Sensex closes above 22,000 for first time, up 300 points

3:45 p.m. The BSE Sensex and Nifty jumped nearly 1.5 per cent on Monday to a record, surpassing their previous all-time highs hit just last week, as banks including ICICI Bank extended a recent rally on the back of strong foreign investor flows.

The Nifty ended 1.34 per cent higher after marking a lifetime high of 6,591.50, while the Sensex finished 1.38 per cent up after touching a record high of 22,074.34, surpassing their previous milestones hit on March 18.

Banks led the gains on optimism about a recovery in the domestic economy and bets the Reserve Bank of India would keep interest rates on hold for now at its policy review on April 1.

Sensex closes above 22000 level for the first time, ending 300 points higher at 22,055. Nifty rises 88 points to 6,583.50

Banking stocks were the biggest gainers with the Bank Nifty rising 2.75 per cent. IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, PNB and HDFC Bank rose over 3 per cent each.

RIL rose 1.8 per cent to Rs 904.60 ahead of the Supreme Court decision on gas prices.

3:32 p.m. Markets close at record highs: Sensex up 300 points at 22,054 (provisional), Nifty rises 88 points to 6,583.50

3:20 p.m.  Sameet Chavan, technical analyst at Angel Broking, says BHEL broke above the 180 range in the previous week and Rs 210 levels is quite possible.

BHEL shares trading 1.5 per cent higher at Rs 188.50.

3:15 p.m. Sameet Chavan, technical analyst at Angel Broking, says ICICI Bank looks attractive on the charts and another 4-5 per cent upside level is possible in next few trading sessions.

ICICI Bank trading 3.7 per cent higher at Rs 1,242.40.

2:45 p.m. Neeraj Dewan, director of Quantum Securities, says he likes financials including the public sector banks. For midcap PSU banks, he would like to wait till this quarter results. Among NBFCs he likes LIC Housing Finance.

LIC Housing Finance is up 1.4 per cent to Rs 228.

2:30 p.m. Dealers check

Traders say that Nifty needs a significant close above 6570/6580 levels for extended moves though today the volumes are a tad lower than recent averages.

Nifty currently trading at 6,580.95, up 1.3 per cent.

2:00 p.m. Banking stocks extend gains with Bank Nifty rising 2.7 per cent. IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank up between 2-4 per cent. (See the top gainers today)

According to Reuters, foreign institutional investors bought a net $495 million in Indian banks, while selling a net $791 million in pharmaceutical and biotechnology shares this month as of March 15.

As a result, lenders have been one of the top performers this month, during a month in which the Nifty has hit a slew of record highs, including most recently on Monday.

The Bank Nifty is up about 15 per cent so far this month, outperforming the nearly 5 per cent gain in the NSE.

1:45 p.m.  According to reports, Jaiprakash Associates in its board meeting today is considering whether to sell company's 74 per cent stake each in the two cement joint ventures with SAIL located at Bhilai (Chhattisgarh) and Bokaro (Jharkhand) with a total capacity of a little over 4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

(See: ACC likely to buy Jaypee's stake in two cement JVs with SAIL: report)

JP Associates shares are up 1.8 per cent at Rs 49.25 while ACC is up 2 per cent at Rs 1,292.40

1:33 p.m. European markets open largely flat.But Indian markets at day's high: Nifty up 93 points at 6,588, Sensex rises 313 points at 22,068

12:50 p.m. KR Bharat, MD of Advent Advisory Services, advises investors to go with the current stock market flow but avoid long-term bets. "The markets are likely to see a correction even if a stable government comes. At this moment, markets are factoring in all positive news and discounting all negative news. The macro-economic recovery will be slow," he says.

I expect the structural bull market will begin from middle of 2015 and markets are running ahead of time, he says.

12:35 p.m. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava's stock bets:

Buy Tata Steel with target of Rs 370 and stop-loss of Rs 352.4

Buy ACC with target of Rs 1340 and stop-loss of Rs 1,244

Buy Coal India with target of Rs 285 and stop-loss of 263.8

12:30 p.m. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava says the Nifty needs to close above 6,575 today to give a strong upside breakout. The battle is half won now, he says.(Track markets)

The Nifty is up 73 points at 6,568.65, off nearly 12 points from its day's high of 6,580.90

12:15 p.m. F&O trading tips from Aditya Agarwal, VP-derivatives at Way2wealth.

Buy PNB March Futures @ CMP with target of Rs 675 and stop-loss of 640

Buy Havell India March Futures @ CMP with target of Rs 920 and stop-loss of Rs 865
 
Sell HPCL March futures at around Rs 280 level with target of Rs 265 and stop-loss of Rs 289
 

11:55 a.m. Market update: Sensex, Nifty mostly hold on to their gains. Sensex at 22,002, up 246; Nifty at 6,568, up 73 points.

Banking, realty and oil & gas stocks lead the gains. ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the top Nifty gainers with ICICI Bank up 3.8 per cent and IndusInd Bank gaining 3.3 per cent. (Track banking stocks)

The Bank Nifty is up 2.5 per cent at 12,384.45. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava says that the Bank Nifty could add another 500 points. His top picks among banking pack: ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank

11:40 a.m. Rupee update: The Indian currency is trading higher at 60.70 compared to its previous close of 60.90. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava expects rupee to strengthen to 57 levels in 1-3 months.

11:20 a.m. Power stocks are buzzing. In the past week, JSW Energy surged 7.2 per cent, Adani Power advanced 4.3 per cent, GVK Power rose 4.6 per cent.

