BSE Sensex up 249 points, Nifty below 6250; Bank Nifty up 4%

3:50 pm Market closing: The market is closed on a high note. The Sensex is up 249.10 points or 1.20 percent at 20957.81, and the Nifty jumps 80.15 points or 1.30 percent at 6241.10. About 1249 shares advanced, 1239 shares declined, and 169 shares were unchanged.

Banks remained to be darling of the market led by ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank while capital goods, oil and gas and  metal stock supported. Bank Nifty gained over 4 percent while Capital Goods index was up 3 percent.

3:40 pm Outlook: Reflecting macroeconomic challenges over the next 12 months, Moody's expects challenges for Indian non-financial corporates to continue in 2014.

"India's GDP growth to remain weak at 5.5 percent in the fiscal year ending March 2015, as elections in mid-2014 will delay reforms needed to revive the economy," Moody's Investors Service said in a report.

Companies will also face higher borrowing costs and tight funding conditions with monetary policy likely to remain tight, it said.

3:30 pm Stock in news: Buoyed by discoveries of huge quantities of oil and gas, Cairn India has urged the Director General of Hydrocarbons to declare one of the wells in its onshore KG-ONN-2003/1 block at Nagayalanka on East coast as'Commercial Discovery', sources close to the development said.

Once the DGH approval comes, the JV will invest USD 700-750 million over 3-5 years on the Block. The investment includes creation of necessary infrastructure and production, sources said to PTI.

The Cairn-ONGC JV recently wrote a letter to DGH saying that 'Field Development Plan' will also be submitted soon in this regard.

The possibility of a BJP sweep in four state elections help the market to make strong gains. The Sensex is up 250.61 points or 1.21 percent at 20959.32, and the Nifty up 80.50 points or 1.31 percent at 6241.45. About 1184 shares have advanced, 1201 shares declined, and 167 shares are unchanged.

Health regulator US FDA warnings hit more pharma stocks as Jubilant Life Sciences and Strides Arcolab drag during the day.

FMCG and IT stocks are also laggards of the day. Sun Pharma , Sr Reddy's Labs, ITC , NTPC and HUL are top losers in the Sensex. Banks continue to see buying interest with ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as top gainers in the Sensex. L&T, BHEL and Maruti are other gainers.

European shares looked to be stabilising after three days of sustained selling, as focus turned to the European Central Bank's monthly meeting for any sign it is readying further support measures, reports Reuters.

Markets were under pressure as persistent speculation about the fate of US stimulus lifted bond yields globally, while shares struggled to find their footing after this week's tumbles.

03:00pm Market Update
Bulls continued to support the market today. The Sensex climbed 246.19 points or 1.19 percent to 20,954.90, and the Nifty rose 80.90 points or 1.31 percent to 6,241.85.

In the midcap space, Essar Ports, IRB Infrastructure, Sintex Industries, Blue Dart and Crompton Greaves gained 4-5 percent while Pfizer plunged 24.01 percent and Wyeth lost 15.69 percent. Strides Arcolab slipped 15 percent and Jubilant Life is down 10 percent.

Among smallcaps, Venus Remedies, Kalpataru Power, NCC, Seshasayee Paper and Swan Energy are up 6-11 percent whereas Hercules Hoists, MBL Infra, Hitachi Home, Dhampur Sugar and Prime Focus slipped 7-10 percent.

02:50pm Banks on fire
ICICI Bank is the top gainer on the Nifty. Bank of America Merrill Lynch says ICICI Bank is one of its top ideas while CLSA says the private bank is also one of their favourite cyclical stocks. Citi raised the target price on the bank to Rs 1,290 from Rs 1,250.

Not just ICICI, all banking names are showing strong gains, after Nomura on Wednesday upgraded PSU banks and Citi today raised the target price of many banks.

Citi raised Bank of Baroda's target price to Rs 775 from Rs 645 and Kotak Mahindra Bank's to Rs 790 from Rs 762 while State Bank of India's target price increased to Rs 2,200 from Rs 1,933 by Citi.

02:40pm Stocks In News
Shares of Strides Arcolab crashed 14 percent on the increased likelihood of the company not receiving USD 250 million of the USD 1.75 billion from Mylan, unless regulatory concerns (warning letter from USFDA) at one of the Indian drugmaker's factories are resolved.

Adani Power gained 3 percent. The Maharashtra cabinet has decided to set up a committee to look into Adani Power Maharashtra's plea to hike power tariff.

