Sensex ends 205 pts higher, Nifty above 10,300; PSU banks, IT stocks lead

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3:40 PM

Top index gainer: Nifty IT

Source: NSE

3:38 PM

Sectoral Trend

Source: NSE

3:37 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

3:35 PM

Broader Markets

In broader markets, the BSE midcap ended 0.36% higher while BSE Smallcap index settled at 0.22% higher

3:34 PM

Markets at Close

The S&P BSE Sensex ended at 33,455, up 205 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at 10,326, up 61 points

3:22 PM

Oil prices stable as ongoing Opec cuts countered by rising US rig drilling

 

Oil markets were stable on Monday as ongoing output cuts led by Opec were countered by rising US drilling activity that points to a further increase in American production.

 

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $57.32 a barrel at 0749 GMT, down 4 cents from their last settlement.

 

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were unchanged at $63.40 a barrel.

 

Crude prices have gained well over a third in value from their 2017 lows, largely due to production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and a group of non-Opec producers, including Russia, which have been in place since the start of the year. READ MORE

3:13 PM

BSE Midcap index hits new high

 

The S&P BSE Midcap index hit a new high of 17,131 on the BSE in intra-day deal on Monday after a healthy gain in pharmaceutical, cement and consumption related stocks. The index surpassed its previous high of 17,110.66 touched on November 29, 2017 in intra-day trade.

 

Wockhdart, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Financial Services, Tata Communications, Tata Global Beverages, Dalmia Bharat, Natco Pharma and ABB India were up in the range of 3% to 6% on the BSE. READ MORE

3:03 PM

Still not paid taxes on Bitcoin gains? I-T notice could be on the way

 

While virtual currencies like Bitcoin are gaining popularity, there is still lack of clarity on how they should be taxed. Many buyers of cryptocurrencies, therefore, don’t pay tax on the gains they make on selling them.

 

Tax experts, however, say that investors are obliged to pay tax on their gains in virtual currencies. “What investors don’t realise is that the Income Tax Act may not cover the taxation of virtual currencies specifically. But there are provisions that cover all kinds of income and gains,” says Archit Gupta, chief executive officer, ClearTax. The definition of capital assets under Section 2 (14) is broad enough to include any investment in crypto currencies. READ MORE

2:46 PM

SC to hear Unitech's appeal against NCLT order on govt takeover tomorrow

 

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear tomorrow the appeal of Unitech Limited challenging the recent order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directing the central government to take over the management of the embattled real estate firm.

 

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of the real estate firm that its bank accounts have been frozen and the company and its jailed promoters are finding it difficult to deposit Rs 750 crore as asked by the apex court.

 

The NCLT has recently invoked the provisions of the Companies Act and allowed the central government to take over the Unitech Limited and appoint its nominee directors in the Board of the firm. READ MORE

2:23 PM

AGC Networks hits 52-week high; stock zooms over 50% in four days

 

AGC Networks hit a 52-week high of Rs 167, up 13% on the BSE in intra-day trade, extending its over 35% surge of the past three trading sessio after Essar Telecom, the promoter released pledge shares.

 

Since December 5, the stock rallied 55% from Rs 108, as compared to 1.7% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.

 

The company informed the stock exchanges that Essar Telecom, the promoter has released its entire 21.32 million or 74.89% of total equity capital of the company.

2:01 PM

Nov inflation likely breached RBI's 4% target on rising food prices: Poll

 

India's retail inflation likely breached the central bank's 4.0 per cent medium-term target in November after unseasonably heavy rains sent food prices soaring, a Reuters poll showed.

 

In the poll of more than 30 economists, annual consumer inflation, due to be released on Dec. 12 at 1200 GMT, was seen surging to a 13-month high of 4.20 per cent in November from October's 3.58 per cent.

 

The higher inflation rate is unlikely to push the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to change its key rate anytime soon, economists in the poll said. READ MORE

1:43 PM

Max India hits 52-week low, Fortis Healthcare down 3%

 

Shares of Max India and Fortis Healthcare were under pressure, falling by upto 4% on the BSE in otherwise firm market.

 

Max India hit 52-week low of Rs 128, down 4.5% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), after the Delhi government cancelled the licence of Max Hospital-Shalimar Bagh. Max India is the holding company of Max Healthcare.

 

“Max Healthcare Institute, an equal joint venture with Life Healthcare (South Africa), has received a notice of cancellation of the license of one of its hospitals at Shalimar Bagh, New Delhi, from Government of NCT of Delhi,” Max India said in a statement. READ MORE

1:21 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

1:05 PM

Markets check

 

At 1:00 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,352, up 102 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,292, up 26 points.

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,357.41	+107.11	+0.32
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,743.27	+35.74	+0.33
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,774.79	+48.76	+0.14
S&P BSE 100	10,778.04	+32.41	+0.30
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,719.93	+8.75	+0.24

Source: BSE

12:44 PM

Buzzing stock

 

Bharti Airtel was up 2.5% to Rs 538 on the BSE in intra-day trade after the company has signed an agreement with the Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to provide mobile services to over 2,100 unconnected villages in the Northeast. READ MORE

 

12:19 PM

Good times returning for this Kingfisher

 

United Breweries (UBL), producer of Kingfisher and other popular beer brands, and its shareholders are finally seeing good times again. From the shareholders’ perspective, the recent gains for the stock reverse the declining trend over two years.

