and Metal indices with a 1-2.5 percent upmove.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated 32 paise to 61.09 against the US dollar.

03:10pm Credit Suisse sees rally in beta stocks

After state elections outcome, Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse says this was not exactly the 4-0 expected by the markets, but it comes close.

"The rally in beta may now last a bit longer. But December quarter results are likely to be a wake-up call, as fundamentals on the ground continue to weaken. We maintain that this rally in industrials, PSU banks and metals is an opportunity to trim positions," Mishra adds.

03:05pm Kotak Securities expects economic recovery

Market expectations may vary but we expect a gradual economic and fiscal recovery.

Any new government will have to repair India's fiscal position and address India's investment challenges.

Investment pick-up may be some time away, given severe challenges in all the inputs (capital, resources, approvals, workforce and land) for investment.

03:00pm Petron Engineering Construction up 3.5%

The company received an advice of contract awarded by BPCL for heater package of FCCU for integrated refinery expansion project of its Kochi Refinery for a contract value of Rs 24.37 crore plus USD 3,12,830.

02:55pm Future Consumer on fire
Future Consumer Enterprise (FCEL) announced that it will be launching one of the world's leading food and beverage brands, Sunkist, in India.

The company has entered into a long-term agreement with California-based Sunkist Growers to manufacture, market and sell fruit juice, fruit juice drinks, sparkling beverages and a range of other food products under the Sunkist brand.

FCEL's India food Park in Tumkur, Karnatka will play a critical role in this partnership, managing the sourcing, manufacturing, packaging and distribution of the food and beverage products.

The company is currently clocking an annualised business of around Rs 2,000 crore and aims to touch Rs 10,000 crore turnover within the next couple of years.

The stock was trading at Rs 5.10, up 4.08 percent over Friday's closing price.

02:46pm India to conduct debt switch in market

India's planned Rs 50,000 crore debt switch programme will be done through the bond market and not through the RBI, two officials with direct knowledge of the country's plans said on Monday.

Longer-dated government bond yields have been rising in recent days partly due to worries the debt switch programme, first unveiled in the 2013/14 budget earlier this year, may be implemented soon.

Under the planned debt switch, the government will buy short dated debt maturing in fiscal years 2014/15, 2015/16 and 2016/17 and in turn sell longer-dated bonds to markets. The central bank will not be buying or selling debt to the government directly, these officials said.

This transaction, planned as cash neutral, will be done to reduce the redemption pressure on the government's coffers, reports Reuters.

02:36pm Maruti Suzuki rallies
Shares of Maruti Suzuki gained nearly 3 percent as source-based agencies reports indicated that the car maker may hike prices across models from January.

Meanwhile, the company has not finalised price hike quantum yet, say sources.

02:26pm Though the market sees some profit booking after hitting a record high of 6,415 on the Nifty, it is still strong with the index hovering around 6360 level.

The Sensex advanced 327.78 points or 1.56 percent to 21,324.31, and the Nifty rose 100.15 points or 1.60 percent to 6,360.05. Declining shares outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1210 to 1163 on the BSE.

Rakesh Arora, head of research at Macquarie says the Nifty will cross 7000 mark going ahead if a stable government comes at the Centre. He sets the index's FY15 target at 7200 based on 15 times PE rerating.

"This is a 17-year average, so it is not suggesting we will see a substantial P/E rerating. But there is a possibility," Arora said adding that markets can get rerated to higher P/E multiple of 16-17 times if a strong party is voted to power.

The rally, in all possiblity, will be led by banks, metals and industries. The previous rally was IT driven.

Arora is also concerned by the outside factors which will dominate sentiments in the near term. He sees QE tapering happening in March 2014 and for that reason is neutral on pharma and IT sector stocks.

Bank Nifty is the leading index among sectoral indices, rising 3 percent. ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank surged 5 percent each.

01:55pm Market Update
The market maintains its upward journey, though it sees some profit booking after hitting a record high of 6415 on the Nifty.

The Sensex climbed 310.62 points or 1.48 percent to 21,307.15, and the Nifty rose 97.20 points or 1.55 percent to 6,357.10.

