Sensex, Nifty maintain uptrend; Mid & Smallcap indices rise

Moneycontrol Bureau12:55 pm Rising: Shares of IVRCL surged 11 percent intraday on its plans to split business into two separate companies. The debt-laden infrastructure firm will divide its Engineering Procurement Construction (EPC) and assets business - land and Build Operate Transfer (BOT) into two separate companies. “To carve the business of the company into ‘EPC Company’ and ‘Assets Company’ which includes Land/BOT and other assets, by way of Scheme of Arrangement subject to receipt of “No objection letter” (NOC) from the lenders/Joint Lenders Forum, approval of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and any other approvals as may be required,” IVRCL said.12:45 pm Parliament update: The government hopes that the Congress and other opposition parties would stand by their "promise" and help in passing of the pending bills as there is no possibility of extension of Parliament "as of now". "There are around 16 bills which are pending. 12 of them have been passed in the Lok Sabha and they are all important bills concerning the welfare of the people," Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said.

He hoped that all the parties will go by the spirit of the House. Naidu noted that Congress and others have given positive signal that they will pass some of the important bills. "I hope they will stand by their word and see to it that the bills are passed," he said speaking to reporters.

12:30 pm Buzzing: Shares of Jubilant Life Science jumped 4 percent intraday as Reserve Bank of India has approved for more foreign investment in the company. The central has given a nod to Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and Registered Foreign Portfolios Investors (RFPIs) to hold upto 45 percent in the drug major.

“FIIs/ RFPIs can now invest up to 45 percent of the paid up capital of Jubilant Life Science  under the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS),” a RBI statement said.

As per September 2015, FIIs hold 17.56 percent, promoter has 54.02 percent and rest is publicly held in the company.

Sun Pharma sinks 7% on warning letter: Buy or Sell now?

The market continues its upward momentum while mid and smallcap indices support. The Sensex is up 146.80 points or 0.6 percent at 25666.02 and the Nifty is up 47.95 points or 0.6 percebt at 7809.90. About 1677 shares have advanced, 682 shares declined, and 164 shares are unchanged.

ICICI Bank, ONGC, M&M, Tata Steel and Coal India are top gainers while Sun Pharma, HUL, Reliance and HDFC Bank are laggards.

Ajay Srivastava of Dimensions Capital says the upcoming year will see midcap stocks outperforming indices yet again. He says the market is in the right place as there is complacency that 7500 will hold. While the current weakness in Information technology (IT) and pharmaceuticals is a big drag on the market, Srivastava says one must add to their pharma portfolios no matter what happens.