Sensex, Nifty end higher; Auto stocks fall on SC verdict, Ashok Leyland top loser

The Indian benchmark indices opened on a positive note and continued sustained trades throughout the day.

The Indian rupee touched a high since October 2015 against the US dollar.

Nifty Bank Index ended 0.78 per cent higher led by SBI.

However, after the Supreme Court announced a ban on BS-III vehicles, auto stocks took a beating.

3.35 PM:

The S&P BSE Sensex ended the day 29,531.43, up 121.91 points while the Nifty50 settled the day at 9,143.80, up 43.00 points.

3.15 PM:

Shares of automobile majors took a hit as investors turned cautious of the Supreme Court's verdict on BS-III vehicles.

This decision will significantly affect the industry that is said to have an inventory of 8.2 lakh such vehicles.

Hero MotoCorp plunged nearly 3 per cent on the BSE.

TVS Motor, Ashok Leyland, among others fell intraday trades.

12.30 PM:

GST rate structure has a total of 4-tax slabs: 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent confirmed

12.21 PM:

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley begins the Goods and Services Tax speech.

This will be followed by a debate in Parliament that is expected to be 7-hour long.

11.55 AM:

SBI, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and Larsen and Toubro added over 1 per cent to the BSE.

On the NSE Index, Bharti Infra was the top gainer adding nearly 4 per cent to the bourse.

11.53 AM:

The BSE Sensex climbs to 29,524.03, up 114.51 points.

The Nifty Index was trading at 9,132.90, up 32.10 points.

11.30 AM:

Nifty bank hits record high. It gains most among the indices, up 4 per cent.

It crossed its previous level of 21,336.

The gains were led by Stae Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

All PSU Banks were in green - OBC, Canara Bank and SBI were the top performers.

11.24 AM:

Bharti Airtel completed sale of 11.32 per cent stake in its mobile tower arm Bharti Infratel to its wholly-owned subsidiary Nettle Infrastructure for Rs 6,806 crore, the telecom operator said today.

"The company has today completed an inter-se transfer of 11.32 per cent stake in Bharti Infratel to Nettle Infrastructure Investments Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the company," Bharti Airtel said in a BSE filing.

Bharti Infra was trading 3.69 per cent higher at Rs 340.40 on the BSE.

11.22 AM:

Larsen & Toubro announced that its construction arm had won orders worth Rs 2,400 crore in domestic and international markets.

"The power transmission and distribution business of L&T Construction has recently bagged major orders worth Rs 2,400 crore in the domestic and international markets," the engineering and construction major said in a BSE filing.

The stock was trading 1.18 per cent up at Rs 1,564 on the BSE.

9.17 AM:

The market breadth is positive with over 700 stocks performing well.

Bharti Infra was up 1.52 per cent, and was the top performer on the BSE.

State Bank of India, NTPC and Tata Steel all added to the bourse.

Dishman Pharma continued to trade big volumes, up 10.9 per cent.

9.16 AM:

The Indian rupee gained past 65 against the US dollar.

It appreciated above 65-mark against US dollar for the first time since October 28, 2015.

Experts have cited that the rupee has been the best performing currency for the month of march and offers good yield on the account of strong foreign inflows.

9.15 AM:

OPENING BELL

The S&P BSE Sensex opened at 29,481.88, up 72.36 points.

The Nifty50 started the day 9, 126, up 23 points.

Nifty Midcap was up 27 points.

8.40 AM:

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday and the US dollar and commidities held gains from previous trading session.

However, the pound slipped after the British government formally begun the Brexit from the European Union.

The Dow snapped an eight-day losing streak, its longest run of losses since 2011, in part as a survey showed consumer confidence surged to a more than 16-year high

The bourse ended 0.73 per cent higher, while the S&P 500 gained 0.73 per cent and the Nasdaq 0.6 per cent.

The biggest loser overnight was the South African rand which has lost almost five per cent in two sessions on speculation well-respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan might lose his job.

Oil prices gained after a severe disruption to Libyan oil supplies and as officials suggested the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers could extend output cuts to the end of the year.