Closing bell: Sensex gains 258 pts, Nifty fails to hold 9900; RIL, HDFC twins lead

The firm also removed regulatory requirements for export of Australian Uranium to India. He sees huge opportunities in commercial deals between India and Australia on uranium.

"We are engaging with the Indian Commerce Ministry on free trade agreement. Australian companies seek opportunities in smart cities, health & education sectors in India," the trade minister said.

3:10 pm Panace Biotec in action: Panacea Biotec has received today a letter dated August 29, 2017 from the promoters of the company (Soshil Kumar Jain, Ravinder Jain, Rajesh Jain and Sandeep Jain), that they have entered into a memorandum of acknowledgement of Oral Family settlement with regard to the overall control and management of the company and its subsidiaries.

The stock gained 12 percent.

2:59 pm Kotak on GST collection: As per latest data, Rs 92,300 crore has been collected for the month of July. July CGST (including share in IGST) would likely be Rs 40,000-45,000 crore. This might seem low given that around Rs 78,000 crore is expected to be garnered on an average every month from indirect taxes as per budget estimates, it said.

However, the research house noted that it is early to assess the impact on government accounts. "We view this data positively given that only 46% of the potential tax payers have filed GST till now. We need to await data over the next 2-3 months for better clarity," it said.

2:45 pm Market Outlook: Domestic equity benchmarks touched fresh life-time highs at the start of August 2017 before entering into a corrective phase amid profit booking as risk-off sentiment was triggered by rising geopolitical tensions on the Korean peninsula along with the Doklam standoff. After the initial down move from life-time high of 10137 to 9685, the Nifty has been undergoing a steady base formation between the broad range of 9700 and 9950 over the last three weeks, ICICI Securities said.

The research house believes the market has undergone a round of healthy corrective consolidation in August 2017. The market has displayed resilience in the face of turbulent global cues and absorbed a range of adverse events like rising geopolitical tensions, FII outflows, Infosys boardroom tussle while protecting the earmarked support base of 9700 over the last four weeks.

It also believes the strong base formation above 9700 has laid the foundation for the next up move within the structural uptrend.

Hence, it reiterated positive stance and advocated that the current consolidation should be used as an incremental opportunity to enter into quality stocks in a staggered manner to ride the next up move.

"We believe a decisive close above the upper band of the current consolidation range above 9950 will trigger short covering in the market and provide the necessary impetus for challenging the recent life-time high of 10137 over the coming months," it said.

2:25 pm Economic growth: India's economic growth is likely to remain "soft" and the GDP is expected to grow by 6 percent in April-June, down from 6.1 per cent in the preceding quarter, says an HSBC report.

According to global financial services major, higher private consumption and government spending is likely to be "dulled" by weak investment and exports growth over the quarter. "Repercussions of an early budget and the newly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates, receipts and rebates are likely to distort upcoming GDP readings," it said.

The report said the Gross Value Added (GVA) may be a more reliable measure of economic activity over the next few quarters amidst policy changes like the demonetisation episode (8th November 2016) followed by GST implementation (1st July 2017).

2:05 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices maintained strong gains in afternoon, tracking positive European peers after easing of geopolitical tensions surrounding around North Korea.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 301.59 points or 0.96 percent at 31,689.98 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 102.75 points or 1.05 percent at 9,898.80.

The broader markets gained 1.5 percent as about three shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

Across the board buying in metal, oil & Gas, energy, realty, industrials, financials, auto, capital goods, consumer durables and banks helped indices to recover most of previous day's losses.

Hectic short covering ahead of August derivative expiry on Thursday amid positive trend in Asian markets as North Korean concerns diminished supported the sentiment.

1:55 pm Lupin in focus: Pharma major Lupin said its Japanese subsidiary Kyowa Pharmaceutical Industry announced the listing of the NHI (National Health Insurance) drug price for Bipresso (generic name: Quetiapine Fumarate) extended release 50mg and 150 mg tablets.

This drug is used for the treatment of depressive symptoms associated with bipolar disorder.

Astellas Pharma Inc. obtained approval for Bipresso extended release tablets on July 3, 2017.

Based on the agreement between Astellas and Kyowa made in February 2017, Kyowa will distribute, sell and promote Bipresso extended-release tablets exclusively in Japan.

1:45 pm Buzzings: IOC traded at record high with 4 percent gains followed by Radico Khaitan (up 4 percent) and Indiabulls Housing Finance (up 1.6 percent).

