Sensex closes up 160 pts, Nifty surges 2.9% in 3 days

The market began to surge only at the last trading hour of the day. The ferocious pullback was supported by fresh buying seen in some stocks. The Sensex surged 160.93 points to close at 19413.54 while the Nifty ended at 5863.30, up 44.70 points. The Nifty rallied 2.9 percent in the last three trading sessions. Strong European markets also added to the momentum.

Technology and realty stocks led strength to the market, while banking stocks joined the party a bit late. Among the IT stocks, TCS, Infosys, Wipro and Hexaware were the big movers, adding between 1-3 percent.

Infosys continued its gain for the third consecutive session today with rising more than 3.5 percent and surpassed Rs 3000 level for the first time since July 2011 to hit a new 52-week high of Rs 3,007.05 on the BSE. The stock closed at Rs 3,004.75 up 1.29 percent. Morgan Stanley has put an overweight rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 3,300.

Adding 3.6 percent, DLF was the biggest gainer in the realty pack. Other stocks which saw buying interest on the Sensex included Hero MotoCorp (up 4 percent), L&T and Maruti Suzuki (up around 2 percent each).

Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals was locked at 20 percent upper circuit continuing gains for the third consecutive session. The stock shot up nearly 31 percent in three days. It closed at Rs 69.95 up 19.9 percent on the BSE. Meanwhile, A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services  surged 26 percent in two sessions since Wednesday and today it rallied 20 percent to Rs 33.45.

On the downside were Jindal Steel, HUL, Coal India, Tata Motors and Tata Steel (losing about 1-2 percent). Lingering damage was seen in cement stocks like Ambuja Cements (down 1.1 percent).

The market was surging ahead in the last trading hour of the day. The Sensex was up 165.23 points at 19417.84 while the Nifty added 44.55 points to be at 5863.15.

Technology, banking and realty stocks continued to lend support to the indices. Big gainer on the Sensex was Hero MotoCorp (up 3.8 percent) while Maruti Suzuki, Wipro, L&T and TCS were up about 1.8 percent each.

Stocks on the downside were Jindal Steel, HUL, Coal India, Tata Motors and Hindalco losing around 1-2 percent.

The BSE Sensex and Nifty are flat in trade after two consecutive days of gains. Most Asian shares fell with investors focusing on meetings of the central banks of Britain and the euro zone for signs of more policy stimulus, after the Bank of Japan kept its policy on hold.

Recent outperformers such as Reliance Industries shares fall 0.9 percent, Tata Motors  shares fall 1.8 percent after gaining 3.1 percent and 7.3 percent respectively in the previous three sessions.

However, the broader losses in the indices were capped by gains in technology shares which extend their gains on hopes of improving sector earnings this year, especially in the United States on easy monetary policy.

Infosys gained 1 percent, marking their highest intraday level since July 2011 while Tata Consultancy Services rose 2 percent making a new all-time high.

Elder Pharmaceuticals rose 6 percent after it announced a joint venture with Japan's KOSE Corp which will hold 60 percent in a cosmetics products venture which will help Elder expand it's business base, dealers said.

At 13.59 hrs IST, the Sensex is up 20.90 points or 0.11 percent at 19273.51, and the Nifty up 2.55 points or 0.04 percent at 5821.15.

After losing almost 40 points in early trade, the Sensex is flat at 19234 and the Nifty down 11.65 points at 5806. About 1187 shares have advanced, 1193 shares declined, and 1126 shares are unchanged.

Shares in Hero MotoCorp were up nearly 3 percent after Kotak Institutional Equities upgrades the stock to "add" from "sell".

Realty player DLF continues to see buying. The stock is up 1.78 percent. Its board has approved the plan to sell shares, either through IPP or other methods.

Elder Pharma is up more than six percent. The company is setting up a joint venture with Japan's Kose Corp to make and sell cosmetics in India. Elder Pharma will own a 40% stake in the venture, while Kose will hold 60%.

On the flip side, Jindal Steel is the top loser on the Sensex down 2.71 percent. From the metals pack Hindalco, Tata Steel slipped more than two percent.

Orient Paper and Industries plunged more than 80 percent as the company will demerge its cement business.

SAIL is down nearly 2%. It is learnt that EGoM is likely to decide on the SAIL offer for sale on the March 15.

Meanwhile, the rupee recovered initial losses but was still quoting lower by three paise to 54.75 per dollar in the late morning.

The BSE Sensex and Nifty are flat after two consecutive days of gains. Pause in markets comes as Asian shares fall as investors focus on meetings of the central banks in Britain and the euro zone for signs of more policy stimulus.

At home, investors are on hold for key inflation and industrial output data due next week that will be crucial ahead of the RBI's policy review on March 19. Any additional government fiscal measures will also be eyed.

Recent outperformers fall: Reliance industries falls 0.7 percent after gaining 3.1 percent in previous three sessions, while Tata Motors shares fall 1.6 percent after gaining 7.3 percent in the previous three sessions.

Hero MotoCorp Ltd shares up nearly 3 percent at 11:05 a.m. after Kotak Institutional Equities upgrades the stock to "add" from "sell".

The BSE benchmark Sensex today fell by nearly almost 40 points in early trade as investors booked profits after two sessions of gains.

At 10.59 hrs IST, the BSE barometer is down 9.13 points or 0.05% at 19243.48. The Nifty is down 6.30 points or 0.11 percent at 5812.30.

The losses were led in stocks of metal, realty, auto, banking and oil and gas sectors. The index had gained nearly 375 points in the previous two sessions.

Brokers said profit booking by speculators after recent gains mainly influenced the trading sentiment but a firming trend in the Asian region, cushioned the fall to some extent.

In the Asian region, Japan's Nikkei Index was up by 0.39 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.10 per cent in early trade today. The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.30 per cent higher yesterday.

Rupee is trading at 54.87/88 versus its previous close of 54.7150/7250 as the risk rally in global market stalls. Traders are now focussing on central bank meetings in Japan, Britain and the euro zone for signs of further monetary stimulus.

The pair may hold in a range of 54.75 to 55.00 for the initial part of the day. Dollar demand from oil importers is likely to boost the pair. * Most Asian currencies trading stronger compared to the dollar.

Top losers included the likes of: Jindal Steel (-2.24 percent), Hindalco (-1.62 percent), Tata Steel (-1.53 percent), Tata Motors (-1.5 percent) and HUL (-1.26%).

Key Indian equity benchmarks start off on a flat note even as Asian shares fell after two strong days of gains on Thursday. Investors are focused on meetings of the central banks of Japan, Britain and the Eurozone for signs of more policy stimulus, while solid US economic data underpinned the dollar.  (More details)

Back home, the Sensex is up 7.93 points or 0.02 percent at 19256.20. The Nifty is down 7.15 points or 0.02 percent at 5817.15.

Stocks contributing to Sensex gains are: Wipro (up 1.25 percent), Tata Power (0.92 percent), Hero Motocorp (0.91 percent) and Infosys (0.57 percent) and TCS (0.56 percent).

The top traded stocks on NSE include NHPC, Unitech and HDIL.

Kiri Industries top gainer in BSE small-cap index, up more than 11 percent.

Tata Motors is a bit weak early on, down around 1.4 percent to Rs 305.25.

DLF shares start the day with losses of around 1 percent, HDIL down 0.8 percent.