 

In the 12 months to mid-October, for instance, the S&P BSE Sensex was up over 20 per cent, whereas the UBL stock was down nearly three per cent. The weak performance was due to flattish sales and declining profit in recent years. However, since then, the stock has risen about 26 per cent to levels last seen in August 2015. READ FULL ANALYSIS

12:03 PM

Nifty trades below 10,300; top five losers 

Source: NSE

11:44 AM

Adani Enterprises can surprise

 

Adani Enterprises (AEL) is one company I would back to stage the surprise of the year.

 

The ‘mother’ of the Adani Group companies — comprising many businesses — has been valued at only Rs 16,600 crore. There are two reasons for this extensive discount: One, the company has extended loans to Adani Power, which is in a temporary bother with regard to the pricing of coal and corresponding remuneration from the state electricity board; two, the status of loans extended to the Carmichael coal mine implementation in Australia. READ MORE

11:27 AM

Buzzing stock

 

UltraTech Cement was trading 2% higher at Rs 4,236 on the BSE after the company said its board approved the setting up of a 3.5 mtpa integrated cement plant at Pali, Rajasthan.

 

The commercial production from the plant is expected to commence by June 2020, UltraTech Cement said in a press release. READ MORE

11:03 AM

Markets check

 

At 11:00 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,351, up 101 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,292, up 26 points. 

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,352.34	+102.04	+0.31
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,741.82	+34.29	+0.32
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,750.55	+24.52	+0.07
S&P BSE 100	10,775.64	+30.01	+0.28
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,726.18	+15.00	+0.40

Source: BSE

10:47 AM

Interview of the day

 

India has been one of the best-performing equity markets across the globe, with a rally of over 25 per cent in 2017. S Naren, executive director and chief investment officer of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, tells Business Standard the country will remain an attractive market for foreign investors despite the rich valuations. READ FULL INTERVIEW

S Naren, Executive director & chief investment officer, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund

10:20 AM

Feed the algo trading bug with small capital

 

As the stock market boom pulls retail investors into equities, a few of them are venturing into algorithmic trades.

 

The rising interest of retail investors into computer program-based trades has prompted brokers to begin offering this facility to them. In the past few months, stock brokers such as 5Paisa, Zerodha, SMC Global Securities and Upstox have allowed retail investors to execute automated trades on their platforms.

READ FULL REPORT 

10:04 AM

Buzzing stock

 

Ucal Fuel Systems was locked in upper circuit of 20% at Rs 235 on the BSE after the company reported nearly doubled net profit at Rs 15.98 crore in September quarter (Q2FY18). The auto ancillary company had profit of Rs 8.03 crore in the same quarter year ago. READ MORE

9:51 AM

Is bitcoin the new ponzi?

 

A gravity-defying bitcoin rally to over Rs 10 lakh a piece, interspersed with 'stories' of people making crores from thousands, has left the regulators flummoxed amid fears that a complete lack of regulatory regime for such cryptocurrencies may give rise to 'e-ponzi' scams.

 

The financial sector watchdogs, including RBI and Sebi, as also various government agencies, will soon get into a huddle to prepare a framework to safeguard the gullible investors and to clamp down on the fraudsters who may try to manipulate the regulatory gaps, a senior official said. READ FULL REPORT

9:32 AM

Sectoral trend 

Source: NSE

9:25 AM

Sensex heatmap at open

Source: BSE

9:20 AM

Markets at open

At 9:18 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 33,385, up 135 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 10,302, up 36 points. 

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,401.89	+151.59	+0.46
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,760.35	+52.82	+0.49
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	35,930.09	+204.06	+0.57
S&P BSE 100	10,799.99	+54.36	+0.51
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,737.29	+26.11	+0.70

Source: BSE

9:08 AM

Technical picks by Prabhudas Lilladher

 

BUY INDIA CEMENTS  

  

CMP: Rs 174.40      

TARGET: Rs 192     

STOP LOSS: Rs 164

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

9:05 AM

Technical picks 

 

Piramal Enterprise - Bullish

Last Close – Rs 2,879.95

 

Couple of weeks back, we saw this stock breaking out from a near term congestion zone and thereby confirming a ‘Triangular’ pattern around 2750. However, due to lack of follow up buying, the stock consolidated around its breakout point. 

 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE

9:03 AM

Nifty outlook by Angel Broking 

 

This week, markets behaved like a double-edged sword as we saw some follow through selling in the initial part after last week’s intimidating selling and then the latter part was clearly dominated by the optimistic traders. In fact, the momentum was so strong; the Nifty managed to recover previous four days of losses in last couple of sessions to eventually end up reclaiming the 10250 mark on a closing basis. READ MORE