3:42 p.m. Markets end at record high: Sensex rises 359 points to 22,702, Nifty closes at 6,796 after hitting 6800

3:32 p.m. Markets end at record high: Sensex rises 359 points to 22,702 (provisional), Nifty ends at 6,796 after hitting 6800 in late session

3:20 p.m. Nifty hits new life high of 6800. Anil Manghnani, director of Modern Shares & Stock Brokers, says he sees a breakout in monthly charts with bigger volumes and it is “encourageing”. Next levels to watch are 6816 and 7230, he said.

3:10 p.m. Markets hit all-time highs in late trade: Sensex up 332 points to 22,675 while Nifty rises 95 points to 6,790. At its day high, Nifty hit 6,797.40 while Sensex hit 22,703.58. (Track your stocks)

Bank and pharma stocks lead the rally. Bank of Baroda, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank were up between 4 per cent and 5.5 per cent. Sun Pharma was the biggest Nifty gainer, up over 7.2 per cent.

2:35 p.m. Markets extend gains with a rally in banking stocks offsetting losses caused by IT stocks. Sensex

is up 216 points to 22,560 while Nifty rises 60 points to 6,755. Bank Nifty is up 2.9 per cent with Bank of Baroda up 5.9 per cent, PNB rises 4.3 per cent while Axis Bank increases 4 per cent. (Track markets)

IT stocks were lower with BSE IT index down 1.3 per cent. HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra were down nearly 2.4 per cent each.

2:20 p.m. Markets at day’s high: Sensex up 184 points at 22,527 while Nifty rises 51 points to 6,745.(Track markets)

1:40 p.m. Stock alert: Suzlon Energy surges 7 per cent to Rs 14.95.The wind turbine maker said yesterday that it has signed a loan agreement worth 850 million euros with a consortium of banks for funding its working capital requirements and expansion plans.
    
“Suzlon Group’s German subsidiary Senvion SE signed an agreement for a loan of Euro 850 million (over Rs 7,000 crore) with consortium of banks for a 3 year period,” the Suzlon said in a statement. (Read full
story)

12:30 p.m. Banks: Where from here?

Suresh Ganapathy, banking analyst at Macquarie Capital Securities (India), says Indian economy looks to have bottomed out and banks tend to do well when economy bottoms out. But the recovery could be delayed, he added.The Bank Nifty is up nealry 1 per cent today.

Mr Ganapathy however prefers private banking names to do better and Axis, ICICI Bank are among its top picks. PSU banks have capital requirements and need structural reforms, irrespective of which government comes at the centre, he adds.

12:02 p.m. BSE IT index is down nearly 1.5 per cent today with Infosys, TCS, Infosys and Tech Mahindra down between 1.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent.  Tech stocks across the globe have suffered a sell-off recently.

IT stocks would be in focus with Infosys, TCS, and Wipro coming up with results next week.

K Subramanyam, AVP of institutional sales at Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediaries, says at this moment mid-tier IT stocks like Mindtree and Nucleus Software look attractive as compared to frontline peers.

11:30 a.m. Stock check: Tata Motors DVR are up 5.6 per cent to  Rs 230 while main shares are up 2.5 per cent to Rs 413.

Tata Motors DVR still trading at a 40 per cent discount to the main shares and since March 28 DVRs have rallied 19 per cent in contrast to 4 per cent gain for main shares.

Tata Motors DVR carry differential voting rights but analysts says there is no reason for DVRs to trade at so much discount to the main shares.

11:00 a.m. Sun Pharma extends gains, gains nearly 8 per cent. Global investment bank UBS upgraded both Sun Pharma (target Rs 720) and Ranbaxy (target Rs 576) to ‘buy’ citing 5-10 per cent earning per share accretion in FY17.

Macquarie said Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy, together, are a bigger & better combination. The deal would not lead to any earnings dilution for Sun Pharma in 2015, it added.

CLSA also maintained its buy on Sun Pharma (target Rs 750) saying the joint entity has better growth potential than Sun alone. Ranbaxy’s acquisition is at attractive valuation, CLSA said, adding that the resolution of US Food and Drug Administration at Ranbaxy will provide upside kicker.

10:21 a.m. Stock check: Sun Pharma shares surges 5.2 per cent today to Rs 618, adding to its 2.9 per cent gain on Monday. Ranbaxy shares recover today and are up 2.5  per cent to 456.60. On Monday, Ranbaxy fell nearly 3 per cent.

