Bulls resurfaced with a vengeance on Thursday as investors bought into front line pharma and software counters in anticipation of more gains ahead. Sentiment changing for the better after giant Tata Consultancy Services announced a plan to consider buying back its shares.

The Nifty added 51 points to close at 8,775 points snapping a two-session decline. Stocks are consolidating at 4-month highs in anticipation of fresh buying momentum and that came after TCS, India's most valuable company, informed investors its board would discuss a buy back plan on February 20. That news sparked a rally in IT stocks as also in pharma counters.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* Sun Pharma, Infosys, Tata Motors, Maruti and Aurobindo Pharma rose 2.4-4.1 per cent and were among 37 shares that gained on the Nifty.

* ITC, Bharti Infratel, Asian Paints, BPCL and Coal India lost 0.6-2.2 per cent and were among 14 stocks to lose ground on the Nifty.

* Infosys Technologies was the top traded counter, up 3.2 per cent, on expectations it would follow its larger rival in announcing a buy back of its shares. State Bank, Colgate, TCS and Tata Motors were in heavy demand.

* Jindal Steel & Power, South Indian Bank, Vedanta, NHPC and SAIL were among the most active shares tracked on volume.

* Gains spread across the broader market with the Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices rising 0.9 per cent and even higher gains being observed on the mid cap and small cap benchmarks.

* Sectoral benchmarks were mostly up. The maximum gains were reserved for software, pharma, auto, metals and realty stocks. Bits of selling was observed in FMCG shares and media companies.

* Cadila Healthcare, Bajaj Finance, ABB, Hindustan Zinc, Havells and Titan were some stocks that gained ground in the broader markets.

* The Sensex added 146 points to close the day at 28,301 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange. Sun Pharma was the top gainer while ITC lost the most. The maximum number of trades were seen on State Bank.

* The mood was intensely bullish in the wider market with 1,137 shares rising compared to 474 that fell in the wider market.

* Bulls ruled the roost in the derivatives segment with 153 futures gaining ground versus 26 that slipped.

US President Donald Trump has signalled debunking America's long pursuit of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, saying he could endorse a one-nation solution if it led to peace in the Middle East, but asked Israel to temporarily stop Jewish settlements.

Appearing at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump hailed the "unbreakable" bond between the two countries after the bilateral relations nosedived under President Barack Obama.

At their first face-to-face meeting since his inauguration on January 20, Trump appeared warm to Netanyahu and shook his hands several times throughout the conference.

But he politely asked the Israeli head of the government to "hold back" on settlements in territory claimed by the Palestinians for their future state: "for a little bit".

Breaking from tradition and international consensus, Trump said he would be open to "alternate solutions" that does not necessarily involve a two-state solution to the six-decades- long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"It is something that is very different, hasn't been discussed before. It's actually a much bigger deal – much more important deal in a sense," Trump said.

"I'm looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I'm very happy with the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," he said, adding Israelis "also need to show some flexibility".

"We'll work something out but, I think a deal will be made… It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand," he said, without elaborating.

Since 2002, the US has formally backed the two-state solution. But Trump's remarks were the most striking departure for American efforts – and the central theme of the Oslo accords – to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a permanent Middle East peace deal.

Trump said his administration was looking at moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, but he offered no indication it would happen in near future. Relocating the embassy would signal the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"As far as the embassy moving to Jerusalem, I'd love to see that happen. We're looking at it very, very strongly." 

US President Donald Trump has signalled debunking America's long pursuit of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, saying he could endorse a one-nation solution if it led to peace in the Middle East, but asked Israel to temporarily stop Jewish settlements.

Appearing at a joint press conference with visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump hailed the "unbreakable" bond between the two countries after the bilateral relations nosedived under President Barack Obama.

At their first face-to-face meeting since his inauguration on January 20, Trump appeared warm to Netanyahu and shook his hands several times throughout the conference.

