Sensex Ends 75 Points Higher; Nifty Settles Near 8,600

The Sensex jumped 75 points to close at 28,298 and Nifty advanced 21 points to shut shop at 8,589 led by gains in blue-chip capital goods, pharma and banking stocks.

Meanwhile, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) started investing in equity markets from today. Initially the EPFO will invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) only.

For the most part of the day, the Sensex and Nifty traded on a flat note. However, sudden spurt in banking stocks in noon deals helped the benchmark indices break out of range. But the momentum was short-lived and the indices turned flat again.

On the sectoral front, buying was visible in capital goods, pharma and banking shares. On the other hand mild selling was visible in metal, oil & gas, FMCG and power stocks.

The broader markets which registered fresh all-time high levels in the last couple of days also ended on a mixed note. The BSE mid-cap index jumped 0.36 per cent while the small-cap index slipped 0.12 per cent.

From the Nifty-50 basket of stocks, 31 stocks advanced while 19 stocks declined.

Larsen & Toubro was the top Nifty gainer; the stock jumped nearly 3 per cent to Rs 1,830. Kotak Mahindra Bank, Punjab National Bank, Tata Motors, Dr Reddy's Labs, ACC, Idea Cellular, State Bank of India, Liupin and TCS were also among the gainers. 

On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, ITC, Coal India, Cairn India and Reliance Industries were among the laggards.

The overall breadth was negative as 1,532 stocks declined while 1,396 stocks advanced.

3:30 p.m.: Sensex provisionally ends 88 points higher at 28,311 and Nifty jumps 19 points to close at 8,587.

3:17 p.m.: Select metal, power, oil & gas and FMCG stocks witness a mild selling pressure.

3:07 p.m.: Market view: Piyush Garg, EVP & CIO at ICICI Securities, says he does not see triggers for the Nifty to move substantially higher unless the Parliament passes the key reform bills. Also, expectations about a Fed rate hike in September will keep the upside in Indian markets capped, he added. 

But the base of the market is shifting higher, he added. It has now moved higher to 8200 levels from around 7950-8000 levels, he added. 

He likes the banking, consumer discretionary (auto) and select infra and capital goods stocks. 

2:57 p.m.: Markets came off the intraday high levels, the Sensex was up 65 points at 28,288 and Nifty was up 16 points at 8,583

2:45 p.m. PSU banking index, CNX PSU Bank index, up over 1 per cent. Government fund infusion plan credit positive for PSU banks but recapitalization plan not a game changer, says Moody's. PSU banks need to tap equity market to raise capital, it added.

2:31 p.m.: Rolta India surges nearly 6 per cent to Rs 128.70 after the company said that it won smart city and 3D mapping projects worth about $15 million in the Middle East.

2:23 p.m.: Bank Nifty advanced nearly 1 per cent; Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Canara Bank, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank were among the prominent gainers from the banking pack.

2:14 p.m.: The Sensex was up 83 points at 28,306 and Nifty jumped 24 points to 8,592. Buying was visible in banking, realty, capital goods and pharma stocks.

1:56 p.m.: Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom operator by subscribers, on Thursday announced the commercial launch of its high speed 4G services (also called LTE) in 296 towns across India. 

1:48 p.m.: Arvind Q1 consolidated net profit at Rs 58.04 compared to Rs 90 crore during the same quarter last year. Stock slips 2.2 per cent to Rs 303.

1:37 p.m.: Banking shares such as Punjab National Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank advance 0.5-1.7 per cent each.

1:25 p.m.: The markets showcased a sharp pullback from the intraday low levels in the noon deals after the buying resumed in banking, IT and capital goods stocks. The Bank Nifty which touched low of 18,830 was up 0.4 per cent. 

The Sensex was up 73 points at 28,296 and Nifty jumped 25 points to 8,593.

1:19 p.m.: Oil traded near multi-month lows on Thursday with Brent under $50 a barrel as excess supplies and the prospect of further dollar strength weighed on prices.

