Sensex ends 93 points higher led by RIL

Markets ended higher on the last trading day of 2014 led by financials and index heavyweight Reliance Industries.

Provisionally, the 30-share Sensex ended up 93 points at 27,497 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 31 points to close at 8,279.

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(updated at 2.48 PM)
Markets are trading higher in the late noon trades as gains in Index heavyweights including ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and RIL are pulling the benchmark indices higher and have contributed nearly 60 points to the rise on the 30-share Sensex.

At 2.48 PM, the 30-share Sensex is up 117 points at 27,520 and the 50-share Nifty has gained 37 points at 8,286.

The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up by 1% each.

The market breadth on the BSE remains positive with 1,665 shares advancing and 1,108 shares declining.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 277.92 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional stock exchange data. 

Rupee:

The rupee trimmed its early losses but was still down by 8 paise at 63.75 against the US dollar this morning. Sustaineddemand for the American currency from importers as well as its strength against other global currencies saw the rupee pinned near 13-month lows.

Global Markets:

Among global markets, Chinese stocks were celebrating their best year in five on Wednesday while markets elsewhere in Asia were ending 2014 on a cautionary note as worries about Greece's future in the euro zone served as an excuse to take profits on crowded trades.

The U.S. dollar lost a little of its recent gains, but the euro got no respite as European bonds yields scored all-time lows following a shockingly sharp fall in Spanish inflation.

The stand-out global equity performer was China, where the CSI300 index of the largest listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen looked set to end 2014 with gains of nearly 50 percent, the biggest among the world's major markets.

Key Stocks:

On the sectoral front, BSE Realty and Power indices are the top gainer up 1.4% followed by BSE Capital Goods and Consumer Durables indices trading higher by 1%. However, BSE Auto index is trading flat with negative bias.

L&T is trading flat with negative bias. The Building & Factories business of L&T Construction, a brand of L&T, has bagged orders worth Rs 2521 crore in the month of December 2014 in both the domestic & international markets, including the prestigious order for the construction of a new passenger terminal at Duqm Airport in Oman from Ministry of Transport & Communications, Sultanate of Oman.

Pharma shares are trading firm. Sun Pharma, Cipla and Dr Reddys Lab have gained between 0.7-2.2% .

IT stocks have erased its early gains and are trading marginally in green. Infosys, Wipro and TCS have gained around 0.2% each.

BHEL has gained nearly 3%. According to media reports, the company has entered into an agreement with Hindustan Shipyard Limited and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited to bid for the Navy project to build six submarines.

Global crude prices declined further and analysts predicted further bearishness in the market owing to rising US production despite a global supply glut.

GAIL, RIL and ONGC have gained between 0.2-1.2%.

Metal stocks have maintained the gains made in the last session. Hindalco and Sesa Sterlite have lost around 0.9% and 1.2% each.

Tata Steel has gained around 1%. Tata Steel has announced that the mining restrictions the company faced in Jharhkand are likely to adversely impact its third quarter revenues as the company was compelled to suspend operations at one of its blast furnaces in Jamshedpur for more than a month resulting in below capacity operation during the period.

Auto shares are trading lower after the Finance Ministry has decided not to extend excise duty cuts on automobiles and consumer durables beyond Wednesday, December 31. Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and Maruti Suzuki are down between 0.5-2%.