But he politely asked the Israeli head of the government to "hold back" on settlements in territory claimed by the Palestinians for their future state: "for a little bit".

Breaking from tradition and international consensus, Trump said he would be open to "alternate solutions" that does not necessarily involve a two-state solution to the six-decades- long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"It is something that is very different, hasn't been discussed before. It's actually a much bigger deal – much more important deal in a sense," Trump said.

"I'm looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like. I'm very happy with the one that both parties like. I can live with either one," he said, adding Israelis "also need to show some flexibility".

"We'll work something out but, I think a deal will be made… It might be a bigger and better deal than people in this room even understand," he said, without elaborating.

Since 2002, the US has formally backed the two-state solution. But Trump's remarks were the most striking departure for American efforts – and the central theme of the Oslo accords – to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel as part of a permanent Middle East peace deal.

Trump said his administration was looking at moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, but he offered no indication it would happen in near future. Relocating the embassy would signal the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

"As far as the embassy moving to Jerusalem, I'd love to see that happen. We're looking at it very, very strongly." 

Aided by positive global cues and pick up in demand from local jewellers on account of weddings, gold snapped its two-day falling streak by recovering Rs.75 to Rs.29,700 per 10 grams at the bullion market on Thursday.

Silver also advanced by Rs.200 to Rs.43,200 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Bullion traders attributed the recovery in gold prices to a firm trend overseas as the weakness in dollar boosted demand for the precious metals as a safe-haven.

Globally, gold rose by 0.18 per cent to $1,235.40 an ounce and silver by 0.03 per cent to $17.95 an ounce in Singapore.

Besides, increased buying by local jewellers to meet the wedding season demand contributed to the uptrend, they said.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity recovered by Rs.75 each to Rs.29,700 and Rs.29,550 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs.325 in the previous two days.

Sovereign, however, held steady at Rs.24,500 per piece of eight grams.

In the footsteps of gold, silver ready too strengthened by Rs.200 to Rs .3,200 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs.115 to Rs.42,700 per kg.

Silver coins, however, remained steady at Rs.72,000 for buying and Rs.73,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Aided by positive global cues and pick up in demand from local jewellers on account of weddings, gold snapped its two-day falling streak by recovering Rs.75 to Rs.29,700 per 10 grams at the bullion market on Thursday.

Silver also advanced by Rs.200 to Rs.43,200 per kg on increased offtake by industrial units and coin makers.

Bullion traders attributed the recovery in gold prices to a firm trend overseas as the weakness in dollar boosted demand for the precious metals as a safe-haven.

Globally, gold rose by 0.18 per cent to $1,235.40 an ounce and silver by 0.03 per cent to $17.95 an ounce in Singapore.

Besides, increased buying by local jewellers to meet the wedding season demand contributed to the uptrend, they said.

In the national capital, gold of 99.9 per cent and 99.5 per cent purity recovered by Rs.75 each to Rs.29,700 and Rs.29,550 per 10 grams, respectively. It had lost Rs.325 in the previous two days.

Sovereign, however, held steady at Rs.24,500 per piece of eight grams.

In the footsteps of gold, silver ready too strengthened by Rs.200 to Rs .3,200 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs.115 to Rs.42,700 per kg.

Silver coins, however, remained steady at Rs.72,000 for buying and Rs.73,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

The month-long budget session of the Tripura Assembly will begin here on Friday, Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath said on Thursday.

"The budget session of Tripura Assembly would start on Friday and after a break, it would continue till March 15. The actual sittings of the session would be nine days," Debnath told reporters.

He said that Governor Tathagata Roy would deliver his customary address to the legislature on the opening day on Friday, while Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha would present the state Budget for the 2016-17 financial year on Monday.

The Speaker said that some bills, including a bill amending the Tripura Lokayukta Act, 2008, would be presented in the house.

The Opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress said that they would raise some important issues in the house. These include action against chit fund organisations and recent violent incidents in the state.

