Power, realty stocks drive Sensex up 295 points; Nifty closes at 10,540

Closing bell: The S&P BSE Sensex surged 294.71 points or 0.87 per cent to 34,300.47 and the Nifty50 climbed 84.8 points or 0.81 per cent to 10,539.75 on positive global cues.

Brokers said sustained buying by domestic institutional investors ahead of inflation data to be released after market hours today improved the trading sentiment.

Among BSE sectoral indices , power index gained the most by 1.87 per cent, followed by realty 1.73 per cent, capital goods 1.65 per cent and infrastructure 1.47 per cent, while IT index was down 0.47 per cent and TECk 0.43 per cent. Top five Sensex gainers were Tata Steel, YES Bank, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank and Hero MotoCorp, while the major losers were State Bank of India, Infosys, ITC, M&M and ICICI Bank.

Shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation climbed as much as 3.8 per cent to Rs 194.5, their highest since February 2. The stock posted its biggest intraday percentage gain since January 23. More on this

The company-led consortium has won a stake in Abu Dhabi National Oil Co’s (ADNOC) 40-year offshore oil concession.

Bank of Baroda's shares rose as much as 6.8 per cent to Rs 166.9, its biggest percentage gain since October 26 despite posting weak results. Read more

The company's Q3 profit fell nearly 56 per cent to Rs 112 crore ($17.43 million).

State-owned insurance companies are getting a pass from regulators to raise subordinated debt as the Government prepares to enlist them in a bid to extend health coverage to half a billion poor people. Click here to read more

Normal IRDA rules do not allow insurers to make interest payments on such securities if their solvency ratio is below 1.5.

Oil India shares rose on strong Q3 results. The stock jumped as much as 2.9 per cent to Rs 365.50. Read more

Oil India Q3 profit jumped 55 per cent to Rs 705 crore ($109.70 million), beating analysts’ average estimate of Rs 688 crore.

BSE jumps 2% : Shares of BSE Ltd rose as much as 1.96 per cent to the highest since February 8 as the exchange, along with the National Stock Exchange and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India, plans to stop licensing products and data to foreign exchanges such as Singapore Exchange Ltd. More on this

BSE, along with the National Stock Exchange and Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India, has said it would stop licensing products and data to foreign exchanges such as Singapore Exchange Ltd (SGX).

IRFC: While looking to diversify from financial leasing for the Railways to lending to other entities having forward and backward integration with the transport giant, the Indian Railway Finance Corporation is looking to strengthen its project evaluation methodology. Click here to read more

SK Pattanayak, Managing Director, IRFC

With the Federal Reserve embarking on monetary tightening, foreign fund flows into India are likely to be negatively impacted over the next 2 to 3 years. Click here to read more

The excessive liquidity pumped into the system by the Fed and the burgeoning dollar-denominated credit, spurred by near-zero rates in the US, have found their way into all emerging markets, including India.

BSE sectoral indices

NSE sectoral indices

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by nearly 220 points led by realty, power, capital goods and healthcare stocks amid firm global cues. The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 215.86 points or 0.63 per cent at 34,221.62 and the Nifty up 65.45 points or 0.63 per cent at 10,520.40.

The government is due to post inflation data later in the day, with analysts expecting consumer prices to have risen 5.14 per cent last month from a year ago, compared with 5.21 per cent in December.

Sentiment is expected to remain wobbly, analysts said, though sectors seen as “undervalued” are likely to attract demand.

“Pharma was one of the oversold and underowned sector,” said Gaurang Shah, head investment strategist, Geojit Financial Services, noting that the earnings outlook for the sector is expected to improve.

“Attraction is back into pharma stocks,” he added.

Weekly trading guide

SBI (₹296.4): As such the stock is likely to reverse lower from the ₹315-₹316 zone and can fall again towards ₹295 and ₹290. A break below ₹290 can take the stock further lower to ₹283 and ₹280.  Read more

ITC (₹271.3)

Since the overall market sentiment is negative, ITC can fall towards ₹265 or ₹260 in the short term along with the broader indices. Read more

Infosys (₹1,111.8)

A fall to ₹1,085 or ₹1,080 looks likely in the coming days. The region between ₹1,085 and ₹1,080 is a key support zone. An upward reversal from this support region towards ₹1,100 cannot be ruled out. Read more

RIL (₹897.9)

As long as the stock remains below ₹910, it can remain under pressure. Though there is a key support in the ₹890-₹885 region, RIL looks vulnerable to fall below ₹885. Read more

Tata Steel (₹683.6)

Immediate support is at ₹678 and the next key support is at ₹665. If the stock manages to sustain above ₹665, an upmove to ₹710 is possible. More on this

Silver futures: Silver prices rose 1.12 per cent to Rs 38,000 per kg at the futures market as participants created fresh positions owing to a firm trend in global markets.  Read more

MCX gold: Gold prices rose 0.37 per cent to Rs 30,121 per 10 gram at the futures trade on speculative buying triggered by a firm global trend. Read more

CG Power clinches new deal : CG Power & Industrial Solutions Ltd’s wholly-owned subsidiary has bagged an order worth Indonesian rupiah Rs 74,400 crore from state utility PT PLN (Persero) for manufacturing and supply of 64 units of power transformers. More on this

The project will be completed by December 2018. The scope of work includes site survey, design, manufacturing, supply and installation of 64 units (4400 MVA) of power transformers in PLN regions.

