Sensex ends at new closing high, Nifty hits 6300; SBI up 4%

3:40 pm Market closing: The bull run continued on Dalal street. The Sensex ends up 130.55 points to end at 21164.52. The Nifty closes 6299.15, up 47.45 points. About 1306 shares have advanced, 1157 shares declined, and 176 shares are unchanged.  It is highest closing level in three years.

3:30 pm Market close (provisional): The market marks another record closing high. The Sensex ends at all-time high while the Nifty ends at highest level closing since 2010.

3:24 pm Market check: The Sensex is up 152.40 points at 21186.37. The Nifty is above 6300 at 6305.20, up 53.50 points.  About 1323 shares have advanced, 1152 shares declined, and 161 shares are unchanged.

3:21 pm: The market has a record turnover of Rs 5 lakh crore for first time.

3:20 pm: In a nail bitting race, the Sensex is just 6 points away from its all-time high.

3:17 pm: The Sensex is just 30 points away from its record high.

3:15 pm: Nifty hits 6300 for the first time since November 10, 2010.

3:10 pm Race to the top: The Sensex is just 45-points away from hitting all-time high.

It is Diwali already on D-Street as euphoric investors are pulling the market up at five-year high. The Sensex is up 72.19 points at 21106.16, and the Nifty is up 22.75 points at 6274.45.

About 1167 shares have advanced, 1190 shares declined, and 178 shares are unchanged.

SBI (up 4.6 percent) is the biggest gainer in the Sensex followed by  Sesa Sterlite,  Wipro , Bharti Airtel and Tata Steel .

Days after RBI hiked short-term lending (repo) rate by 0.25 percent, State Bank of India (SBI) today raised fixed deposit rate by 0.2 percent on select maturity.

With the revision, term deposit between 180-210 days less than Rs 1 crore would now earn 7 percent against existing 6.80 per cent, SBI said in a statement.

The new rate would be effective from tomorrow, it added. However, there is no change in the interest rates for other maturities in less than Rs 1 crore bracket. For high-valued fixed deposit above Rs 1 crore, interest rates have been reduced between 0.25 per cent to 2 percent.

Dr Reddy's Labs, ONGC,  M&M, Cipla and Sun Pharma are among the laggards.

2:15pm Dr Reddys Labs slips on profit booking

Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy's Laboratories surpassed analysts' expectations with consolidated net profit growing 69.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 690.3 crore in three-month period ended September 2013.

Revenues, too, grew 16.5 percent higher-than-expected to Rs 3,357.4 crore during second quarter from Rs 2,880.9 crore in a year ago period.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average had expected the healthcare company to report net profit of Rs 498 crore on revenues of Rs 3,340 crore for the quarter.

The stock may have discounted strong results in the rally seen in previous session. It rallied nearly 4 percent on Wednesday ahead of results. The stock today fell over a percent on profit booking after hitting a record high of Rs 2,545 on the BSE.

1:55 pm Interview: Leading industry player JSW Steel aims to export 3 mt steel in FY14 versus 1.9 mt, year-on-year (YoY). In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Joint MD & Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said that the export market has improved on the back of better realisations and demand.

Rupee's deprecation has aided realisations and the Indian currency is likely to stabilise in range of 61-62/USD, he added.

Further, he said that the company's net debt currently stands at Rs 30,435 crore and is looking at hedging costs to zero and balance forex exposure.

1:40 pm FII view: With all around consensus that Fed is likely to begin tapering in March 2014, Asian markets will continue to perform well says, Hans Goetti, Chief Investment Officer, Finaport.

According to him European markets are showing signs of recovery and have cheap valuations. So, he is bullish both on Asian as well as European equities.

India, he says will continue to rally on back of extended quantitative easing but once the tapering starts Indian market is likely to see correction, he adds.

1:30 pm Buzzers: Shares of Bank of India jump 14 percent as its second quarter (July-September) net profit doubled to Rs 622 crore from Rs 302 crore in a year ago period. It was largely driven by other income and lower provisions Y-o-Y despite sharp jump in tax expenses.

Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,527 crore during September quarter.

Allahabad Bank too gains 11 percent as it has reported a 17.77 percent growth in net profit at Rs 276 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013.

The bank's total business rose 15 percent to Rs 3,14,262 crore, over Rs 2,74,116 crore year-on-year.

1:20 pm Interview: Rising bad loans has been the biggest problems plaguing banking sector, which may not improve going ahead. Srinivasan Varadarajan, ED, Axis Bank, says the environment of elevated costs will persist for the next few quarters despite improving macros. So much so that 25 percent of the restructured loans can still slip into the bad loans category in future, he says. This will possibly play out in 2015 and 2016, he adds.

But there is still a silver lining. Loan growth this year has been surprising on the upside, says Varadarajan. Around 18 percent credit growth is higher than what one could have anticipated in the current environment, he says.

The market is celebrating Diwali much early than the auspicious day as the Sensex has hit five-year high. The Sensex is up 62.91 points at 21096.88, and the Nifty up 17.05 points at 6268.75. About 1052 shares have advanced, 1062 shares declined, and 170 shares are unchanged.

Sesa Sterlite, Bharti Airtel, Wipro, Reliance and SBI are top gainers in the Sensex. On the losing side are ONGC, M&M, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla and HUL.

Oil marketing companies are in focus as the Kirit Parikh report asks the government to free up diesel prices and not to tinker with the current pricing policy. Though whether the government accepts the recommendation now is a different issue altogether.

Meanwhile, public sector lender Bank of Baroda's July-September quarter net profit fell 10.25 percent year-on-year, lower than analysts' expectations, to Rs 1,168 crore, led by higher other income, lower tax expenses and provisions.

Net interest income rose over 1 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,895 crore in three-month period ended September 2013, meeting analysts' expectations.

12:55pm Sensex hits 5-year high
The Sensex touched a five-year high of 21,110 in afternoon trade, gaining 77 points over previous close.

Allahabad Bank and Union Bank of India surged 8.5 percent and 4 percent, respectively after second quarter earnings.

12:45pm Bank of India up 10 percent
Bank of India's second quarter (July-September) net profit doubled to Rs 622 crore from Rs 302 crore in a year ago period, driven by other income and lower provisions Y-o-Y despite sharp jump in tax expenses.

Net interest income - the difference between interest earned and interest expended - grew 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,527 crore during September quarter.

Asset quality, too, improved in the quarter gone by. Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) as a percentage of gross advances fell 11 basis points sequentially (down 49 bps on yearly basis) to 2.93 percent.

12:35pm Movers & Shakers
Shares of Reliance Industries and Tata Motors gained more than 1 percent while Bharti Airtel , Sesa Sterlite and Wipro rose 1.8 percent each. Among metals, Coal India and Tata Steel advanced 1 percent.

However, the laggards are ONGC , HUL , HDFC Bank , ICICI Bank , M&M, Dr Reddys Labs , Sun Pharma and Cipla .

12:29pm JSW Steel Boardroom
Leading industry player JSW Steel aims to export 3 mt steel in FY14 versus 1.9 mt, year-on-year (YoY). In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Joint MD & Group CFO Seshagiri Rao said that the export market has improved on the back of better realizations and demand.

Rupee's deprecation has aided realisations and the Indian currency is likely to stabilise in range of 61-62/USD, he added.

Further, he said that the company's net debt currently stands at Rs 30,435 crore and is looking at hedging costs to zero and balance forex exposure.

12:01pm The market remained lacklustre with the Sensex rising 14.21 points to 21048.18, and the Nifty gaining 0.90 points to 6252.60.

Indian shares could consolidate after the recent run up, feels Adrian Mowat of JP Morgan, but does not see uncertainty over the outcome of the general elections as a big dampener.

Investors would be better off booking profits in shares of fast moving consumer goods companies, and deploying that money in banks, select steel and automobile shares, says Adrian Mowat of JP Morgan.

