Sensex, Nifty rangebound

ITC is the major mover. CNX PSU Bank index is out-performing the Bank Nifty.

At 1:45 PM, the BSE Sensex is up 118 points at 29,212. The NSE Nifty is up 24 points at 8,830.

ITC is the major mover, which alone has accounted for a gain of 50 points for the BES Sensex and 11 points for the NSE Nifty.

The public sector banks are out-performing the private sectors banks.

The CNX PSU Bank index has added 0.4 per cent, while the Bank Nifty has shed 0.4 per cent.

Among banking shares, IDBI has jumped 3.8 per cent at Rs. 69.90. Bank of Baroda has added 1.4  per cent at Rs. 239. Allahabad Bank has gained 1.2 per cent at Rs. 113. SBI is up over 0.5 per cent at Rs. 309.

On the other hand, Yes Bank has dropped 1.3 per cent at Rs. 824. ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have  slipped over a per cent each at Rs. 340 and Rs. 575, respectively.

Sectorwise, the CNX Pharma index has dropped 0.6 per cent. The CNX Energy has slipped into the red zone.

The CNX Realty index continues to trade on a stellar note - up 2.2 per cent on the back of strong Q3 earnings by Unitech and HDIL.

Meanwhile, the European markets - the CAC and the FTSE opened marginally negative. While, the  DAX has shed 0.2 per cent. have shed 0.2-0.3 per cent each

Unitech stock zooms 11% on Q3 results

The stock has hit a high of Rs. 19 and a low of Rs. 17.

Shares of Unitech gained 11% at Rs18 after company posted Q3 results

The stock has hit a high of Rs19 and a low of Rs17.

The Group has posted a profit after taxes, minority interest and share of profit / (loss) of associates of Rs. 433.380 million for the quarter ended December 31, 2014 as compared to Rs. 328.257 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2013. 

Total Income has decreased from Rs. 7935.958 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2013 to Rs. 7219.892 mn for the quarter ended December 31, 2014

Kenya operations of Essar Oil sold to Gulf Petrochem

The estimated size of the deal is $5billion.

According to media reports, Gulf Petrochem, UAE based leader in oil space has acquired marketing licence and retail outlets of Essar Oil in Kenya.

 The estimated size of the deal is $5billion.

 Essar does not have an extensive presence in Kenya, with only four retail outlets. Essar Petroleum East Africa owned the licences for the four outlets.

 With the sale, Essar Oil will exit the market in Kenya and it is speculated that they will focus more in other attractive markets like India and UK.

BPCL, HUL, Tata Motors push Nifty above 8,850

The market is trading higher on the back of buoyant buying across all the sectors ahead of WPI data.

The market is trading higher on the back of buoyant buying across all the sectors ahead of WPI data.

The government will release Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation data today after 12 pm.

The BSE Sensex so far has jumped to a high of 29,325 and now, is up 201 points at 29,296. Similarly, the Nifty rose to a high of 8,86z and is now up 56 points at 8,862.

All the sectoral indices are trading on a positive note, except the CNX Pharma index.

Among Nifty-50 stocks, BPCL is the top gainer - up 2.9 per cent at Rs. 746 after petrol and diesel prices were hiked.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has jumped 2.7 per cent at Rs. 917. Tata Motors has surged 2.4 per cent at Rs. 579.

Bharti Airtel has advanced over 2 per cent at Rs. 363. Tata Steel and Mahindra & Mahindra have added almost 2 per cent each at Rs. 374 and Rs. 1,216, respectively.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma is the top loser - down 1.3 per cent at Rs. 928. Larsen & Toubro and Lupin have dropped 0.7 per cent to Rs. 1,695 and Rs. 668, respectively.

BHEL, Hero MotoCorp, Zee Entertainment and IndusInd Bank are some of the notable losers.

The market breadth is positive in the morning deals. Out of 1,693 stocks have traded on the NSE - 869 stocks have advanced, while 524 stocks have declined.

Top corporate news of the day - February 16, 2015

Mahindra & Mahindra said it would invest about Rs. 40bn in Tamil Nadu, after the state decided to allocate land for the company at Cheyyar, near Chennai. 

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries founder Dilip Shanghvi has agreed to acquire 23% stake in Suzlon Energy for Rs18bn. 
 
Asian Paints has decided to step out of its comfort zone to speed up future growth. The paint maker has identified the home improvement and décor segment as an avenue for future growth. 
 
Mahindra & Mahindra said it would invest about Rs40bn in Tamil Nadu, after the state decided to allocate land for the company at Cheyyar, near Chennai. 
 
Reliance Cement won the first coal block after it emerged as the highest bidder for the Sial Ghoghri mine in Madhya Pradesh which has 5.61mn ton of reserves. GMR's subsidiary GMR Chhatisgarh Energy won the ‎Talabira I block. 
 
The board of Indian Bank has given its approval for the government proposal to infuse Rs2.8bn through preferential allotment of equity shares. 
 
ITC has acquired Savlon and Shower To Shower brands for India from Johnson & Johnson as part of its ambitious goal to become the country's largest FMCG company by 2030. 
 
As many as six out of seven molecules in Glenmark's drug discovery pipeline are currently in the clinical trial stage and the company's R&D spend pegged at 10% of sales is expected to be maintained at similar levels for next two years, a top official has said.
 
Telecom regulator TRAI is believed to be considering issuing show-cause notice to Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular for not signing agreements with companies interested in providing international calling card services directly to consumers.  
 
Cipla has been awarded a US$189mn tender for antiretroviral drugs by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 
 
Karur Vysya Bank said that while there is a positive sentiment in the market, the bank has put aggressive expansion on hold until the investment climate improves and things start moving on ground. 
 
Cipla has entered into an agreement with Biopharm SPA to form a joint venture company in Algeria to manufacture and market respiratory products. 
 
State Bank of India (SBI), is planning to divest part of its stake in its life and general insurance ventures. 
 
Welspun Renewables has pledged to set up 11 giga-watts of solar and wind power projects across the country. 

There is “no status change” in SpiceJet’s order for 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, according to Pratyush Kumar, President, Boeing India.

Sensex surges 200 points

Infosys has acquired Panaya, a leading provider of automation technology 

At 9:31AM, the S&P BSE Sensex is trading at 29304 up 210 points, while NSE Nifty is trading at 8,859 up 54 points.

Confidence seems to be setting into the market and investors are gearing for further upmove ahead of the budget.

Last week’s market gains saw the combined market cap of 7 out of the top 10 Sensex companies increasing by around Rs. 54,000 crore.

SBI and HDFC Bank led the gains and could continue to shine today.

With most results out of the way, the attention will shift to global cues and expectations from the budget. 

For today, WPI Inflation numbers will also be watched.

OMCs will react to the increase in retail selling price of petrol and diesel by Rs. 0.82 a litre and Rs.  0.62 a litre respectively.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is likely to announce the merger of commodity futures market regulator — Forward Markets Commission (FMC) — with the capital market regulator SEBI in his Budget speech on February 28, says a report.

The highways sector could see a near doubling of allocation to Rs 45,000 crore as part of the government's push to infrastructure in the coming budget owing to confidence among planners that quick results can be achieved in this sector if funds are made available, a report stated.

India’s foreign exchange (forex) reserves touched yet another all time high as it jumped by $2.32 billion in the week ended February 6 to $330.21 billion. A report says that this is now adequate to finance 10 months' import but they cover only 70% of India's external debt.