Nifty eyes 7500, Sensex firm; banks rise, Maruti falls

Moneycontrol Bureau11:55 am Interview: The US government’s decision to not allow overseas pharmaceutical companies to import active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) applies to only one particular anti retroviral drug and is not a blanket ban, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said. Her statement clears the air after a newspaper report yesterday said the ban was applicable for all APIs imported into the US. The Biocon chief, however, said that the US government decision was protectionist in nature and is in violation of established WTO norms.11:45 pm Steel products: The government is expected to notify minimum import prices (MIP) on certain steel products today, sources say. CNBC-TV18’s Anshu Sharma, quoting sources, says that the government could levy USD 360 per tonne on semi-finished slabs and USD 450 per tonne on hot rolled steel products. Besides this, the government could also put MIP of USD 500-550 per tonne on cold rolled products and USD 660 per tonne on coated flat steel products. The notification may not have a timeline and could also have a provision for bi-monthly review of MIP, sources say adding that the impact of this will only be visible in six months.11:30 pm Poll: Pharma firm Lupin's third quarter profit is expected to decline 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 493 crore on tepid US business growth, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18. Earnings will be announced on February 5. Revenue is seen rising 7.3 percent to Rs 3,375.6 crore in quarter ended December 2015 compared to Rs 3,144.9 crore in year-ago period, driven by domestic business but impacted by US business. Operating profit (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) may fall 16 percent year-on-year to Rs 743.1 crore and margin may contract 500 basis points to 22 percent in Q3.Don't miss: Quick Heal IPO to hit mkt on Feb 8; price band at Rs 311-321

The market continues to surge with support from banks, FMCG, pharma and metals stocks. The Sensex is up 196.05 points or 0.8 percent at 24534.48, and the Nifty is up 64.05 points or 0.9 percent at 7468.05. About 1218 shares have advanced, 816 shares declined, and 105 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank, Hindalco, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and Hero MotoCorp are top gainers while GAIL, Maruti, Tata Steel, Adani Ports and NTPC are top gainers in the Sensex.

US crude oil futures were steady in lackluster early Asian trading on Friday as liquidity faded ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday across large parts of the region.

Oil prices were extremely volatile for much of this week as a string of bullish indicators like a slump in the dollar and potential talks by major oil producers about output cuts in support of prices clashed with bearish reports of record US crude inventories, increasing production and a further slowdown in the global economy.