Sensex, Nifty flat; Hero, ICICI Bank, Infosys drag 1-2%

The market has gone flat as the Sensex is up 89.42 points at 29184.35. The Nifty is up 23.10 points at 8828.60. About 1257 shares have advanced, 1386 shares declined, and 199 shares are unchanged.

M&M, Bharti Airtel, ITC, HUL and Tata Steel are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Sun Pharma, Hero Motocorp, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Infosys.

Wholesale prices declined an annual 0.39 percent in January, their second fall in three months, on the back of a sharp correction in oil prices, government data showed. The reading for November wholesale price inflation was revised to -0.17 percent from 0.0 percent earlier.

Oil prices steadied as Japan's economy emerged from recession and as strong demand for refined products translated into healthy orders for crude.

Japan's economy rebounded from recession in the final quarter of last year, supporting oil prices, even though the data was weaker than expected. Analysts said that healthy demand for refined products was also buoying crude markets.

Sensex ends up 290pts, Nifty above 8800; SBI, M&M gain 5-8%

3:30 pm Market closing

The market ended with some hefty gains boosted by banks, auto and pharma stocks. The Sensex ended up 289.83 points or 1 percent at 29094.93 and the Nifty was up 93.95 points or 1 percent at 8805.50. About 1450 shares advanced, 1436 shares declined and 198 shares were unchanged.

SBI surged 8 percent while M&M was up 5 percent. TCS, Coal India and Wipro are other gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are GAIL, BHEL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

03:00 pm Earnings: Indian Oil Corporation's (IOC) third quarter losses widened to Rs 3,285 crore from Rs 961.5 crore in the year-ago period due to higher inventory loss.

Net sales of the state-run oil marketing company declined to Rs 1.07 lakh crore during October-December quarter from Rs 1.17 lakh crore in the year-ago period.

Oil retailer IOC says gross refining margin for April-December period was negative USD 2.66 a barrel (against USD 4.97 a barrel in the year-ago period) mainly on account of inventory valuation loss of Rs 15,017 crore during the period.

02:50pm Germany GDP growth

Germany grew by a much stronger than expected 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014, with domestic demand lifting Europe's largest economy out of its mid-year lull to take growth for the whole year to 1.6 percent and raise hopes of a strong 2015.

Quarterly GDP beat not only the consensus forecast for 0.3 percent in a Reuters poll, but also all individual estimates. The overall growth rate for 2014 overshot the Statistics Office's January estimate of 1.5 percent.

Unadjusted data showed the economy grew by 1.6 percent on the year in the fourth quarter, also far exceeding the consensus forecast in a Reuters poll for 1.0 percent growth. Third-quarter data growth was confirmed at a previously reported 0.1 percent, reports Reuters.

02:30pm Sun Pharma gains ahead of Q3 nos

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries will announce its third quarter earnings on Saturday. According to a  poll, net profit of the drug maker may rise 7 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,638 crore during October-December quarter, impacted by lower operating performance.

Revenue is seen climbing 13.1 percent to Rs 4,879 crore in December quarter from Rs 4,312 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

During the quarter, its US subsidiary Taro Pharmaceutical Industries had reported a 28.7 percent growth in bottomline and 11.3 percent growth in revenue.

Hence, analysts expect US business growth to be similar to second quarter (largely led by Taro) at 13-15 percent Y-o-Y. However, ex-US revenue may be weak as drugs such as Doxycycline could continue recording a decline. In Q2FY15, US Business was up 14.8 percent Y-o-Y to USD 481 million.

Domestic sales growth, however, is expected to be maintained at around 19-20 percent in Q3. In previous quarter (Q2), domestic formulations were steady with a growth 21 percent at Rs 1,154 crore Y-o-Y (constituted 23 percent of sales).

02:00pm Market Check

The market continued to trade sharply higher with the Sensex rising 304.68 points or 1.06 percent to 29109.78 and the Nifty climbing 98.80 points or 1.13 percent to 8810.35. The broader markets gained too; the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rose 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

About 1424 shares have advanced, 1344 shares declined, and 196 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Abhay Laijawala of Deutsche Equities is bullish on the market going into the Budget, saying sectors like infrastructure, banks & financials and urban consumption will be key beneficiaries.

Big boy SBI surged 7 percent after posting a stellar set of earnings in the third quarter. Asset quality remained stable as fresh slippages and restructuring came in lower than Q2 for India's largest public sector bank.