Bank of Baroda shares gained more than a percent after public sector lender's July-September quarter net profit fell 10.25 percent year-on-year, lower than analysts' expectations, to Rs 1,168 crore, led by higher other income, lower tax expenses and provisions.

Net interest income rose over 1 percent to Rs 2,895 crore in quarter ended September 2013 from Rs 2,862 crore in a year-ago period, meeting analysts' expectations.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average had expected the bank to report 33 percent degrowth year-on-year in profit after tax of Rs 870 crore and net interest income to rise 2 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,916 crore for the quarter.

11:50 am Update: Mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources won the backing of its shareholders to offer up to USD 3.48 billion to buy the Indian government's minority stakes in two of its subsidiaries, reports Reuters.

London-listed Vedanta said it received 92.10 percent of votes in favour of the company or its units buying the government's 29.5 percent stake in Hindustan Zinc.Vedanta also received 92.01 percent of votes in favour of acquiring the government's 49 percent holding in Bharat Aluminium Co (BALCO).

11:40 am Result: Public sector lender Bank of Baroda's July-September quarter net profit fell 10.25 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,168 crore, led by higher other income, lower tax expenses and provisions.

Net interest income rose over 1 percent to Rs 2,895 crore in quarter ended September 2013 from Rs 2,862 crore in a year-ago period, meeting analysts' expectations.

According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average had expected the bank to report 33 percent degrowth year-on-year in profit after tax of Rs 870 crore and net interest income to rise 2 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,916 crore for the quarter.

11:30 am Buzzer: From the midcap space Suzlon Energy is down 5 percent after it reported positive EBITDA after five quarters but reported a huge loss of Rs 782 crore. The second quarter loss was three percent lower than Rs 807 crore loss in Q2 of FY 2013.

Trading looks listless as the Sensex is up 24.81 points at 21058.78, and the Nifty is up 2.95 points at 6254.65. About 925 shares have advanced, 696 shares declined, and 137 shares are unchanged.

Banks are a bit under pressure, while other stocks are marginally higher. Bharti Airtel continues to extend Wednesday's gain, followed by Wipro, Sesa Sterlite, Reliance and L&T. Top losers in the Sensex include ONGC, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs, M&M and Cipla.

Asia is trading weak in line with the US closing. While the Fed left monetary policy unchanged it did surprise with its more upbeat assessment of the economy. China was weighed down by declines in banking stocks.

Dollar index inched marginally higher to 79.6 recovering from 9 month lows last week. The US treasury yield inched to 2.54 percent from levels of 2.48 percent before the FOMC statement.

Crude fell sharply post the Fed decision. Nymex fell to a 4-month low while Brent was at 109 per barrel. Gold fell over 0.5 percent.

Back home, the rupee has weakened slightly tracking the greenback's broad gains and government bond prices are marginally down on a rise in US bond yields and ahead of tomorrow's auction.

10:55am Results Impact
Oberoi Realty shares lost 3 percent as it reported 48 percent dip year-on-year in consolidated net profit at Rs 64.14 crore for the July-September quarter of 2013-14 fiscal on lower sales.

Wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy's net loss has narrowed to Rs 782.37 crore during the July-September quarter from Rs 807.74 crore in a year ago quarter. The stock crashed 5 percent.

10:46am Market Expert
The Sensex is trading at 21000 level. Nilesh Shah of Axis Direct feels these levels are driven by fundamentals and not just liquidity.

Indian stocks are now trading at 14 times, which is a derating from upwards of 20 times even though at 14 times, Indian equities look at a premium to the rest of the emerging market peers, he says. "But when compared to our own historical average, we are trading at a discount," says Shah.

10:24am Gainers & Losers
Reliance Industries, L&T, Tata Motors, Wipro, Sesa Sterlite are leading gainers, rising 1-1.7 percent.

The laggards are HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, HUL, ONGC, M&M and Dr Reddy's Labs, down 0.5-1 percent.

