Sensex ends 274 points up; rupee recovers, Bharti, ONGC up 6%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty surged nearly 2% in late trade following rebound in European markets and the Indian rupee. Banking & financials, oil & gas, telecom and metals stocks led the rally.

The BSE benchmark rose 274.20 points or 1.72%, to close at 16,222.30 and the NSE benchmark closed above the 4900 level at 4,921.40, up 85.75 points or 1.77%.

Also Read: Will partial rollback of petrol price hike impact market?

Today's sharp upmove was also on the hopes that government may raise diesel price after yesterday's steep hike in petrol price (to Rs 6.28 a litre excluding taxes) by oil marketing companies. State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC benefitted the most, shooting up nearly 6%.

However, shares of oil marketing companies like IOC and HPCL fell over 1% after initial spike of 4%. Even BPCL came off day's high to close 0.5% higher.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee rebounded quite sharply towards close of Indian equity markets. It was trading at 55.88 as against the US dollar, rising 12 paise over previous close of 56 a dollar and 51 paise from record low of 56.38 (that touched today).

European markets too turned positive after initial downtrend. France's CAC and Britain's FTSE climbed over 1% while Germany's DAX rose 0.6% amid Greece concerns and weak economic data across eurozone.

Back home, top telecom operator Bharti Airtel surged 5.6% after it acquired 49% stake in Qualcomm India's BWA Assets for USD 165 million. In a release, company says partnership will roll-out state-of-the-art 4G networks on LTE TDD technology in Delhi, Mumbai, Haryana and Kerala.

Tulip Telecom rose 2.5% after it divested its 13% equity stake in Qualcomm BWA Venture to Bharti Airtel.

Mortgage lender stayed quite strong since initial trade today, rising 4.4% as MSCI reversed weightage of the stock in their MSCI India index after sorting out issues with regards to the bank's foreign ownership limits. Recently the company increased in the limit of shareholding by foreign institutional investors from 74% up to 100% of the paid-up equity share capital.

Country's largest private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank jumped 3% each while their rival State Bank of India rose 0.7%.

Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter went up 1.2% and its rival Wipro gained 2% whereas TCS was down 0.3%.

Auto stocks recovered - Tata Motors, M&M and Bajaj Auto were up 1-2% whereas Maruti and Hero Motocorp fell 0.2-0.5%.

Among metals stocks, Jindal Steel and Hindalco Industries advanced 3-3.5%. Private oil & gas producer Reliance Industries rose 1.35%.

Index heavyweight ITC gained 0.7% ahead of fourth quarter numbers tomorrow.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 892 to 512 on the National Stock Exchange. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up over 0.5%.

At 14:26 hours IST: Sensex gains 1% on diesel price hike hopes; ONGC up 6%

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty advanced around 1% as the steep hike in petrol prices raised hopes that diesel and LPG prices will also be increased.

A government committee headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will meet on Friday to discuss raising diesel, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and kerosene prices, a finance ministry official said on Thursday.

Goldman Sachs says it expects limited hikes of about Rs 3 a litre in diesel, Rs 50 per cylinder in LPG, and possibly Rs 2 a litre in kerosene.

CLSA in a note says an "ad-hoc price increase" in other fuels "is just a matter of time."

The BSE benchmark shot up 216.57 points or 1.36% to 16164.67 and the NSE benchmark moved up above 4900 level again to 4,904.50, up 68.85 points or 1.42%.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC went up nearly 6% while Oil India was up nearly 2%

Private sector lenders ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank rallied 2% each while state-owned lender State Bank of India rose 0.6%. Housing finance company HDFC jumped 3%.

India's most valued stock Reliance Industries was up 1% and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel shot up 4%.

Software services provider Infosys and Wipro were up 1-2% whereas rival TCS fell 0.4%.

Shares of ITC, Larsen & Toubro, M&M and GAIL rose over 1% while Maruti fell more than 1%.

At 13:45 hours IST: Choppy Sensex, Nifty off day's high; SBI, HDFC most active

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty remained volatile as the Indian rupee choppy too. The rupee stayed near record low (though recovered somewhat in morning trade), falling 32 paise to 56.32 a dollar in afternoon trade.

TCS and State Bank of India turned red while metals stocks were off day's high.

The BSE benchmark gained 74 points at 16,021.74 and the NSE benchmark rose 20 points to 4,855.80 (touched 4900 level) amid weak European cues and depreciation in rupee.

