Shares continued to hover in positive terrain in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 99.73 points or 0.30% at 33,893.11. The Nifty 50 index was up 30.50 points or 0.29% at 10,473.70.
Key indices opened higher, tracking positive leads from Asian markets and overnight rally on the Wall Street. The two benchmark indices hovered in narrow range after witnessing sharp volatility in morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.45%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.75%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were almost two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,780 shares rose and 894 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
Cement shares were in demand. UltraTech Cement (up 0.64%), ACC (up 0.45%) and Ambuja Cements (up 0.15%), edged higher.
Grasim Industries was up 0.35%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
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Realty shares were mixed. Prestige Estates Projects (up 5.69%), D B Realty (up 4.95%), Anant Raj (up 2.60%), Peninsula Land (up 2.04%), Sobha (up 1.08%), Parsvnath Developers (up 0.82%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.79%) and Omaxe (up 0.31%), edged higher. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.28%), Godrej Properties (down 0.32%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (down 0.32%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.37%), DLF (down 0.66%), Sunteck Realty (down 0.76%), Phoenix Mills (down 5.66%) and Unitech (down 8.7%), edged lower.
KM Sugar Mills gained 3.46% to Rs 19.45 after the company said that it has sold its 7.3 lakh equity shares or 73% stake holding in KM Energy, subsidiary of the company at its fair price cum face value. KM Energy ceased to be the subsidiary of the company pursuant to the stake sale. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 January 2018.
On macro front, the Nikkei India services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) returned to marginal growth during December as new orders broadly stabilised. The seasonally adjusted business activity index stood at 50.9 in December 2017, up from 48.5 in November 2017. A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction. The data was unveiled during trading hours today, 4 January 2018.
Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher as solid economic data from the United States and Germany reinforced investors' optimism while oil prices hovered at 2-1/2-year high with unrest in Iran stoking supply disruption concerns.
The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index rose sharply to 53.9 in December from 51.9 in November. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity from the previous month while a level below that points to a contraction.
In US, stock-market indices advanced further into record territory, with the main benchmarks closing at fresh all-time highs. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.8%.
The minutes from the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed a distinct lack of unity over the central bank's projection of three rate hikes in 2018. Some policymakers think three rate hikes would be too aggressive, while others think such a pace would be too slow.
US factory activity increased more than expected in December, boosted by a surge in new orders growth. In Germany, the unemployment rate hit a record low of 5.5% in December.
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