Markets continue to consolidate; SBI up 1.5% post Q3 results

Benchmark indices continued to consolidate during the after-noon trade even after Asian shares rallied to an 18-month peak on Friday, as investors cheered upbeat Chinese trade data.
 
Meanwhile, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose to its highest since July 2015, on upbeat Chinese trade data and US President Donald Trump's announcement of tax incentives to help businesses.
 
Nifty 50 continued to hover around 8,800 levels, heading for third consecutive weekly gain led by gains in Grasim, Bank of Baroda, Tech Mahindra and Adani Ports.
 

The BSE Sensex index has gained 0.4% so far this week and the NSE added 0.6% on hopes of reviving economy even after the RBI held rated for the second time and changed its stance to ‘Neutral’ from ‘Accomodative’

 
At 1:56 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 28,343, up 13 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 8,788, up 1o points.
 
In the broader market, BSE Midcap fell 0.2% while BSE Smallcap added 0.3%.
 
The government will also release factory output data for December later today. The factory output grew by 5.7% in November even after the note ban announced by PM Narendra Modi.
 
BSE Bankex gained 0.6% led by gains in Bank of Baroda, SBI, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank and PNB.
 
Bank of Baroda rose around 3% ahead of its Q3 earnings report while SBI gained over 1% after the company reported its first jump in quarterly profit since mid-2015. The company reported a 134% rise in standalone net profit at Rs 2,610 crore in quarter ending December 2016 as compared to Rs 1,150 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

 
 
IT index was the biggest sectoral gainer, up over 1% on BSE, heading for a second straight gain with TCS and Infosys gaining 1.37% and 1.17% respectively.