Moneycontrol Bureau12:55 pm Market gains further: Equity benchmarks extended gains in afternoon trade with the Sensex rising 101.77 points or 0.41 percent to 25146.20 and the Nifty climbing above 7650, up 35.60 points or 0.47 percent to 7646.05.About 1433 shares have advanced, 954 shares declined, and 171 shares are unchanged on the BSE. 12:45 pm Asia Update: Asian equities traded mostly lower today, as investors remain focused on the mid-week decision from the US Federal Reserve. The Chinese market bucked trends and traded up, boosted by upticks in shares of brokerages and banks.
The Australian market lost ground on the back of low commodity prices, with bank and resources plays firmly in the red. The main ASX 200 index closed down 100 points, or 2.01 percent, at 4,928 with energy and materials sectors down 3.27 and 2.16 percent respectively.China's Shanghai Composite index recovered from day's low to close 2.5 percent higher at 3520.
12:35 pm Buzzing: Reliance Communications' shares climbed 3.5 percent intraday on likely sharp reduction in consolidated debt post stake sale in tower business.
Brokerage CLSA has upgraded the stock to outperform from underperform and increased target price to Rs 90 from Rs 75 earlier, citing debt reduction.
In a client note, the brokerage says impending tower asset sale would lower its consolidated debt by a significant around 60 percent, adding potential sale of its fibre assets will reduce debt further.
Reliance Communications (RComm) recently signed a non-binding term sheet with Tillman Global Holdings LLC and TPG Asia Inc for selling tower assets. This non-binding exclusivity agreement will be valid till January 15, 2016.12:20 pm Banks merger: India's central bank supports mergers among commercial lenders but they have to be focused and strategic, a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India said today.
SS Mundra, speaking at a business school in Mumbai, warned that merging a weak bank with a strong bank might weaken the stronger lender.
"I would believe merger for the sake of merger really would not serve the intended purpose," he said.
India has more than two dozen state-run banks which dominate its banking landscape. The government has said it will not force consolidation, but several weaker banks are expected to merge with rivals.Also read - Mkts in risk-off mode; Nifty to hold 7500: PhillipCapital12:00 pm Market Check
The market continued to consolidate with a positive bias. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 54.22 points to 25098.65 and the 50-share NSE Nifty advanced 22.70 points to 7633.15.
The BSE Midcap outperformed benchmarks, rising 0.6 percent. The market breadth gained strength as about 1358 shares advanced against 920 declining shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
WPI inflation for November came in at negative 1.99 percent against negative 3.81 percent in preceding month and a CNBC-TV18 poll forecast of negative 2.59 percent. September WPI inflation has been revised to negative 4.59 percent from negative 4.54 percent earlier.Vegetable inflation increased during the month to 14.08 percent from 2.56 percent in previous month and non-food articles inflation also rose to 6.33 percent from 5.10 percent in same period. Manufactured products inflation for November came in at negative 1.42 percent against negative 1.67 percent in preceding month.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
