Nifty ends above 8700 for 1st time; HDFC leads, ITC trips

03:30pm Market Closing

The market closed higher for the fourth consecutive session on Wednesday. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 104.19 points to 28888.86 while the 50-share NSE Nifty closed above the 8700 level for the first time, up 33.90 points or 0.39 percent at 8729.50.

About 1236 shares have advanced, 1710 shares declined, and 261 shares are unchanged on the BSE.

3:15pm Mcleod Russel falls 4%

Mcleod Russel’s October-December quarter (Q3FY15) net profit slipped 37.5 percent to Rs 80.4 crore from Rs 128.6 crore, Y-o-Y.

The company’s total income was up 1 percent at Rs 481 crore against Rs 476 crore, Y-o-Y.

EBITDA of the company was down 25.7 percent to Rs 107 crore against Rs 144 crore and  operating profit margin was tanked 810 basis points to 22.2 percent versus 30.3 percent on yearly basis.

2:50 pm Interview: The reserve fee for radio frequency is likely to see a marginal hike in the phase III auctions, says Prashant Panday, managing director, Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL). ENIL operates the Radio Mirchi brand in Mumbai and has a large pan India presence with 32 stations across 14 states. In an interview  Panday says the bidding for the phase III spectrum acution is likely to be very aggressive due to limited frequencies being available.

“Delhi has only one frequency. Mumbai, fortunately has two frequencies on the table, so the metros are expected to see high bidding,” he adds.

2:30 pm Coal mine: The government has answered over 300 querries received for the February auction of coal mines deallocated by Supreme Court in September last year. Speaking to the press, coal secretary Anil Swarup said the government is in a position to complete allotment by February 28 as entities have surrendered existing coal linkages. The government will notify allotment of 36 coal blocks tomorrow (Thursday) while the list of 16 coal blocks which would be allotted to government companies has already been put on the its website. A total of 46 coal blocks are scheduled to go for auction next month.

Don't miss: Big FII buying; Nifty may test 9000-9200 ahead of Budget

The market is consolidating with the Nifty holding the 8700-mark comfortably. The 50-share index is up 29.15 points at 8724.75. The Sensex is up 101.18 points at 28885.85. About 1139 shares have advanced, 1733 shares declined, and 270 shares are unchanged.

HUL is up 4 percent while Bharti, HDFC, SBI and Infosys are gainers while ITC is down 5 percent followed by Sesa Sterlite, Cipla, ONGC and Tata Steel.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present his first full-year Budget on February 28 for the fiscal year FY16, a government official said. February 28 is a Saturday. The parliament session will begin on February 23 and will continue till March 20, the official, who declined to be named, told reporters. The new fiscal year begins on April 1.

Asian shares hit a six-week high as investors counted on the European Central Bank to unveil a stimulus drive at its meeting on Thursday.

Overseas investors bought shares worth a net Rs 1278 crore on Tuesday, provisional exchange data showed, buying for a fourth consecutive session. Foreign investors have bought a net USD 518.5 million in Indian shares so far this year, exchange and regulatory data showed.

Interest rate-sensitive stocks gained after the Reserve Bank of India's surprise rate cut last week raised expectations of the start of a monetary easing cycle. More information please visit this site www.bigprofitbuzz.com