Evening capsule: Today's market news at a glance

Here's a lowdown of all the key events that made news today:

- HUL Q4 beats street, net up 14.6%; stock rises 4%
Hindustan Unilever beat market expectations (net sales at Rs 761 crore) in the fourth quarter by registering a 14.6 percent year-on-year rise in its net profit to Rs 787 crore, sending shares four percent higher.

- Lanco Infra up 11% after litigation with Perdaman ends
Lanco Infratech announced that the long drawn litigation for a claim of AUD 3.5 billion intiated by Perdamn Chemicals against Griffin Coal (a Lanco subsidiary), Lanco Group and its officers ended in the Supreme Court of West Australia. The development pulled the stock up 11%.

- Indian overseas bank disappoints street; tanks 7%
After posting disappointing Q4 numbers due to a sharp spike in provisions against bad loans, Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) plunged 7%. The bank posted fourth quarter net profit  of Rs 59 crore vis a vis an estimated profit of  Rs 406 crore.

- Bank Of Maharashtra Q4 net jumps 3.5 times to Rs 259 cr
State-owned lender Bank Of Maharashtra surprised the street with the fourth quarter net profit rising 3.5 times year-on-year to Rs 259 crore, sending shares 20 percent higher intraday. The bank’s net interest income increased 34.6 percent to Rs 871 crore from Rs 647 crore Y-o-Y.

- Reliance Comm hits 13-month high, up 97% in 1 month
Reliance Communications' shares surged nearly nine percent intraday to touch a new 52-week high of Rs 101.35. The stock has rallied nearly 97 percent in a month. At 15:03 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 100.80, up 8.33 percent.

- India's GDP likely to improve to 5.7% in 2013: IMF
Indicating that India's declining growth has bottomed out, International Monetary Fund (IMF) today said the country's GDP is likely to improve to 5.7 percent in 2013 and further to 6.2 percent a year after.

- Sterlite up despite Tuticorin verdict, all eyes on Q4 nos
Shares of Sterlite Industries rose over a percent  to Rs 90.70 even though its Tuticorin copper smelter is unlikely to resume operations anytime soon. The local environmental court has transferred the case over its closure to New Delhi, extending a month-long closure at the facility that meets half of the country’s copper demand.

- Nifty ends above 5900; ITC hits life high, IT stocks up
Key equity benchmarks closed in green after consolidating for most part of the day. The action was by and large limited around the stocks that had declared their results. Positive regional shares helped the Nifty to close above 5900 mark once again.