 "Auto shares perk up in a rangebound market")
Around 12 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 85 points at 26,922 and the Nifty50 was up 25 points at 8,244.
In the auto pack, Hero MotoCorp, Tata Motors, M&M and Bajaj Auto were up 1%-2% each.
In the banking space Axis Bank was up over 3% after the bank said that it had allotted senior fixed rate green bonds aggregating to $500 million under the medium term note programme.
Among other index heavyweights, HUL and Infosys were up over 1% each.
Among others, Shares of Navkar Corporation was up over 3% at Rs 200 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said its arm Navkar Terminals Ltd has received a contract frmo Kribhco Infrastructure Ltd (KRIL).
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(Updated at 10:56am)
Markets have come off day’s high but continue to trade in positive zone led by upmove in auto and IT shares. However, the upside is capped due to selling among capital goods and pharma shares.
Further, growth in India's services industry slowed sharply in May to a six-month low, due to a deceleration in new orders, a business survey showed on Friday.
By 10:56 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 67 points at 26,910 and the Nifty50 gained 17 points at 8,236. Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.4-1%.
Top gainers from the Sensex pack are Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Hero MotoCorp and ICICI Bank, all up between 1%-3%. On the losing side, Bharti Airtel, Lupin, GAIL, TCS and BHEL are down between 1%-2%.
Among other shares, NMDC is up nearly 5% at Rs 90.60 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the company said that its board will meet next to consider buyback of shares.
Ujjivan Financial Services has rallied 9% to Rs 364, extending its over 30% rally in past seven trading sessions on the BSE, after the microfinance company posted robust earnings for the financial year 2015-16 (FY16).
Idea Cellular has dipped 9% to Rs 108 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) after more than 3% of total equity worth of around Rs 1,400 crore of telecom services company changed hands via multiple block deals.
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Updated at 9:45 am
Markets have hit fresh 7-month highs, amid firm global cues, with auto and financial shares leading the gains.
By 9:43 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 162 points at 27,006 and the Nifty50 gained 42 points at 8,260. Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up almost 1%.
Adds Sacchidanand Uttekar, Equity Technical Analyst, Motilal Oswal Securities," Nifty commenced its strong run with a 'Break Away Gap' at 7,222 & is yet to witness an 'Exhaustion Gap' which would complete the gap sequence. The momentum oscillator RSI has now reached the overbought zone but is yet to show signs of weakness. The recent occurrence of a 'Harami Cross' augurs well for exhaustion of the ongoing momentum but this candlestick pattern will be activated on a close below 8110 which could trigger the correction. Hence though the broader trend remains bullish an intermediate correction towards 8,000 cannot be ruled out at this juncture."
On Thursday, benchmark indices staged a recovery in late trades after European shares reversed early losses even as focus shifted to the crucial meetings of OPEC members and the European Central Bank later today
Saudi Arabia promised on Thursday not to flood the oil market with extra barrels even as Opec failed to agree on output policy, with Iran insisting on the right to raise production steeply.
Brent oil prices held around $50 a barrel on Friday following an OPEC meeting that failed to agree on output targets, but which was seen as supportive as Saudi Arabia pledged not to flood the market with more fuel.
Asian shares advanced on Friday as investors looked to US employment data that could add to or detract from the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike this month or in July.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.4%, setting it up for a rise of 0.3% for the week. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.2%, paring losses for the week to 1.5%.
Chinese shares were mixed, with the CSI 300 index little changed, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.2%, putting both on track for weekly gains of about 3.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.3%, set for an advance of 1.7% for the week.
Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 521.85 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is unlikely to tinker with its interest rates just a few days ahead of the US Federal Reserve policy review and the British referendum on EU membership, say all 10 economists polled by Business Standard.
Besides, India Meteorological Department (IMD), in an announcement on Thursday, retained its earlier ‘above normal’ forecast for this year’s southwest monsoon, at 106% of the Long Period Average (LPA).
Among stocks, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, M&M, Coal India, HUL and Infosys are top Sensex gainers, up 1%-2.5%.
Carmakers in Britain are making plans to get more steel from continental Europe, putting pressure on Tata Steel to secure a sale of its troubled UK plants before it loses customers.
Mahindra's South African subsidiary has launched a new compact utility vehicle here with the company trying to reach out to the youth with its latest offering and capture a bigger market share in the country. M&M has gained over 1%.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the country's largest consumer goods company, has separated its food & beverages business into two divisions, appointing a new executive director (ED) for beverages. Shares of HUL are up 1%.
Shares of Coal India have extended yesterday’s gain and are up almost 2% after the company announced encouraging production and sales numbers for May 2016.
Bajaj Auto has risen 1% after reporting a 2% increase in motorcycle sales at 3,07,344 units for May as compared with 3,01,862 units in the year-ago month.
Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker, has appointed Malo Le Masson as the head of global product planning. The stock is up 1%.