Among largecaps, ICICI Bank and Sesa Sterlite are major gainers with a 4.7 percent upmove followed by Larsen and Toubro , ONGC , NTPC and IndusInd Bank with 3-4 percent gains.

However, Jindal Steel shares plunged 5.4 percent. Cipla , Tata Steel , Tata Motors , HUL , Cairn India and Lupin are other laggards.

01:50pm Rupee Update
The rupee is currently trading at 61.17 per USD, up from the previous close of 61.41 per USD, but fell from its opening level of 60.85 per USD. Today's appreciation can be attributed to election euphoria and inflows coming into the system, says Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered Bank .

He does not see the currency sustaining below 60.50 per USD because there is a lot of demand from oil companies - apart from regular spot demand they are also buying forward dollars in the market.

01:40pm Canara Bank expects asset quality to improve

State-run lender Canara Bank expects asset quality to improve by 20-30 basis points by March as it focuses on aggressive debt collections and better monitoring of performing accounts, a top official said.

The No. 5 ranked state bank expects new bad loans to fall to about Rs 1,300 crore in the December quarter from Rs 2,800 crore in June, Chairman and Managing Director RK Dubey told Reuters.

It will recover and upgrade loan accounts of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore in the period, he added.

"I want to slowly improve the bank's asset quality. Even if I reduce it by 10 to 15 basis points by December I will still be against the market trend," Dubey said (reports Reuters).

01:30pm States to form panels to view Ranga panel report

The government on Friday said it will consider giving interest-free loans to millers to help them pay arrears to cane-growers. Speaking about the development, Union food minister KV Thomas said states will form committees to take into account the Rangarajan Committee report , which recommended deregulation of the sugar sector by giving freedom to mills to sell sugar in the open market.

Thomas said the decision was taken in an informal GoM, where the ministers analysed the needs highlighted by ISMA - a body representing sugar mills. ISMA, which had rejected the government's offer to set up a panel to look into linking cane and sugar prices, welcomed the bailout package.

01:20pm HCC's reaction on state assembly elections outcome

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Ajit Gulabchand, CMD, HCC shared his views on the outcome of state assembly elections held in five states and the latest happenings in his company. He said that this outcome clearly indicates that people are not satisfied with the current government and its policies. ''Entitlements by the current government have not enticed anybody to vote them. Also, people see BJP as that much needed change. Even the Aam Aadmi Party, which is trying to fight the issues of corruption,'' he elaborated.

He further added that the Indian stock market is cheering this outcome and stocks are doing well, but that does not necessarily mean that India Inc is celebrating. Many infrastructure projects have been stalled for quite sometime now, due to regulatory and environmental hurdles, so India Inc needs more predictability in policy and would monitor those policies for expediting investment in the sector.

01:10pm Midcaps and smallcaps
In the midcap space, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Shipping Corporation, JK Cement , Indian Bank and Whirlpool gained 4.5-7 percent while Pfizer , ABG Shipyard , Alembic Pharma , Sobha Developer and Indian Infotech lost 3-4 percent.

Among smallcaps, Hitachi Home , Ashapura Minechem , Sanghvi Movers , Aegis Logistics and KEC International spiked 6-14 percent. However, Global Capital Markets , Sharda Motor, Strauss Industries, Asian Hotels and Plethico Pharma fell 5-7 percent.

01:00pm The outcome state assembly elections in four states has been in the favour of BJP and this has pushed the equity benchmarks as well as rupee higher today. The Sensex surged 343.57 points or 1.64 percent to 21,340.10, and the Nifty climbed 103.70 points or 1.66 percent to 6,363.60. Declining shares marginally outnumbered advancing ones by a ratio of 1105 to 1087 on the BSE.

Brokerages gave a thumbs up to the clear verdict in the state elections, saying prospects of BJP-led government in 2014 are rising and expect near term euphoria to gloss over weak macros.

"We would not extrapolate these results to a nationwide level for the Lok Sabha elections due in Mar/Apr 2014. Either way, playing on national elections with the market at 14.2 times forward P/E is just too much of a bet. We maintain our 12-month forward Nifty index target of 6,000," CIMB report said.

