Defence stocks soar, banks rally; Sensex, Nifty sluggish

1:50 pm Buzzing: Shares of Kansai Nerolac gained as much as 4 percent intraday on reporting a whopping 40.6 percent growth in the second quarter bottomline. Net profit of the paint company jumped to Rs 72.6 crore in the quarter ended September 2014 compared to Rs 51.7 crore in the year-ago period and net sales increased 17.2 percent year-on-year to Rs 915.2 crore from Rs 781 crore during the same period. Operating profit (including other operating income) climbed 31.3 percent on yearly basis to Rs 120.4 crore and margin expanded by 140 basis points to 13.2 percent in the quarter gone by.

1:30 pm FII interview: In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Adrian Mowat, Chief Asian & Emerging Equity Strategist, JPMorgan shared his views and outlook on the global equity markets. He said the key focus of the markets will be on the US Federal Reserve meeting this week, where the Fed might announce a closure of QE3. Mowat expects Fed to maintain low interest rates for a considerable period of time. “We will watch for words “considerable time” from the Fed regarding rate moves,” he added. Speaking about emerging markets, he said JPMorgan is looking to pump more funds into India .

The research firm has downgraded Brazil to neutral and recommends moving money from Brazil to markets like India. He expects 20 percent returns from the Indian equity market in next 12 months. Further he is betting on Indian banks and sees an attractive environment for interest rate-sensitive sectors. He prefers investing in cyclicals like autos and building materials.

It seems to be a day of taking rest even after the long weekend as sluggish market refuse to budge ahead. The Sensex is up 6.08 points at 26857.13 and the Nifty is up 2.30 points at 8017.95. About 1177 shares have advanced, 1370 shares declined, and 98 shares are unchanged.

BHEL is up 4 percent while Dr Reddy's Labs, Sesa Sterlite, GAIL and Coal India are top gainers in the Sensex.  Defence stocks are trading higher on the hope of additional orders after the centre gives nod to projects worth Rs 80,000 crore. Banks are also doing well.

Among the losers are Tata Motors, Hero MotoCorp, ONGC and Wipro.

HUL is weak ahead of its second quarter earnings later today. A CNBC-TV18 poll expects sales growth to remain muted across most categories with 5 percent year-on-year volume growth. Margins are likely to see an improvement of 90 basis points.

Dragged by DLF, realty index is down around 4 percent.

A recovery in Asia's diesel demand growth is likely to be pushed back as governments of major oil consumers in the region take advantage of a tumble in oil prices to cut fuel subsidies and bolster their budgets.

Sensex, Nifty consolidate; auto, FMCG stocks under pressure

10:45am FII View

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Adrian Mowat, Chief Asian & Emerging Equity Strategist, JPMorgan said the key focus of the markets will be on the US Federal Reserve meeting this week, where the Fed might announce a closure of QE3. Mowat expects Fed to maintain low interest rates for a considerable period of time. “We will watch for words “considerable time” from the Fed regarding rate moves,” he added.

Speaking about emerging markets, he said JPMorgan is looking to pump more funds into India. The research firm has downgraded Brazil to neutral and recommends moving money from Brazil to markets like India. He expects 20 percent returns from the Indian equity market in next 12 months.

Further he is betting on Indian banks and sees an attractive environment for interest rate-sensitive sectors. He prefers investing in cyclicals like autos and building materials.

10:30am Brent crude declines

Brent crude futures extended declines to below USD 86 a barrel on Monday after Goldman Sachs cut its price forecasts for the contract and for US oil by USD 15 in the first quarter of next year.

The US investment bank said in a research note on Sunday that it had cut its forecast for West Texas Intermediate to USD 75 a barrel from USD 90, and its prediction for Brent to USD 85 from USD 100, with rising production in non-OPEC countries outside North America expected to outstrip demand.

The bank's analysts expect WTI to fall as low as USD 70 a barrel and Brent to USD 80 in the second quarter of 2015, when it expects oversupply to be most pronounced.

London Brent crude for December delivery was trading 32 cents lower at USD 85.81 a barrel by 0152 GMT, after settling down 70 cents on Friday. The front-month contract dropped to below USD 83 on Oct. 16, its lowest in almost four years.

US crude for December delivery was down 8 cents at USD 80.93 a barrel, reports Reuters.

10:00am Market Check

Equity benchmarks remained positive amid consolidation. The Sensex climbed 52.62 points to 26903.67 and the Nifty rose 16.40 points to 8030.95. About 982 shares have advanced, 921 shares declined, and 77 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Banking and financial stocks supported the market. Top lender State Bank of India and rival HDFC Bank rallied around a percent each while ICICI Bank was up 0.5 percent. Housing finance company HDFC gained 1.8 percent.

Dr Reddy's Labs, BHEL and Gail India topped the buying list, up 2-3 percent. Hindalco Industries gained more than a percent.

