Volatility struck bourses in early trade as the key benchmark indices turned positive soon after an initial decline triggered by subdued Asian stocks. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 55.37 points or 0.16% at 33,973.31. The Nifty 50 index was up 15.10 points or 0.14% at 10,436.50. Domestic macroeconomic data released after market hours yesterday, 12 March 2018, signalling an economic turnaround boosted the sentiment.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.54%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.47%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 887 shares rose and 476 shares fell. A total of 55 shares were unchanged.
Domestic macroeconomic data released after market hours yesterday, 12 March 2018, signalled an economic turnaround. India's industrial production continued to record a strong growth for the third straight month at 7.5% in January 2018 from 7.1% growth in December 2017. The manufacturing sector's production surged 8.7% in January 2018, supporting overall growth in industrial production. The mining output growth slowed down to 0.1% in January 2018, while the electricity generation growth accelerated to five-month high of 7.6% in January 2018, contributing to the improvement in overall industrial production growth in January 2018.
The all-India general CPI inflation dipped to four-month low of 4.44% in February 2018, compared with 5.07% in January 2018. The corresponding provisional inflation rate for rural area was 4.37% and urban area 4.52% in February 2018 as against 5.21% and 4.93% in January 2018. However, the core CPI inflation rose marginally to 5.04% in February 2018 compared with 5% in January 2018.
Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower ahead of US reading on inflation due today, 13 March 2018, which is likely to give some idea about whether the Federal Reserve will accelerate its pace of rate increases.
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In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index finished lower Monday, 12 March 2018 weighed down by the industrials sector, while the Nasdaq Composite Index closed at a record, in part due to optimism over Friday's jobs data, which showed solid economic growth without triggering wage pressure.
Back home, Wipro (up 2.13%), Bharati Airtel (up 1.32%) and State Bank of India (up 1.25%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Infosys rose 0.45%. Infosys announced its intention to voluntarily delist its American Depository Shares (ADS) from the Euronext Paris and Euronext London exchanges. The primary reason for seeking the proposed delisting is the low average daily trading volume of Infosys ADR on these exchanges, which is not commensurate with the related administrative requirements, the company said in a statement. Infosys ADS will continue to be listed on the NYSE and investors can continue to trade their ADS on the NYSE as before, it added. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 March 2018.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) fell 0.64%. Zee issued a clarification to the stock exchanges with respect to media news article captioned "ZEE complains against DEN to I&B Ministry". Zee said that the media news item pertains to a complaint filed by the company against Den Networks - one of the distributors of Zee Network Channels, with Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB), alleging violation of various provisions. The instances of violations and non-compliance were found during anti-piracy activities carried out by Zee, which it keeps on conducting from time to time in the normal course of its business, Zee added. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 March 2018.
Power Grid Corporation of India slipped 0.33%. The company has entered into a term loan facility agreement for Rs 5000 crore with State Bank of India on 12 March 2018 for meeting capital expenditure for expansion/renovation and setting up various undergoing and new transmission and other projects in the company and in identified special purpose vehicles (SPVs)/joint ventures (JVs) of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 12 March 2018.
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