Swan Energy surged 4 percent after the board approved stock split in the ratio of 2:1.

02:35pm Coal India up 3% on special dividend buzz

Shares of Coal India soared over 3 percent on expectations of a special dividend in third quarter of FY14.

Media reports suggest that the PSU may consider a special dividend of Rs 18 to 20 per share at its December board meeting. The move may fetch the government upto Rs 11,400 crore.

Coal India CMD S Narsing Rao said to CNBC-TV18 that the board will decide dividend by the end of December quarter.

02:30pm Jain Irrigation talks to CNBC-TV18

Anil Jain, managing director, Jain Irrigation says the company has been performing well on exports as well as domestic fronts. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Jain says the company's exports are likely to do well in the days to come too.

''Overall, exports for the whole year would be about 60-70 percent growth compared to what we had earlier. For the entire year is that overall micro-irrigation systems (MIS) business should grow between 20-30 percent and that would include 15-20 percent domestic growth and 50-70 percent export growth. So, all in all post-monsoon it looks like a very busy and good season for us,'' highlights Jain.

02:25pm Hindustan Zinc in focus
Economic Affairs secretary said cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) note moved on Hindustan Zinc (HZL) and BALCO residual stake sale. CCEA will decide on residual stake sale.

Ministries have put forward views on HZL and BALCO stake sale, Economic Affairs secretary said.

Hindustan Zinc was quoting at Rs 125.15, up Rs 0.95, or 0.76 percent.

02:20pm Gainers
ICICI Bank continued to be the leader with more than 6 percent gains followed by HDFC Bank with a 4.55 percent upmove.

Among capital goods stocks, Larsen and Toubro and BHEL are up 4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Reliance Industries, HDFC, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India and Tata Power rallied 2-3 percent.

02:14pm Rupee Update
Indian rupee breached the 62 level in early trade today on rally in equity markets following Exit Poll. Currently the currency gained 30 paise at 61.75 against the US dollar, one-month high.

02:04pm The market halved its gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex falling below the 21,000 level due to profit booking in FMCG, healthcare and technology stocks. The 30-share BSE benchmark had rallied more than 450 points in morning trade on Exit poll results that indicated likely win of BJP in four out of five state elections.

The Sensex rose 244.33 points or 1.18 percent to 20,953.04, and the Nifty climbed 77.55 points or 1.26 percent to 6,238.50. The broader markets underperformed benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.25 percent each.

While the Nifty may rally 50-100 basis point (bps) on the likelihood of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming to power in 3 or 4 of the 4 states, most of the result expectation has been priced into the market, says Dhananjay Sinha of Emkay Global Financial Services.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sinha further adds that no big reforms are likely to be passed in the Winter Session that began in the parliament today.

''The winter session will be happening amidst a lot of political volatility. I do not expect too much of events in the winter session. It will be more as a preparatory work towards 2014 election,'' he highlights.

Shares of Sun Pharma and Dr Reddy's Labs plunged 2 percent each followed by ITC, Wipro, Infosys, TCS and Cipla with a 0.4-1 percent loss.

01:00pm Market Update
Bulls continued to be in charge of Dalal Street. The Sensex rose 295.92 points or 1.43 percent to 21,004.63, and the Nifty is up 93.20 points or 1.51 percent to 6,254.15.

ICICI Bank and IDFC rallied more than 6 percent followed by HDFC Bank, L&T and BHEL with a 4 percent upmove.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma lost more than 1.5 percent. Lupin and HCL Technologies lost 1 percent each. ITC slipped 0.75 percent.

12:55pm Asian markets weak
Asian markets were mostly under water today as persistent speculation about the fate of US stimulus lifted bond yields globally, while Japanese shares struggled to find their footing after a spill.

Moves were modest ahead of central bank meetings in the European Union and UK, and the latest read on US economic growth, not to mention the payrolls numbers on Friday.

European stocks were also set for a subdued start with financial spread betters expecting opening losses of roughly 0.1 to 0.2 percent for Germany's DAX, France's CAC and Britain's FTSE.

After suffering its biggest one-day fall in six weeks on Wednesday, the Nikkei ended down another 1.5 percent, retreating further from this week's six-year closing high, reports Reuters.

12:50pm IVRCL surges 13%, Reliance Infrastructure gains 4%

Companies in highway projects may get 2-year exemption to repay their debt, reports CNBC-Awaaz quoting unnamed sources.