Sensex up 212 pts, Nifty below 8000 ahead of Mahurat trade

03:30 pm Market closing

The market ended pre-Diwali trading session on a strong note. Howevr, the Nifty could not scale the 8000-level even once. The 50-share index closed up 68.15 points or 0.9 percent at 7995.9 while the Sensex was up 211.58 points at 26787.23, and the Nifty. About 1796 shares advanced, 1030 shares declined, and 106 shares were unchanged.

02:55pm Interview

In an interview to CNBC-TV18 Prem Hinduja, MD, Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri (TBZ) shared about the latest happenings in the company in the wake of ongoing festive season and the way ahead.

He said that consumer sentiment has improved and the company has seen double-digit sales growth on last two auspicious occasions of Dusshera and Dhanteras. “We have seen an improvement in walk- ins and pent up demand is also helping,” he added.

TBZ aims to boost sales and is likely to focus on discounts and special offers going ahead, he said. However, margins are likely to remain under pressure on account of this.

02:30pm Kotak on buyers' radar

Kotak Mahindra Bank shares rallied 4.5 percent as the private sector lender's second quarter standalone profit after tax beat street expectations, rising 26 percent year-on-year to Rs 444.5 crore led by strong other income and lower provisions. Profit in the year-ago period was Rs 352.54 crore.

Standalone (includes only banking operations) net interest income rose by 12.4 percent, in-line, to Rs 1,039 crore in the quarter ended September 2014 compared to Rs 924.11 crore in same quarter last year.

According to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was estimated at Rs 406 crore and net interest income at Rs 1,034 crore for the quarter.

Other income of the bank jumped 57 percent to Rs 466.5 crore from Rs 297 crore during the same period. Net interest margin climbed 10 basis points to 5 percent from 4.9 percent on sequential basis.

Asset quality was stable during the quarter with the standalone gross non-performing assets (NPA) at 1.89 percent as against 1.88 percent in previous quarter and 1.97 percent in the year-ago period. Net NPA stood at 1 percent compared to 0.98 percent Q-o-Q and 0.96 percent Y-o-Y.

02:00pm Market Check

 

Equity benchmarks remained on strong footing in afternoon trade. The Sensex climbed 173.55 points to 26749.20 and the Nifty rose 59.25 points to 7987 while the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices gained 1 percent each.

Advancing shares outnumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1620 to 1050 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

According to Ramesh Damani, Member of BSE, the markets are currently in a firm ‘bull grip’ and he is optimistic on the trend to continue for the next few Diwalis.

Samir Arora, Founder & Fund Manager of Helios Capital too thinks the rally is big and in for a longer duration. However, he does not want to compartmentalize the expected gains on the index to 20 percent or 30 percent.

Commercial vehicle maker Tata Motors and two-wheeler maker Hero Motocorp topped the buying list, up over 3.5 percent on hopes of strong sales numbers in October. Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra and Mahindra gained nearly 3 percent.

Reliance Industries, L&T, Dr Reddy's Labs, Cipla, Sun Pharma, Wipro and BHEL climbed 1-2 percent. However, ONGC topped the selling list, falling over 2 percent followed by ITC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Coal India and NTPC with marginal loss.

Global markets were mixed today. Asian markets like Japan gained more than 2.5 percent while most of European markets were trading with losses.

Sensex, Nifty gain ahead of Diwali; SBI, ITC laggards

It's the fourth consecutive session in the green for the market as the Nifty is around 8000 ahead of Diwali.The Sensex is up 178.01 points at 26753.66 and the Nifty is up 54.90 points at 7982.65. About 1478 shares have advanced, 643 shares declined, and 90 shares are unchanged.

Hero, Tata Motors, Bajaj Auto, BHEL and Cipla are top gainers while ONGC, Coal India, Tata Power, SBI and ITC are laggards.

In result reactions Cairn is higher despite Q2 numbers missing estimates. Barclays says it was an in line quarter retaining their overweight stance but prefers ONGC, BPCL and Reliance.

Globally Asia gains on reports of bond purchases by the European central bank. Nikkei also reacts to September trade deficit data that indicated exports hit a 7-month high. The rupee maintains its rising trend for the fourth straight day.  

Over 200 fireworks stalls gutted in Faridabad

More than 200 fireworks stalls and several vehicles were gutted in a massive fire at the NIT Dussehra Ground here on Tuesday. However, there were no casualties in the incident.

The fire broke out around 6-30 p.m. in one of the stalls earmarked for selling of fireworks and soon engulfed the entire area housing 230-odd shops.

According to eyewitnesses, more than a thousand people were present in the ground at the time of the incident and the sudden fire led to a stampede-like situation.

One of the eyewitnesses, Dheeraj, said dark clouds of smoke engulfed the ground making it difficult for the people to find their way to safety.

More than 22 fire tenders were pressed into service and it took them around two hours to douse the flames.

Faridabad Police Commissioner A. S. Chawla told The Hindu that there were no casualties.

“The entire ground has been cleared. No casualties are found,” said Mr. Chawla, adding that fireworks worth several crore were gutted. He said that the cause of fire was not immediately known.

