Sensex, Nifty, Midcap up nearly 2%; aviation stocks most active

Moneycontrol Bureau12:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex rallied 439.07 points or 1.83 percent to 24401.28 and the Nifty jumped 137.80 points or 1.89 percent to  7414.60.About 1952 shares have advanced, 500 shares declined, and 136 shares are unchanged on the BSE.12:35 pm Earnings Poll: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Communications' third quarter earnings are expected to see rebound after a dismal performance in second quarter due to seasonality. Profit in Q3 is likely to grow 15.4 percent sequentially to Rs 180 crore and revenue may increase 2.5 percent to Rs 5,490 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may rise 3.1 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,838 crore and margin may expand 20 basis points to 33.5 percent in October-December period.

Meanwhile, the key focus would be on potential deleveraging as Reliance Communications announced mergers with MTS and a non binding merger talks Aircel.12:20 pm Spectrum Auction: Government is likely to conduct next round of spectrum auction around May-June period this year, a top official said on Friday. "We will put all available spectrum for auction in which ecosystem is available that industry is demanding. The auctions will be held sometime in May-June," Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said at FICCI-WBA Vision Forum.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has put out a consultation paper on a reference made by the government to suggest the base or floor price for all available airwaves for mobile services. The government had pegged revenue from communication services for the current fiscal at Rs 42,865 crore, which include upfront realisation from spectrum sale and licence fee. According to an official source, the government will be able to meet the Budget target even without the auction.Also read - India's earnings growth poor; GST key for market: JPMorgan AMC12:00 pm Market Check

The market rallied further in noon trade on further short covering in most beaten down stocks like banks, auto, oil and infra stocks. Asian markets extended uptrend with the Nikkei rising nearly 6 percent followed by Shanghai (up 1.2 percent) and Hang Seng (up 2.6 percent).

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 429.29 points or 1.79 percent to 24391.50 and the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 135.10 points or 1.86 percent to 7411.90. The broader markets also traded in line with benchmarks; the BSE Midcap index gained 1.9 percent and Smallcap rose 2.2 percent.

The market breadth was strong as about five shares advanced for every share declining on the BSE.

Aviation stocks were most active on exchanges as InterGlobe (owner of IndiGo) delivered its first quarterly earnings after listing. The stock plunged nearly 18 percent after Q3 and Q2 earnings. Jet Airways was down 6 percent and SpiceJet fell 4 percent. Fall in these stocks was also on account of rebound in crude oil prices. Brent crude gained 5.2 percent to USD 30.77 a barrel and Nymex crude rose 4.4 percent to USD 30.8 percent.