Markets consolidate; Nifty holds 7,750

At 12:05 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 70 points at 25,408 and the Nifty50 is up 22 points at 7,757

Markets have consolidated and are trading in the positive zone supported by index heavyweights such as ITC, Infosys, and Reliance Industries.  However, the selling pressure in energy shares have capped the gains.

At 12:05 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 70 points at 25,408 and the Nifty50 is up 22 points at 7,757.

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The rupee strengthened by 6 paise to 66.31 against the US dollar in early trade on continued selling of dollar by banks and exporters amid increased foreign fund inflows.

The top gainers on the Sensex are Sun Pharma, NTPC, Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp, Dr. Reddy’s labs, all up between 1%-1.5% each.

The biggest losers on the Sensex are Maruti Suzuki, HDFC, Gail (India), Tata Steel, ONGC, all down between 0.5%- 1.5% each.

Kansai Nerolac Paints and Brigade Enterprises have gained more than 4% each after the industrial paints maker Kansai Nerolac said it has completed sale of its land in Chennai to realty firm Brigade Properties for over Rs 535 crore.

Hindustan Zinc has surged to its record high at Rs 200, up 14% on the BSE in early morning trade, after the company said its board has recommended a special dividend of 1200% or Rs 24 per equity share of face value of Rs 2/- for the current fiscal.

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(updated 12 pm)

Markets have extended gains with Nifty trading above 7,500 levels with technology stocks leading the rally along with select auto stocks.

At 10:15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 126 points at 25,464 and the Nifty50 is up 35 points at 7,770. 

Top 5 gainers, Infosys, Hero Motocorp, TCS, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto and Wipro gained 1%-1.7%.

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(updated at 10:15 am)
 

After posting massive gains yesterday, markets have opened the Thursday session on a flat note as participants turn cautious ahead of the expiry of March derivative contracts later today.

At 9: 15 am, the S&P BSE Sensex is up 15 points at 25,354 and the Nifty50 is up 3 points at 7,738. 

“Yesterday’s steep up move, looks to be aiming the measured objectives of 7,800/7,832 on the Nifty. However, even though the pause near the 7,743 region is very much on expected lines, this region should acutely check the uptrend’s conviction today as well. To this end, the start of the new series today, especially if it gets a higher opening, could be met with long liquidation pressure early in the day. Direct fall past 7,680 could again rekindle the potential for a slippage towards 7,550-7,484,” according to Geojit BNP Paribas Technical report.

Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in the equities to the tune of Rs 1,442 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.

GLOBAL MARKET

Asian shares rose on Thursday, taking early cues from Wall Street gains overnight, as receding worries of near-term US interest rate hikes continued to buoy risk sentiment.

The dollar hovered near seven-week lows versus the euro as cautious comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen earlier in the week on monetary tightening continued to resonate.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.4%. Australian stocks added 1.3%. Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.7%.

Following such cautious views from top Fed officials, the Dow .DJI climbed 0.5% and the S&P 500 .SPX rose 0.4% overnight. The CBOE Market Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's "fear gauge", ended down 1.9 percent at its lowest level since August.

Meanwhile, oil futures dropped in Asian trade as concerns regarding global oversupply resurfaced after data indicated that US crude inventories jumped previous week to a record for the seventh time.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

Brigade Enterprises has surged 3% as the company decides to build its third WTC after Bengaluru and Kochi in Chennai. 

Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd's (JISL) food processing arm has raised Rs 402 crore from Mandala Capital for growth of the company. The stock is up 2.6%.

Three public sector lenders, including Oriental Bank of Commerce and Vijaya Bank have received approval from the government for capital infusion of up to Rs 1,000 crore. Vijaya Bank is up 1%, while Oriental Bank of Commerce is trading flat.
 

Drug firm Natco Pharma said on Wednesday its board has approved to sell its 'Save Mart Pharmacy Stores' in the US. The stock has jumped 4%.

Reliance Capital, part of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, on Wednesday announced the completion of an additional 23 per cent stake sale in Reliance Life Insurance (RLI) to Nippon Life Insurance (NLI) for Rs 2,265 crore. The stock has slipped 0.5%.

Hindustan Zinc has surged to its record high at Rs 200, up 14% on the BSE in early morning trade after the company said its board has recommended a special dividend of 1200% or Rs 24 per equity share of face value of Rs 2/- for the current fiscal.