A man was taken to hospital with complaint of uneasiness and was discharged after first aid.

With clouds of smoke billowing out of the ground the news of the fire spread across the city and relatives of those present at the spot rushed to seek their well-being.

This, coupled with the movement of fire-tenders, led to massive traffic jam in several areas of the nearby areas.

The incident led to strong resentment among the stall-owners who accused the administration of not making adequate arrangements to deal with the emergency situation. Some of the stall-owners said the lone fire-tender stationed at the spot did not have water.

The eye-witnesses said that it was all over by the time the fire-tenders arrived.

Reacting to allegations of apathy, area Sub-Divisional Officer Mahavir Prasad said that it was a matter of investigation.

The stall-owners claimed that more than a hundred vehicles, including two-wheelers, cars and tempos, were gutted, the local administration said so far they had information only about a dozen vehicles.

In a similar incident, 13 people were killed when a fire broke out at a fireworks market in Faridabad two decades ago. Following the tragedy, the administration decided to designate open grounds for selling of crackers in the city.

Gear up for Diwali: Sensex up 146pts, Nifty ends above 7900

03:30 pm Market close:

After a sluggish drive, the market accelerated in the last trading hour. The Sensex was up 145.80 points at 26575.65 and the Nifty ended up 48.35 points or 0.6 percent at 7927.75.

About 1492 shares have advanced, 1333 shares declined, and 109 shares are unchanged. BHEL, GAIL, Sesa Sterlite, ICICI Bank and Maruti were top gainers while ONGC, M&M, Coal India, Sun Pharma and Infosys.

03:10 pm Moody's take

 India's decision to remove price controls on diesel and to raise natural gas prices signals fiscal discipline and is a "credit positive" step, although the overall impact could be limited, Moody's Investors Service said.

"The decision to fully deregulate diesel prices signals fiscal discipline on the part of the sovereign, which we view as credit positive," Moody's said in a note. Still, Moody's also noted the fiscal savings for the government's diesel measures "are likely to be limited" given total subsidies account for less than 1 percent of the country's 2013/14 gross domestic product.

02:58pm South Indian Bank disappoints street

Private sector lender South Indian Bank's second quarter net profit fell 40 percent year-on-year to Rs 76.3 crore dented by sharp jump in provisions. Profit in the year-ago period was Rs 127 crore.

Net interest income increased marginally to Rs 358.3 crore from Rs 356 crore while other income (non-interest income) jumped 34.7 percent to Rs 93.63 crore from Rs 69.52 crore during the same period.

Provisions and contingencies 4.8 times year-on-year (up 1.2 percent sequentially) to Rs 95.7 crore in the quarter ended September 2014.

Asset quality showed improvement on yearly basis with the gross non-performing assets (NPA) declining (up 5 basis points Q-o-Q) to 1.55 percent during July-September quarter compared to 1.92 percent in same quarter last year. Net NPA dropped to 0.90 percent in second quarter of current financial year 2014-15 from 0.91 percent Q-o-Q and 1.39 percent Y-o-Y.

02:30pm Gainers and Losers

 Bank Nifty gained more than a percent as top private sector lender ICICI Bank surged 2.5 percent and its rival Axis Bank rose over a percent. SBI was up 0.8 percent but HDFC Bank was flat post Q2 earnings.

Sesa Sterlite topped the buying list, up over 5 percent followed by Gail and BHEL with over 4 percent gains. Tata Motors, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Motocorp, NTPC, Tata Steel, Hindalco Industries and Tata Power rallied 1-3 percent.

However, ONGC, Infosys, Mahindra and Mahindra and Coal India were down 1-2.6 percent.

02:00pm Market Check

Equity benchmarks maintained positive momentum amid consolidation with the Sensex rising 115.01 points to 26544.86 and the Nifty gaining 38.10 points at 7917.50.

About 1466 shares have advanced, 1186 shares declined, and 103 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Financial Technologies tanked 20 percent after the government issued draft order for merger of NSEL with company, saying the entire business of NSEL will be transferred to Financial Technologies.

Merger will be effective with reference to FY14 balance sheet. "Members of 2 companies and creditors will provide suggestions in 60 days," it added. Finance Technologies is not in favour of NSEL's merger with company.  

Nifty above 7900, Sensex strong; ONGC, Coal India slip

10:30am FII View

Bhuvnesh Singh, Barclays says the Q2FY15 earnings season is off to a positive start as 13 BSE-100 companies have reported so far and 54 percent registered 'beats' on earnings consensus estimates.

“FY15 EPS growth rate estimate for BSE-100 has steadied at 16.8 percent, up 40 basis points since the end of the last earning season. This compares with 8.6 percent EPS growth in FY14 and 2.8 percent in FY13,” he adds.

“We reiterate our long-term view that positive earnings momentum is required to sustain the returns of Indian equities,” says Singh.

10:00am Market Check

Equity benchmarks extended gains with the Sensex rising 173.90 points to 26603.75 and the Nifty jumping 49.40 points to 7928.80 supported by banks, capital goods, metals and telecom stocks.

