Sensex trades firm amid global rally, Nifty above 7,850; Banking stocks gain

2.22 pm: GAIL (India) shares advanced over 1 per cent on BSE after the company announced during market hours on Wednesday, that pipeline welding of 12 inch pipeline connecting HFCL Barauni to IOCL, Barauni commenced on Tuesday at Barauni, marking the first phase implementation of company’s Jagdishpur-Haldia pipeline project. This gas network will supply fuel to major industries such as the Barauni refinery and the Barauni fertiliser plant in Bihar. The pipeline will also help in setting up of city gas networks in major cities of Bihar including capital Patna. GAIL was trading 1.03 per cent higher at Rs 293.05. Sensex was up 207 points at 25,913. Nifty was up 55 points at 7,884.
1.31 pm: Natco Pharma advanced over 1.5 per cent after the company informed stock exchanges that it has raised Rs 340.88 crore by issuing shares to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs). Natco Pharma announced that it has raised Rs 340.88 crore by issuing shares to QIBs. The company issued 16 lakh shares at a price of Rs 2,130.55 apiece. The issue price was at a 5 per cent discount to the floor price of Rs 2,242.68 per share. The discount translates to Rs 112.13 per share. The announcement was made after market hours on Tuesday. The scrip was trading 1.56 per cent higher at Rs 2259.70 in the afternoon trade. Sensex was up 244 points at 25,950.
1.06 pm: Meanwhile, China stocks ended up sharply on Wednesday helped by a spike in the final minutes of trade, a frequent phenomenon in mainland markets generally interpreted as government intervention to push up values before the closing bell. That marks the best single-day gain since August 27. The CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen jumped 5 per cent, to 3,309.25, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 4.9 per cent, to 3,152.26 points.
Back home, Sensex was up 288.32 points 25,994. Nifty was up 80.90 points 7,910. The BSE Bankex was up 1.51 per cent at 19,454. YES Bank, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank were trading 3 per cent, 2.39 per cent and 2.04 per cent higher at Rs 753.70, Rs 494.30 and Rs 899, respectively.
1.00 pm: The 50-share Nifty was up 78 points, or 1 per cent, at 7,907. Hero MotoCorp led the pack (up 2.75 per cent) as Sun Pharma, YES Bank, Bajaj Auto and Vedanta, registered gains too. Sensex was up 297 points at 26,003.
12.20 pm: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries shares jumped over 2 per cent on Wednesday after the company informed stock exchanges that it has entered into an agreement with InSite Vision to acquire the US-based eyecare firm for around $48 million plus related debt and other transaction costs to strengthen its branded ophthalmic portfolio in the US. Sensex was up 259 points, 1 per cent at 25,965
12.04 pm: Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has received an order worth around Rs 1700 crore from Marubeni Corporation, Japan, for setting up the Bibiyana III 400 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant Project of Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB). Larsen and Toubro shares were trading 0.70 per cent down in the noon trade. Sensex was up 214 points at 25,920.
11.44 am: The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,137 shares rose and 1033 shares declined. A total of 103 shares were unchanged. Sensex was up 174 points at 25,880.
11.25 am: Suven Life Sciences gained over 3 per cent on BSE after the company informed stock exchanges about the grant of of two product patents from Canada and one product patent from China corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases and these Patents are valid through 2029 and 2030. The scrip was trading 3.60 per cent higher at Rs 240.25. Sensex was up 152 points at 25,858.
10.46 am: The 30-share index, which had lost 150.77 points in the previous session, was up 143.90 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 25,850. Nifty was up 0.46 per cent at 7,865.
10.10 am: Equity brokers said fresh positions built up by investors tracking gains in other Asian bourses and overnight rally in US markets ahead of the Federal Reserve’s rate decision this week bolstered trading sentiment. Sensex was up 175 points at 25,881.
10.06 am: The rupee depreciated another 11 paise to 66.47 against the dollar in early trade on foreign funds outflows amid a significant slump in the country’s exports. The BSE IT and BSE Healthcare index were up 0.84 per cent and 1.14 per cent at 11,194.42 and 17,314.
9.50 am: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ one of subsidiary has entered into an agreement and plan of merger with InSite Vision Inc. (InSite Vision). InSite Vision focuses on developing new specialty ophthalmic products, including three late stage programs. The scrip was trading 2.57 per cent higher at Rs 889. Sensex was up 201 points at 25,907. Nifty was up 57.50 points at 7,886.60.
9.28 am: Sensex was up 145 points at 25,851. Barring the Capital Goods index (down 0.29 per cent) and Consumer Durables index (down 0.07 per cent) in the BSE sectoral indices, rest all other indices were trading in green. The Metal index and Realty index were up 0.90 per cent and 0.80 per cent, respectively.
9.15 am: Domestic equity markets opened on a positive note on Wednesday tracking firm global cues. Sensex opened 178.12 points up at 25,884.05. Nifty opened 57.75 points up at 7886.85.
Vedanta and Cairn India received no objection from the BSE and the NSE for the proposed merger of Cairn India with Vedanta, both the companies announced after market hours on Tuesday. Cairn India and Vedana were trading 1.14 per cent and 3.04 per cent higher at Rs 146.65 and Rs 99.85, respectively, on BSE.
The stock markets will remain closed on Thursday, September 17, on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Sensex and Nifty fell 0.58 per cent and 0.55 per cent at 25,705.93 and 7829.10 on Tuesday. The FIIs as per Tuesday’s data were net buyers in equity while they were net sellers in debt segment, according to data released by the NSDL. In equity segment, the gross buying was of Rs 2,647.93 crore against gross sell of Rs 2,511.80 crore. Thus, FIIs stood as net buyers of Rs 136.13 crore in equities. In the debt segment, the gross purchase was of Rs 603.28 crore with gross sales of Rs 719.78 crore. Thus, FIIs stood as net sellers of Rs 116.50 crore in debt.
Global Markets
US: The US markets closed higher on Tuesday and the main indices scored their third winning session in the last four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 228.89 points or 1.40 per cent to 16,599.85, the Nasdaq was up by 54.76 points or 1.14 per cent to 4,860.52 while, the S&P 500 gained by 25.06 points or 1.28 per cent to 1,978.09.
London: Britain’s top equity index turned higher in thin trade on Tuesday, as a strong start to trade on Wall Street helped lift mining stocks off their lows, including Glencore, which hit another all-time trough early in the day.
Tokyo: Japanese stocks rose early on Wednesday as investors took confidence from signs of health in the US economy and a rally on Wall Street, while value managers picked up bargains on low price-to-book stocks.
Hong Kong: The Hang Seng Index was up 1.03 per cent.