Bulls day out: Sensex spikes 777 pts, Nifty ends at 7222

Moneycontrol Bureau3:30 pm Market closing: The Sensex and Nifty post biggest single-days in absolute terms in 7 days. The Sensex was up 777.35 points or 3.4 percent at 23779.35, and the Nifty up 235.25 points or 3.4 percent at 7222.30. About 2010 shares advanced, 587 shares declined, and 116 shares were unchanged. . About 2009 shares have advanced, 587 shares declined, and 117 shares are unchanged. ITC was up 10 percent while ICICI Bank, Maruti, Hero and Adani Ports were top gainers. ONGC, HUL and Dr Reddy's Labs were losers in the Sensex. 3:15 pm Market outlook: It may be a good time to enter the equity market with a 2-3 year view, says Nirmal Jain of IIFL. But at the same time, investors should have a bottom-up stock picking approach, he says. Buy some of the IT companies, private banks now if you are building a portfolio, he tells investors.

Jain does not see more than 5-7 percent downside from current levels. He believes Nifty is unlikely to fall below 6650-6700 in the near-term.

2:58 pm Market Update: The Sensex spiked 733.69 points or 3.19 percent to 23735.69 and the Nifty climbed 223.45 points or 3.20 percent to 7210.50.About 1912 shares advanced against 586 declining shares on the BSE.2:40 pm UMPPs auction: Three ultra mega power projects entailing an investment of Rs 90,000 crore will be bid out in the current fiscal, while two UMPPs in Jharkhand are likely to be auctioned in 2016-17.

"Bidding out three ultra mega power projects (UMPPs)- Cheyyur in Tamil Nadu, Bedabahal in Odisha and Banka in Bihar- in this financial year would attract an investment of approximately Rs 90,000 crore," said the document on Implementation of Budget Announcements 2015-2016.

Deoghar and Tilaiya UMPPs in Jharkhand may be bid out in the next fiscal after due process is met, with an investment of Rs 60,000 crore, it said.

The Power Ministry has identified the five UMPPs for bidding, it said.2:35 pm Gammon Infra in news: Gammon Infrastructure today said it has completed the first tranche of stake sale in nine projects on approval from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and lenders.

The infrastructure firm had announced to sell stakes in 9 projects valued at Rs 6,750 crore to Brookfield and Core Infra India Fund, a deal that will fetch Rs 563 crore on completion as well as reduce its debt considerably.

"Based on receipts of approvals from the NHAI, consent from the project SPV lenders, approvals from Gammon Infrastructure Project Ltd (GIPL) shareholders of shareholders, and satisfaction of conditions precedent on 6 SPVs out of the 9 SPVs, the first tranche of the transaction has been successfully completed today," it said in a BSE filing.2:25 pm Rupee update: The rupee gained past 68 a dollar intraday, continuing uptrend for the second consecutive session post Union Budget.The currency appreciated 44 paise to 67.98 a dollar after the government said it would stick to FY17 fiscal deficit target of 3.5 percent and is hopeful of meeting FY16 fiscal deficit target of 3.9 percent.2:15 pm Rate cut possible?: The Reserve Bank is likely to go for a 50-basis point rate cut this calender year as the Budget gives the central bank sufficient room to adopt a more accommodative stance, UBS said in a research note, adding that its Nifty target is 7,500.

According to the global financial services major, the Budget has given more preference to stability rather than growth and this should give more room to cut key policy rates.

"We now expect 50 bps of policy rate cut in calendar year 2016 (from 25 bps) as the Budget should give RBI sufficient space," UBS said in a research note.

Rather than opting for any growth-boosting stimulus, the Budget has stuck to the fiscal deficit of 3.5 percent of GDP for 2016-17.Also read - No tax on PPF; only interest to be taxed for EPF: Govt2:00 pm Market Check

Bulls have complete control over Dalal Street today as the Sensex shot up 702.96 points or 3.06 percent to 23704.96. The Nifty reclaimed 7200-mark, up 213.95 points or 3.06 percent to 7201.

About 1846 shares advanced against 574 declining shares on the BSE.ITC rallied 10 percent as analysts say hike in excise duty on cigarettes is on expected lines.Shares of ICICI Bank, Infosys, TCS, L&T, Tata Motors, Maruti, Axis Bank, Hero Motocorp, M&M, Adani Ports and Wipro gained 3-7 percent.ONGC fell 2.5 percent as CLSA downgraded the stock to sell post Union Budget.The brokerage also cut FY17/18 EPS by 15-27 percent and slashed target price to Rs 170 (from Rs 230) on the stock. According to CLSA, upcoming gas price cut, more impairment charges and pay revisions are EPS risks.