Companies like IVRCL and Reliance Infrastructure etc are likely to benefit. IRB Infrastructure gained 4 percent.

12:40pm Coal India rallies 3%
Shares of Coal India rallied more than 3 percent on source-based reports that the country's largest coal mining company may declare special dividend.

While talking to CNBC-TV18, the company said the board will decide dividend by end of December. Divestment decision is only in the hands of finance ministry, the company added.

12:30pm IDFC talks to CNBC-TV18
The good upmove seen in power stocks in the past few days doesn't hint at an investment cycle troughing out, says Vikram Limaye, managing director and chief executive officer, IDFC.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Limaye says though the government has taken some steps in the right direction, but it will take atleast 18 months before investments pick up in new projects.

On which political party will be better for the sector, Limaye says, ''This has nothing to do with politics, because all political parties are for infrastructure development in the country. Fortunately infrastructure has not been caught up in politics. So, I do not think it is an issue about which party comes to power,'' he adds.

12:20pm FII View
The euphoria over exit polls will keep market enthusiastic on hopes of a change in the political scene in the country, says Neelkanth Mishra of Credit Suisse, but maintained both elections and US Fed's taper programme do not matter much.

He sees the broad trend will reflect the continued weakening of investment cycle and pressure on middle income consumption. The rude jolt to reality will come in the form of December quarter earnings which will see significant deterioration. However, overall sentiment will remain buoyant until April 2014.

12:15pm Pfizer plunges 22%
Pfizer is extremely under pressure, falling more than 23 percent as it is quoting ex-dividend. The pharmaceutical firm, on November 23, approved the payment of interim dividend of Rs 360 per share to shareholders.

The interim dividend will be paid on December 17 and the record date is fixed as December 06 for the purpose of determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of interim dividend.

Meanwhile, Pfizer, on November 23, also decided to merge Wyeth with self. The swap ratio for the merger is fixed as seven fully paid up equity shares of Pfizer for every 10 shares of Wyeth.

Pfizer was trading at Rs 1,309.05, down 23.47 percent on the BSE while Wyeth was down 15 percent to Rs 843.

12:10pm Jubilant Life shares crash
Shares of Jubilant Life Sciences (JLL) are locked at 10 percent lower circuit on Thursday after the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) issued a warning letter (WL) to Jubilant HollisterStier, LLC (JHS). The plant is located at Spokane, Washington State, US.

"FDA specified in the WL that until all corrections have been completed and that they have confirmed correction of the violations and firm compliance to current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs), FDA may withhold approval of new applications or supplements listing JHS-Spokane as the drug product manufacturer," the company said in its filing to exchanges.

JHS-Spokane will respond to this warning letter on or before 12 December 2013.

12:00pm The market maintained its strong momentum in noon trade suppported by banks and capital goods stocks. However, traders opted for some profit booking as the Sensex lost about 150 points from its day's high.

The Sensex rose 313.45 points or 1.51 percent at 21,022.16, and the Nifty gained 96.55 points or 1.57 percent at 6,257.50. Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1178 to 834 on the BSE.

The current rally seen in Indian market will definitely put a higher bottom in place at least for some time, says Vibhav Kapoor of IL&FS. However, he is doubtful of the euphoria sustaining beyond a point since global markets have begun to correct with the return of taper talks.

Nifty could go up to 6400-6450 provided we do not have a big meltdown in global markets, but 6350 could still hold, feels Kapoor.

Interest rate sensitives stocks like banks, realty, capital goods are on buyer's radar, but defensives like healthcare and FMCG are under pressure.

12:00 pm Buzzer: Shares of Jubilant Life Sciences are locked at 10 percent lower circuit after the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) issued a warning letter to Jubilant HollisterStier, LLC (JHS). The plant is located at Spokane, Washington State, US.

11:50 am World news: Emerging economies need to make sure their exchange rates are flexible enough to deal with volatile capital flows, a senior International Monetary Fund official said.

Billions of dollars have left emerging markets since May, when the US Federal Reserve first said it may need to begin reducing its USD 85 billion monthly bond-buying programme, which would deal a blow to emerging economies saddled with large current account deficits.

11:40 am Gold update: Amid a weak trend overseas and strengthening rupee, gold prices fell 1.20 percent to Rs. 30,580 per 10 grams in futures trade today.