Harshvardhan Dole, vice president of institutional equities of IIFL, likes power stocks such as Tata Power, Power Grid, NTPC and JSW Energy on a risk-adjusted basis. The recent CERC order will benefit stock like Tata Power and Adani Power, he says. (Track power stocks)

IIFL: Top picks (with target)

Tata Power     Rs 95/share        

Power Grid     Rs 120/share

NTPC         Rs 135/share

JSW Energy     Rs 65/share

(See: IIFL says power stocks likely to get re-rated)

11.01 a.m. Markets continue to trade with strong gains. Sensex, Nifty both up over 1 per cent. Bank Nifty continues to lead rally and is up 2.5 per cent. Oil and gas stocks are up 1.7 per cent, mainly on account of outperformance in ONGC and Reliance Industries. Realty stocks are also seeing buying interest today. (Track markets)

10.30 a.m. Here are the top brokerage calls for the day,

1) CLSA maintains buy on Marico. Target Rs 262. Read more
2) UBS maintains buy on Voltas. Target Rs 185. Read more
3) Credit Suisse maintains underperform on Tata Power. Target Rs 73. Read more
4) Macquarie maintains outperform on NMDC. Target Rs 188. Read more
5) Bank of America Merrill Lynch maintains buy on Lupin. Target Rs 1120. Read more
6) Religare maintains sell on Nestle. Target Rs 4400. Read more

10.06 a.m. JP Associates board meets today to consider stake sale in joint ventures. Sources say JP Associates is likely to sell entire stake in its cement joint venture with SAIL and 74 per cent stake in Bhilai & Bokaro cement plants. Deal size seen at around Rs. 2,900-3,000 crore. JP Associates shares are currently trading at Rs.48.95 up 1.14 per cent. (Track stock)

09.50 a.m. Sensex hits all-time high of 22,046.58, up 290 points. Samiran Chakraborty of Standard Chartered Bank says: Markets have rallied because of improvement in macro fundamentals. Current Account Deficit, inflation and fiscal deficit situation has improved so India is looking better than other emerging market countries. Secondly, opinion polls show decisive, stable government post polls. So, there's hope that future is likely to be better than today. Both these factors are driving rally in asset markets.

09.45 a.m. Reliance Industries trading 1.4 per cent higher ahead of Supreme Court decision on gas pricing. Saumil Trivedi says it's a good opportunity to buy RIL shares. The stock has strong resistance at 930 levels. Deven Choksey, managing director of KR Choksey Securities says investors should buy RIL at dips to 870 levels. (Track stock)

The National Green Tribunal has ordered NTPC to stop work at its 2.4 GW Kudgi project, which accounts for 12 per cent of NTPC's projects under construction. NTPC trading at Rs.114.90 up by 0.35 per cent on NSE.

09.40 a.m. Market update: Nifty hits record high of 6,575.45.

09.35 a.m. Markets are on fire amid strong buying in banking stocks. The BSE Sensex has edged above the key 22,000 levels, while the Nifty is trading close to its resistance of 6,575. Bank Nifty up 2 per cent. (Track markets)

09.20 a.m. Markets have gained further momentum with the Sensex rising over 200 points. The 30-share index is now trading 40-50 points away from the key 22,000 levels. The broader Nifty has crosses the key 6,550 levels after gaining around 55 points. 

09.15 a.m. Sensex jumps over 100 points, while Nifty adds 30 points in opening trade. Private lender Axis Bank is the top Nifty gainer. (Track stocks)

09.10 a.m. Market analyst Saumil Trivedi says markets don't not want to go down in a jiffy. Axis Bank sale has also gone well, which indicates buying interest in markets. 6,575 is strong resistance, while 6,470 is strong support for markets, he added.

Sarvendra Srivastava says crucial expiry week ahead. Momentum will pick up after a breakout past 6,575. 6,384 remains the reversal point.

Sarvendra's stock picks,

1) ICICI Bank: Buy with a target of 1310 and a stop loss of 1164.
2) Alstom India: Buy with a target of 240 and a stop loss of 212.4
3) Tata Motors: Buy with a target of 420 and a stop loss of 377.4.
 

09.00 a.m. Rupee opens higher at 60.85 as against Friday's close of 60.90 per dollar.

08.26 a.m. Market analyst Sanjeev Bhasin says Nifty above 6,500 and rupee closer to 60 is the best India has seen in the last year. Trade for today would be buying steel, banks & auto stocks and selling exporters like IT and pharma, he adds. (For Sanjeev's calls, click here)

08.25 a.m. Stocks in news today 1) Pfizer: Board meet on April 16 is likely to consider Wyeth merger. 2) Oil India has declared a dividend of Rs 10 per share 3) Federal Bank: Foreign investment limit hiked to 74 per cent from 49 per cent 4) Punjab National Bank: It may raise capital from rights issue 5) ONGC: Board meet to consider second interim dividend today.

08.20 a.m. Indian shares are likely to open higher according to futures trade on the Singapore Exchange. The SGX Nifty traded 35 points or 0.54 per cent higher at 6,545.50.

Asian markets also0 traded with strong gains. Japan's Nikkei index was up 1.8 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng benchmark traded 1 per cent higher. (What's happening in Asia)

08.10 a.m. The Supreme Court will hear an appeal to ban iron ore mining in Odisha today. The top court will also hear Reliance gas pricing petition.

08.00 a.m. Indian share markets edged higher on a special trading session on Saturday. The benchmark Sensex closed 0.01 per cent higher at 21,755.32 points while the broader Nifty closed 0.03 per cent higher at 6,494.90 points.

Indian shares have been trading near record highs on hopes of a stable government post elections due by May. Continued buying from foreign investors has been the biggest driving force behind the current rally. Overseas funds have been net buyers of $1.44 billion worth of shares so far this month.

On Saturday, FIIs bought shares worth Rs 15 crore in the cash market taking their buying streak to a 24th session in the previous 25.