Adlabs Entertainment shares rallied 16 percent and Panacea Bio jumped 13 percent in afternoon trade.

1:38 pm IPO: Road and highways BOT company Bharat Road Network will open its initial public offering of up to 2.93 crore equity shares for subscription on September 6, 2017.

The issue will constitute 34.90 percent of the post issue paid-up equity share capital of the company.

The company has fixed price band at Rs 195-205 per share for the issue that will close on September 8.

Bharat Road is targeted to raise around Rs 600 crore at higher end of price band, through this issue.

The company proposed to utilise issue proceeds for advancing of subordinate debt in form of interest free unsecured loan to its subsidiary (Solapur Tollways Private Limited) for part financing of the project.

It will also use IPO money for acquisition of the subordinated debt given by SREI to three special purpose vehicles i.e. Solapur Tollways Private Limited, Kurukshetra Expressway Private Limited & Mahakaleshwar Tollways Private Limited; and general corporate purposes.

1:29 pm Oil prices dip: Oil prices dipped but gasoline spiked to its highest since mid-2015 as flooding in the wake of Hurricane Harvey knocked out almost a quarter of US refineries, crimping demand for crude but raising fears of fuel shortages.

Harvey, which has been downgraded to a storm, has caused massive floods across coastal Texas, including in Houston. It is now moving into Louisiana, where more floods are expected.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at USD 46.35 per barrel, down 0.17 percent from their last close. Brent crude futures were down 0.13 percent, at USD 51.94 a barrel.

1:15 pm G20 economic growth: Moody's Investors Service kept its forecast for G20 economic growth at just over 3 percent for this year and next, but warned of geopolitical risks, US protectionism and spillovers from global monetary tightening and China's deleveraging measures.

The ratings agency said surprisingly strong data in the first half of the year prompted it to raise 2017 growth forecasts for China to 6.8 percent from 6.6 percent, for South Korea to 2.8 percent from 2.5 percent, and for Japan to 1.5 percent from 1.1 percent.

It also expected the euro zone to accelerate in the rest of the year as suggested by robust sentiment indicators and revised upwards its forecasts for Germany, France and Italy.

The agency cut its forecast for the United States, however, to 2.2 percent in 2017 and 2.3 percent in 2018 from a previous 2.4 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively, citing its weaker-than-expected first half performance and expectations of more modest fiscal stimulus than previously assumed.

1:03 pm Market Expert: "Indian capital market is at inflection point", says S Ramesh, MD & CEO, Kotak Investment Banking. He expects Rs 1 lakh crore of fund raising in next 12 months.

Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18, he also says domestic flows are unlikely to choke secondary market liquidity.

According to him, the Indian market is likely to witness a record fund raising spree with BFSI and insurance spaces dominating. IPOs’ worth Rs 60,000 crore are lined up and QIP’s worth Rs 30,000 crore.

He believes, 5-7 percent of incremental domestic money will flow into insurance IPOs.

12:54 pm Maruti's new retail network: Maruti Suzuki India today announced transformation of its retail network across India.

The new showrooms, christened Maruti Suzuki ARENA, will sport modern looks and offer a warm, friendly and comfortable environment to the customers.

With Maruti Suzuki ARENA in place, the Company will have four distinct retail channels: Maruti Suzuki ARENA, NEXA, Commercial and True Value, addressing needs of all customers.

12:40 pm Europe trade: European markets started the session in the black as investors tried to oust any nerves surrounding North Korea tensions and took advantage of the positive sentiment seen overseas.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.6 percent higher after hitting a six-month low in the previous session.

In the previous day's trade, markets worldwide became skittish on the back of news that North Korea had fired a ballistic missile over Japan, however US markets finished in the black and Asia traded mostly higher on Wednesday as nerves abated.

12:35 pm Order win: Wind turbine maker Inox Wind today said it had bagged an order from Adani Green Energy to develop a 100 MW wind power project in Gujarat.

"The company has closed a deal for developing a 100 MW wind power project for Adani Green Energy, a part of the Adani group at Kutch in Gujarat," Inox Wind said in a regulatory filing.

"The capacity was won under the round 1 of SECI bids for wind power projects connected on the central grid. The project is scheduled to be executed over the next 6-9 months and will be executed on a turnkey basis".