The month-long budget session of the Tripura Assembly will begin here on Friday, Speaker Ramendra Chandra Debnath said on Thursday.

"The budget session of Tripura Assembly would start on Friday and after a break, it would continue till March 15. The actual sittings of the session would be nine days," Debnath told reporters.

He said that Governor Tathagata Roy would deliver his customary address to the legislature on the opening day on Friday, while Finance Minister Bhanulal Saha would present the state Budget for the 2016-17 financial year on Monday.

The Speaker said that some bills, including a bill amending the Tripura Lokayukta Act, 2008, would be presented in the house.

The Opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress said that they would raise some important issues in the house. These include action against chit fund organisations and recent violent incidents in the state.

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona has denied media reports suggesting that police were called to a hotel where he supposedly had a heated argument with his partner.

The football icon was here to attend Wednesday night's Champions League pre-quarterfinal first leg tie between Real Madrid and Napoli.

"I want to inform that I am in Madrid enjoying my family and waiting for Napoli to play in the Champions League," Maradona commented on his official Facebook account.

"My lawyer Matias Morla contacted the Spanish authorities. There are no complaints and nobody was able to explain to me the reason for this media show," he added.

The police were called to the Eurostars Suites Mirasierra hotel after they were notified of an alleged argument between the former player and his girlfriend.

Media outlets reported that neither Maradona nor his partner was injured. So the police left without opening an investigation.

"I'm having a great time, let them tell their stories…," Maradona said.

Shraddha Kapoor, who is busy shooting for Haseena Parker's biopic, will be seen in the same clothes as the ones owned by Haseena Parkar in real life.

The Ok Jaanu actress is leaving no stone unturned to get into the skin of her character. Shraddha went to Parkar's house to understand her lifestyle, she also got to know a lot about her dressing style through her wardrobe.

The costume designer is working very closely with Shraddha to design the perfect outfit that would match with Parkar's clothes.

The actress went to the markets and picked up accessories like nose rings, hair clips to handbags, chappals that would suit her character.

After a not so successful Ok Jaanu, Shraddha Kapoor is excited to work in a biopic for the first time and that too playing the character on which the biopic is based.

Students in the desert state of Rajasthan may soon get lessons in water conservation.

Chairperson of Rajasthan River Basin and Water Resources Planning Authority, Sriram Vedire said Rajasthan is the only state in the country to incorporate geo-tagging and advanced scientific techniques for water conservation works and now aims to include water conservation lesson in school syllabus.

After successful implementation of Jal Swavlamban Yojna (JSY) Phase-1, the state government has launched the phase-2 of its flagship scheme with selecting 4200 villages by geo-tagging, drone cameras and way-point scientific technique.

Vedire said that JSY model has been lauded by South Africa, Brazil and Australia and they plan to adopt the model.

When asked whether JSY lessons will be incorporated in school syllabus, Vedire said, "We have sent a proposal to the state government and it will be good if the new generation learns and understands importance of water conservation right from the beginning. Few states have already included water conservation chapters in school syllabus."

Explaining further about phase-2 activities, he said, "We have selected 4200 new works for phase-2 using technology and will geo-tag 1.5 saplings planted at these sites. Apart from villages, 66 urban cities will also be focus in the phase-2.

Under JSY phase-2, historic water bodies will be renovated and recharged.It will also include rain water harvesting works at nearly 1200 government buildings.

"We have selected government buildings where rain water harvesting works have to be done. These 66 cities will be made greener," Vedire said.

Sharing the results of phase-1 of JSY, he said 96,000 water conservation works were done, which received 11,170 million cubic feet water from rains. In phase-1, 3259 villages were included. It benefited 41 lakh population of the state and 45 lakh livestock, he said.

Gay rights campaigners on Thursday welcomed the Church of England's rejection of a report calling for continued opposition to same-sex marriage, the media reported.

The report by the House of Bishops called for a "culture of welcome and support" for gay Christians, but stopped short of accepting same-sex unions, the BBC reported.