The rupee opened sharply higher, but has remained ranged as PSU banks and importers bought dolalrs, while FIIs sold dollars to get into Indian equities and bonds. Indian government bonds also opened higher on the strong rupee cue, but receded thereafter.

12:55pm Man Industries on fire
Oil marketing company IOC has cancelled its pipe supply order worth Rs 570 crore given to PSL due to delay in supply.

However, Man Industries has received Rs 556 crore of IOC's pipe supply order and Jindal Saw got Rs 9.5 crore of that order. Man Industries surged 6 percent.

12:50pm Coal India in focus
The Coal India board is likely to meet around December 16-17 to discuss a buyback or special dividend, as an alternative option to meet the government's revenue targets.

The management of the company is keen to avert the three day strike beginning December 17 that the Coal India unions have announced. This strike would impact coal production.

Sources suggest the Coal India management may reach out to trade unions next week and apprise them about the shelved divestment plan.

Remember, the government was considering divesting five per cent of its stake in the company, but the idea seems to have shelved for the time being. This after a meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister P Chidambaram last week, following which the alternative options are being considered.

Coal India executives are of the view that the government should have opted for a buyback or  special dividend in the first place, considering the tepid stock market conditions.

Earlier this year, CIL trade unions had issued notice to strike work in September in protest against the divestment and restructuring of Coal India. Shares up 0.5 percent.

12:45pm Religare Enterprises view on state elections outcome

State elections results in four states point to a decisive victory for the BJP, and vindicate the market's positive stance on anti-incumbency.

We expect near-term euphoria to gloss over the weak macro (and our cautious portfolio stance) as 2014's scenarios get recalculated. We would buy beta with rate-cyclicals (financials, capital goods, infra); midcaps would see renewed favour.

12:40pm Nikkei surges over 2%
Japan's Nikkei climbed 2.3 percent on Monday, its best one-day gain in three months, spurred by a slide in the yen after an upbeat US jobs report raised expectations the Federal Reserve will soon begin removing its stimulus.

The Nikkei ended 350.35 points higher at 15,650.21, while the yen was down 0.2 percent at 103.08 to the dollar, adding to Friday's 1.1 percent slide and edging closer to a six-month low of 103.38 yen touched last week.

Monday's gain took the Nikkei close to a six-month intraday high of 15,794.15 reached last week.

Declines in the yen tend to boost sentiment towards Japanese equities because investors expect the weaker currency will inflate overseas earnings for exporters such as industrial robot maker Fanuc Corp, auto parts maker Denso Corp, and electronic and ceramic component maker Kyocera Corp, reports Reuters.

12:32pm Crude Update
Brent crude oil futures held near USD 112 a barrel on Monday, underpinned by upbeat economic data from the United States and China, the world's first and second largest oil consumers.

But the prospect that a strengthening US economy could persuade the Federal Reserve to begin curbing its commodity-friendly stimulus dragged on prices.

Brent crude oil futures had edged up 12 cents to USD 111.71 a barrel by 0615 GMT, after rising more than USD 1 in the previous session.

US crude oil futures gained 12 cents to USD 97.77, after ending Friday with their largest weekly percentage gain since July 5, reports Reuters.

12:22pm Future Consumer in focus

Shares of Future Consumer rallied 5 percent as the company will sell entire investment in Capital Foods for Rs 180 crore.

Future Consumer has entered into brand license agreement with the US company Sunkist that specialises in soft drinks and juices. It will manufacture and sell Sunkist products in India.

12:12pm The market is on a strong footing in noon trade with the Sensex holding its 300-point rally supported largely by banks, capital goods and oil and gas stocks.

The Sensex advanced 319.57 points or 1.52 percent to 21,316.10, and the Nifty rose 97.60 points or 1.56 percent to 6,357.50, but advance:decline ratio is flat (1:1) compared to 6:1 in early trade.

The underlying market trend is currently positive, so the Nifty is likely to continue its upward journey, says Nirmal Jain of IIFL. This rally will extend to midcaps and smallcaps going ahead and the Nifty might jump 5-7 percent higher from current levels, he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.  

