Key equity indices held firm at higher levels after hitting fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 306.34 points or 0.81% at 37,969.90. The Nifty 50 index was up 90.45 points or 0.79% at 11,475.50. Positive global cues boosted trading sentiment.
The market firmed up further after a gap-up opening. The Sensex rose 319.01 points, or 0.85% at the day's high of 37,982.57 in early afternoon trade. The index rose 176.60 points, or 0.47% at the day's low of 37,840.16 in early trade. The Nifty rose 95.20 points, or 0.84% at the day's high of 11,480.25 in early afternoon trade. The index rose 46.75 points, or 0.41% at the day's low of 11,431.80 in early trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.72%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.85%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1605 shares rose and 826 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.
Cement shares rose. Ambuja Cements (up 0.49%), ACC (up 0.45%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.39%), edged higher.
Grasim Industries was up 4.39%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
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Most telecom shares rose. Reliance Communications (up 2.21%), Idea Cellular (up 1.38%) and MTNL (up 1.34%), edged higher. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.4%) and Bharti Airtel (down 1.02%), edged lower.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 0.76%.
Overseas, most Asian shares were trading higher after China and the United States agreed to hold their first trade talks since June, next week and as the Turkish lira extended gains from its record low earlier this week.
US stocks rallied to close higher Thursday, on strong corporate earnings from Walmart Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. News that the US and China are prepared to resume trade talks next week also bolstered investors' sentiment.
On the data front, initial jobless claims, a measure of layoffs in the US, fell in early August and returned near a post-recession low. New claims declined by 2,000 to 212,000 in the seven days from August 5 to August 11. The Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index sank to a 21-month low of 11.9 in August. Construction of new houses increased by less than 1% in July, reflecting a recent slowdown in building that is likely tied to higher mortgage rates and growing shortages of skilled craftsmen.
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