Country's largest software services provider TCS went down 0.7% whereas Wipro rose 1.4% and Infosys was up 0.2%.

Auto stocks continued to slide - Top car maker Maruti Suzuki and commercial vehicle major Tata Motors fell 1-2%.

India's largest lender State Bank of India turned flat while its rivals ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were up 0.7% and 1.4%, respectively.

Housing finance company HDFC and State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC stayed quite strong since morning, rising 3% and 4%, respectively. Healthcare company Ranbaxy Labs too gained over 3%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries jumped 1% and top telecom operator Bharti Airtel spiked 2%.

Most active shares on exchanges were Wockhardt, JSW Steel, HDFC, Tech Mahindra, SBI, Infosys and ICICI Bank.

On the global front, European markets like France's CAC and Germany's DAX fell 0.3% each whereas Britain's FTSE rose just 0.3%. Germany's composite PMI came in at 49.6 for May as against 50.5 in previous month. Eurozone composite PMI too declined at 45.9 for May as against 46.7 MoM, which was lowest since June 2009.

At 12:31 hours IST: Sensex gains 200 pts, Nifty hits 4900;  ONGC spikes 4%

The BSE Sensex gained more than 200 points while the NSE Nifty surpassed the 4900 level on broadbased buying. Banking & financial, oil & gas, technology and metals stocks led the rally in afternoon trade.

The BSE benchmark rallied 217.13 points or 1.36% to 16,165.23 and the NSE benchmark was up 65.90 points at 4901.55. The Indian rupee too somewhat recovered from day's low of 56.31 a dollar to 56.09 a dollar, but still down 9 paise as compared to previous close.

State-owned oil & gas producer ONGC shot up over 4% on hopes that government may hike diesel price. Sources indicated that oil ministry has been pushing for Rs 5/litre rise in diesel. Oil marketing companies yesterday raised petrol price by Rs 6.28 a litre (excluding tax). HPCL and IOC were up nearly 1% while BPCL went up 2%.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries gained 1.3% and gas transportation services provider GAIL rose 1.6%.

Mortgage lender HDFC surged 3.5% and private sector lender HDFC Bank climbed nearly 3%. Country's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank were up 0.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

Software services provider Infosys and Wipro moved up over 1% while TCS was flat after recovery.

Metals stocks extended rally; Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Tata Steel and Sterlite Industries rallied 1.5-3%.

On the global front, Britain's FTSE and Germany's DAX were up nearly 0.8% while France's CAC fell 0.8%.

At 11:45 hours IST: Volatile Sensex up 150 pts; oil & gas, banks, metals gain

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty gained strength amid volatility, even after the rupee was moving towards record low again. Oil & gas, banks and metals stocks helped markets gain further.

The BSE benchmark spiked 150 points to 16,097.89 and the NSE benchmark gained 45 points at 4,880.45.

The Indian rupee depreciated by 31 paise to 56.31 a dollar from previous close of 56 a dollar. It had touched an all-time low of 56.39 to the dollar.

Ssharad D Pawaar, SPFX INDIA feels the rupee is expected to remain under pressure as the dollar continues to gain. "The uncertainty in the Eurozone could add to the pressure but any RBI intervention may restrict the losses," he reasoned.

State-owned oil & gas producer shot up 3.5% on hopes that the government may raise diesel price. GAIL too rallied over 1.5%. Reliance Industries, India's most valued stock gained 0.8%. Oil marketing companies like BPCL, HPCL and IOC erased somewhat gains, but still up 1-2% on petrol price hike by Rs 6.28 per litre.

Housing finance company HDFC stayed 3% higher since early trade. Even private sector lender HDFC Bank rose 2.5% while its rival ICICI Bank was up just 0.76%. State Bank of India trimmed losses, falling just 0.3%.

Top telecom operator Bharti Airtel jumped 1.6%. Cigarette major ITC, and engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro were up 0.6% each.

Metals and mining stocks too gained; Sterlite, Jindal Steel, Hindalco and Coal India were up 0.6-1.4%.

However, Maruti fell 2% on demand concerns after the 11% petrol price hike. The company might have to up discounts and sacrifice on margins. Goldman Sachs has a sell rating on the stock; they believe that the widening price differential between petrol and diesel will put additional pressure on pricing and utilizations.