Another strong set of earnings came in from Mahindra & Mahindra. The stock traded 4 percent higher after its third quarter earnings beat estimates. An exceptional gain of Rs 300 crore aided profit.

State-run oil retailer Bharat Petroleum Corporation has turned profitable with the third quarter net profit at Rs 551 crore against loss of Rs 1,089 crore in same quarter last fiscal. Higher other income and lower finance cost boosted profitability. The stock gained 2.5 percent.

Global cues were strong today as most Asian markets posted gains. Europe too opened in the green extending yesterday's rally. Brent crude held above USD 59 a barrel, up almost 2 percent this week so far.

Sensex reclaims 29000, Bank Nifty surges; auto & pharma up

1:50 pm ITC shopping: FMCG major ITC has entered into an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to acquire its brands, 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower', in India. This acquisition will be ITC's first purchase in the personal care segment. "The company entered into asset purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson Ltd, India & Johnson & Johnson Pte Ltd, Singapore yesterday for purchase of 'Savlon' and 'Shower To Shower' trademarks and other intellectual property, respectively, primarily for use in India," ITC said in a BSE filing.

Savlon is an antiseptic brand while Shower To Shower is a personal care product brand. These agreements are subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory permissions as may be necessary, it added. During the third quarter ended December 2014, ITC reported 10.47 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,635 crore as against a net profit of Rs 2,385.34 crore in corresponding quarter a year earlier.

1:30 pm Result poll: M&M will announce its third quarter earnings on Friday. Consolidated net profit is expected to decline 39 percent year-on-year to Rs 615 crore, according to a poll. Consolidated numbers include Mahindra Vehicle Manufactures numbers as well. Total income of the utility vehicle maker is seen falling 13 percent to Rs 8,900 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 10,241.6 crore in same quarter last year, dented by lower sales volumes.

Don't miss: Coal India up; analysts bet on high e-auction volume in Q4

The market continues to surge as the Sensex is up 207.54 points at 29012.64. The Nifty is up 67.75 points at 8779.30.  About 1391 shares have advanced, 1209 shares declined, and 200 shares are unchanged. 

SBI, M&M, TCS, Sun Pharma and Wipro are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are BHEL, GAIL, ONGC, HDFC Bank and Infosys.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell on Friday, retreating from a 7.5-year closing high the previous day as investors took profits from gainers such as Fanuc Corp, but buying in cyclical stocks exposed to consumer demand limited the losses.

A ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine also eased tensions in the market. The Nikkei shed 0.4 percent to 17,913.36, retreating from 17,979.72 marked on Thursday, the highest closing level since July 2007. For the week, the Nikkei gained 1.5 percent.

Sensex, Nifty open firm; SBI gains 2%, BHEL drags 5%

9:55 am Market outlook: Aggregate earnings of Sensex companies for FY16 is likely to see a downgrade, says Rajat Rajgarhia, MD-Institutional Equities, Motilal Oswal Securities.

On the positive side, earnings growth for next year could be in excess of 15 percent, says Rajgarhia in interview the sidelines of the Make in India conference hosted by Motilal Oswal.

He does not see any earnings recovery for the next couple of quarters, and sees FY15 earnings growing 5 percent against 10-11 percent estimated earlier.

At the broader level, earnings in the December quarter are down 3-5 percent, he says.

9:45 am Result poll: SBI will announce its third quarter earnings on Friday. Profit for the quarter is expected to jump 45.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,254 crore supported by treasury income, fee income and operating profit. The sharp rise in profitability is also on account of low base in the year-ago period. Profit in Q3FY14 fell 34 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,234 crore as provisions jumped 56 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 4,150 crore. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, may increase 8 percent to Rs 13,654 crore during October-December quarter from Rs 12,640 crore in same quarter last fiscal.

9:30 am Brokerages on BHEL: Most brokerages are negative on the stock and lowered target price. However, the stock closed with a gain of 5 percent in yesterday’s trade even after the earnings were announced before market closing.

Due to extremely weak December quarter, JP Morgan is underweight on BHEL, cutting target price by 25 percent at Rs 200. The brokerage has also reduced its FY15 and FY16 EPS estimates by 27 percent and 13 percent respectively on the back of severe execution challenges and possibility of deferral of order prospects. It states that either BHEL’s order book is slow moving or non-moving.

BHEL’s outstanding order book was at Rs 1,03,900 crore as on December 2014, increased marginally from Rs 1,03,700 crore in Q2FY15 and Rs 1,00,600 crore in Q3FY14.