More than two shares advanced for every share declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The broader markets advanced too with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 1 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively.

Jindal Steel and Gail India topped the buying list, gaining 5-5.5 percent followed by NTPC, Hindalco Industries, BHEL and Sesa Sterlite with 2-3 percent upmove.

 ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, Larsen and Toubro, State Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, Wipro and Tata Steel jumped 1-1.7 percent. However, ONGC and Coal India were top losers, falling over a percent followed by ITC with 0.7 percent loss.

 PNB gained nearly 2 percent ahead of its results. CNBC-TV18 poll expects a 10 percent NII growth at Rs 4,421 crore and a 142 percent jump in profits to Rs 1,224 crore.

BGR Energy surged 4 percent on the back of an order win of Rs 250 crore. Order is for the electrical sub stations segment of the electrical projects division.

Shriram Transport Finance fell 2.5 percent after Q2 profit declined 7.5 percent on the back of a rise in provisions. NII growth was steady at 12 percent.

Punjab Communications surged 5.5 percent as the Punjab government through a cabinet committee on disinvestment has decided to liquidate all assets of the company. The government holds 71.2 percent stake in the company

Sensex holds 300 point-gain; UltraTech surges, JSPL tanks

03:35 pm Market closing

The market has ended on an uptrend. The Sensex was up 321.32 points or 1.2 percent at 26429.85 and the Nifty was up 99.70 points or 1.3 percent at 7879.40. About 1634 shares have advanced, 1212 shares declined, and 111 shares are unchanged.

ONGC, Hindalco, Coal India, Axis Bank and Tata Motors are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Wipro, Infosys, TCS, ITC and Reliance.

03:10 Earnings

Liquor maker United Spirits has posted a net loss of Rs 55.6 crore in the quarter ended June 2014 as against profit of Rs 118.13 crore in same quarter last year on account of exceptional loss.

The company has made a provision of Rs 42.7 crore for diminution in value of investment in subsidiaries, which resulted in a loss on bottomline front.

Numbers were lower than analysts' expectations. According to the average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18, profit was expected at Rs 100 crore on revenue of Rs 2,340 crore for the quarter.

Revenue declined 11 percent to Rs 1,924 crore in April-June quarter of current financial year 2014-15 compared to Rs 2,161 crore in the year-ago period.

02:45 pm Results impact

Investors added more shares of Axis Bank on Monday as brokerage houses raised target price on the stock after the company's second quarter earnings met street expectations. The stock rallied nearly 4 percent intraday.

India's third largest private sector lender's net profit climbed 18.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,611 crore led by higher other income and net interest income but impacted by higher provisions. The CNBC-TV18 poll had expected it at Rs 1,612 crore for the quarter.

While maintaining outperform rating on the stock, Credit Suisse raised earnings per share estimates by around 2 percent on higher-than-expected net interest margin. "With better-than-expected NIMs and pick-up in fees, pre-provisional profitability has improved. Valuation is inexpensive at 1.8x book, for 18 percent return on equity and 21 percent EPS CAGR," it elaborated.

02:20pm Gainers and losers

 ONGC maintained its uptrend, up over 6 percent on gas price hike followed by Tata Motors, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Larsen and Toubro, Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Hindalco Industries and Gail India with 2-5 percent gain.

However, Infosys (down 0.8 percent), Wipro (down 1.5 percent) and TCS (down 0.3 percent) were under pressure in afternoon trade.

02:00pm The market maintained its morning gains with the Sensex rising 328.89 points or 1.26 percent to 26437.42 and the Nifty climbing 97.15 points or 1.25 percent to 7876.85.

Advancing shares ountumbered declining ones by a ratio of 1593 to 1042 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Ridham Desai, Morgan Stanley says equities look appealing because of the potential earnings upside. "India's stellar performance this year has been driven by hopes of reform momentum following strong election results, a likely turn in the economic cycle and benign global conditions," he adds.

According to him, even as the market looks fair or better than fair on valuations relative to bonds and emerging markets, an upturn in the earnings cycle will likely support valuations. Over the coming two years, he sees earnings compounding at 19.8 percent and 15.5 percent for the Sensex and broad market, respectively.

UltraTech Cement rallied over 5 percent following higher-than-expected earnings in July-September quarter. Net profit shot up 55.24 percent year-on-year to Rs 410 crore on strong topline, operational and other income, and lower tax rate but impacted by higher finance, power and freight cost. Revenue during the quarter grew by 20 percent to Rs 5,429 crore driven by higher cement sales volumes. CLSA maintains a buy on the stock with a revised target price of Rs 3150.

Jindal Steel & Power plunged over 7 percent as sources say CBI has registered a fresh case of alleged cheating and corruption against the company, in connection with its probe into coal blocks allocation probe. 

Sensex, Nifty maintain strong momentum; Nikkei surges 4%

12:45pm JSPL under pressure

Shares of Jindal Steel & Power tanked 6 percent as investors are growing nervous after CBI registered a fresh case of alleged cheating and corruption against the company, in connection with its probe into coal blocks allocation probe.

