Sensex up over 100 points; ITC, HUL up 2%

Benchmark share indices edged higher in noon trades led by FMCG majors on expectations that the move the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha very soon.

At 13:50PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 136 points at 28,396 and the Nifty was up 37 points at 8,623.

FMCG majors ITC and Hindustan Unilever were up over 2% along with pharma and auto shares.
___________________
(Updated at 12:50PM)
Benchmark indices continue to trade in a tight range in the late noon trades as investors remain cautious a day ahead of Reserve Bank of India's policy review. Stock specific action is evident across the bourses.

At 12.50 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 15 points at 28,276 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 5 points at 8,592.

Meanwhile, services sector growth in India eased marginally due to rise in input costs during March, but new business orders showed improvement and staffing levels of the companies also increased, according to HSBC survey which dampened the sentiments.

The HSBC India Services Business Activity Index, which tracks changes in activity at Indian service companies on a monthly basis, eased to 53.0 in March from 53.9 in February, indicative of a moderate rate of expansion that was slightly weaker than in the prior month.

CRUDE OIL

Oil futures climbed more than $1 a barrel on Monday, after Saudi Arabia raised prices for crude sales to Asia for a second month, signaling better demand in the region.

KEY STOCKS

On the sectoral front, BSE Bankex and Metal indices are the top losers trading lower up to 0.7%. However, BSE Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Auto, FMCG and Oil & Gas indices are trading higher up to 3%.

Drug major Sun Pharma is the top gainer up over 5% after the company completed the merger of Ranbaxy Laboratories with itself.

Karvy has raised Dr.Reddy's price target by 5.8 percent to 3,915 rupees with a buy rating. The stock is up over 1%.

The Government will move the GST Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha in the next few weeks.  From the consumer durables pack, PC Jeweller, TTK Prestige, Titan, Bajaj Electricals, Whirlpool are trading higher between 0.5-4%.

Bajaj Auto’s bike sales were down by 22 per cent in March 2015 to stand at around 2.1 lakh units versus 2.7 lakh units in the same month of 2014.  The stock is trading lower up to 1%.

Banking stocks are losing sheen on caution that the RBI will not go in for a rate cut tomorrow due to unseasonal rainfall which has destroyed crops and is likely to put pressure on the inflation. Axis Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank are trading lower up to 1.5%.

SBI is down 0.5% after the state-owned bank allotted 10.04 crore shares on preferential basis to Government of India at Rs 295.59 per equity share.

Wipro has inducted four new members into its group executive council. The new members include Abid Ali Neemuchwala, the newly-appointed group president and chief operating officer (COO); and Anand Padmanabhan, chief executive and president of the energy & utilities business unit. The stock is down 1.7%.

NTPC is up 0.7% amid reports that the country's largest power producer will more than double its current installed capacity to 90,000 MW in the next ten years.

India Infra Fund II will acquire 23.5 per cent stake in ONGC Tripura Power Company for a total consideration of Rs 426 crore. The stock is up over 2%.

Coal India has missed the production target for the financial year 2014-15 by 3 per cent recording an output of 494.23 million tonnes. Coal India's output target was 507 million tonnes. The stock has lost 0.5%.

Mahindra and Mahindra’s (M&M) South Korean subsidiary SsangYong Motor has sold a total of 12,870 units in March 2015 - 7,719 units in domestic sales and 5,151 in exports. The stock is up nearly 3%.

In the broader market, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are trading high up to 1%. The market breadth is strong on the BSE with1,495 gainer versus 905 losers.