1:16 p.m.: European markets edged lower in opening trades. Britain's FTSE100 was down 0.4 per cent, CAC40 index slipped .15 per cent and DAX was down 0.05 per cent.

1:10 p.m.: The markets were trading on a lacklustre note. The Sensex was up 10 points at 28,233 and Nifty jumped 2 points to 8,570.

1:01 p.m.: Dr. Reddy's Laboratories shares on Thursday surged as much as 3.2 per cent to hit a 52-week high of Rs 4,326.5 after it announced a strategic collaboration with global pharma major Amgen. (Read)

12:54 p.m.: Broader markets were witnessing mild selling pressure; the BSE mid-cap index slipped 0.08 per cent and the small-cap index fell 0.2 per cent.

12:47 p.m.: Tech Mahindra, ITC, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Zee Entertainment, Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp were among the laggards on the Nifty.

12:39 p.m.: Overall breadth was negative as 1,405 stocks were declining while 1,234 stocks were advancing.

12:27 p.m.: Motherson Sumi reports first quarter net profit at Rs 366 crore compared to Rs 252 crore during the same quarter last year. Company reports forex loss; stock falls 4 per cent to Rs 375.

12:24 p.m.: BSE capital goods index advances 0.6 per cent; Laxmi Machine Works, Siemens, VA Tech Wabag, Sadbhav Engineering, AIA Engineering, Thermax, Pipavav Defence, Mhindra CIE and Larsen & Toubro were among the gainers.

12:17 p.m.: Banking, metal, power, tech and auto stocks witness a mild selling pressure.

12:02 p.m.: MTNL shares surged 6.2 per cent to hit intraday high of Rs 22.30 after the reports suggested that the Union Cabinet would infuse funds into the ailing telecom operator.

11:35 a.m.: The Sensex edged lower in the late morning deals, slips 29 points to 28,194 and Nifty falls 10 points to 8,558.

11:25 a.m.: Dr Reddy's Labs was the top gainer on the Nifty. The shares of the company jumped 2.6 per cent to Rs 4,326 on plans to grow Europe business.

11:23 a.m.: Balaji Telefilms surges 10.2 per cent to hit intraday high of Rs 105 after Star India sold 26 per cent shares held in the company.

11:05 a.m.: Siemens India first quarter net profit jumps 12 fold to Rs Rs 168.25 crore compared to Rs 12.99 crore during the same quarter last year. Shares of Siemens surge 4.2 per cent to hit 52-week high of Rs 1558.

10:50 a.m.: Bata India shares fell over 6 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs 1,160 as the footwear maker said its margins were hit by higher discounts in the June quarter. Bata India's operating margins came down to 12.7 per cent in the June quarter from 15.6 per cent in the corresponding quarter of the previous financial year. (Read)

10:40 a.m.: The top management of Bharti Airtel will address hold a media briefing at noon today. Shares of country's largest telecom operator by subscribers edged higher ahead of the any potential announcement.

At 10:16 a.m., shares of Bharti Airtel were up 0.40 per cent at Rs 418.55 as compared to a flat Nifty. (Read)

10:18 a.m.: The markets continued to trade on a flat note. The Sensex was up 22 points at 28,245 and Nifty advanced 5 points to 8,572.

10:14 a.m.: Like Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddy's Labs from the pharma space, says Nischal Maheshwari of Edelweiss Securities.

10:01 a.m.: Salzer Electronics fall 4.6 per cent to hit low of Rs 291.20 after Larsen & Toubro sold its stake in the company.

9:51 a.m.: Indian Bank, Canara Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Essar Oil, Crompton Greaves, Mother Son Sumi, UPL and Union Bank were among the laggards from the mid-cap space.

9:43 a.m.: Cognizant Technology Services on Wednesday beat Street estimates with a record 6 per cent sequential rise in revenues in the June quarter. New Jersey-based Cognizant also raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts, which sent its shares higher by as much as 9.6 per cent. (Read)

9:35 a.m.: Unitech, Tata Chemicals, Indian Hotels, SJVN Ltd, ABB, Apollo Hospitals, Aurobindo Pharma and Reliance Infrastructure were among the gainers from the mid-cap space.