A CBI spokesperson, on Sunday, said that it is the 36th FIR in connection with its probe into the coal blocks scam.

The fresh case has been registered against Jindal Stripes Limited, Jindal Steel and Power Limited and unknown public officials for alleged criminal conspiracy and cheating under the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, CBI sources said.

12:30pm PE deal with unlisted company

 US private equity firm Warburg Pincus has agreed to buy a significant minority stake in Kalyan Jewellers for about USD 200 million, five sources with knowledge of the transaction told Reuters on Monday.

The Indian jewellery manufacturer and retailer will use the capital for expansion purposes, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

"The deal is almost done and we may probably announce it later the day," said one of the sources, who is directly involved in the stake sale.

Kalyan and Warburg Pincus did not have immediate comments when asked by Reuters.

12:15pm Nikkei rallies

 Japan's Nikkei share average surged 4 percent to post its biggest daily rise since June 2013 as investors took heart from upbeat US data and the weaker yen lifted exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co.

Also underpinning the market was news that Japan's USD 1.2 trillion public pension fund will likely raise its allocation to domestic stocks to about 25 percent from 12 percent at present.

People familiar with the process told Reuters that a weighting in the middle of the 20-30 percent range is the main proposal for an impending reallocation of the fund's asset mix and is under final discussion within GPIF.

The Nikkei share average added 578.72 points to end at 15,111.23, recouping most of the losses posted last week.

Upbeat US consumer confidence supported investor sentiment and lifted risk appetites. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index of consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early October to its highest level since July 2007. Separate data showed groundbreaking on new homes rose more than expected last month.

Traders said investors scooped up recently-battered stocks after the Nikkei tumbled 5 percent last week on concerns about faltering global growth and the stronger yen, reports Reuters.

12:00pm Market Check

 Bulls kept tight control over bears on the first day of Diwali week. Key indices gained more than 1 percent each buoyed by the election verdict in Haryana and Maharashtra and the much awaited reform moves by the government. Midcaps too gained in-line with frontliners with the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices rallied 1.4 percent each.

The Sensex climbed 367.57 points to 26476.10 and the Nifty surged 111.65 points to 7891.35. About 1686 shares have advanced, 771 shares declined, and 108 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Madhu Kela of Reliance Capital is bullish on equities with a three-year horizon and expects the asset class to outperform others like real estate, fixed income and gold in that time frame.

 Post state elections, the government raised gas prices to USD 5.6 per mmbtu and deregulated diesel linking it to global market prices. Key beneficiaries, oil marketing companies stocks and ONGC gained anywhere between 4-6 percent in trade. Meanwhile, the BJP is still undecided over going with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra despite Uddhav Thackeray's overtures, say BJP sources.

With 47 seats, the BJP is set to form its first ever government in Haryana. On the global front, Japan's Nikkei led a strong rally in Asia, rising 4 percent on the back of strong US data. Analysts expect Europe to open higher, tracking strength in Asia.

After winning Maharashtra and Haryana, BJP now sets sight on capturing Delhi

Buoyed by party's victory inMaharashtra and Haryana, Delhi BJP on Sunday said it will push for fresh election in the national capital, banking on the 'Modi wave' to wrest power, and may turn down any offer by Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to take a shot at government formation.

General Secretary of Delhi BJP and South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri said the result of the assembly polls in Maharashtra and Haryana have "proved" that support for BJP was not waning and the party will come out with clear mandate if Delhi goes to polls again.

"We are ready for fresh election as soon as possible. We will push for early polls. TheModi wave continues to sweep the country and BJP will come to power with thumping majority if elections are held in Delhi again," Bidhuri told PTI.

Asserting that party has strengthened its support base significantly since the assembly polls in December last year, Bidhuri said majority of party workers in the city are fully prepared to face the election again.

Asked what will be BJP's position if Lt Governor Najeeb Jung invites it to form government, he said the party will not take the reins of power by adopting any unfair means.

"We will turn down any offer for government formation and will push for early polls. If the party can get a clear majority in neighbouring Haryana then why should we not go for polls here. BJP will not form a government in Delhi by resorting to any unfair means," he said.

The Lt Governor last month had sent a report to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to invite the BJP to form a government in Delhi.

In the report, Jung gave a detailed analysis of the political situation and underlined the need to have an elected government in the city which is under President's rule since February 17 following resignation of the Aam Aadmi Party Government which was in power for 49 days.

The Centre is likely to respond to the Lt Governor's letter after Diwali. The BJP has been maintaining that it will take a decision on government formation in Delhi after getting an invite from the Lt Governor.

Sources in BJP said a number of central leaders as well as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) were not in favour of forming a government by "managing the numbers" and indicated to the state leadership to get ready for elections.

In his report to Mukherjee, the Lt Governor said though no party has staked claim to form government in Delhi, BJP could be invited to take the reins as it is the single largest party in the assembly. Jung observed that all options for putting in place an elected government should be explored before contemplating holding of fresh polls.