Don't miss: New CPI moves up to 5.11% in Jan; Dec IIP slows to 1.7%   

The market has opened higher. The Sensex is up 71.07 points at 28876.17 and the Nifty is up 29.95 points at 8741.50. About 464 shares have advanced, 144 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged.

SBI is up 2 percent while ICICI Bank, Hero, Dr Reddy's Labs, and Sun Pharma. BHEL is down 5 percent and Coal India, ONGC, Infosys and M&M are losers in the Sensex.

The Indian rupee gained in early trade. It rose 18 paise to 62.13 per dollar against 62.31 Thursday.The dollar drops across the board after weaker-than-expected US economic data.

Pramit Brahmbhatt of Veracity said, “Today local indices are expected to trade strong as Asian markets have already opened in green taking cues from the news of a ceasefire in Ukraine. Rupee is also expected to appreciate with the support of strong local equities. Range for the day is seen between 61.90-62.70/dollar.”

Meanwhile, Asia was mixed in morning trade as a stronger yen curbed risk appetite in Japan.

The stocks in the US closed sharply higher as investors cheered a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, amid firming oil prices and strong earnings reports. The Nasdaq closed up 1.18 percent to 4,857 its highest level since march 2000.

On the economic data front in the US, retail sales for January came in weaker than expected, down 0.8 percent and near December’s 0.9 percent decline. Jobless claims were at 304,000 last week, more than expected and an increase of 25,000 from last week

In Europe equities ended higher with investors cheering a peace deal agreed between Ukraine and Russia. The German DAX - which is exposed to the Russian market - ended up 1.5 percent higher. A slew of corporate earnings also helped to boost sentiment in the region.

In commodities, Nymex Crude rose above USD 51 per barrel as news of deeper industry spending cuts and a sinking u-s dollar revived buying. Brent crude rises to USD 59 per barrel.

From precious metals space, gold remained largely unchanged, hovering around USD 1220 an ounce. The metal is headed for its third weekly drop.

Sensex, Nifty consolidate ahead of IIP, CPI data; Midcap up

10:59am Market Expert

Independent market expert Dhiraj Agarwal sees a high risk of correction post-Budget. According to him, the Nifty may even break 8000 support, slipping to 7500 level, if the Budget disappoints. However, on the upside he sees the index breaking 9000 on a satisfactory verdict.

The market needs public spending at this point, said Agarwal, adding that India looks solid from a 3-year horizon, but the investment cycle needs to pick up. He remains bullish on IT.

10:30am Buzzing Stocks

Power Grid gained 1.5 percent after reporting strong numbers with total income up 18.2 percent at Rs 4,354 crore, margin up 170 basis points to 85.9 percent while PAT up 17.9 percent at Rs 1,229 crore. 

The company continues to deliver strong execution and strong commissioning of assets during last 1 year.

Zee Entertainment rallied 3.5 percent after a large trade was seen on the NSE in which 22 lakh shares changed hands in 6 block deals.

India Cements gained 11 percent after they delivered a good operational performance with margins expanding 170 basis points to 15.7 percent in Q3. Additionally they have approved a proposal for reorganisation of Chennai Super Kings Cricket limited and the ownership of the franchise will be held by shareholders of the India Cements.

Grasim Industries rose 0.9 percent and Aditya Birla Chemicals rallied 3.7 percent after Grasim proposed the acquisition of Aditya Birla Chemicals with a swap ratio of 1 share of Grasim for every 16 shares of Aditya Birla Chemicals held. The swap ratio is favouable for AB Chemicals shareholders. Edelweiss says they are positive on the merger.

Fortis Healthcare climbed 0.9 percent after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala bought over 34 lakh shares in the company yesterday while Claris Lifesciences gained 20 percent on reports of many Indian companies such as Zydus Cadila, Lupin and Cipla along with global majors such as Pfizer being interested in the company's sterile injectibles business.

10:00am Market Check

The market remained in a consolidation mode ahead of December industrial output and January CPI data (to be announced later today). The broader markets outperformed equity benchmarks with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 0.8 percent each.

The Sensex fell 22.71 points to 28511.26 and the Nifty rose 3.35 points to 8630.75. More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

The January consumer price index (CPI) data will be the first CPI data on a new base. The government has revised the CPI data base year from 2010 to 2012 couple of weeks ago due to which there are varied expectations. The CPI data for January is likely to be in the range of 5.3 to 5.8 percent on the upside against 5 percent reported in December.

The index of industrial production (IIP) data for December may come in at around 1.8 to 2 percent against 3.8 percent on a month-on-month basis.