A day after poll results of the four states - Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - the Sensex gaining over 450 points and Nifty hitting 6,377 points, an all time high level after five years.

Meanwhile, speaking about the Indian political scenario, he added that one is now seeing structural changes in voting preference and state polls indicate voter frustration with respect to unemployment.

ICICI Bank and Sesa Sterlite continued to lead the gainers list in the Sensex, rising 5 percent each. Larsen & Toubro rallied over 4 percent followed by HDFC Bank , ONGC and NTPC with a 3 percent fall.

However, Jindal Steel extended its fall, losing more than 5.5 percent. Hindustan Unilever , Cipla and Tata Steel slipped 0.6-0.8 percent.

Man Industries on fire
Oil marketing company IOC has cancelled its pipe supply order worth Rs 570 crore given to PSL due to delay in supply.

However, Man Industries has received Rs 556 crore of IOC's pipe supply order and Jindal Saw got Rs 9.5 crore of that order.

11:50am Movers and Shakers
Sesa Sterlite is the biggest gainers with nearly 5 percent upmove followed by ICICI Bank , Larsen and Toubro , NTPC , HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank with 3-4.5 percent gains.

However, Jindal Steel fell more than 4.5 percent. Cipla , Tata Steel , BHEL , NMDC and Cairn India declined 0.2-0.7 percent.

Among midcaps, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Whirlpool , Hexaware Technologies , Indian Bank and AIA Engineering surged 4-7 percent whereas Pfizer , Sobha Developer , eClerx Services , WABCO India and Wyeth lost 2.5-3.5 percent.

11:45am Mizoram assembly elections results today

Counting of votes for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly begins in the headquarters of all eight districts of the state amidst tight security.

The fate of 142 candidates for the 40-member Mizoram Assembly will be decided as the counting takes place on Monday. After the debacle of the Congress in the Assembly elections in four states - Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh - that were declared on Sunday, it is to be seen whether the results in Mizoram will be a face saver for the party.

11:40am FII view
The current account deficit is usually strong for the first quarter of any calendar year and hence, the rupee will do well atleast in the first few months of 2014, says Ray Farris, director, Credit Suisse.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Farris says that India is going into a period of positive seasonality.

''The main thing that the market will soon be looking for is guidance from the central bank and the recognition that it will probably want to buy some dollars at some point,'' he adds.

11:35am McNally Bharat surges 5%
McNally Bharat Engineering Company has received an order for comprehensive operation and maintenance of coal handling plant for a thermal power plant for a value of Rs 209.84 crore for a period of 5 years.

11:25am Glenmark Pharma in focus
Glenmark Pharma announced a launch of Hydrocortisone Butyrate cream in the US. It had received an approval from the USFDA for Locoid Lipocream generic in September 2013.

Glenmark is entitled to 180 days of exclusivity with respect to its Hydrocortisone Butyrate cream that indicated for the relief of the inflammatory and pruritic manifestations of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoes in adults and the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in patients three months to 18 years of age.

11:15am Bank of America Merrill Lynch on state elections outcome

The exit polls had raised expectations for the BJP with a 4-0 win for the BJP. The results announced on Sunday have justified the high expectations in some sense.

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the 2 large states, have seen BJP do even better than the exit poll forecasts. BJP has won over 70 percent of the seats in MP and near 80 percent of the seats in Rajasthan.

These results will place BJP as the front runner in the May, 2014 general elections. The Congress on the other hand will be disappointed with the results and in the words of their leader Sonia Gandhi ''we will introspect and take all necessary action to rectify''. We think it will reinforce the current opinion polls that show BJP as the leading party. But it may not be enough to justify a further increase in the BJP tally, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

11:10am Asia update
The week ahead is likely to see focus return to the outlook for China's economy, with a slew of economic data lined up for release.

It's also a central bank heavy week for regional markets, with monetary policy meetings scheduled to take place in New Zealand, South Korea and Indonesia on Thursday.

And talk about whether the US Federal Reserve will begin to taper its hefty monetary stimulus at next week's policy meeting following Friday's strong jobs report is also likely to be a dominant theme.