Currently BJP, along with ally Akali Dal's lone MLA, has 29 legislators and will require the support of five more MLAs to prove majority in the assembly.

The party had emerged the single largest party after the assembly polls in December last year with 32 seats including ally Akali Dal's one MLA in the 70-member House.

BJP fell four seats short of a simple majority and had refused to form government saying it did not have the numbers and will not resort to any "unfair means" to take the reins. AAP with 28 MLAs had later formed the government with support of eight Congress MLAs.

BJP's number came down to 28 in the House in May after three of its legislators Harsh Vardhan, Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma were elected to Lok Sabha. With the resignation of three MLAs, the strength of the assembly also went down to 67.

The government led by Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on 14 February after the party's pet project, the Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition from BJP and Congress. President's Rule was imposed in Delhi on February 17.

The Lt Governor had not favoured dissolution of the Delhi assembly as recommended by the council of ministers headed by Kejriwal and kept the assembly in suspended animation.

The Congress and Aam Aadmi Party have been demanding immediate dissolution of the assembly to pave way for holding of fresh election.

Haryana election result: It's official, glitzy Gurgaon is now the new saffron heartland

Forget Uttar Pradesh. The real saffron stronghold is now right on the outskirts of Delhi.

The Haryana assembly elections have confirmed what the Lok Sabha elections hinted at: Gurgaon is now BJP central.

On Sunday, BJP's Umesh Aggarwal won by nearly 106106, with a margin of over 80,000 votes when compared to INLD's Gopi Chand Gahlot who got a mere 22011 votes. The Congress' candidate Dharambir Gaba was at a dismal third place.

The story  is distinctly similar to what happened in 2014 Lok Sabha polls. BJP's Rao Inderjit Singh won 644780 votes which were 49 percent of the votes, while INLD's Zakir Hussain got nearly half of Singh's vote share with 370058 votes, a mere 29 percent of the votes polled. INC's Dharam Pal got 11 percent with 133713 votes in his favour, while debutant AAP's leader Yogendra Yadav -- the star candidate who garnered huge media attention -- got only 79452 votes which was a meagre 7 percent.

Rao Inderjit Singh was a former Congress member and minister in the UPA-1, who switched to the BJP ahead of the polls. There may have been doubts as to whether it was a vote for him or for the party. But the Assembly outcome now confirms that Gurgaon is indeed fully behind the BJP.

In both elections, it is evident that the city voted overwhelmingly for the BJP -- or rather, to be accurate, Narendra Modi

According to this report in the Times of India, even hardcore "BJP voters in the DLF area were not even sure about the names of their local candidate", a fact that didn't make any difference to the final outcome. The victor Umesh Aggarwal gave due to credit to the Modi wave for his win, saying "It had to happen. Gurgaon had just one name in mind — Modi."

And it wasn't just the main Gurgaon city constituency that voted for the BJP, but also the other three other constituencies that come under the Gurgaon district: Badshahpur, Sohna and Pataudi.

In Badshahpur, BJP's Narbir Singh won by a comfortable margin of 20,000 votes against his rival Rakesh Daultabad from INLD. In Pataudi, voters chose BJP's Bimal Chaudhary who got close to 75,000 votes, well ahead of INLD rival Ganga Ram who managed to get only 36,000 votes. In Sohna, BJP's Tejpal Tawar defeated INLD's Kishore Yadav. While Yadav got 29250 votes, Tawar got 53,797 votes.

Nearly all the victory margins were huge, and over again the winners acknowledged the Modi factor. Pataudi's winner Chaudhary told TOI, "I thank Modiji and Rao Inderjit Singh for trusting me. I promise to work for the neglected Pataudi." Interestingly he too had quit the Congress along with Singh to join the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha. And now with the Pataudi ticket and subsequent victory, clearly Chaudhary made the right choice.

The 4-0 sweep by the BJP is significant given that this election saw Gurgaon's elite gated community come out and vote in big numbers; the voting percentage in the city stood at 66.1 percent this year, which is impressive given its SEC profile (though it was significantly lower than the 76 percent voting seen in Sohna).

As Firstpost's Debobrat Ghose pointed out in this earlier article,  the problem with Gurgaon is that "the residents of its skyscrapers, lead a cocooned existence within their gated communities supplied with own water and electricity, are oblivious to the lack of these basic amenities elsewhere. Thus they are notorious for not exercising their franchise."

But the new "aspirational class," wanted a change this year and with PM Modi leading the rallies in the city, many came out to vote. Some of the residents of Gurgaon that Ghose spoke to made it clear that this year they were sticking to the BJP.

Shahana Rajesh, who works with an international school in Gurgaon, toldFirstpost, “The urban voters of Gurgaon want change. With Modi as PM at the Centre, Haryana also deserves a break, which will benefit Gurgaon." Her husband V Rajesh too backed her up saying, "It may look grand from outside or in business centres, but residential areas lack basic amenities like roads. One has to manage independent water and power supply. Residents end up paying heavily for power backups. It's time to shake things up."

