Sensex rises over 100 pts again, Nifty above 8750; Infosys leads

12:50 pm Vedanta expansion:
Keen to get a strong foothold in Jharkhand, mining baron Anil Agarwal today said he has “big plans” for the state but initial foray will be with USD 1 billion investment that includes setting up a 1 million tonne steel plant.

Dubbing Jharkhand as “a diamond in the crown of the world”, Vedanta Resources Group Chairman Anil Agarwal said the state is “full of potential” and Vedanta has big plans for it.

“There is a lot of potential…This (Jharkhand) is a real Australia in India with its huge natural resources. We have a big plan but we will start with the medium size or small size project…We intend to set up a one million tonne of steel plant,” Agarwal told PTI in an interview.

12:31 pm Buzzing: Shares of IL&FS Engineering advanced 7.5 percent intraday on winning of two contracts worth Rs 123.05 crore.

The company has received fax of acceptance (FOA) from GAIL for two pipeline laying contracts worth Rs 123.05 crore in Kerala/Karnataka.

It also received a contract worth Rs 83.76 crore for laying and construction of pipeline along with associated works in Kerala.

Another contract is for laying and construction of pipeline along with associated works in Karnataka. The total value of this contract is Rs 39.29 crore.

Both the contracts are to be mechanically completed in 11 months from date of FOA and with additional 1 month for commissioning and Gas-in.

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12:00 pm Market Check

The market gained strength again in noon trade, with the Nifty climbing back above 8750 level, driven by index heavyweights Infosys and Reliance Industries.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 115.72 points to 28271.28 and the 50-share NSE Nifty gained 43.10 points at 8767.80.

The broader markets extended gains, with the BSE Midcap index rising nearly a percent on strong breadth. About two shares gained for every share falling on the exchange.

Infosys continued to be leading contributor to Sensex’s gains, up more than 2 percent on hopes that the management might consider share buyback. Hopes raised after its peer TCS announced that its board of directors will consider share buyback on February 28. The stock was up 1.4 percent.

Sun Pharma was biggest gainer among Sensex stocks, up 3 percent after a media report indicated that the company is planning to shift production of key products from its Halol, Gujarat factory to other plants.

State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Travancore retained their upside in noon, up 1-4 percent after Cabinet has approved merger plan.

Auto stocks rebounded after recent selling pressure. Tata Motors gained 1.4 percent and Maruti Suzuki rose 1.9 percent on short covering.