In the midcap space, Anant Raj, Alembic Pharma, Sanofi, Ruchi Soya and Crompton Greaves gained 5-8 percent whereas Zydus Wellness, Era Infra, GMDC, Puravankara and Oberoi Realty fell 3-6 percent.

10:12am The market is volatile ahead of October F&O expiry today. The Sensex is still holding the 21000 level amid that volatility.

The index is up 1.30 points at 21035.27 while the Nifty is down 4.05 points at 6247.65.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities has reiterated his December 2013 Sensex target of 22,000.

"We expect easier monetary conditions in the coming month and believes that RBI is likely done with monetary policy actions for this fiscal year, which should be supportive of the equity market," Laijawala reasoned.

Bharti Airtel gained another 2.6 percent on top of a 6 percent rally seen in previous session after strong revenues and margin, though net profit declined due to forex loss.

10:00 Guest Editor's take: Adrian Mowat, Chief Asian Emerging Market Equity Strategist, JPMorgan feels that the market should consolidate after the bug run. He prefers India over China and says, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, that investors says will invest in the domestic shores regardless of the election results.

As an investment strategy, he advises buying banks, select steel and auto stocks. He is bullish on Tata Steel and JSW Steel. He also finds technology stocks attractive.

9:50 am Result poll: Watch-to-jewellery manufacturer Titan will announce its second quarter (July-September) results today. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, analysts on an average expect profit after tax of the company to rise 5.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 190 crore and total income to increase 12.6 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,562 crore during the quarter.

"Reversal on inventory write-down in Q1 can result in higher reported PAT growth," feel analysts. Titan took an inventory writedown (mark-to-market) of Rs 34 crore in Q1FY14.

9:40 am Buzzer: Shares of DLF fell around 3 percent in morning trade on as  its September quarter were disappointing. The realty firm's consolidated net profit slumped 28 percent to Rs 100.05 crore during the quarter ended September, due to lower sales and higher interest and tax outgo. Its net profit stood at Rs 138.51 crore in the year-ago period.

Income from operations declined by 4 percent at Rs. 1,956.09 crore during the quarter ended September this year, compared with Rs. 2,039.54 crore year-on-year. Total income rose by 3 percent to Rs. 2,225 crore during the September quarter against Rs. 2,157 crore in the year-ago period.

9:30 am Gold price check: Gold slipped on Thursday despite the US Federal Reserve vowing to maintain its economic stimulus measures, with investors taking profits from a recent run-up in prices, reports Reuters.

The metal had risen about 8 percent since hitting a three-month low on October 15 in anticipation of the Fed's decision, leading to a price correction on Wednesday after a statement from the bank came in line with expectations.

The market has opened on a flat note as the Sensex is down 16.00 points at 21017.97. The Nifty is at 6237.15, down 14.55 points. About 188 shares have advanced, 139 shares declined, and 15 shares are unchanged.

Wipro (up 1 percent) is the biggest gainer in the Sensex followed by Sesa Sterlite, GAIL, Dr Reddy's Labs and Tata Power. On the losing side are M&M, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Sun Pharma and Tata Steel.

The rupee opened lower by 13 paise at 61.36 per dollar on Thursday as against previous day's closing of 61.23 per dollar.

The dollar is hovering near two-week high having extended gains after the Federal Reserve kept its massive bond-buying stimulus in place in a widely expected decision.

Himanshu Arora of Religare feels the rupee is expected to strengthen on Parikh's recommendation to hike diesel prices immediately by Rs 5/litre. According to him, the range for the day is seen between 61-61.40/USD.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve maintained its USD 85 billion stimulus programme, leading investors to book profits after the recent rally. US equities slipped from intra-day highs with the S&P 500 halting its four session record run.

In Asia, Bank of Japan is expected to slightly revise up its economic growth forecast to around 1.5 percent for the next fiscal year at its policy review later Thursday on hopes that a government's stimulus package will offset slowing exports to Asia.