"Modi’s rally will positively impact urban voters, who are looking for a change. A positive change is the need of the hour. Gurgaon needs to have proper law and order, traffic system and civic discipline, which are missing from this hi-tech city," said retired Maj Gen Dhruv Katoch.

In the early 2000s, Gurgaon was touted as India Rising's poster city, a promise that remained unfulfilled. Despite fancy malls and sky-scrapers, basic amenities are still scarce, including water, electricity, roads. Beyond the glitz, Gurgaon is sort of like a urban/rural jungle with countless problems. Hence, the overwhelming support for the BJP is hardly surprising. PM Modi has made 'development' his signature word, and of the kind that will undoubtedly benefit those living in the gated-communities the most.

And as long there is hope that Modi will deliver on that achhe din dream, Gurgaon will remain fully dyed in saffron.

Mountain-sized comet Siding Spring whizzes past Mars –

A comet the size of a small mountain whizzed past Mars on Sunday, dazzling space enthusiasts with the once-in-a-million-years encounter.

The comet, known as Siding Spring (C/2013 A1), made its closest encounter with Mars on Sunday at 2:27pm (1827 GMT), racing past the Red Planet at a breakneck 126,000 miles (203,000 kilometers) per hour.

At its closest, Siding Spring was 87,000 miles (139,500 kilometers) from Mars -- about a third the distance between Earth and our moon.

Before the comet passed, it could be seen in space racing toward the brightly illuminated Red Planet, trailed by a cloud of debris. 

Scientists said the comet's passing offered a unique chance to study its impact on Mars's atmosphere.

"What could be more exciting than to have a whopper of an external influence like a comet, just so we can see how atmospheres do respond?" asked Nick Schneider, the remote sensing team leader from Nasa's MAVEN mission to Mars.

"It's a great learning opportunity."

Nasa's fleet of Mars-orbiting satellites and robots on the planet's surface were primed for the flyby of the comet, hoping to capture the rare event and collect a trove of data for Earthlings to study.

MAVEN, Nasa's latest Mars orbiter, reported back to Earth in "good health" after spending about three hours ducking a possible collision with the comet's high-velocity dust particles, the US space agency said.

"We're glad the spacecraft came through, we're excited to complete our observations of how the comet affects Mars, and we're eager to get to our primary science phase," said MAVEN principal investigator Bruce Jakosky.

"Mars Odyssey hard at work now to image #MarsComet Siding Spring, after closest approach & before dust tail hits," Nasa said on Twitter, referring to one of its robotic spacecraft.

'Duck and cover'

The ball of ice, dust and pebbles is believed to have originated billions of years ago in the Oort Cloud, a distant region of space at the outskirts of the solar system.

The comet is around one mile wide and is only about as solid as a pile of talcum powder.

As it hurtled through space it created a meteor shower and shed debris -- mostly dust and pebbles -- which scientists had feared could damage valuable spacecraft.

"All it takes is a little tiny grain of sand traveling at that speed and you've got damage to solar arrays, or your propulsion line or critical wires," said Schneider.

Before the comet entered the red Planet's orbit, NASA moved its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN to avoid damage by the comet's high-speed debris.

This artist's concept handout shows NASA's Mars orbiters lining up behind the Red Planet for their "duck and cover" maneuver to shield them from comet dust that may result from the close flyby of comet Siding Spring (C/2013 A1). (AFP Photo)

"#MarsComet flyby not over yet. Mars passes thru dust tail... while orbiters #duckandcover on far side," the agency tweeted.

The comet has traveled more than one million years to ake its first pass by Mars, and will not return for another million years, after it completes its next long loop around the sun.

The comet was discovered by Robert McNaught at Australia's Siding Spring Observatory in January 2013.

Its flyby of Mars is not likely to be visible to sky watchers on Earth.

Bharatiya Janata Party's big question after Haryana elections: Jat or non-Jat CM?

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed to power in Haryana on Sunday, winning the state for the first time alone since it was formed in 1966. The party that had never won more than five seats contesting on its own has a tally of 47 in the 90-member House. Its strength in the outgoing Assembly was four.

The Congress was reduced to 15 seats from 40, with only four of its 13 ministers managing to win. Outgoing Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was among the winners.

An even bigger blow was dealt to the INLD, which ended with 19 seats, thwarting supremo Om Prakash Chautala’s hopes of taking oath as CM from inside Tihar jail. Among the big losers on Sunday was Chautala’s grandson Dushyant, though two other family members won.

The question before the BJP now is who to name the chief minister — a Jat or a non-Jat, from among the over half-a-dozen contenders. The party had not named any CM candidate before the polls.

The front-runners for CM from among the Jats are former national spokesman Abhimanyu and Kisan Morcha chief Om Prakash Dhankar. The non-Jats whose names are in circulation are former state party in-charge Manohar Lal Khattar, state president Ram Bilas Sharma, Union ministers of state Inderjit Singh and Krishnapal Gujar, and Anil Vij.

