The rally was mainly driven by financial, consumer durables, auto and oil and gas stocks.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Auto, Yes Bank, HCL Tech, HUL and Hero MotoCorp, falling up to 4.36 per cent.
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp and GAIL (India) Ltd's equity in two gas rich offshore blocks in Myanmar have been cut following Myanmar's national oil company exercising its 'step-in' rights in the fields, gas from where will be sold to China.
The Vedanta group on Wednesday confirmed putting in a preliminary expression of interest (EoI) for buying the government's stake in Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL).
Bajaj Finance was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, slumping over 10 per cent, followed by M&M, Titan, Hero MotoCorp, ICICI Bank and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, L&T, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, UltraTech Cements and NTPC were among the gainers.
After Air India, Britain's Cairn Energy PLC plans to target assets of state-owned firms and banks in countries from the US to Singapore as it looks to ramp up efforts to recover the amount due from the Indian government after winning an arbitration against levy of retrospective taxes. A lawyer representing the company said Cairn will bring lawsuits in several countries to make state-owned firms liable to pay the $1.2 billion plus interest and penalties that are due from the Indian government. Last month, Cairn brought a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York pleading that Air India is controlled by the Indian government so much that they are 'alter egos' and the airline should be held liable for the arbitration award.
Pharma major Lupin and mortgage lender HDFC were the top losers.
Britain's Cairn Energy has secured a French court order to seize 20 Indian govt properties to recover arbitration award, it is learnt.
Consumer stocks remain the biggest laggard on the bourses. The Nify50 weighting of FMCG stocks declined to a decade low of 9.9 per cent at the end of March this year, down 150 basis points from 11.4 per cent a year ago. At their peak in March 2013, major FMCG stocks, such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, and Asian Paints, together accounted for 15 per cent of the Nifty50. But now together with automobile stocks, the consumer goods sector accounts for only 14.7 per cent of the index, down 200 basis points in the past 12 months and 37 per cent from the record high weighting of 23.4 per cent at the end of March 2014.
Auto stocks will be in focus
Among top losers that dragged down key indices were Infosys, TCS, Reliance, SBI, Tata Steel and ITC, falling up to 2.15 per cent.
Mahindra and Mahindra was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, surging over 16 per cent, followed by Maruti, Titan, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp. On the other hand, HUL, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank and Nestle were the laggards.
Government is expected to rely more on divestment proceeds to keep the fiscal deficit in check
The government is keen to close the sale before March 31, 2021, to help meet a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore target which Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set from divestment proceeds in the Budget for 2020-21.
Amazon's rivalry in India with oil-to-retail conglomerate Reliance Industries looks set to head to the cricket field, where they will likely battle media heavyweights for telecast rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) with its hundreds of millions of viewers.
In the Sensex kitty, Ultratech Cement was the top gainer, rising 2.10 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries Sun Pharma, NTPC and Asian Paints.
India is the world's fourth-biggest oil consumer, importing four-fifths of its needs as its own output shrinks.
HCL Tech and ONGC were the top gainers in the Sensex, rising up to 3.40 per cent.
UK's Cairn Energy Plc plans to bring lawsuits in the US and other countries to pierce the corporate veil between the Indian government and its owned companies such as in oil and gas, shipping, airline and banking sectors, to seize their overseas assets to recover $1.2 billion ordered by an international arbitration tribunal. The firm has moved courts in the US, UK, Canada, France, Singapore, the Netherlands and three other countries to register the December 2020 arbitration tribunal ruling that overturned the Indian government's Rs 10,247 crore demand in back taxes and ordered New Delhi to return $1.2 billion in value of shares it had sold, dividends seized and tax refunds withheld to recover the tax demand. With the government so far refusing to honour the arbitration award and instead choosing to challenge it, Cairn is looking to enforce it by seizing overseas Indian assets, Dennis Hranitzky, head of the sovereign litigation practice at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, a law firm representing the company, told PTI.
Despite stagnant domestic production and challenging geopolitics, Oil and Natural Gas Corp has a plan to produce 130 million tonnes (mt) oil equivalent by 2030.
Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, tanking over 10 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Maruti, M&M, Tech Mahindra and ONGC. The gainers included ITC, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank and Hero MotoCorp.
Nestle India was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, rising 3.23 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, HUL, Bharti Airtel, RIL, TCS, PowerGrid and Titan.
IOC along with its sister PSUs, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp had from September 16 cut jet fuel rates by as much as 3.2 per cent to Rs 37,896.83 per kl.
Tech Mahindra was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, cracking over 5 per cent, followed by Infosys, HDFC, IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries and NTPC. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, L&T, Maruti, UltraTech Cement and Sun Pharma led the gainers' chart.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has written to the Oil Ministry seeking appointment of an international expert to assess if Reliance Industries Ltd was drawing out any of its gas in KG basin.
It plans to invest Rs 26,000 crore to develeop and manage fields.
After selling brands like Pulsar, Boxer, Platina and RE in over 70 countries, Bajaj Auto plans to enter Thailand this year followed by Brazil next year.
India has asked bulk buyers to pay market rates for diesel since last January and has also been raising the price of subsidised diesel in small amounts every month in an effort to cut its ballooning fuel subsidies.
Prices of all metals - from steel to copper, aluminium, zinc and lead - have shot up by about 5-11 per cent in the past month. Commodity inflation is raising its head, forcing companies to consider price hikes.
State-run gas utility GAIL India on Monday said it should be exempted from payment of fuel subsidies as it does not get any upside from rise in crude oil or natural gas price.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.
Italy's Eni welcomed the Indian company. The other four partners have 60 days from date agreement.
Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, crashing over 9 per cent, followed by Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, TCS, Infosys and HUL. On the other hand, Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance and Titan were the gainers.
The acquisition of stake in Progress Energy Resources Corp for 1 billion Canadian dollars ($900 million) mark IOC's maiden entry into North America.
In its biggest acquisition till date, OVL, the overseas arm of Oil & Natural Gas Corp in November agreed to pay US energy giant ConocoPhillips about $5 billion for the 8.4 per cent stake in Kashagan, the biggest oilfield discovery in over four decades.
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
India's plans to make a counter-offer for PetroKazakhstan might be riddled with impediments, as the Central Asian oil firm would have to shell out $125 million in penalty if it rejects the $4.18-billion offer by China's CNPC.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp, said on Monday it had signed an agreement to supply crude oil to refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd for two years ending March 2004.\n\n\n\n
NTPC was the top gainer, spurting 4.28 per cent. Other winners were Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Sun Pharma, ITC, Hero MotoCorp, TCS, Yes Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank and SBI, rising up to 1.38 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, Hero MotoCorp, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, Maruti and M&M were the top gainers, spurting up to 2.66 per cent.
