 "Sensex holds 26,400; Tata Motors, Hindalco up 4%")
Benchmark share indices continued to trade firm in the last hour of trade on Monday led by gains in oil and financials along with select auto and metal shares.
At 2:40PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 330 points at 26,438 and the 50-share Nifty was up 98 points at 7,877.
The Indian rupee was trading higher at Rs 61.32 to the US dollar compared to its previous close of Rs 61.44 on sale of US dollars by exporters and banks following the fuel reforms announced by the government.
European shares were trading with marginally lower after investors booked profits after sharp gains on Friday. FTSE, CAC-40 and DAX were down 0.5-1% each.
State-owned oil and gas shares were up as the hike in gas prices would help improve revenue and profit going forward while lowering the subsidy burden. ONGC is considered the biggest beneficiary as it will rake in about Rs 1,950 crore in additional profit this fiscal from the 46% rise in natural gas prices announced by the government. GAIL was up nearly 2% while Oil India gained 1.6%.
Financial shares gained on expectations of more reforms to push the economy on the growth track. Further, the cut in diesel prices would further ease inflation , lower the government's subsidy bill and also help contain fiscal deficit.
Among the financials, HDFC, HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank were up 1.8-4% each.
Axis Bank was up 4% on the back of strong Q2 performance. The bank declared a 18% net profit at Rs 1,610.71 crore and a rise of around 12.5% at Rs 10,549.97 crore in the total income for the July-September quarter compared to the same quarter last fiscal.
Metal shares have rebounded on reports about Chinese central bank considering injecting more liquidity in the economy to revive demand and arrest the deceleration in the Chinese growth. Hindalco is the biggest gainer and is up around 5% while Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite have gained 0.5-2% each.
Auto stocks firmed up on expectations that lower diesel prices would lead to higher demand for cars and two-wheelers during the on-going festive season.
Tata Motors has gained around 4% on reports about its prized possession Jaguar Land Rover planning to set up a factory in the US, the world's second-biggest automobile market. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp have gained around 2% each while M&M is trading 0.5% higher.
Reliance Industries was down 0.3% as the company will not get the new gas price for its currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields in eastern offshore KG-D6 till it makes up for the shortfall in production in the past four years.
IT exporters witnessed profit taking after the rupee strengthened against the US dollar. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were down 0.4-1.2% each.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6-1% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,610 gainers and 1,097 losers on the BSE.
At 2:40PM, the 30-share Sensex was up 330 points at 26,438 and the 50-share Nifty was up 98 points at 7,877.
The Indian rupee was trading higher at Rs 61.32 to the US dollar compared to its previous close of Rs 61.44 on sale of US dollars by exporters and banks following the fuel reforms announced by the government.
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Asian markets were trading higher with Japan's Nikkei share average rising 3.8% on Monday to post its biggest daily rise since June 2013 on the back of upbeat US economic dat and rally in exporters' shares amid a weaker yen. The benchmark index jumped 579 points to end above 15,000 at 15,111. Shanghai Composite was up 0.7% while Hang Seng trimmed early gains and was up 0.2% and Straits Times ended up 0.6%.
European shares were trading with marginally lower after investors booked profits after sharp gains on Friday. FTSE, CAC-40 and DAX were down 0.5-1% each.
State-owned oil and gas shares were up as the hike in gas prices would help improve revenue and profit going forward while lowering the subsidy burden. ONGC is considered the biggest beneficiary as it will rake in about Rs 1,950 crore in additional profit this fiscal from the 46% rise in natural gas prices announced by the government. GAIL was up nearly 2% while Oil India gained 1.6%.
Financial shares gained on expectations of more reforms to push the economy on the growth track. Further, the cut in diesel prices would further ease inflation , lower the government's subsidy bill and also help contain fiscal deficit.
Among the financials, HDFC, HDFC Bank, SBI, ICICI Bank were up 1.8-4% each.
Axis Bank was up 4% on the back of strong Q2 performance. The bank declared a 18% net profit at Rs 1,610.71 crore and a rise of around 12.5% at Rs 10,549.97 crore in the total income for the July-September quarter compared to the same quarter last fiscal.
Metal shares have rebounded on reports about Chinese central bank considering injecting more liquidity in the economy to revive demand and arrest the deceleration in the Chinese growth. Hindalco is the biggest gainer and is up around 5% while Tata Steel and Sesa Sterlite have gained 0.5-2% each.
Auto stocks firmed up on expectations that lower diesel prices would lead to higher demand for cars and two-wheelers during the on-going festive season.
Tata Motors has gained around 4% on reports about its prized possession Jaguar Land Rover planning to set up a factory in the US, the world's second-biggest automobile market. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp have gained around 2% each while M&M is trading 0.5% higher.
Reliance Industries was down 0.3% as the company will not get the new gas price for its currently producing Dhirubhai-1 and 3 gas fields in eastern offshore KG-D6 till it makes up for the shortfall in production in the past four years.
IT exporters witnessed profit taking after the rupee strengthened against the US dollar. Infosys, TCS and Wipro were down 0.4-1.2% each.
In the broader market, the BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.6-1% each.
Market breadth was strong with 1,610 gainers and 1,097 losers on the BSE.