China releases industrial production, fixed asset investment and retail sales numbers for November on Tuesday.

Economists polled by Reuters forecast industrial output rose 10.1 percent in November from a year earlier, compared with a 10.3 percent rise the month earlier. November retail sales are forecast to rise 13.3 percent from a year earlier, unchanged from a month before, reports CNBC.com.

11:00am Heavy buying in banks and capital goods stocks helped the Sensex hold its 300-point rally and the Nifty maintain its 6350 level.

The Sensex added 316.14 points or 1.51 percent to 21,312.67, and the Nifty rose 93.55 points or 1.49 percent to 6,353.45, but the broader markets underperform.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.4-0.5 percent. Even declining shares are gradually rising; advance:decline ratio stands at 1046:738 as against 5:1 in early trade.

A large part of the hope rally betting on a BJP victory in the state elections, may have played out, feels UR Bhat of Dalton Capital Advisor. 

''Quite a large amount of hope has been met with the results over the weekend but quite often we extrapolate this to national levels which might not be appropriate to do because the anti-Congress vote there is a significant claimant now,'' Bhat said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

He sees the Nifty moving in a range between 5900-6600 over the next six months.

10:55am Market Update
The market is strong but remained rangebound. The Sensex rose 311.10 points or 1.48 percent to 21,307.63, and the Nifty climbed 94 points or 1.50 percent to 6,353.90.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1109 to 671 on the BSE.

Top gainers are ICICI Bank , Larsen and Toubro , HDFC Bank , Sesa Sterlite, ONGC and PNB , rising 3-5 percent.

However, Jindal Steel is the biggest loser in the Sensex, falling nearly 4 percent followed by Tata Steel , Cipla , Hindustan Unilever , Cain India and Lupin .

10:50am Rupee Update
The rupee rose 30 paise to 61.11 against the US dollar after opening at 60.88 level. It has remained ranged as PSU banks and importers bought dollars, while FIIs sold dollars to get into Indian equities and bonds.

Indian government bonds also opened higher on the strong rupee cue, but receded thereafter on the strength in crude prices and fearing the inflation numbers due in a week.

10:45am Technical expert
The Nifty breaking above 6357 is a significant development feels trader Atul Suri. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Suri says he expects a structural change in the Nifty charts going forward.

On the downside, he sees 6000 as a strong support for the index. The Nifty today hit a record high of 6,415.25 in early trade. It is after nearly 6 years that the Nifty has managed to make a new peak.

10:40am MphasiS in focus
Shares of Mphasis lost nearly 1 percent as brokerage house Barclays is underweight on the stock.

The firm revised target price on the stock to Rs 350 from Rs 360 earlier. The brokerage house also reduced earnings per share expectations for FY14 / FY15 by 5-7 percent.

10:35am FII view
Despite strong macroeconomic  data coming out of the US, there is a sense that the Federal Reserve may not start cutting back on its bond purchases till January-February, says Arvind Sanger, Managing Partner, Geosphere Capital Management. That is because the number of jobs added was not as high as the Street was expecting.

Even the nature of the fear of taper has changed since May. Sanger thinks an impending taper will not damage the upmove from the lows of the year.

He further adds the magnitude of victory for the BJP suggests receding fear of the emergence of a third front. He believes it will be more of a buy on the dips market rather than sell in the rally market. He also expects the Nifty to hit 7000 in the near term.

10:30am Accentia Technologies  slips 2%

Accentia Technologies has decided to issue on preferential basis up to 24 lakh equity shares to various investors, subject to the approval of shareholders and all other requisite authorities.

10:20am Adani Enterprises up 1.7%

Gujarat-based Adani Enterprises rose nearly 2 percent as more than Rs 25 crore worth of shares exchanged hands on the National Stock Exchange.

More than 9 lakh shares changed hands at an average price of Rs 280.93 apiece through three block deals.

10:10am ITC up 0.8 percent
Nomura has a buy rating on ITC with a target price of Rs 392. "It is our top pick in large caps for 2014, citing discount in valuations," the brokerage house report said.

10:00am After better-than-expected outcome of the state assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chattisgarh and Delhi, the 50-share NSE Nifty touched a record high of 6,415.25, breaching earlier high of 6,357 seen on January 8, 2008.