The House of Bishops voted overwhelmingly (43-1) in favour of the document and its proposals, and the House of Laity — made up of ordinary members of the church — backed it by 106 votes to 83.

But to win approval, the report had to win backing in all three houses and the House of Clergy — made up of vicars, rectors and priests — rejected it by 100 votes to 93, with two abstentions.

In effect, this means the Church of England's ruling body voted not to "take note" of the document.

Bishops will now have to produce a new report on the issue.

The decision was welcomed by LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender — rights campaigners.

Peter Tatchell, who has campaigned on the issue over five decades, said: "This vote to, in effect, reject the Bishops' report is a victory for love and equality."

"It is the biggest defeat for the Anglican leadership in many decades. Synod refused to endorse the anti-LGBT exclusion and discrimination enshrined in the Bishops' recommendations."

A South Korean court has denied a bid by prosecutors to force aides of impeached President Park Geun-hye to comply with a search on the presidential compound.

The decision by the Seoul Administrative Court on Thursday was an apparent setback for the special prosecution team that must conclude its inquiry into Park's corruption allegations by the end of the month.

The prosecutors filed the lawsuit last week after Park's aides blocked them from searching the presidential Blue House although they had a search warrant.

The court said the matter cannot be determined through an administrative lawsuit because Park's aides blocked the search based on criminal litigation laws that allow sites containing state secrets to do so. 

India deserves kudos for sending a record 104 satellites into the orbit at one go but it was way behind than China in space technology, a Chinese newspaper said on Thursday.

An editorial in the state-run Global Times said by smashing the previous Russian record of putting 37 satellites into the orbit in 2014, India's frugal space exploration offered "food for thought for other countries".

India did a good job but has a long way to go as there still was no Indian astronaut in space and the plan to establish a space station was yet to take off, the paper said.

"This is perhaps the first widely followed world record India has made in the field of space technology. The Indians have reason to be proud," the daily said.

"However, the space technology race is not mainly about the number of satellites at one go. It's fair to say the significance of this achievement is limited. In this regard, Indian scientists know more than the Indian public, who are encouraged by media reports.

"It's a hard-won achievement for India to reach current space technology level with a relatively small investment. It offers food for thought for other countries. India launched a lunar probe in 2008 and ranked first among Asian countries by having an unmanned rocket orbit Mars in 2013.

"Nonetheless, the development of a country's space technology is determined by the size of its input.

"The US space budget in 2013 was $39.3 billion, China $6.1 billion, Russia $5.3 billion, Japan $3.6 billion and India $1.2 billion.

"As India's GDP is about one-fifth to one-fourth that of China's, the share of investment in space technology in India's GDP is similar to that of China's.

"There is another figure that deserves attention. India's defence budget is about one-third of China's, a higher percentage of GDP than that of China."

It said the Indian space programme was based on certain considerations, including an ambition to make New Delhi a great power.

Also, India felt it should remain present in space technology development, given its close links with military, the daily said.

"On the whole, India's space technology still lags behind the US' and China's. It has not yet formed a complete system.

"There is no Indian astronaut in space and the country's plan to establish a space station has not started."

Thailand wants to work with India for conclusion of negotiations for the comprehensive free trade agreement which aims to promote economic cooperation between the two nations.

Thailand Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said, "We really want to work with Indian government to have free trade agreement (FTA) together even though we had some obstacles in the past but I think we can keep that off." 

The two countries have already abolished duties on 82 items under an 'Early Harvest Scheme' launched in 2004, which include products like fruits, processed food, gems and jewellery, iron and steel, auto parts and electronic goods.

It was the initial phase of the proposed comprehensive FTA, which is to be upgraded to a full fledged arrangement for reduction and elimination of duties on about 90 per cent of goods traded between the countries.

The FTA would also cover opening up of trade in services, an area of interest to India.

Issues like significant cut in duties on number of products and movement of professionals are yet to be resolved by both sides.

Jatusripitak said there is a need to accelerate the process of the FTA talks.

