Sensex ends up 290 points, Nifty above 8800; SBI, M&M gain 5-8%

3:30 pm Market closing
The market ended with some hefty gains boosted by banks, auto and pharma stocks. The Sensex ended up 289.83 points or 1 percent at 29094.93 and the Nifty was up 93.95 points or 1 percent at 8805.50. About 1450 shares advanced, 1436 shares declined and 198 shares were unchanged.

SBI surged 8 percent while M&M was up 5 percent. TCS, Coal India and Wipro are other gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, BHEL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

03:00 pm Earnings: Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) third quarter losses widened to Rs 3,285 crore from Rs 961.5 crore in the year-ago period due to higher inventory loss.

Net sales of the state-run oil marketing company declined to Rs 1.07 lakh crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1.17 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Oil retailer IOC says gross refining margin for April-December period was negative USD 2.66 a barrel (against USD 4.97 a barrel in the year-ago period) mainly on account of inventory valuation loss of Rs 15,017 crore during the period.

02:50pm Germany GDP growth
Germany grew by a much stronger than expected 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, with domestic demand lifting Europe's largest economy out of its mid-year lull to take growth for the whole year to 1.6 percent and raise hopes of a strong 2015.

Quarterly GDP beat not only the consensus forecast for 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll, but also all individual estimates. The overall growth rate for 2014 overshot the Statistics Office's January estimate of 1.5 percent.

Unadjusted data showed the economy grew by 1.6 percent on the year in the fourth quarter, also far exceeding the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for 1.0 percent growth. Third-quarter data growth was confirmed at a previously reported 0.1 percent, reports Reuters.

02:30pm Sun Pharma gains ahead of Q3 nos
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will announce its third quarter earnings on Saturday. According to a CNBC-TV18 poll, net profit of the drug maker may rise 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,638 crore during October-December quarter, impacted by lower operating performance.

Revenue is seen climbing 13.1 percent to Rs 4,879 crore in December quarter from Rs 4,312 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

During the quarter, its US subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical Industries had reported a 28.7 percent growth in bottomline and 11.3 percent growth in revenue.

Hence, analysts expect US business growth to be similar to second quarter (largely led by Taro) at 13-15 percent Y-o-Y. However, ex-US revenue may be weak as drugs such as Doxycycline could continue recording a decline. In Q2FY15, US Business was up 14.8 percent Y-o-Y to USD 481 million.

Domestic sales growth, however, is expected to be maintained at around 19-20 percent in Q3. In previous quarter (Q2), domestic formulations were steady with a growth 21 percent at Rs 1,154 crore Y-o-Y (constituted 23 percent of sales).

02:00pm Market Check
The market continued to trade sharply higher with the Sensex rising 304.68 points or 1.06 percent to 29109.78 and the Nifty climbing 98.80 points or 1.13 percent to 8810.35. The broader markets gained too; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

About 1424 shares have advanced, 1344 shares declined, and 196 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities is bullish on the market going into the Budget, saying sectors like infrastructure, banks & financials and urban consumption will be key beneficiaries.

Big boy SBI surged 7 percent after posting a stellar set of earnings in the third quarter. Asset quality remained stable as fresh slippages and restructuring came in lower than Q2 for India's largest public sector bank.

Another strong set of earnings came in from Mahindra & Mahindra. The stock traded 4 percent higher after its third quarter earnings beat estimates. An exceptional gain of Rs 300 crore aided profit.

State-run oil retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation has turned profitable with the third quarter net profit at Rs 551 crore against loss of Rs 1,089 crore in same quarter last fiscal. Higher other income and lower finance cost boosted profitability. The stock gained 2.5 percent.

Global cues were strong today as most Asian markets posted gains. Europe too opened in the green extending yesterday's rally. Brent crude held above USD 59 a barrel, up almost 2 percent this week so far.

1:50 pm ITC shopping: FMCG major ITC has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to acquire its brands, 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower', in India. This acquisition will be ITC's first purchase in the personal care segment. "The company entered into asset purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson Ltd, India & Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd, Singapore yesterday for purchase of 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' trademarks and other intellectual property, respectively, primarily for use in India," ITC said in a BSE filing.

Savlon is an antiseptic brand while Shower To Shower is a personal care product brand. These agreements are subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory permissions as may be necessary, it added. During the third quarter ended December 2014, ITC reported 10.47 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,635 crore as against a net profit of Rs 2,385.34 crore in corresponding quarter a year earlier.