9:25 a.m.: Selling was visible in banking, metal and FMCG stocks; Bank Nifty slipped 0.3 per cent. MCG and metal indices also fell 0.5 and 0.75 per cent each respectively.

From the Nifty-50 basket of stocks, 20 stocks were advancing while 30 were declining.

Dr Reddy's Labs, Infosys, BPCL, TCS, HCL Tech and Sun Pharma were among the gainers on the Nifty. While, Tata Steel, Asian Paints, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and ITC were among the losers.

Broader markets were trading on a flat note. The BSE mid-cap index advanced 0.02 per cent and small-cap index jumped 0.16 per cent.

9:16 a.m.: Markets open on flat note. The Sensex advances 23 points to 28,246 and Nifty gains 2 points to 8,570.

9:10 a.m.: The Sensex was up 69 points at 28,292 and the Nifty advanced 18 points to 8,585 in the pre-market session.

9:05 a.m.: If Nifty corrects to 8,450 then one should buy out of the money call options, says Gaurav Bissa derivatives analyst with LKP Securities.

9:00 a.m.: Rupee opens lower at 63.77 per dollar against Wednesday's close of 63.74.

8:40 a.m.: Below are the stocks which will be in focus today:

Tata Power: Tata Power in its annual reports said that it is looking at buying stressed assets. The company sees opportunity in power, renewable & distribution business. Tata Power would raise generation capacity to 18,000 megawatts (MW) by 2022 from the current 8,750MW.

Tata Motors: Tata Motors plans to launch new JLR product. Jaguar land rover will introduce all-new XF sedan in autumn 2015. JLR will also introduce world's first convertible SUV in 2016.

Tata Steel: Tata Steel's captive coal mining leases in Odisha have been extended till 2030.

ICICI Bank: ICICI Bank has raised $500 million in dollar bonds. The issue opened early on Wednesday and closed during European late evening hours. The bank has issued 5 year fixed rate notes.

Dr Reddy's Labs: Reports suggest that Dr Reddy's Labs aims to grow Europe business and is looking for acquisitions. Currently, Europe contributes only 4% of the revenue.

Nestle: FSSAI has clarified that clean chit has not been given to Maggi noodles and CFTRI lab has not yet tested Maggi for MSG.

Jagran Prakashan, HT Media and ENIL: Government's FM radio auction bids touched Rs 869 crore by day 8. As of now, 28 rounds of bidding have been completed.

8:35 a.m.: The mid-cap stocks have been in limelight since quite some time now. The CNX mid-cap index has been registering new all-time high levels in the last couple of days. The mid-cap index has rallied 6 per cent in the last six trading sessions.

8:30 a.m.: Global IT firm, Cognizant reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit, as its business that serves the healthcare industry led the company's growth for the third quarter in a row.

Cognizant's results are positive for the Indian IT companies as it reflects positive outlook for the overall IT industry.

8:20 a.m.: Pension money will be invested in stock markets from today. Initially the investment will be made in Exchange Traded Funds only.

8:15 a.m.: Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 447.9 crore while the domestic institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 189.11 crore.

8:00 a.m.: The Sensex and Nifty are likely to edge lower in the opening deals tracking subdued trading of Nifty on the Singapore Stock Exchange. The Nifty traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange also known as the SGX Nifty was down 0.1 per cent at 8,583.

Meanwhile, other Asian markets were trading on a mixed note. The Hang Seng slipped 0.4 per cent, Shanghai Composite advanced 0.5 per cent and Nikkei was up 0.8 per cent.

Overnight, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite rose on Wednesday following three days of losses as tech shares advanced, while the blue-chip Dow index ticked lower, weighed by Disney's largest daily drop in almost seven years.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 10.22 points, or 0.06 per cent, to 17,540.47; the S&P 500 gained 6.52 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 2,099.84; and the Nasdaq Composite added 34.40 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 5,139.95.