Nifty ends above 8950, Midcap index at record closing high

3:30 pm Market closing: It was a stellar closing of market, a day after Budget. The Sensex ended up 97.64 points at 29459.14 and the Nifty was up 54.90 points at 8956.75.

Axis Bank, Cipla, L&T, BHEL and HUL were top gainers while ITC, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Hero Motocorp and Tata Motors.

 Midcaps was at record closing high with stocks like Muthoot Finance and Relaxo Footwear gaining 5-7 percent intrday.

3:20 pm Market check: Buying picks up in last minute rush as the Sensex is up 93.38 points at 29454.88. The Nifty is up 53.25 points at 8955.10. About 1488 shares have advanced, 1346 shares declined, and 191 shares are unchanged.

Axis Bank is up 5 percent while Cipla,L&T, BHEL and HUL are top gainers in the Sensex.

3:10 pm European market check:  European shares clung to seven-year highs on Monday, lifted by merger activity in the telecoms sector, while Asian stocks edged up after China cut interest rates at the weekend.

The dollar hit an 11-year high against a basket of currencies, partly as a result of a weaker Chinese yuan and on growing prospects of a rise in interest rates from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

German manufacturing activity expanded further in February as new order rose, according to Markit's final purchasing manager's index (PMI) for the month. Italy's Markit/ADACI PMI showed the first expansion in activity for five months.

2:55 pm Sales data: Tata Motors Monday reported 10.69 percent increase in total sales at 44,225 units in February, as against 39,951 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles grew by 14.15 percent at 40,314 units as compared to 35,315 units in February 2014, Tata Motors said in a BSE filing.

Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market in February stood at 13,767 units, up 21.56 percent from 11,325 units in February 2014.

"The trend of growth in passenger vehicles continued with the strong Zest sales and good response to the all-new Bolt," the company said. In the commercial vehicles segment, domestic sales were at 26,547 units during the month, the company said.

2:30 pm Ratings: Ratings agency Standard & Poor's does not expect an upgrade to India's sovereign debt rating in the next year in the absence of substantial, quality reforms, it said on Monday, days after the government's budget slowed the pace of fiscal consolidation.

India needs to at least strengthen two of its macroeconomic metrics on growth, inflation and fiscal health, said Kim Eng Tan, Senior Director, Asia-Pacific Sovereign Ratings for Standard & Poor's.

"However, again,  very big improvement is unlikely to come through in next year or so... We don't see the rating going up in the next year or so," Tan said. S&P currently rates India at "BBB-minus", its lowest investment grade rating, with a "stable" outlook.

Don't miss: Eicher Motors surges 3%, Royal Enfield sales up 49% in Feb

The market continues to remain sluggish as the Sensex is down 2.56 points at 29358.94. The Nifty is up 15.20 points at 8917.05. About 1352 shares have advanced, 1349 shares declined, and 177 shares are unchanged. 

ITC, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Hero and M&M are losers while Axis Bank, L&T, BHEL, Cipla and HDFC Bank are gainers.

Shares of GMR Infra slipped 7 percent intraday. The board has agreed to raise Rs 1401.83 crore via rights issue. Issue price is finalised at Rs 15 per equity share. Earlier in July, the Bengaluru-based infrastructure had raised Rs 1477 crore through issuing shares to qualified institutional investors.