Key benchmark indices continued to trade firm in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 131.77 points or 0.42% at 31,727.83. The Nifty 50 advanced 42.60 points or 0.43% at 9,899.65. Most of the gains on indices were contributed by jump in IT index heavyweight Infosys following announcement of an overhaul of its board of directors. Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions eased after the government reportedly said India and China agreed to disengagement at Doklam area.
After opening with modest gains, key indices extended gains in morning trade. Stocks hovered in the positive terrain later during the session.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.79%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.88%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,537 shares rose and 877 shares declined. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.
Metal & mining stocks gained as copper prices rose in global commodity markets. Bhushan Steel (up 0.3%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.81%), Vedanta (up 0.42%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.11%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.54%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.44%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 0.82%), National Aluminum Company (up 0.14%) and NMDC (up 0.33%) gained. JSW Steel (down 0.59%) and Tata Steel (down 0.79%) declined.
High Grade Copper for December 2017 delivery was currently up 1.28% at $3.085 per pound on the COMEX.
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Shares of power generation and power distribution companies gained. JSW Energy (up 4.86%), NTPC (up 2.13%), Torrent Power (up 1.6%), Adani Power (up 5.78%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 1.41%) and Reliance Power (up 1.9%) gained. NHPC (down 1.01%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 0.93%) declined.
PSU coal mining major Coal India rose 0.83%.
Bharti Airtel declined 0.03%. The company and Symantec Corp, the world's largest cyber security services provider announced a strategic partnership to serve the growing cyber security requirements of businesses in India, providing protection and prevention of online threats in an increasingly digitally connected world. The announcement was made during market hours today, 28 August 2017.
Airtel will be the exclusive cyber security services partner in India and will distribute Symantec's enterprise security software.
Hindustan Oil Exploration Company surged 8.42% after the company announced the grant of petroleum mining lease to Dirok field on 25 August 2017 and the commencement of commercial production from the field forthwith. On successful testing and completion of the sixth well, all the six wells in the field are ready to hook up for production.
The company said it expects the initial production to be about 10 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) and will be ramped up to full capacity over the next six months with the commissioning of modular gas processing plant. The announcement was made before trading hours today, 28 August 2017.
Career Point jumped 6.5% after the company announced that it signed six new agreements in tutorial division including three school association projects and three new franchisee centers at multiple locations. The school association projects are with different prestigious and renowned institutions including ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) at Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh), a unit of Indian Army at Mathura (UP) and Gramonnati Mandal at Narayangaon (Maharashtra).
New franchisee centers are located at New Delhi, Patiala (Punjab) and Bhubaneswar (Orisa). The new partnerships are aimed to provide best-in-class tutorial services of Career Point to students at these institutions preparing for pre-engineering, pre-medical and other competitive examinations, the company said in a statement. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 28 August 2017.
Meanwhile, India and China have reportedly agreed to an expeditious disengagement of troops at a disputed border area where their soldiers have been locked in stand-off for more than two months. The decision comes ahead of a summit of the BRICS nations - a grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa - in China early next month, which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend.
Meanwhile, NITI Aayog's 3-year Action Agenda was reportedly unveiled by the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya. The Action Agenda is an integral part of the 15-year Vision Document of India being drafted by the NITI Aayog. Think-tank NITI Aayog's three-year action plan (2017-2020) has suggested shifting the composition of expenditures by allocating a larger proportion of additional revenues that become available over time to high-priority sectors. It has replaced the 5-year plan of the erstwhile Planning Commission and would be soon followed by a 15-year vision document and a 7-year strategy document.
Overseas, European stocks edged lower as investors gear up for the next round of Brexit talks in Europe, while keeping a close eye on the moves in oil. Asian stocks were mixed after US and European central bankers didn't provide fresh policy guidance. US stock benchmarks finished with slight gains on Friday, 25 August 2017, halting weekly skids as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen delivered speeches at Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Yellen said the economy was stabilizing but made no specific remarks about monetary policy during her speech at the gathering of central bankers in Wyoming. Later Friday, Draghi said recoveries taking place in global economies are firming, though he said it was "at an earlier stage" in Europe and Japan.
Also at the Jackson Hole symposium, Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the recent pace of growth in the world's third-largest economy is probably unsustainable and pledged to continue with very accommodative monetary policy for some time because the BOJ is far from its inflation target.
The consumer price index for Japan in July 2017 was at 100.1, up 0.4% over the past year and the same level as the previous month on a seasonally adjusted basis.
New orders for manufactured durable goods in July decreased by $16.7 billion or 6.8% to $229.2 billion, the US Census Bureau announced.
On the geopolitical front, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles over the weekend and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday, 27 August 2017 that the US will continue to push for negotiations to deescalate nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula despite the provocative acts.
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