Share market live: Sensex, Nifty end at record high
03.40 p.m. Markets end at record high. Sensex closes at 22,214, up 119 points, Nifty ends at 6,642 after rising 40 points. State-run lenders emerged as the biggest gainers and pharma stocks were the top underperformers. SBI and PNB gained on broker upgrades and on hopes of some easing at the RBI's policy review on Tuesday.
3.31 p.m. Nifty provisionally closed at 6641.75 up 40.35 points, and Sensex closed up 105.13 points at 22,200.43.
3.10 p.m. Nifty & Sensex down drastically from its day high within a few minutes amid increased volatility ahead of expiry of March series contracts.(Track markets)
3.00 p.m. Market update: Sensex soars over 200 points to edge above 22,300; Nifty up around 70 points, heading towards 6,700. Rupee trading at day high of 60.13 per dollar.
2.16 p.m. Markets make fresh record. Sensex up 165 points, Nifty rises more than 50 points to hit 6,650 levels for the first time. (Track markets)
2.15 p.m. Rupee trying to break out into the positive territory. Currently trading at 60.16 a dollar and has made an intraday high of 60.13.
1.58 p.m. Nifty 6600 put adding massive open interest for April series. 6600 strike put has seen 35 per cent improvement in open interest whereas 6600 call has seen only 6.8 per cent increase in open interest. This indicated bullish outlook for the April series.
1.30 p.m. Markets off the day's high at this hour. Sensex up 96 points, Nifty up 36 points, but still trading close to 6,650 levels. PSU banking stocks have gained further momentum. SBI up 4.3 per cent, PNB up 4.1 per cent, Bank of Baroda up 3.5 per cent. Meanwhile, pharma stocks have fallen further. (Track markets)
12.50 p.m. Pharma stocks are on track for a fourth straight losing session on Thursday. The BSE healthcare index traded 0.7 per cent lower, underperforming the broader Sensex, which gained 0.5 per cent and traded at record high. Dr Reddy's was the top Nifty loser, down 1.6 per cent, while Sun Pharma declined 1.1 per cent. (Should you sell pharma stocks?)
12.30 p.m. Here are the top brokerage calls for the day,
11.50 a.m. Markets trading near day's high. Nifty nears 6,650, while Sensex trading above 22,200 at record highs. SBI has surged over 3.5 per cent. Other PSU lenders - PNB, BoB up over 3 per cent. (Why PSU banks are up. Read here)
11.30 a.m. Rupee trading at day's high of 60.15 per dollar as against Wednesday's close at 60.14. Sources told Reuters that RBI likely bought nearly $1 billion on Wednesday. The RBI has long been expected to start buying dollars when the rupee strengthens to add to foreign exchange reserves of $297.29 billion - the highest since late December 2011.
11.00 a.m. Praful Bohra of Nirmal Bang says defensive stocks like pharma may languish till polls. Pharma stocks might be downgraded if rupee continues to appreciate. Lupin best play in pharma space currently. Cadila and Natco Pharma also expected to perform though there's little visibility on Ranbaxy. (Track pharma stocks)
10.30 a.m. SpiceJet, Jet Airways up sharply after RBI extends deadline for raising working capital via external commercial borrowings.
10.15 a.m. PSU banks outperforming today. The PSU banks index is up 6.41 per cent in last one week and 20.32 per cent in last one month against Nifty's one week gain of 2 per cent and one month gain of 6.68 per cent. Goldman Sachs has upgraded SBI and Bank of Baroda to buy. (Read the full story here)
10.00 a.m. Meanwhile, markets have hit fresh highs for a fourth straight session. Sensex gains over 90 points, Nifty up around 30 points. (Track markets)
09.40 a.m. Deutsche Bank says midcap stocks have more steam. Its top bets in the midcap space are - Bharat Forge, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Jain Irrigation Systems, LIC Housing Finance, Shree Cement, Shriram Transport Finance and Yes Bank. (Read the full story here)
09.30 a.m. Broader market check. SpiceJet up 4.5 per cent, Ashok Leyland up 1.8 per cent, L&T Finance, up 2.2 per cent -- all on strong volumes.
09.25 a.m. Nifty watch: 35 stocks up, 15 down. ONGC top loser, down 1.4 per cent followed by Coal India, down 0.7 per cent. Cement stocks and private lenders also witnessing selling pressure. IDFC top Nifty gainer, up 2 per cent, followed by SBI, up 1.6 per cent. (Track top gainers and losers)
09.15 a.m. Markets open higher. Sensex gains 60 points, Nifty up 13 points. After a positive start, the Sensex and Nifty have given most of their gains. Private lenders saw some profit taking in early trade, but PSU lenders such as State Bank of India rose. The Nifty held on to 6,600 levels. (Track stocks)
09.00 a.m. Rupee opens lower at 60.24 to a dollar against Wednesday's close of 60.14
08.45 a.m. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava says Nifty may trade in a range of 6,550-6,650 today.
His top picks are,
1) Cummins India: Buy with a target of 600 and a stop loss of 544.4.
2) Glaxo Pharma: Buy with a target of 2750 and a stop loss of 2494.
3) Hindalco: Buy with a target of 135 and a stop loss of 119.8.
08.40 a.m. The Nifty is likely to open flat according to futures trade on the Singapore Exchange. SGX Nifty traded 1.5 per cent higher at 6,612. Some volatility is expected on Thursday, which marks the expiry of March equity derivative contracts.
08.30 a.m. Foreign institutional investors bought shares worth Rs 1004.52 crore in the cash market on Wednesday. Overseas investors have helped underpin gains, with net purchases in shares reaching $2.53 billion so far this month.
08.15 a.m. Tokyo stocks slipped as investors counted down to a rise in sales tax that is expected to swat consumer spending and test the market's faith in Abenomics. The Nikkei fell 1.2 per cent to threaten major chart support around 14,203, a break of which could trigger a retreat to 14,000. (Read full story here)
Talk of possible stimulus in China had been supporting Asian stocks in recent sessions, but the effect was starting to fade given the lack of any concrete steps.
Some blamed Wall Street's slip on news the United States and the European Union had agreed to work together to prepare possible tougher economic sanctions in response to Russia's behaviour in Ukraine. The Dow ended down 0.60 per cent. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.43 per cent to a low not seen in six weeks.
08.00 a.m. Indian share markets hit record highs for a third straight session on Wednesday on the back of buying from foreign investors and on hopes of a recovery in the domestic economy. Investors say the Reserve Bank of India's policy review on April 1, where it is widely expected to keeps rates unchanged, and general elections due by May would act as the next key catalysts for markets.
Whether Indian equities can sustain the record-setting rally this month is becoming a big source of debate in markets with bull and bears making very persuasive arguments.
(With inputs from Reuters)