While the non-Jats, particularly in urban areas, appear to have voted for the BJP in large numbers, the party may not want to offend the Jats, who make up 21 per cent of the votes, the single-largest chunk, in the state. The BJP had fielded 27 Jat candidates and taken in former Congress veteran Birender Singh to boost its support among the community.

The Congress paid a price in Haryana for anti-incumbency, charges of corruption and dubious land deals, infighting, nepotism and lopsided development. Conceding defeat, Hooda said he hoped the BJP continue the “momentum of growth” of his 10-year regime. “It is democracy. Last time, the people of the state gave us their mandate, and this time to the BJP.”

Mukesh Bhardwaj & Pradeep Kaushal

Google Nexus 9 specs, price and release date - pre-order now

Google has announced the Nexus 9. The 8.9in tablet will be one of the first devices to run Android Lollipop, Google's latest mobile operating system. The Nexus 9 will come in black, white and 'sand' (light brown) and comes with 2GB of RAM and in 16GB and 32GB models. The Nexus 9 will launch on the 3rd of November with pre-orders opening on 16 October. Prices start at $399 (£248) although actual UK pricing is yet to be announced.

Leaked specs and other details about the Nexus 9 have proven to be correct, with HTC the company behind the latest Nexus tablet. The Nexus 9 has "brushed metal sides" rather than an entirely metal chassis. It is powered by a 64-bit Nvidia Tegra K1 processor and a Kepler GPU. On the back there's an 8MP (f/2.4) camera with auto-focus and LED flash while on the front there's a 1.6MP (f/2.4) camera.

iPad Air 2 vs Nexus 9 - specs comparison

The 8.9in screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio and a resolution of 2,048x1536. It is made of Gorilla Glass 3 and comes with 'double tap to wake' to turn the tablet on. It also has NFC and Bluetooth 4.1. The Nexus 9 weighs in at 425g and measures 153.68mm by 228.25mm by 7.95mm.

The 6,700 mAh battery has a claimed battery life of around nine hours while browsing the web over Wi-Fi. This drops to 8.5 hours for LTE browsing. Video playback battery life is given as 9.5 hours. On the outside there's a micro-USB port, 3.5mm audio, and dual front-facing speakers with HTC BoomSound. The Nexus 9 also has dual microphones.

A magnetically attached keyboard (sold separately) turns the Nexus 9 into a tablet/laptop hybrid with Google claiming it will help people "get stuff done" no matter where they are.

Google's Nexus 9 is going up against a revamped range of Apple iPad's, with Apple announcing the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 while also dropping the price of older models. The Nexus 9 sits between the high-spec iPad Air 2 and low-price iPad mini 2 (previously the iPad mini with Retina Display), so it is difficult to compare Google's latest tablets with any of the new iPad models.

Going purely on price the 16GB Wi-Fi only Nexus 9 is likely to cost £299 in the UK (it is $399/£248 in the US), which matches it up with the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad mini 3 (£319). Apple's has dropped the price of old iPads so you can now pick up the iPad mini 2 16GB Wi-Fi only for £239 or £279 for the 32GB version. The original 16GB iPad mini costs £199. 

The Nexus 9 will be one of the first devices to run Android Lollipop, with Google's new operating system rolling out to other recently released Android devices over the coming weeks. The Nexus 9 will be available to pre-order from 17 October ahead of its launch on 3 November. The 'base price' of the Nexus 9 in the US will be $399 (£248).

For more information about the Nexus 9 and Nexus 6 visit the updated Google Nexus website. It isn't yet clear if the arrival of the Nexus 9 will see Google quietly kill off the Nexus 7. The smaller tablet currently isn't listed on the Nexus website but it has been speculated that Google will keep selling the Nexus 7 as a budget device.

Diwali bonanza: Sensex rallies 400 pts; Axis Bank gains 2%

The market has started the Diwali week with celebrations buoyed by the election verdict in Haryana and Maharashtra where BJP is set to form the government. Along with the positive reaction of the oil & gas space to the much awaited gas price hike and diesel price de-regulation, global cues are supporting the market.

The Sensex is up 370.99 points or 1.4 percent at 26479.52 and the Nifty is up 113.65 points or 1.5 percent at 7893.35. About 1595 shares have advanced, 605 shares declined, and 87 shares are unchanged.

 ONGC, L&T, HDFC and Axis Bank are top gainers in the Sensex. Among the losers are Infosys, Wipro, Reliance, BHEL and TCS.

In earnings reaction Axis Bank reacts positively to Q2 earnings. Bank of America Merill Lynch hikes target to Rs 500 versus Rs 450 earlier.

It is good going for the global markets, Nikkei rebounded from a four month low. Markets reacted to US consumer sentiment rose that to a 7-year high, and the rupiah in Indonesia jumped to 3-week highs on the swearing in of their new president. The rupee strengthened on selling of the US dollar by exporters.