A bout of volatility was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade as key benchmark indices trimmed gains after regaining strength triggered by higher opening of European stocks. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 91.50 points or 0.35% at 26,052.28. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 24.55 points or 0.31% at 8,027.50. The Sensex was currently trading above the psychological 26,000 mark after alternately moving above and below that mark in intraday trade. The Nifty was currently hovering above the psychological 8,000 level after falling below that mark in intraday trade.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,761 shares rose and 664 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged. Buying was witnessed in mid-cap and small-cap stocks for the second day running after witnessing a recent strong selling pressure in these counters. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.87%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 1.19%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The Sensex rose 169.71 points or 0.65% at the day's high of 26,130.49 in early trade, its highest level since 21 November 2016. The barometer index lost 83.62 points or 0.32% at the day's low of 25,877.16 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 52.90 points or 0.66% at the day's high of 8,055.20 in early trade, its highest level since 21 November 2016. The index lost 29.20 points or 0.36% at the day's low of 7,973.10 in morning trade.
In overseas stock markets, European stocks extended previous session's gains as investors tried to share in the exuberance of Wall Street's record run. Germany's private sector grew steadily in November, helped by stronger-than-expected activity at services companies, a survey showed today, 23 November 2016, pointing to a solid performance in Europe's biggest economy in the final quarter of the year. Markit's flash composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks the manufacturing and services sectors that account for more than two-thirds of the economy, edged down to 54.9 from October's 10-month high of 55.1.
Asian stocks were mixed. Japanese stock markets were closed for a holiday. Latest data showed that Chinese business confidence improved in November. The MNI Deutsche Borse Group business sentiment indicator rose 1.7% to 53.1 in November, after falling 6.5% in October. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite ended 0.22% lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng settled 0.01% lower.
US stocks closed at record highs yesterday, 22 November 2016, extending recent gains. The Dow Jones Industrials Average and S&P 500 cleared psychological milestones with Dow closing above the 19,000 level for the first time while major indexes simultaneously reached record highs. US markets have been in a strong uptrend since the presidential election two weeks ago. Donald Trump's unexpected victory was viewed as a positive for Wall Street, because the president-elect is expected to advocate for policiesincluding massive corporate tax cuts and financial and environmental deregulationseen as supportive for economic growth.
Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) rose 1.04% after the company announced that it commissioned 93 megawatts (MW) steam turbine based captive power plant (CPP) at Hazira in Gujarat for Reliance Industries (RIL). The announcement was made during market hours today, 23 November 2016. This is the second unit of 4X93 MW steam turbine based CPP, being set up by Bhel for RIL at Hazira. For RIL, the company is also setting up a 3X93 MW steam turbine based CPP at Dahej in Gujarat. The CPPs are set up to meet the power requirements of RIL's refinery projects at Hazira and Dahej. Bhel has so far commissioned two units each at Hazira and Dahej projects. The remaining three units are also planned for commissioning during the current financial year.
Shares of most power generation and power distribution companies gained. NTPC (up 3.02%), NHPC (up 0.79%), Tata Power Company (up 1.23%), Adani Power (up 3.13%), Reliance Infrastructure (up 2.76%) and Reliance Power (up 0.25%) gained. Torrent Power (down 0.51%) and Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.14%) declined.
Also Read
Shares of state-run coal miner Coal India rose 0.54%.
Auto stocks were mixed. Ashok Leyland (up 2.44%), Eicher Motors (up 0.11%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.4%), Tata Motors (up 0.92%) and TVS Motor Company (up 0.5%) gained. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 1.24%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.52%), and Bajaj Auto (down 0.33%) declined.
Bharti Airtel declined 1.05%. The company announced that Airtel Payments Bank, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel rolled out a pilot of its banking services in Rajasthan. The pilot is aimed at testing systems and processes ahead of a full scale pan Indian launch. With this, Airtel Bank becomes the first payments bank in the country to go LIVE. Customers in towns and villages across Rajasthan will now be able to open bank accounts at Airtel retail outlets, which will also act as Airtel banking points and offer a range of basic, convenient banking services. Airtel Bank will commence the pilot with banking points at 10,000 Airtel retail outlets. The announcement was made during market hours today, 23 November 2016.
Separately, the company announced that it has successfully completed the acquisition of rights to use 20 MHz of spectrum in 2300 Band (BWA) from Aircel, for Andhra Pradesh circle following the receipt of all necessary approvals and satisfying all the conditions (including conditions stated in the Spectrum Trading Guidelines). With this, Bharti Airtel has completed the transaction in all 8 telecom circles. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 November 2016.
Powered by Capital Market - Live News
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content