India and Thailand are also members of the mega trade deal Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

When asked about the progress of this pact, he said, "It is one of the best opportunities that we have and we are ready to join any kind of FTA agreement of the regional (nature)." 

RCEP members are meeting in Japan later this month to fast track the negotiations.

The members would discuss finalising the maximum number of goods on which duties will either be eliminated or reduced drastically.

RCEP aims at covering goods, services, investments, economic and technical cooperation and competition.

The 16-member bloc RCEP comprises 10 ASEAN members and India, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The 'Shahanshah' of Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan completed 48 glorious years in Bollywood on February 15.

The actor shared a series of black and white photos from the sets of his first film Saat Hindustani along with a message on Twitter.

"Today on Feb 15th, 1969 I officially joined the Film Industry, signed my 1st film Saat Hindustani, the actor wrote.

Helmed by director Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, Saat Hindustani was about seven Indians who attempted to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. This 1969 film also had AK Hangal, Utpal Dutt in pivotal roles.

Amitabh rose to fame with his stellar performance in Zanjeer as inspector Vijay Khanna, which was followed by a series of successful films like Kabhie Kabhie, Abhimaan, Sholay,Silsila to name a few. 

Having delivered over 100 films, Amitabh Bachchan would be next seen in Thugs of Hindostan alongside actor Aamir Khan.

NASA is inviting the public to help search for possible undiscovered worlds in the outer reaches of our solar system and in neighbouring interstellar space.

A new website, called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, lets everyone participate in the search by viewing brief movies made from images captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) mission.

The movies highlight objects that have gradually moved across the sky, NASA said.

"There are just over four light-years between Neptune and Proxima Centauri, the nearest star, and much of this vast territory is unexplored," said lead researcher Marc Kuchner, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

"Because there's so little sunlight, even large objects in that region barely shine in visible light. But by looking in the infrared, WISE may have imaged objects we otherwise would have missed," said Kuchner.

The new website uses the data to search for unknown objects in and beyond our own solar system.

Last year, astronomers at Caltech in the US, showed that several distant solar system objects possessed orbital features indicating they were affected by the gravity of an as-yet-undetected planet, which they nicknamed "Planet Nine."

If Planet Nine – also known as Planet X – exists and is as bright as some predictions, it could show up in WISE data.

The search also may discover more distant objects like brown dwarfs, sometimes called failed stars, in nearby interstellar space.

"Brown dwarfs form like stars but evolve like planets, and the coldest ones are much like Jupiter," said team member Jackie Faherty, an astronomer at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

"By using Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, the public can help us discover more of these strange rogue worlds," said Faherty.

Unlike more distant objects, those in or closer to the solar system appear to move across the sky at different rates.

The best way to discover them is through a systematic search of moving objects in WISE images.

While parts of this search can be done by computers, machines are often overwhelmed by image artifacts, especially in crowded parts of the sky.

These include brightness spikes associated with star images and blurry blobs caused by light scattered inside WISE's instruments.

On the website, people around the world can work their way through millions of "flipbooks," which are brief animations showing how small patches of the sky changed over several years.

Moving objects flagged by participants will be prioritised by the science team for follow-up observations by professional astronomers.

Participants will share credit for their discoveries in any scientific publications that result from the project.

Disney has cast actor Jimmy Vee as 'Star Wars' new droid R2-D2.

Jimmy previously played R2 in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In a statement released by the Oh So Small production agency, Vee said: "It's been an absolute pleasure to have worked alongside the legendary Kenny Baker. Kenny was a fantastic actor and taught me all the 'tricks' on how he brought R2-D2 to life which I will continue to portray in his honor.

"I'm so excited to be a part of the Star Wars universe and can't wait for everyone to see what we've been working so hard on for the last year," he added.

The original R2 actor Kenny Baker died last year in August following a long illness. Baker played the lovable robot in the first three Star Wars films, and reprised the role for George Lucas's prequel trilogy.