Key benchmark indices, led by Reliance Industries and Bharti Airtel, logged modest gains. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 70.31 points or 0.21% at 34,010.61, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 38.50 points or 0.37% at 10,531.50, as per the provisional closing data. Most of the appreciation was collected late trading. However, the boost was sufficient to take the Sensex beyond a record 34,000-point mark and the Nifty to cross the 10,500 milestone.
Resumed after a long weekend, stocks edged higher early in the session. Trading was characterized by a bout of volatility. Key indices traded on a flat note in morning trade after alternately moving above and below the flat line. Stocks slipped into the negative zone and hit fresh intraday low in mid morning. Indices continued to trade with small losses in early afternoon trade but firmed up in late trade.
The Sensex gained 121.58 points or 0.36% at the day's high of 34,061.88 in late trade, its record high. The index fell 50.55 points or 0.15% at the day's low of 33,889.75. The Nifty gained 52.45 points or 0.5% at the day's high of 10,545.45 in late trade, its record high. The index fell 15.05 points or 0.14% at the day's low of 10,477.95.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index provisionally rose 0.76%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index provisionally rose 0.64%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,675 shares rose and 1,072 shares fell. A total of 221 shares were unchanged.
The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4316.61 crore, lower than turnover of Rs 4833.05 crore registered during the previous trading session on Friday, 22 December 2017.
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Index heavyweight Reliance Industries rose 1.03% to Rs 928.
Most metal and mining stocks rose as copper prices edged higher in the global commodities markets. NMDC (up 3.89%), JSW Steel (up 1.19%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.49%), Tata Steel (up 1.52%), Steel Authority of India (up 5.79%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 4.45%) and Vedanta (up 1.68%) edged higher. Hindustan Copper (down 0.64%), Hindustan Zinc (down 0.34%) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.09%) fell.
Copper edged higher in the global commodities market. High Grade Copper for March 2018 delivery was currently up 0.66% at $3.26 per pound on the COMEX.
Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose 1.11% after the company announced today, 26 December 2017 that it has launched Melphalan Hydrochloride for Injection, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Alkeran (melphalan hydrochloride) for Injection in the United States market approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). The Alkeran brand and generic had US sales of approximately $107 million MAT for the most recent twelve months ending in October 2017 according to IMS Health. Dr. Reddy's Melphalan Hydrochloride for Injection is available in a carton containing one single-dose clear glass vial of freeze-dried melphalan hydrochloride equivalent to 50 mg melphalan and one 10 mL clear glass vial of sterile diluent. The announcement was made during maket hours today, 26 December 2017.
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed in trading thinned by year-end holidays as several regional markets re-opened after the Christmas break. Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand markets remain closed today, 26 December 2017. US markets remained shut yesterday, 25 December 2017 on account of Christmas.
In Japan, the nationwide core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil goods but excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 0.9% in November from a year earlier, government data showed today, 26 December 2017. The pace of price growth was just ahead of October's 0.8%.
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