Key benchmark indices hovered near day's high in early afternoon trade on steady buying in index pivotals. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 152.19 points or 0.46% at 33,120.87. The Nifty 50 index was up 51.55 points or 0.51% at 10,165.25. The Sensex was trading above the psychological 33,000 mark after gyrating above and below that level in intraday trade. Pharma shares gained. Auto stocks advanced after declaring good monthly sales volume data for March 2018. The market sentiment was boosted by positive Asian stocks.
Trading for the first day of the week, month and financial year 2019 began on a buoyant note as domestic stocks edged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. A bout of volatility was seen in morning trade as the key benchmark indices regained strength soon after trimming early gains. Stocks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. Trading resumed after a long weekend. The stock market had remained shut on Thursday, 29 March 2018 for Mahavir Jayanti and also on Friday, 30 March 2018 on the eve of Good Friday.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.67%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.68%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than three gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,830 shares rose and 545 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.
Pharma shares gained. Cipla (up 3.72%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 2.14%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.3%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.01%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.97%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 1.56%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 3.04%) and Wockhardt (up 1.89%) rose. Alkem Laboratories (down 1.43%) fell.
Lupin surged 3.48% after the company announced the successful facility review carried out by Health Canada for its Pithampur Unit 2, Indore manufacturing facility. Following the review, Health Canada has maintained the compliant rating for Unit 2 at Pithampur, Indore and has issued a revised 'Establishment License'. The sales volumes were announced during market hours today, 2 April 2018.
NTPC shed 0.68%. The company informed that first unit of 660 megawatts (MW) of Meja Thermal Power Project (2x660 MW) of Meja Urja Nigam, a joint venture company of NTPC has been commissioned on 31 March 2018. With this, the total commissioned capacity of NTPC group has become 53,651 MW. The announcement was made during market hours today, 2 April 2018.
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Auto stocks gained after declaring good monthly sales volume data for March 2018. Ashok Leyland (up 1.27%), Escorts (up 4.25%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.3%) and TVS Motor Company (up 3.01%) rose.
Eicher Motors rose 0.64% after the company said its total motorcycle sales rose 27% to 76,087 units in March 2018 over March 2017. The announcement was made on Sunday, 1 April 2018.
Maruti Suzuki India gained 1.82% after the company said that its total sales rose 14.9% to 1.60 lakh units in March 2018 over March 2017. The announcement was made on Sunday, 1 April 2018.
Tata Motors advanced 2.67% after the company registered a growth of 35% at 69,440 units in March 2018 as against 51,309 units in March 2017 due to the continued strong sales performance of its commercial and passenger vehicles business in the domestic market. The announcement was made on Sunday, 1 April 2018.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 1.19% after the company reported strong growth in tractor sales and a decent rise in its auto sales in March 2018 over March 2017. The sales volumes were announced during market hours today, 2 April 2018.
M&M's total auto sales rose 10% to 62,077 units in March 2018 over March 2017. Total domestic sales grew by 10% and total exports surged 26%. The company's total tractor sales surged 46% to 28,277 units in March 2018 over March 2017. Domestic tractor sales jumped 50% while exports fell 3%.
Bajaj Auto rose 1.58% after the company said that its total sales rose 23% to 3.34 lakh units in March 2018 over March 2017. The announcement was made during market hours today, 2 April 2018.
Shares of Karda Construction were trading at Rs 141.10, a discount of 21.61% over the initial public offer price of Rs 180. The stock debuted at Rs 136, a discount of 24.44% to the initial public offer (IPO) price. So far the stock hit a high of Rs 142.80 and low of Rs 136. On BSE, so far 95,000 shares were traded on the counter. Karda Constructions is engaged in the business of real estate development in the city of Nashik, Maharashtra.
Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher, shrugging off fears that US President Donald Trump's tariff programs could set off a trade war. Stock markets in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong remain closed for the Easter holiday. A Bank of Japan survey showed the first softening of business sentiment among Japan's big manufacturers in two years, with the materials sector most directly affected by US trade tariffs showing the sharpest declines.
China's manufacturing activity expanded at its weakest pace in four months in March, a private survey showed today, 2 April 2018. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' index (PMI) dropped to 51 in March from 51.6 in February. The weaker reading follows official data released Saturday, 31 March 2018 showing a rebound to 51.5 from February's holiday-affected 50.3.
Meanwhile, China imposed tariffs on a range of US goods, to retaliate against the Trump administration's penalties on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum. The Chinese Finance Ministry said on Sunday, 1 April 2018 that the previously announced tariffs on the imports of American goods would take effect from today, 2 April 2018. Penalties range from 25% on American pork and eight other kinds of goods to 15% on fruit and 120 types of commodities, the ministry said.
US stocks rose on Thursday, 29 March 2018 with tech shares leading the way, as equity markets ended a tumultuous quarter on a high note. The US and European markets were closed on Friday, 30 March 2018 for the Good Friday holiday.
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