L&T Hydrocarbon bags new order: L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering, a wholly-owned subsidiary of engineering giant Larsen & Toubro, has secured a Rs 2,200-crore contract from Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Petroleum Operations Company. Read more

L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering has signed “a major field development EPC contract with Al Dhafra Petroleum Operations Company Ltd, Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a value in excess of Rs 2,200 crore.

Gold edges up: Spot gold was up 0.3 per cent at $1,320.19 an ounce, as of 0111 GMT. Prices had touched their lowest since January 4 at $1,306.81 last week. US gold futures were up 0.5 per cent at $1,321.70 per ounce. More on this

After falling in the past three trading sessions, spot gold edged up 0.4 per cent to $1,329.24 per ounce at 0343 GMT.

Yen remains firm: The dollar eased 0.2 per cent to 108.62 yen, but remained above Friday's trough of 108.05 yen, the dollar's lowest level since September 11. The dollar fell nearly 1.3 per cent against the yen last week. More on this

The dollar eased 0.2 percent to 108.62 yen. File Photo

Marico climbs over 3%: Shares of Marico rose more than 3 per cent as the company has reported a 16.51 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit at Rs 223.28 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2017. Read more

Marico attributed Q3 earnings to higher income led by gains in market share

Tata Steel shines : Shares of Tata Steel rose more than 5 per cent as the company has reported a five-fold jump in its third quarter profit. More on this

Crude oil gains: Oil prices rose 1 per cent, recovering at least some of last week's steep losses as Asian stock markets found their footing after days of chaotic trading. Read more

US crude remains below $60 per barrel as output soars

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading higher by nearly 250 points on continued buying by domestic institutional investors amid firm Asian cues. The 30-share BSE index Sensex was up 235.79 points or 0.69 per cent at 34,241.55 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty up 67.5 points or 0.65 per cent at 10,522.45.

NSE chart

Barring IT and TECk, all other BSE sectoral indices were trading in the green. Among them, realty index gained the most by 2.38 per cent, followed by healthcare 1.66 per cent, infrastructure 1.51 per cent and capital goods 1.48 per cent. On the other hand, IT index was down 0.1 per cent and TECk 0.06 per cent.

As per provisional data, domestic institutional investors had bought shares worth Rs 588.42 crore while foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth Rs 1351.70 crore on Friday.

BSE gainers, losers

NSE gainers, losers

SBI slumps over 3%: Shares of State Bank of India slumped over 3 per cent on weak third quarter earnings. Read more

The SBI Group had on February 9 reported a massive Rs 1,886.57 crore net loss for the December quarter of the current fiscal due to increase in bad loans and provisioning.

Rupee rebounds: The rupee recovered by 15 paise to 64.25 against the dollar in early trade on fresh selling of the US currency by exporters and banks amid strong domestic equities. Read more

The rupee recovered by 15 paise to 64.25 against the dollar in early trade.

Sun TV Network: The long-term outlook for the stock (₹973.5) is positive. Only a close below ₹783 will alter the bullish view on Sun TV for the long term. Read more

M-cap of top-10 Sensex cos erodes: The combined market valuation of the 10 most valued Indian companies slumped by Rs 1,11,986.87 crore last week, with TCS taking the steepest hit.  Read more

Over the last week, the BSE Sensex recorded a steep fall of 1,060.99 points.

Aster DM Healthcare IPO: Aster DM Healthcare IPO opened today. The price band for the offer, which would be till 15th, is Rs 180-190 per share. The company has allotted 1,54,75,843 shares at Rs 190 apiece to anchor investors raising Rs 294 crore. More on this

Azad Moopen, CMD, Aster Health Care Ltd during the announcement of the company's IPO on February 5. File Photo: Paul Noronha

Index Outlook : Domestic investors will keep an eye on macro data such as IIP data for December and CPI inflation numbers for January, which will be released today. Also, Japan GDP’s and eurozone GDP data, could provide some global cues for the market. Click here to read more

The S&P BSE Sensex surged nearly 248.67 points or 0.73 per cent to 34,254.43 and the Nifty50 climbed 71.5 points or 0.68 per cent to 10.526.45.

Nifty chart

SGX shares fell 8 per cent following an unexpected move by India's three main stock exchanges to stop licensing products and data to foreign exchanges to prevent trading from migrating overseas. Click here to read more

SGX Nifty 50 index futures tracks the National Stock Exchange's main index. File Photo

Asian markets: MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.8 per cent, having suffered a 7.3 per cent drubbing last week. Both South Korea and China gained 0.8 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday. Read more

Both South Korea and China gained 0.8 per cent. File Photo

The Sensex jumped nearly 200 points and the Nifty hit 10.518 on fresh buying by funds and retail investors amid firm Asian cues. The 30-share BSE index Sensex jumped 188.60 points or 0.55 per cent at 34,194.36 and the Nifty climbed 63.25 points or 0.6 per cent to 10,518.20.

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