1:30 pm Result poll: M&M will announce its third quarter earnings on Friday. Consolidated net profit is expected to decline 39 percent year-on-year to Rs 615 crore, according to a CNBC-TV18 poll. Consolidated numbers include Mahindra Vehicle Manufactures numbers as well. Total income of the utility vehicle maker is seen falling 13 percent to Rs 8,900 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 10,241.6 crore in same quarter last year, dented by lower sales volumes.

The market continues to surge as the Sensex is up 207.54 points at 29012.64. The Nifty is up 67.75 points at 8779.30.  About 1391 shares have advanced, 1209 shares declined, and 200 shares are unchanged.

SBI, M&M, TCS, Sun Pharma and Wipro are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL, GAIL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, retreating from a 7.5-year closing high the previous day as investors took profits from gainers such as Fanuc Corp, but buying in cyclical stocks exposed to consumer demand limited the losses.

A ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine also eased tensions in the market. The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 17,913.36, retreating from 17,979.72 marked on Thursday, the highest closing level since July 2007. For the week, the Nikkei gained 1.5 percent.

12:50pm Interview
Jamshed Naval Cooper, CEO & MD, HeidelbergCement India said the company has target of beating 5-6 percent industry volume growth. ''As far as our volumes are concerned, we are clocking about million tonne every quarter which is including south,'' he added in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

The company has around 85 percent exposure in central India and minimum exposure in south and west India.

The company reported a net loss of Rs 9.89 crore in fourth quarter ended December 2014. Total income rose 16.6% to Rs 421.60 crore in the quarter over Q4 December 2013.

The group, said Cooper is looking at inorganic growth in a big way in India, preferably in central India. The company is also looking at upping its production. They aim to move to 100 percent capacity utilisation from the current 85 percent, said Cooper.

12:30pm Asia Update
Asian shares soared today on news of a ceasefire accord in Ukraine, while Sweden's surprise move to cut its main rate into negative territory and hopes of a resolution between debt-strapped Greece and its creditors burnished risk appetite.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 1.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.4 percent but the broader Topix avoided losses.

The gains came after a rally in Europe and Wall Street, with the pan-European stock index hitting a seven-year high and the S&P 500 coming within striking distance of a record high.

The Nasdaq also hit a 15-year high while the volatility index, a gauge of investors' fear, fell to around 15.3 percent, its lowest level so far this year, reports Reuters.

12:00pm Market Check
The market is still seeing buying interest boosted by banks. The Nifty is inching close to 8800, up 64.40 points or 0.7 percent at 8775.95. The Sensex is up 195.64 points at 29000.74.  About 1384 shares have advanced, 1072 shares declined, and 204 shares are unchanged.

Bank Nifty is up over 150 points led by State Bank of Bank. The PSU is up 6 percent after it announced December quarter earnings. Its Q3 profit rose 30.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 2910 crore. Profit was impacted by higher provisions but was supported by other income. Net interest income rose 9 percent to Rs 13,777 crore from Rs 12,640 crore during the same period. Provisions for bad loans increased 26 percent to Rs Rs 5,235 crore during the same period.

Meanwhile, Sun Pharma, TCS, Wipro and M&M are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL, ONGC, GAIL, Tata Motors and HDFC Bank.

11:55 am Rate cut?  The January Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) inflation, As per the new series, rose to 5.11 percent from 4.28 percent in December which by all measure is in the comfort zone of the Reserve Bank of India. With lower oil prices, normal monsoons and a reformist government at the Centre, hopes of another round of rate cut has started building up once again.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Jayesh Mehta, Managing Director & Country Treasurer at Bank of America says he expects three more rate cuts from the RBI going into new fiscal and sees March inflation at 5.5 percent. Mehta talks about rising rate cut expectations in the bond market after the January data. The yield on 10-year paper is likely to be in 7.55-7.7 percent range and can go down to 7.45-7.55 percent range if the RBI slashes rates pre-policy.

11:45 am Gold: Gold held above a five-week low amid a weaker dollar and uncertainty over debt-laden Greece, but the safe-haven metal was set to close down for a third straight week on expectations of higher US interest rates.

Spot gold had climbed 0.4 percent to USD 1,227 an ounce by 0323 GMT. The metal hit a five-week low of USD 1,216.45 in the previous session, before recovering to close up 0.3 percent.

"Support for gold was well pronounced around the 100-day moving average of USD 1,216 and this level should hold over the short term as we await Monday's renewed Greek debt negotiations," said MKS Group trader Sam Laughlin, adding that the next level of support was at USD 1,200.

