Sensex holds 26,000, Nifty aims 8,000; L&T soars 10%

Market may remain volatile as traders roll over positions in the futures & options segment from the May to June series

Markets have extended gains for third straight day supported by strong performance among global peers and rise in crude oil prices.

By 9:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 119 points at 26,000 and the Nifty50 gained 30 points to trade at 7,965. Among broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.4%.

Market may remain volatile as traders roll over positions in the futures & options (F&O) segment from the May 2016 series to June 2016 series. The May 2016 derivatives contracts expire today.

Yesterday, benchmark indices ended over 2% higher amid a broad-based rally led by index heavyweights, capital goods and bank shares while firm global cues, rise in oil prices and above normal monsoon predictions also aided the upmove.

"Nifty has formed a strong Bullish Belt Hold candle on daily chart followed previous day’s Hammer candle which already given an early sign of reversal in recent decline. It has surpassed all immediate hurdle of 7,820, 7,880, 7,920 zones and given a highest daily close in last 20 trading sessions above 7,920 zones. It has tested 50 Day Exponential moving averages on this Tuesday and four times index tested the same and rallied by more than 200 points on an average. Now it has support near to 7,878 then 7,850 levels and holding above 7,940 may take the index towards May Month's high of 7,992 then fresh move towards 8,150 zones," adds Anand Rathi in a morning note.

Besides, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 495.08 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges

Brent crude oil rose above $50 a barrel for the first time in nearly seven months on Thursday but Asian shares struggled to gain traction, with worries about U.S. interest rates and China's slowing economy keeping many investors on the sidelines.

Japan's Nikkei rose 0.3 percent but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was almost flat, struggling to extend its rebound from Tuesday's 12-week low. It had gained 1.2 percent on Wednesday.

Back home, ONGC, Power Grid, BPCL, RCF, Jet Airways, India Cements, GMDC, Finolex Cables will announce their Q4 earnings today.

Further, the Union government is confident it would be able to garner an adequate number of votes in the Rajya Sabha to ensure the passage of the Constitution amendment Bill on goods and services tax (GST) during the forthcoming monsoon session of Parliament. Based on this, it has already begun working on a timeline that envisages roll-out of the GST regime from April 2017.

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a policy for the capital goods sector, aimed at increasing production to Rs 7.5 lakh crore by 2025.

Among stocks, L&T has zoomed by 10% after the company’s net profit for the quarter ended March rose to Rs 2,454 crore, up 19% from the Rs 2,070 crore during the corresponding quarter a year before.

Bajaj Auto has surged over 1% after reporting a 29% increase in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2016, riding on a 12% growth in motorcycle sales and benign raw material prices.

BHEL has gained over 1%. It has commissioned the first 800 mw supercritical thermal unit in Raichur, Karnataka.

GAIL India reported a 38.7% rise in March quarter net profit on the back of higher volumes of gas transmission and bigger trading margins. The stock has gained by 1%.

ONGC has gained 1% ahead of Q4 numbers.

Tata Steel has recovered from day's low and is trading higher by 1%. Tata Steel has received a number of serious offers for its businesses in Britain, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Wednesday as steel workers marched past Downing Street to put pressure on the government to get a deal.

The company reported a consolidated loss of Rs 3,214 crore in the March 2016 quarter against a loss of Rs 5,674 crore in the year-ago period, owing to lower net sales and exceptional items impairment charges taken on restructuring of Europe operations and employee separation compensation in India.

Tata Motors said on Wednesday that an authorised committee of the company has approved to raise upto Rs 300 crore via issue of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to bankroll its expansion plans. The stock has risen by 1%.



With Reuters input