Kewal  Handa, industry expert and former MD of Pfizer Ltd, said the success of Sun Pharma and Ranbaxy combine would depend on how they capture the synergies. For a deal of this size, the synergy should be about $ 700 million as opposed to about $ 250 million expected by Sun, he said.

09.57 a.m. Sun Pharma made fresh day high at Rs 615.45 up 4.6 per cent whereas broader indices did not see much change. (Track Stock)

UBS upgraded Sun Pharma to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and maintains target at Rs720. UBS expects significant cost synergies in the Ranbaxy -Sun Pharma deal.

09.46 a.m. Stock Market update: Nifty trades 24 points higher at 6,719 and Sensex trades 92 points higher 22,436. (Track Market)

U. R Bhat, Managing Director of Dalton Capital says market has discounted best poll outcome. “Currently market is witnessing sectoral rotation and we expect cyclicals to continue rising. Higher growth will be seen in private banks” says Mr Bhat.

09.25 a.m. Relinace Capital (Rel Cap) trades higher 1.3 per cent at Rs346 compared to a 0.4 per cent gain on the broader index Nifty.(Track stock)

Deutsche Bank maintains buy rating on the stock with a target of Rs 475 per share. The bank says current valuation do not reflect the improving earning of the company and outlook for mutual fund and NBFC (Non-bank financial company) business remains positive for the company.

09.20 a.m. Index heavyweight banking stocks are up 0.5 per cent, but energy and consumer durables shares are down in early trade. Frontline IT stocks are also down tracking the strength in the rupee.

Among stocks, Sun Pharma is the top Nifty gainer, up 3.1 per cent. DLF and Hindalco, up around 2 per cent each, are other big gainers on the Nifty. Tech Mahindra is the top Nifty loser, down 1.6 per cent, while Maruti Suzuki is down 1 per cent. (Track top gainers and losers)

09.15 a.m. Markets open higher. Sensex up 84 points; Nifty gains 31 points, edges above 6,700. (Track markets)

09.10 a.m. Market analyst Sarvendra Srivastava says 6,650 remains critical support for markets, while 6,750-6,777 are the big hurdles as of now.

Sarvendra’s top picks include,

1) AB Nuvo: Buy with a target of 1170 and a stop loss of 1044.
2) ITC: Buy with a target of 365 and a stop loss of 334.4.
3) Cairn India: Buy with a target of 365 and a stop loss of 332.4.

9.00 a.m. Rupee opens higher at 59.97 to a dollar against previous close of 60.11

08.45 a.m. Stocks in news: 1) Suzlon has reportedly sold assets worth $ 100 million. 2) Maruti Suzuki has reportedly initiated a recall of over 1 lakh units of Swift DZire sedan. 3) ABB has received an $ 18 million contract from Power Grid. 4) Tata Steel is reportedly selling its businesses in New Zealand & Pacific Islands.

08.40 a.m. Market analyst Sanjeev Bhasin says Indian share markets are on course to test higher levels, with the Nifty poised to touch 6,800. The second half of trade could see some correction amid profit booking, he added. For today, going long on select cement, banks, housing finance and telecom should make money, while shorting in OMC (oil marketing company), auto & capital goods should be a good hedge on the down side, he said. (Click here to read Sanjeev’s trading calls)

08.30 a.m. SGX Nifty traded 16.50 points or 0.24 per cent higher at 6,788, indicating a positive start for Indian markets.

08.15 a.m. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continue to buy shares in the cash market. On Monday, they bought equities worth Rs 704 crore, though DIIs sold shares worth Rs 1,081 crore.

08.10 a.m. Asian shares rose on Wednesday after Wall Street snapped a three-day losing streak, but Japanese stocks tumbled after the yen surged on fading hopes of near-term stimulus from the Bank of Japan. (Read the full story here)

08.00 a.m. Indian share markets closed lower for a third straight day on Monday, but Nifty futures on the Singapore Exchange indicates a positive start for the share markets today.

Indian shares have rallied to record highs on hopes of a BJP-led government post elections. The opposition party is perceived to be more business-friendly and is seen coming to power on promises of economic revival and jobs.

On Monday, the benchmark Sensex fell 0.07 per cent, or 16.05 points, to end at 22,343.45, its lowest close since March 28. The broader Nifty rose 0.01 per cent, or 0.70 points, to end at 6,695.05.

(With inputs from Reuters)