11:30 am  Interview: Financial services major, Reliance Capital reported 28 percent rise in its third quarter net profit at Rs 213 crore on robust growth in insurance and mutual fund businesses. The total income for the quarter ended December 2014 rose 11 percent to Rs 2,105 crore.

Sam Ghosh, CEO, Reliance Capital, said the AMC business market conditions have been positive. The company's current debt stands at Rs 22,000 crore, which it expects to reduce going forward. Japanese life insurance major Nippon Life is likely to raise its stake in Reliance Capital Asset Management to 49 percent from the existing 26 percent. Nippon will be investing Rs 657 crore for an additional 9 percent stake in the first tranche to reach 35 percent and will acquire further 14 percent stake in multiple tranches.

The market is still holding on its gains the Sensex is up 82.59 points at 28887.69 and the Nifty is up 35.15 points at 8746.70. About 1324 shares have advanced, 948 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged.

SBI, Sun Pharma, TCS, Wipro and Hero Motocorp are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL, GAIL, ONGC, Tata Motors and HDFC.

Bonds rise to more than one week highs reacting to the January CPI data on a new base that was released last evening and the rupee gains for the first time in five sessions.

Most Asian markets post gains today taking positive cues from the US markets overnight. Brent crude holds above 59 dollar per barrel, up almost 2 percent this week so far. US crude futures were up 55 cents at USD 51.76, following similar swings earlier in the week.

Preliminary quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) figures for Germany and the Eurozone are due to Friday and could support prices if up slightly.

Amid this week's ups and downs, oil volatility reached its highest level since the financial crisis, jolting traders who had been adjusting to a period of predictable declines following a near 60-percent crude crash between June and January.

10:58am Market Update
The market continued to trade higher with the Sensex rising 63.96 points to 28869.06 and the Nifty climbing 25 points to 8736.55.

About 1308 shares have advanced, 943 shares declined, and 184 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

10:30am Expert on Earnings
Aggregate earnings of Sensex companies for FY16 is likely to see a downgrade, says Rajat Rajgarhia, MD - Institutional Equities, Motilal Oswal Securities.

On the positive side, earnings growth for next year could be in excess of 15 percent, says Rajgarhia in interview to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the Make in India conference hosted by Motilal Oswal.

He does not see any earnings recovery for the next couple of quarters, and sees FY15 earnings growing 5 percent against 10-11 percent estimated earlier.

At the broader level, earnings in the December quarter are down 3-5 percent, he says.

Rajgarhia is hopeful that the 'Make in India' theme will instill confidence in Indian companies. He sees state playing an important role in the success of this project.

10:00am Market Check
The market remained higher for the fourth consecutive session today. The Sensex rose 106.78 points to 28911.88 and the Nifty climbed 42.25 points to 8753.80 led by metals, IT, auto, FMCG and select banks stocks.

The broader markets continued to outperform with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.65 percent each. About 1251 shares have advanced, 723 shares declined, and 164 shares are unchanged.
 
While Kunj Bansal of Centrum Wealth Management expects overall positivity to remain in the market, he expects the upcoming Budget to be light. Therefore, in case the Budget is light because the government has already announced a lot of policy measures through the ordinance route. Then the market could be some correction post the event.

Cipla gained 2.5 percent despite Q3 numbers missed estimates and cutting FY15 growth guidance. Brokerages are positive on FY16 prospects of the company. Exports are expected to pick from Cipla supplying Nexium formulations to Teva with profits to start reflecting from Q1FY16. Bank of America Merrill Lynch retains buy rating on Cipla and expects 18 percent CAGR in sales and 200 basis points EBITDA expansion over FT15-17.

Similarly, Glenmark rallied nearly 4 percent as Q3 adjusted operating profit margin was around 21 percent after adjusting for the forex loss the company reported due to the ruble depreciation. The company in its conference call indicated the guidance is maintained as it is in constant currency terms and it expects US approvals to pick up now on.

BHEL slipped 3 percent after reporting disappointing numbers. JP Morgan maintains underweight rating on the stock with target price of Rs 200 per share and cut cut FT15 and FY16 EPS estimates by 27 percent and 13 percent while Credit Suisse maintains underperform with a target price of Rs 200/share as current valuation at 20 times FY17e EPS is expensive.

Lupin rose 4 percent as the RBI says FIIs can now invest up to 49 percent in company. As of December 2014 FIIs held 31.77 percent in the company.