At the Multi Commodity Exchange, gold for delivery in December eased by Rs 370, or 1.20 percent, to Rs. 30,580 per 10 gm in business turnover of 12 lots. Likewise, the metal for delivery in far-month February traded Rs. 227, or 0.77 per cent, to Rs. 29,367 per 10 gm in 482 lots.

11:30 am Market outlook: Sandeep Shenoy, Anand Rathi Financial Services expects the market to see a top-up trend in the initial trade, but it could see a steady fall with marginal downward bias later in the day. According to him market has factored in a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) win's few weeks ago and hence the uptrend.

He told CNBC-TV18 that whenever the market is finely balanced it has the ability to surprise negatively than positive. In fact from next week onward, it will focus on PMI, inflation and other such news data.

11:20 am Udayan comments: Market will rally in the short-term for sure given the political trigger, but for the Nifty to sustain above 6,400 levels, it will need more than just state assembly election results, says Udayan Mukherjee, CNBC-TV18.

Along with the domestic cues of exit poll outcome, the US payroll data has to be quite weak, so that the US bond yield back off from 2.84-2.85 percent. Also, some of the edge that we are seeing in global markets over the last 72 hours needs to taper down a bit.

The market seems to be on fire as exit polls indicated BJP win in the elections held in five states. The Sensex is up 364.31 points or 1.76 percent at 21073.02, and the Nifty up 114.75 points or 1.86 percent at 6275.70.  About 1162 shares have advanced, 571 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.

Banks and capital goods are leading the indices. ICICI BANK, HDFC Bank, SBI, L&T and BHEL are top gaienrs in the Sensex. Dr Reddy's Labs, Wipro and Sun Pharma are top losers in the Sensex.

The rupee is trading at a four-week high on positive market sentiment. Expectations of inflow for a state owned power utility company may also aid.

Gilts is up as rupee rises to over four-week high. Comfortable liquidity conditions also support prices. Gains likely to remain capped ahead of gilt auction and us non farm payrolls data for November on Friday.

The dollar index gave back some of its gains post the private sector payrolls data. The yen nudged away from 6 month lows versus the dollar.

Commodities saw gold edge lower after a short covering rally in the previous session while brent was steady at USD 112 per barrel.

Asian markets trade lower, cautious ahead of the non-farm payrolls data from the US tomorrow. Also in focus is a slew of economic data from china this week.

11:00am Market update
The Sensex is up 364.31 points or 1.76 percent at 21,073.02, and the Nifty rose 114.75 points or 1.86 percent at 6,275.70.

About 1162 shares have advanced, 571 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.

10:58am Cipla shares up 1%
Cipla Holding B V, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cipla, has acquired 100 percent stake in Celeris d.o.o., Croatia.

Celeris d.o.o. is the distributor of company's products in Croatia. The stock is up 0.95 percent at Rs 393.75.

10:53am Gold Update
Gold edged lower on Thursday following a short-covering rally in the previous session, weighed down by concerns the US Federal Reserve could soon begin tapering its monetary stimulus on strong economic data.

Bullion prices rose the most in over a month on Wednesday despite strong data on U.S. private-sector hiring and service industry growth in the run up to the nonfarm payroll data on Friday.

The short-covering gains came after gold hit fresh five-month lows for three straight sessions.

10:48am Market Expert
Foreign Institutional investors (FIIs) will opt for a wait-and-watch approach towards the Indian equity markets before investing heavily into it, says Mark Matthews, Bank Julius Baer.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Matthews says he will stick to this approach even if he misses one election rally as the market upside will continue after the elections too.

On the timing on the Fed tapering, Matthews says the easing of the bond buying program should happen next year as the US economy is recovering.

''We do not know how much but it is clear that the quantitative easing did help the stock market. But on the other hand, if they start to taper because the economy is getting better,  then that means more profits for companies. So, on balance I have to think that tapering could have a little bit of a short-term impact,'' adds Matthews.

10:43am Banks on fire
All banks stocks are on buyers' radar. Nomura on Wednesday upgraded PSU banks while Citi today morning raised the target price of many banks.

Citi increased Bank of Baroda's target price to Rs 775 from Rs 645 and for Kotak Mahindra Bank, the target has been raised to Rs 790 from Rs 762. Country's largest lender SBI's target price increased to Rs 2,200 from Rs 1,933.