12:23 pm New levy on luxury cars: The Indian cabinet approved raising a levy on luxury cars and sports utility vehicles to 25 percent from 15 percent, a government official with knowledge of the decision said.

The new levy is in addition to taxes on the sale of luxury vehicles.

12:10 pm Market Expert: "We will start to see earnings growth recovering from Q3FY18," Market expert Jyotivardhan Jaipuria said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

He feels the market consolidation will continue for some time. The market has been into consolidated phase after it hit record high in the beginning of current month.

He is positive on NBFCs, which have a good outlook.

He feels public sector banks will continue to lose share w.r.t deposits & advances for next 5-10 years.

11:57 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks as well as broader markets extended gains in late morning trade, backed by further gains in Asian peers.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 305.74 points or 0.97 percent at 31,694.13 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 104 points or 1.06 percent at 9,900.05 as market experts believe that the fundamentals of the country are strong and earning recovery will be seen in the second half of current financial year.

More than three shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1.4 percent each.

China's Shanghai Composite and South Korea's Kospi turned higher on easing of geopolitical tensions surrounding North Korea. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed over a percent and Japan's Nikkei extended gains to 0.8 percent.

11:46 am Indian Hotels in action: Indian Hotels Company shares gained after the company announced the appointment of Puneet Chhatwal as the new chief executive officer and managing director to drive performance and oversee the next phase of expansion of the hotels group.

Chhatwal is currently chief executive officer and member of the executive board of Steigenberger Hotels AG – Deutsche Hospitality, a leading European hotel chain.

He is a global professional with over three decades of leadership experience in the hospitality sector, having worked for some leading hotel groups in Europe and North America after starting his career in India.

11:35 am NTPC OFS: NTPC shares rebounded a percent after nearly 3 percent correction in previous session on equity dilution by the government through offer for sale issue.

The offer for sale, which opened on Tuesday, will close today at 3:30 pm. It is opened for retail investors today while non-retail investors, which helped the issue get oversubscribed 1.4 times yesterday, can continue to subscribe.

Institutional investors put in bids worth nearly Rs 7,800 crore yesterday at the floor price of Rs 168 a piece. Retail investors will get shares at a 5 percent discount over the floor price.

The government is selling over 41.22 crore shares (representing 5 percent of paid-up equity) through the two-day offer for sale issue, with an option to retain a similar portion in case of over-subscription.

11:15 am Rupee rebounds: The rupee today traded higher by 8 paise at 63.93 against the US currency in morning on increased selling of the dollar by exporters and banks.

Currency traders said weakness in the dollar against major world currencies overseas supported the rupee.

The rally in equity market also supported the rupee.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 233.45 points or 0.74 percent at 31,621.84, and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 84.45 points or 0.86 percent at 9,880.50.

10:59 am Partnership: Share price of Tata Elxsi was up 1.6 percent intraday as the company has entered into partnership with V-Nova.

The company announced a partnership with V-Nova that enables operators to deploy V-Nova PERSEUS technology at an accelerated pace.

Tata Elxsi has already integrated V-Nova’s award-winning technology within the set-top-box (STB) of a satellite TV operator in Europe, enabling rapid deployment and immediate benefits.

V-Nova PERSEUS offers the benefits of next-generation codecs, on available encoders and decoders, at the same time providing substantial reductions in processing power requirements.

10:50 am USFDA Nod: Shares of Cadila Healthcare advanced 3 percent intraday as it has received USFDA approval for Aspirin & extended-release Dipyridamole capsules.

Zydus Cadila has received the final approval from the USFDA to market Aspirin & extended-release Dipyridamole capsules in the strengths of 25 mg/200 mg.

The drug is an antiplatelet agent which works in the prevention of excessive blood clotting and is used to reduce the risks of stroke in patients who have had or at risk of stroke.

The drug will be manufactured at the group's formulations manufacturing facility at Moraiya, Ahmedabad.

10:35 am Buzzing: Ujjivan Financial Services shares rallied as much as 6.4 percent after its subsidiary received scheduled bank status from the Reserve Bank of India.

The non-banking finance company informed exchanges on Tuesday that Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, the wholly owned subsidiary, has been included in the second schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.

"This grants the 'Scheduled Bank' status to Ujjivan Small Finance Bank' from the date of notification," it said.