The Sensex spiked 378.62 points or 1.80 percent to 21,375.15, and the Nifty rallied 114.75 points or 1.83 percent to 6,374.65. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 929 to 363 on the BSE.

CLSA says cyclical sectors should continue to outperform while Religare says it would recommend buying beta with rate-cyclicals and midcaps would see renewed favour.

Positive reaction is also seen in the currency market with the rupee opening sub 61 level against the US dollar on a positive sentiment post state elections outcome.

Bank Nifty is on a tear away rally with ICICI Bank, Canara Bank , PNB and Axis Bank rising between 4-5 percent.

9:55am ONGC surges 3.5%
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation will be quoting ex-dividend from Tuesday. The board of directors of the company, on December 06, has approved interim dividend of Rs 5 per share for the financial year 2013-14.

The company will distribute more than Rs 4,200 crore as a dividend. It had a cash in hand of Rs 19,566 crore as on September 2013.

9:50am Most active shares
Larsen and Toubro , State Bank of India , ICICI Bank , YES Bank, HDFC Bank and Infosys are the most active shares on exchanges.

9:45am Ashapura Minechem surges 7%
Ashapura Minechem surged more than 7 percent on a block deal worth Rs 26 crore. More than 41 lakh equity shares changed hands at Rs 63.35 apiece in early trade.

It is the most active stock on the BSE.

9:40am Sensex off day's high
The market erased some gains on profit booking with the Sensex losing more than 150 points from its day's high. The Sensex gained 316.18 points or 1.51 percent at 21,312.71 and the Nifty rose 97 points or 1.55 percent to 6,356.90.

Nearly three shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

Defensives like Hindustan Unilever and Sun Pharma slipped into red whereas banks, capital goods, power and oil & gas continued to be leaders.

9:35am Nifty at record high after 5 years and 11 months

Pharma and IT sectors are the biggest winners since January 2008 while capital goods and infrastructure are the biggest losers.

Biggest gainers are Lupin (up 575 percent), Sun Pharma (up 419 percent) and TCS (up 306 percent).

However, DLF , BHEL , JP Associates and Tata Steel are biggest losers.

9:30am FII View
Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse says this was not exactly the 4-0 (win for BJP in state elections) expected by the market, but it comes close.

"The rally in beta may now last a bit longer. But December quarter results are likely to be a wake-up call, as fundamentals on the ground continue to weaken. We maintain that this rally in industrials, PSU banks and metals is an opportunity to trim positions," he adds.

09:20am Strong Movers
Banks and Capital Goods indices led the rally, rising more than 3 percent followed by Power, Oil & Gas, Realty, Auto and Metal indices with 1-2 percent upmove.

ICICI Bank topped the buying list, rising over 5 percent. HDFC Bank, L&T and Tata Power surged 3-4 percent.

Reliance Industries , State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel , Sesa Sterlite, Hero Motocorp and Hindalco Industries gained 2 percent each.

However, Wipro is the only loser in the Sensex.

09:15am The market kicked-off the week on a strong note on Monday with the Nifty rallying to a record high of 6400 level after state polls outcome.

The Sensex rose 442.30 points or 2.11 percent at 21,438.83, and the Nifty rallied 133.75 points or 2.14 percent at 6,393.65. About 633 shares have advanced, 58 shares declined, and 16 shares are unchanged.

BJP won three out of five state elections (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh) with a majority while in Delhi, it got the maximum vote of 32 seats followed by Aam Adami Party (AAP) with 28 seats.

After these state elections results, experts are hopeful that the Nifty may scale new highs in 2014, especially ahead of general elections.

Leading brokerage ICICI Securities sees the Nifty scaling life-time high of 6,700 in the run-up to the general elections next year after a decisive set of results today from the assembly polls.

Meanwhile, Indian rupee opened with a gap up of 59 paise at 60.83 per dollar on Monday against 61.42 on Friday.

Agam Gupta of Standard Chartered expects importer demand to come in at 61/USD. "The range for the day is seen between 60.9-61.4/USD," he adds.