Markets end at new closing high: Sensex up 235 points, Nifty above 10,450

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Benchmark indices ended on closing high on Tuesday as BJP's wins in key state elections continued to boost sentiment, with auto stocks leading the gains, while strength across Asian markets also lent support.

Blue chips benefited after PM Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party sealed victories in his home state of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, raising hopes of continued reforms.

Auto stocks contributed the most to the indexes’ gains, with NSE Auto index climbing as much as 3.4% to a record high. 

Focus will now shifts to macros and earnings recovery now that the aseembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are out of the way.  

On Monday, Sensex tanked 867 points (2.6%) on opening as early trends showed Rahul Gandhi-led Congress ahead of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat — a state it has governed for 22 years. The 30-share index, however, settled the day 138 points higher.  

3:42 PM

Nifty Auto hits new high

Source: NSE

3:41 PM

Sectoral Trend

Source: NSE

3:39 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

3:36 PM

Broader Markets

In broader markets, both BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices outperformed benchmark indices, up 1.5% each

3:34 PM

Markets at close

The benchmark indices ended at new closing highs after Modi's BJP won Gujarat and Himpachal Pradesh elections.

The S$P BSE Sensex ended at a new closing high of 33,836, up 235 points while the broader Nifty50 index settled at new closing high of 10,472, up 83 points

3:20 PM

Maurti Suzuki enters top-5 club of most valuable companies

 

Maruti Suzuki India hit a new high of Rs 9,768, up 5% on the BSE in intra-day trade, making its entry into the list of the top-5 most valuable companies by market capitalisation (m-cap).

 

With an m-cap of Rs 294,641 crore, Maruti Suzuki India now features at fifth rank in the list by replacing fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Hindustan Unilever (HUL) from this prestigious club.  HUL have m-cap of Rs 291,382 crore at 02:48 pm, the BSE data shows.

 

Thus far in the calendar year 2017 (CY17), Maruti Suzuki India has outperformed the market by surging 83% as compared to 27% rise in the S&P BSE Sensex. HUL was up 63% during the same period. READ MORE

3:12 PM

World Bank lifts China's GDP outlook to 6.8%, maintains 2018 forecast
 

The World Bank on Tuesday raised its forecast for China's economic growth in 2017 to 6.8% from 6.7% it projected in October, as personal consumption and foreign trade supported growth.

 

But the Washington-based lender kept its forecast for China's 2018 and 2019 GDP growth unchanged at 6.4% and 6.3%, respectively, due to less accommodative monetary policy and the government's effort to rein in credit and control leverage.

 

The key downside risks to the forecast are the still rising leverage of the non-financial sector and uncertainty around housing prices. READ MORE

2:59 PM

Auto stocks ride higher

 

Shares of automobile companies were on a roll with the S&P BSE Auto index and Nifty Auto index hitting their respective new highs on Tuesday on expectation of pickup in demand.

 

Motherson Sumi Systems, Bharat Forge, Hero MotoCorp, TVS Motor Company and Eicher Motors were up between 3% and 4%, while, Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India and Bajaj Auto up 2% on the BSE. READ MORE

2:47 PM

Bharat Wire Ropes gains after winning new orders

 

Bharat Wire Ropes rose 12.73% to Rs 128 on BSE after the company said it won new orders worth about Rs 48 crore from domestic and international market.

 

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 19 December 2017.

2:31 PM

Dr Reddy's settles 6-yr-old drug packaging case with US govt for $5 mn

 

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd will pay $5 million to resolve US claims that the Indian company sold prescription drugs in the United States in packaging that was not tested for child safety, according to court papers filed on Monday.

 

The settlement was disclosed in documents filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, over a year after the US Consumer Product Safety Commission voted to refer a case involving the drugmaker to the US Justice Department.

 

Dr Reddy’s in a statement said that the safety of patients and consumers was of “paramount importance” to the company. It said it disagreed with the allegations but agreed to the settlement to avoid prolonged litigation. READ MORE

2:15 PM

Sugar shares gain

 

Shares of sugar companies were in focus and rallied up to 8% on the bourses after Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said the buying interest is improving, while the stock holding limit on traders has also been removed, which should boost sugar demand and sales.

 

Thiru Arooran Sugars, Kesar Enterprises, Mawana Sugars, Uttam Sugar Mills, Triveni Engineering Industries, Shree Renuka Sugar and Simbhaoli Sugars were up more than 5% on the BSE. 

 

India's sugar production rose 30% to 69.4 lakh tonne during the first two and half months of the current marketing year on higher cane output, according to industry body ISMA. READ MORE

1:56 PM

Source: NSE

1:40 PM

Top Sensex gainers and losers

Source: BSE

1:23 PM

Market Check

Index	Current	Pt. Change	% Change
S&P BSE SENSEX	33,678.07	+76.39	+0.23
S&P BSE SENSEX 50	10,860.42	+27.92	+0.26
S&P BSE SENSEX Next 50	36,091.01	+355.73	+1.00
S&P BSE 100	10,892.09	+41.07	+0.38
S&P BSE Bharat 22 Index	3,734.75	+10.93	+0.29

12:48 PM

Bitcoin trading: I-T issue notices to 400,000 HNIs across India

 

Widening its probe into bitcoin investments and trade, the Income Tax (I-T) department is set to issue notices to 0.4 million to 0.5 million high networth individuals (HNI) across the country who were trading on the exchanges of this unregulated virtual currency.

 

The taxman had conducted surveys at nine such exchanges last week to check instances of tax evasion. READ MORE