"With this scheduled bank status, we can issue certificate of deposits now but there is not much changes in terms of asset mix due to scheduled bank status," Sudha Suresh, MD & CEO, Ujjivan said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

10:22 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended rally in morning as the Sensex rallied more than 200 points and the Nifty inching towards 9,900 level on positive lead from Wall Street. Investors digested the North Korea's missile launch that flew over Japan.

HDFC, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, L&T, Adani Ports, Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors gained 1 percent each while TCS was only loser.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 234.59 points or 0.75 percent at 31,622.98 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 80.85 points or 0.83 percent to 9,876.90.

The broader markets outperformed benchmarks as the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rallied over 1 percent on strong breadth. More than four shares advanced for every share falling on the BSE.

10:10 am Buzzing: Shares of KEI Industries touched 52-week high of Rs 262.50, rising 7 percent in early trade on the back strong numbers declared by the company in the quarter ended June 2017 (Q1FY18).

The company's Q1 net profit has increased by 140 percent at Rs 27.4 crore due to reduction in excise duty.

It had reported net profit of Rs 11.4 crore in the quarter ended Q1FY17.

Revenue was up 38 percent at Rs 823 crore versus Rs 597 crore.

The operating profit (EBITDA) rose 46 percent at Rs 76 crore and margins was up at 9.7 percent.

The excise duty has reduced by 32 percent to Rs 32 crore from Rs 47 crore.

9:59 am Global markets: Asia markets mostly followed the stronger lead from Wall Street overnight as traders appeared to shake off new North Korea missile concerns.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.55 percent. Across the Korean strait, the Kospi edged up 0.08 percent.

Greater China markets were mixed. The Hang Seng Index rose 0.79 percent. Mainland markets turned in a more subdued performance: The Shanghai Composite shed 0.03 percent.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.17 percent.

Equities on Wall Street began the session lower, but shook off North Korea-related jitters to close higher. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.26 percent, or 56.97 points, to close at 21,865.37.

9:48 am FII View: The market corrected recently from its record high but the actual correction is only around 3 percent compared to the rally of more than 22 percent since the beginning of calendar year 2017.

"The market is still at elevated valuations but fundamentals are not deteriorating. India is in a solid space backed by strong political stability," Sandeep Bhatia, Head of Equity, India at Macquarie Securities Group said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

Hence, he would recommend buying into dips despite geopolitical tensions. He believes the trend is still up on broader perspective due to strong macro but he is not upgrading earnings forecast.

He wants to wait for earnings recovery and private capex recovery before giving any Nifty target.

GST numbers announced by the Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday were above expectations, he said. Bhatia expects GST collections to go up in August and September also.

9:38 am Market Outlook: Vinod Karki of ICICI Securities said since the beginning of CY17, the rolled forward Nifty EPS has remained stagnant at near Rs 540, which effectively means the earnings downgrade is being compensated by the incremental rolling forward of earnings into FY19.

Given the current slowdown in industrial activity and credit growth, it would be naïve to expect sustained earnings recovery will revive in the short term, he feels.

For Nifty, he expects 16 percent earnings CAGR over FY17-20, building in further earnings downgrades for FY18 and FY19.

"1-year forward target for Nifty stands at 10,500 based on September 2019 EPS of Rs 610 and target multiple of 17.2x, Karki said.

9:25 am Monsoon: Met Department told CNBC-TV18 that they expect moderate rains in Mumbai but don't expect heavy rains around Mumbai today.

Widespread activity of rain in Maharashtra will continue, it said.

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks opened sharply higher on Wednesday after a turmoil in previous session.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 167.09 points or 0.53 percent at 31,555.48 and the 50-share NSE Nifty rose 64 points or 0.65 percent to 9,860.05.

Aurobindo Pharma, Hindalco Industries, HDFC, Ambuja Cements, BPCL, Eicher Motors, Yes Bank and BPCL gained 1-2 percent while Asian Paints, Power Grid and NTPC were under pressure.

Nifty Midcap was up 1 percent on strong market breadth. Ujjivan Financial surged 5 percent as RBI granted it scheduled bank status.

Bajaj Finance, M&M Financial, Tata Global, Avenue Supermarts, RBL Bank, Inox Leisure, Pincon Spirit, Globus Spirit, Amtek Auto, Jaiprakash Associates, Ruchi Soya and IVRCL rallied up to 7 percenet.

Visa Steel, Videocon Industries and Jai Balaji Industries were down up to 5 percent.