Sensex, Nifty end on a high note, rally led by ITC, GAIL, Sun Pharma

The Sensex closed 260 points higher at 26,626 while the 50-scrip Nifty ended with gains of 82 points at 8,1,86.The benchmark indices ended calendar year 2017 trading with gains of 1.94 percent and 3 percent, respectively. Top Sensex gainers were GAIL, Sun Pharma and ITC.

The Indian rupee closed at 67.93 to the US dollar.

"Every single sector index ended in the green. FMCG led from the front with a 1.73% gain. IT, Media, Pharma, PSU Banks, Realty, and Energy gained 1.00 to 1.50% each. Banks, Financial Services, Private Banks, Commodity, Infra added 0.50 to 1.00% each. Auto, Metal and Energy followed with a gain of less than 0.50% each. Auro Pharma led the gainers with an over 3% rise. Bosch, GAIL, Sun Pharma and ITC followed with a 2 to 2.75% gain each. PowerGrid, Grasim, Infosys, BHEL and Idea Cellular followed with a 1.75% to 2% gain. BPCL and Bajaj Auto led the losers with a loss of less than 1.00% each," Motilal Oswal Securities said in a note.

At around 12.15 pm, the BSE Sensex was up 253 points at 26,619; the rally being led by ITC (up 2.55 percent) ICICI Bank (up 1.83 percent) and Adani Ports (up 1.89 percent).

The death toll in the Jharkhand coal mine tragedy has been put at nine by the union coal ministry.

The tragedy occured about 200 feet below the ground in the Lalmatia mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Godda district of Jharkhand.

"CMD, Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) has reported that a total of 9 bodies of workmen have been recovered from the accident site so far. The company has announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs each to the family of the deceased, in addition to the amount to be paid under the Workmen's Compensation Act. All the necessary help to the families of the deceased is being extended by ECL. Two persons have met with injuries and treated in the Area Hospital. One of them has been sent to Durgapur for further treatment," the ministry said on Friday.

Benchmark stock market indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty opened on a bullish note on the last trading of calendar year 2016, though the mood is likely to be dampened by a tragedy in Jharkhand where a coal mine belonging to Coal India subsidiary Eastern Coalfields caved in on Thursday night.

Read: Domestic car, two wheeler sales in December likely to be weak, say analysts

The 30-scrip Sensex was up 135 points and was trading at 26,501 at around 9.25 am, while the NSE Nifty was up 40 points at 8,143. Asian Paints (up 1.14 percent), GAIL (up 1.13 percent) and Maruti Suzuki (up 1.12 percent)  were leading the index rally. Coal India shares were trading flat at Rs 298.

On Thursday, FPIs were net sellers of Indian equities worth Rs 662 crore according to provisional data released by the National Stock Exchange.

Coal tragedy

The incident happened about 200 feet below the ground in the Lalmatia mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Godda district of Jharkhand.

"The exact number of people and vehicle trapped inside is not known. This could only become clear after the rescue operation starts," Harilal Chauhan, Godda superintendent of police, told IANS.

Rupee gains

The rupee opened at 67.95 to the US dollar on Friday, consolidating its previous day's gains.

"Breaking its two-day losing streak, the rupee on Thursday rose by 14 paise to close at 68.10 against the US currency on selling of the greenback by exporters in view of a weak dollar amid strong revival in the domestic equities," Amit Gupta, co-founder and CEO TradingBells, said.

December auto sales forecast

In a note, brokerage house Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities said Indian automobile companies are likely to report significant fall in December volume sales on a year-on-year basis.

"Automobile sales in December 2016 are expected to be subdued with a sharp double-digit YoY decline expected across original equipment manufacturers or OEMs. December is usually a weak month because of the year-end and most OEMs go for annual maintenance shutdown," it said.

"However, because of demonetisation, plant shutdown this time is a bit longer than usual and hence the despatches are expected to be weak. In the two-wheeler space, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India or HMSI have gone for a 10-day plant shutdown while others like Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor Company have opted for a 2-7 day plant shutdown. In the car segment, Maruti Suzuki India or MSIL has gone for its usual week-long plant shutdown," the brokerage added.

Unlisted entities in India's auto industry include Renault India, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Ford Motors and Nissan

FIPB approvals

"Inter-ministerial body FIPB approved six investment proposals, including that of Sanofi Synthelabo India, Star Den Media Services and Idea Cellular Infrastructure Services, envisaging foreign investment of Rs12 billion," Nirmal Bang said.