10:38am Pfizer sees sharp fall
Pfizer's stock lost nearly 23 percent as it is quoting ex- dividend . The pharmaceutical firm, on November 23, approved the payment of interim dividend of Rs 360 per share to shareholders.

The interim dividend will be paid on December 17 and the record date is fixed as December 06 for the purpose of determining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of interim dividend.

Meanwhile, Pfizer, on November 23, also decided to merge Wyeth with self. The swap ratio for the merger is fixed as seven fully paid up equity shares of Pfizer for every 10 shares of Wyeth.

10:33am State elections results key to watch out for

The state elections cannot be seen as national referendum against the ruling Congress-lead UPA, but if the results do swing 4-0 in favour of the BJP, which many are suggesting, it will establish the raging anger faced by the ruling government, says Rajdeep Sardesai, executive editor, CNN-IBN.

It is widely expected that the Congress will be routed in the states of Madhaya Pradesh and Rajasthan while facing a stiff fight in Delhi and Chhattisgarh assembly polls.

The urban voter in particular is more disillusioned  giving rise to the anti-incumbency factor, he analysed. Talking about the veracity of exit policy, Sardesai said both Delhi and Chhattisgarh are difficult to predict. While the Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi party will make a impression in Delhi polls, Naxal mood can dent a lot in Chhattisgarh polls.

In Rajasthan, the mood is adavantage BJP and advantage Narendra Modi, but there are other states like UP and Bihar which would come into play during Lok Sabha elections. BJP will need 20 seats each in both these states to decisively able to form the government. There is also south and east rout, Modi has to tackcle, Sardesai said. So it is too early to handover game, set and match to Modi, the veteran political analyst said.

Rajasthan also happens to be the state which received most of the freebies distributed by the Congress, yet the mood is anti government.

10:28am Exit Poll
CNN-IBN post poll survey reveals that Shivraj Singh Chouhan is all set to score a hat-trick in Madhya Pradesh. In Chattisgarh, the contest appears quite close but Raman Singh is poised to retain the state. A big upset seen in Rajasthan where the BJP looks set to topple the Ashok Gehlot led Congress government.

The Winter Session of Parliament begins today as an ambitious UPA decides to take up 29 bills in just 12 sittings. Crucial economic legislations like Direct Tax Code (DTC), Insurance FDI Bill are on the agenda.

10:23am Wipro in focus
Wipro said it will discontinue manufacturing of Wipro branded desktops, laptops and servers.

"Decision has been taken post evaluating market scenario and customer needs. We will fulfill current deals' warranty and maintenance obligations," the company said in its filing to the BSE. The stock is down 0.16 percent to Rs 490.80.

10:18am Gainers and Losers
ICICI Bank and IDFC are the major gainers, rallying 6 percent each. HDFC Bank and Axis Bank gained more than 4 percent.

In the capital goods space, L&T spiked 3.8 percent and its rival 2.7 percent.

HDFC, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki, GAIL, Hindalco Industries, Jindal Steel and Tata Power jumped over 2 percent.

However, Dr Reddy's Labs and Sun Pharma are under pressure.

10:13am The market is on a strong footing in morning trade on Thursday as exit poll results indicated that the BJP is likely to be a winning party in four out of five state elections' results.

The Sensex rose 370.12 points or 1.79 percent to 21,078.83, and the Nifty climbed 112.45 points or 1.83 percent to 6,273.40. More than three shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

UBS sets Nifty 2014 target at 6,900 and says it expect the index to trade between 5,500 and 6,900 for the year based on its valuations and FY15 earnings growth estimates of 10-15 percent for the NSE index.

UBS adds that elections are the key theme for first half of 2014 and the recent rally implies that a Narendra Modi-led BJP government is no longer viewed as a low-probability scenario. The BJP emerged as the biggest winner in four key state elections, exit polls forecast on Wednesday, a possible blow to the ruling Congress party ahead of a general election due next year, reports Reuters.

Banking is the leading sector in trade today with BSE Bankex rising over 4 percent followed by Capital Goods with a 3 percent upmove.

10:00 am Parliament session: The winter session of Parliament is set to begin today and it will possibly be the last session before the General Elections of 2014. The Congress will be hoping to push through some of the pending bills which could be the political game-changers ahead of polls, reports IBNLive.

Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram have voted for the assembly elections. 72 hours before the decision is disclosed, the political heat is rising as possibly the last full session of Parliament before the Lok Sabha elections begins.

