Sensex, Nifty surge over 1%; Nifty reclaims 7,900

All sectoral indices are trading in green led by BSE Realty and Oil & Gas indices trading higher by 2% each

After a robust opening, markets continue to trade firm with Sensex holding its crucial 26,000 mark mirroring gains in the global peers as they recover from the recent turmoil caused in China in view of yuan devaluation amid short covering. 

However, volatility is expected during the latter half of the trading session due to rollover pressures ahead of the expiry of August F&O series.

At 10:40 AM, the Sensex gained 249 points to trade at 26,064 and the Nifty surged 110 points to quote at 7,900.  The broader markets have also risen in tandem with their largecap counterparts; the midcap index is up 1.7%% and the smallcap index is trading higher by 2%. The BSE market breadth is strong, with 1584 advancing stocks as against 441 declines.

Meanwhile, New York Fed President William Dudley has said a rate hike by the Fed in September seems less appropriate given the threat posed to the US economy by recent market turmoil, which boosted the trading sentiments.

RUPEE

The rupee recovered by 14 paise to 66 against the US dollar at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market in early trade today on selling of the American currency amid a robust opening in the equity market.

GLOBAL MARKETS

The Asian markets have firmed up this morning, tracking a rebound on Wall Street which saw all major US stock indices surging 4% each in overnight trades on Wednesday. China's benchmark Shanghai Composite is up nearly 2% after the sharp slide in the previous five sessions, while Hong Kong has risen tracking gains in the mainland. The Hang Seng has gained 2.4%, Nikkei is up nearly 2% and Straits Times is up 1.9%.

Overnight, US stocks had recorded their biggest one-day gain in four years as fears about China's economy gave way to bargain hunters emboldened by expectations the US Fed might not raise interest rates next month.

The Dow Jones ended higher by 3.9% at 16,285 and Nasdaq Composite added 4% to settle at 4,697.

STOCK TRENDS

On the sectoral front, all sectoral indices are trading in green led by BSE Realty and Oil & Gas indices trading higher by 2% each.

Financial stocks which took a beating in the recent past are surging in today’s trade as investors buy at attractive levels. HDFC, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank are up between 0.5-5%. ICICI Bank, India’s largest private sector bank, has launched the country’s first ‘Mortgage Guarantee’ backed loans for retail customers aspiring to purchase their first homes in the affordable housing segment. 

Bharti Airtel it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% equity stake in Augere Wireless Broadband India (Augere), which holds 20 MHz of BWA spectrum in the telecom circles of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is trading 1.5% higher.

Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has submitted to oil regulator DGH a draft field development plan (FDP) for beginning oil and gas production from its KG-basin D5 block by 2018-19. The stock has climbed 2%.

Tata Steel is planning to mothball one of its plants in Wales in the UK to focus on manufacturing higher-value products, a move that could lead to job cuts of around 250 employees. The stock is up 2%.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), a flagship company of the Mahindra Group, is planning to invest Rs 700 crore in its commercial vehicle business in the next two years. 

Citi downgrades Maruti Suzuki to "neutral" from "buy", sees downside risks to earnings driven by heady valuations, moderate domestic demand and dissipating FX tailwinds. Maruti shares flat in trade. The stock is trading with marginal losses.

FMCG majors, HUL and ITC are trading down between 0.1-0.5% on the back of insufficient monsoons.

L&T’ s power transmission and distribution business has bagged orders worth Rs 864 crore from Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation ‘KAHRAMAA’. The stock is up 0.7%.

Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta has decided to close down its one million tonne alumina refinery at Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district due to non-availability of bauxite ore and falling global metal prices. The stock is the top gainer in the Sensex 30 pack is up 7%