Two-wheeler majors Bajaj Auto and Hero Motocorp were down 0.5-0.8%.

Country's largest software services exporter TCS was down 0.7% while rival Infosys rose 0.4%.

In the second line shares, Tech Mahindra shot up 6% after beat expectations on margin front in Q4. The company positively surprised with a 60 basis points sequential increase in margins. Dollar revenue has declined 2.5%, but was inline with expectations.

On the global front, Asian markets were lacklustre in trade - Shanghai fell 0.5% after HSBC preliminary PMI declined at 48.7 for May as against final PMI at 49.3 in previous month. Hang Seng and Taiwan Weighted were marginally down whereas Nikkei, Straits Times and Kospi trade with moderate gains.

At 10:31 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty, broader mkts flat; ONGC, HDFC top buy list

The BSE Sensex stayed flat since early trade as it seemed to be priced in petrol price hike, depreciation in rupee and Greece woes.

The index opened with more than 100 points gap up in reaction to fuel price hike (up petrol by Rs 6.28/Litre), but could not sustain gains for long. Even the rupee did not see any appreciation in opening trade; it fell 15 paise to 56.15 a dollar.

Experts believe this would not improve sentiment. They feel act on diesel price will definitely helped markets to advance further. Sources indicated that oil ministry has been pushing for Rs 5 per litre hike in diesel price.

The BSE benchmark went up 21.19 points to 15,969.29 and the NSE benchmark rose 4.15 points to 4,839.80. The broader markets too were flat.

Housing finance company HDFC topped the buying list, rising 3%. State-owned oil and gas producer ONGC gained 2.7% on hopes of increase in diesel price. GAIL too gained 2% and Reliance Industries was up 0.4%.

Private sector lender HDFC Bank rose 1% whereas top lender State Bank of India fell nearly 1%.

Country's largest telecom operator Bharti Airtel moved up 1.4% on short covering; the stock had tanked 4% yesterday on rupee depreciation.

However, top software services exporters TCS, Infosys and Wipro were down 0.5-1%.

Auto stocks were under pressure due to sharp hike in petrol price yesterday. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki tumbled 2.5%. Bajaj Auto declined 1.7%. M&M, Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors slipped 0.2-0.8%.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining by 632 to 512 on the National Stock Exchange.

At 9:20 hours IST: Sensex, Nifty open volatile despite petrol price hike

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty started off trade with gain of 0.6% on Thursday, but immediately erased all gains despite petrol price hike.

Experts feel this would not improve sentiment as it already deteriorated by global and domestic factors.

Petrol price hike would not alone be able to improve sentiment of the market, says Pratik Gupta, Head of Equities at Deutsche Equities. "Diesel price hike is one of the point that will improve sentiment." Sharp fall in rupee has hurt sentiment significantly, he says.

The BSE benchmark rose just 13.26 points to 15,961.36 and the NSE benchmark went up 1.05 points to 4,836.70.

Oil marketing companies rallied quite sharply after they have taken bold steps yesterday to increase petrol price by Rs 6.28 a litre (excluding taxes). BPCL, HPCL and IOC shot up 4% each.

ONGC gained 3.5% on hopes that government may raise diesel price too. GAIL went up 2.5%.

CNBC reported quoting sources that EGoM is likely to meet on Friday to mull Diesel and LPG price hike. Oil Ministry has been pushing for Rs 5/Litre hike in diesel price.

The Indian rupee could not see any pull back in early trade as it opened at 56.14 a dollar as against previous close of 56 a dollar. It was trading at 56.05 a dollar.

HDFC gained 2%. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and L&T too were on buyers' radar.

However, auto stocks took knock due to hike in petrol prices. Top car maker Maruti Suzuki lost 3%, which already beaten down by the rupee depreciation and now petrol price hike added fuel to the fire. Even two-wheeler majors Hero Motocorp and Bajaj Auto were down 1.4% each.

Infosys, SBI and Bank of Baroda were other losers.

The CNX Midcap Index rose 26 points to 6,848. About two shares advanced for every share falling on the National Stock Exchange.

In the second line shares, Delta Corp, Essar Oil, Shasun Pharma, Petronet LNG, Aurobindo Pharma, Everest Kanto and KPIT Cummins rose 2% each.

Pantaloon Retail and Wockhardt gained 1% each.

However, Allahabad Bank, GMR Infra, Canara Bank and Kingfisher fell 1-3%.