Sensex, Nifty end at 1-mth closing high; largecaps hog limelight

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The market has ended at 1-month closing high with largecaps hogging limelight. The Sensex was up 575.70 points or 2.3 percent at 25881.17, and the Nifty ended up 186.05 points or 2.4 percent at 7934.90. About 1563 shares have advanced, 970 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, BHEL, Bajaj Auto, L&T and Maruti were top gainers while Cipla lost 5 percent in the Sensex.

3:20 pm Gold check: Continuing its losing falling streak for the second straight day, gold prices slumped by another Rs 370 to trade at a six-week low of Rs 29,200 per ten grams at the bullion market on May 25 in tandem with a weakening global trend amid muted demand from jewellers at spot market.

Silver too remained under selling pressure and shed Rs 50 at Rs 39,450 per kg.

Sentiment dampened largely in tune with a weak trend overseas where gold had a fifth straight decline, the longest slump since November, on speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as next month strengthened the dollar, denting demand for the metal as an alternative asset, bullion traders said.

2:59 pm Market Update: The Sensex surged 568.53 points or 2.25 percent to 25874 and the Nifty jumped 182.65 points or 2.36 percent to 7931.50.About 1544 shares advanced against 926 declining shares on BSE.2:50 pm Dr Reddy's Labs in news: Dr Reddy's today announced the acquisition of over-the-counter brands in the cough-and-cold, pain and dermatology categories. The company acquired six OTC brands from Ducere Pharma, including Doans, Bufferin, Nupercainal, Ointment, Curex Nail Gel, Comtrex and Myofloex.2:35 pm Interview: Both Bangalore and Kochi parks saw flat footfalls combined at around 4.96 lakh, said Arun K Chittilappilly, MD of Wonderla Holidays in an interview with CNBC-TV18.Footfalls of Bangalore went up 6 percent while the Kochi park saw a decline of 4 percent. Non-ticket revenue for the company saw a jump of 45-50 percent, and the average revenue per costumer also went up by 10 percent, he added.  He maintained that the Bangalore resort recorded an unchanged revenue growth of Rs 46 crore in the fourth quarter of FY17. He expects an uptick in Bangalore's revenue and footfall in FY17. 2:20 pm Tata Steel in news: Tata Steel's board will assess all binding bids submitted by prospective buyers for its UK assets when they meet later today. Around 2-3 bidders could be shortlisted in the meeting and if talks with the UK government progress smoothly, the final buyer could also be announced soon. Sajid Javid, business secretary of the UK, wrote in a tweet that he met Tata management in Mumbai ahead of the board meeting to discuss the sales process. The biggest hiccup for the buyers is pension liability. But most bidders have confirmed that it will be partly borne by the UK government.Also read - Morgan Stanley upgrades India outlook to 'overweight'2:00 pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 488.32 points or 1.93 percent to 25793.79, driven by banking & financials, IT, infra and FMCG stocks.

The Nifty climbed 158.55 points or 2.05 percent to 7907.40. The market breadth remained in favour of advances with 2:1 ratio.

Bajaj Auto rallied more than 4 percent after the two-wheeler maker's fourth quarter earnings met analysts' expectations. Profit grew by 29 percent and revenue increased 14 percent YoY.

Ashok Leyland tanked 7 percent after the commercial vehicle reporting a 66 percent decline in Q4 profit due to exceptional loss of Rs 379 crore.