Sensex surges 400 points, Nifty hits 8,650

Broader markets perform in line with the benchmarks, gaining 1.25% each

Benchmark shares indices firmed up further on renewed buying interest in index heavyweights and financials led by ICICI Bank.

At 2:40pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 445 points at 27,975 and the Nifty50 was up 130 points at 8,650.

HDFC was up 3.6% while ITC gained over 2% and Infosys rose 1.5%.

ICICI Bank extended gains and was up over 4%. The Essar Group agreed to sell its refinery unit to Rosneft PJSC, Russia’s biggest listed oil producer, and a consortium of Trafigura and United Capital Partners for about $13 billion. The bank is a lender to the Essar Group.
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(Updated at 1:40pm)
Markets extended gains in late noon trades on Tuesday led by financials and index heavyweights.

At 1:40pm, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex was up by 400 points at 27,930 levels, while the Nifty50 crossed the 8,600 mark, and was up 115 points, trading at 8,635.

ICICI Bank and Adani Ports remain the top gainers on Sensex, surging almost 4% each on Sensex. 

Asian stocks extended gains, with MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan up 1.2%, pulled higher by financials and a rebound in oil prices.

Back home, investors now await a government meeting on the goods and services tax (GST) for clarity on rates. The three-day meeting of the GST Council will decide the main tax rate and those for different sectors.

"I think markets today are drawing comfort from global markets, which are positive. The GST outcome is not expected before today evening or tomorrow, so it's the global cues that are supporting for now," said Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities.

Among the gainers, Tata Steel rose 2.5% after falling nearly 2% in the last three sessions, while Zee Entertainment gained 2.2% after shedding 12% in the previous four sessions. HDFC was up 2.3% after declining about 9% in the last seven sessions.

GOLD PRICES

Gold prices edged up for a second session on Tuesday as the US dollar weakened, but rising equities capped gains amid speculation over when the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates. Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,258.68 an ounce. US gold futures had risen 0.3% to $1,259.80 an ounce.

Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said on Monday that economic stability could be threatened by low interest rates, but it was "not that simple" for the Fed to hike.

"Gold is riding on the dollar weakness," said Helen Lau, analyst at Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong.

"The U.S will eventually raise interest rates, but investors still feel that central banks across the world will continue to be accommodative," she said.


With Reuters inputs

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Updated at 1:15pm



Benchmark share indices were trading near their day's high led by index heavyweights and banks.

At 12 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 260 points or 1% trading at 27,790 levels while the Nifty50 was up 72 points or 0.8% at 8,592 points. In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 1% each. Market breadth was strong with 1,674 gainers and 677 losers while 143 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Top gainers on Sensex were Tata Steel, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank with gains between 2%-3%, while ONGC, Asian Paint and Bharti Airtel were the losers, slipping down just around 1% each.

Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) hit a fresh record high of Rs 317, up 3% on BSE, extending its Monday’s 2% gain, after the company reported better-than-expected 29% year on year growth in net profit at Rs 233 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2016 (Q2FY17).

Aarti Industries hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 740, up 5% on the BSE in intra-day trade, after the company said the board has approved buyback of shares at a price of Rs 800 per share via the tender offer route.

Global Markets

Asian shares extended gains on Tuesday, pulled higher by financials and a rebound in oil prices, while the Australian dollar hit a two-week high as investors trimmed expectations for a central bank rate cut this year.

Despite the bounce in risk-sensitive assets in Asia, volumes were light with markets hugging well-worn trading ranges. Investors are now awaiting China data due this week, including the September quarter gross domestic product on Wednesday, after last week's trade figures raised concerns about the health of the world's second-biggest economy.

Japan's Nekkei was up by 0.3% while Hang Sheng had a better run with a 1.5% gain.

With Reuters input