The Congress wants to push the Lokpal and the Women's Reservation Bills to garner maximum brownie points before the Lok Sabha elections. But Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has reiterated his opposition to the Women's Reservation Bill.

Other important bills like the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2012, the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008, the Indo-Bangla land boundary agreement discussion and voting on supplementary grants for both railways and general are all pending. The challenge before the UPA is to pack all of these in 12 working days. 

9:55 am Market target: UBS sets Nifty 2014 target at 6,900 and says it expect the index to trade between 5,500 and 6,900 for the year based on its valuations and FY15 earnings growth estimates of 10-15 percent for the NSE index, reports Reuters.

The investment bank adds tapering is not a big fundamental worry for India, but a depreciating rupee may yet be a likely trend. More than 30 percent of Nifty earnings benefit from the depreciating rupee and this could provide some stability for overall market earnings.

UBS adds that elections are the key theme for first half of 2014 and the recent rally implies that a Narendra Modi-led BJP government is no longer viewed as a low-probability scenario. The BJP emerged as the biggest winner in four key state elections, exit polls forecast on Wednesday, a possible blow to the ruling Congress party ahead of a general election due next year.

9:50 am Market opinion: Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities believes that the sharp improvement in current account deficit (CAD) should ease concerns on potential currency weakness. According to him, banks will remain the biggest beneficiaries of a stabilising external account. Banks are currently biggest overweight in their model portfolio. Top picks in the sector are Axis Bank and ICICI Bank .

9:45 am Market check: The Sensex is up 358.15 points or 1.73 percent at 21066.86, and the Nifty up 110.75 points or 1.80 percent at 6271.70.About 922 shares have advanced, 232 shares declined, and 36 shares are unchanged.

Bnak Nifty is up 4 percent with Capital Goods gains 3 percent. Sun Pharma is the only loser stock in the Sensex.

9:35 am FII view: Ridham Desai of Morgan Stanley feels that it is less certain if this December will produce the type of impressive returns as it had done in the past. "For one, nearly the whole of 2013 has been different from historical return patterns. Secondly, this December is loaded with events with the potential to change the market's direction. Lastly, the market appears neutrally positioned, which makes the call trickier. But volatility is assured," he said.

9:30 am Big Buzzer: Pfizer falls 22 percent on the BSE as it is quoting ex-dividend today. The board has approved payment of interim dividend of Rs 360 per equity share of Rs 10 each (3600 percent) to the shareholders of the Company. The said interim dividend will be paid on December 17, 2013.

The market has opened on a strong note as the Nifty flirts with 6300. The Nifty is up 134.90 points or 2.19 percent at 6295.85 while the Sensex is up 443.84 points or 2.14 percent at 21152.55. About 511 shares have advanced, 52 shares declined, and 5 shares are unchanged.

Banking stocks are leading the indices with strength in ICICI Bank (6 percent), HDFC Bank (up 3.5 percent), SBI (3.3 percent). Other gainers in the Sensex are L&T and BHEL .

Meanwhile, CNN-IBN post poll survey reveals that Shivraj Singh Chouhan is all set to score a hat-trick in Madhya Pradesh. In Chattisgarh, the contest appears quite close but Raman Singh is poised to retain the state. A big upset seen in Rajasthan where the BJP looks set to topple the Ashok Gehlot led Congress government.

The Winter Session of Parliament begins today as an ambitious UPA decides to take up 29 bills in just 12 sittings. Crucial economic legislations like Direct Tax Code (DTC), Insurance FDI Bill are on the agenda.

The rupee gained in early trade against the dollar on Thursday. The rupee rose 28 paise to 61.74 per dollar as against previous day's closing of 62.05.

The yen holds off a five-year trough on the euro and a six-month low versus the dollar early this morning following a whippy session overnight that lacked conviction as key event risks including US jobs data loomed. The dollar index holds 80.6 levels.

Himanshu Arora of Religare feels the rupee may trade higher today on expectations of strong job numbers from the US this Friday. According to Arora, the range for the day is seen between 61.70 - 62.27/dollar.

US markets ended flat with the Dow extending losses into the fourth session. Europe too ended lower and Asian markets too open on the backfoot weighed down by taper fears.

In commodities, Brent Crude edges lower this morning inching closer to USD 111 per barrel levels while Nymex holds onto USD 97 per barrel level.

From the precious metals space, gold prices have eased from the lows on the back of short- covering.