Key benchmark indices were trading with small gains in morning trade after paring initial gains and swinging between gains and losses near the flat line. At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 30.88 points or 0.09% at 34,329.07. The Nifty 50 index gained 17.35 points or 0.16% at 10,557.10. Firmness in Asian stocks supported gains on the bourses.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.89%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.04%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,553 shares rose and 798 shares dropped. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.
Cement stocks dropped. ACC was down 0.05%, Shree Cement 0.43%, Ambuja Cements 0.21%, and UltraTech Cement declined 0.21%.
Grasim Industries declined 0.61%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
While, telecom stocks gained. Bharti Airtel rose 2.23%, Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) 4.36%, Reliance Communications 4.8% and Idea Cellular gained 1.53%.
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Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 2.97%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
GAIL (India) gained 1.63% after net profit rose 28.4% to Rs 1262.22 crore on 18.8% growth in net sales to Rs 14414.34 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours on Monday, 12 February 2018.
GAIL (India) said its profits improved mainly due to the better performance by liquid hydrocarbon (LHC), gas marketing & transmission segments. Natural gas transmission & marketing volumes increased by 6% each, petrochemicals sales by 21%, liquid hydrocarbon sales by 10% & LPG transmission by 2% in the third quarter, as compared to the corresponding quarter in previous year.
Britannia Industries rose 0.14% after consolidated net profit rose 19.6% to Rs 263.65 crore on 13% growth in net sales to Rs 2558.30 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The results were announced after market hours on Monday, 12 February 2018.
Punjab National Bank fell 4.33% after the bank said that it has detected of some fraudulent and unauthorised transactions of around $1771.69 million. The announcement was made before market hours today, 14 February 2018.
On the macro front back home, industrial production continued to record strong growth for second straight month at 7.1% in December 2017 over December 2016, while the growth figure for November 2017 has revised upwards to 8.8% from 8.4% reported earlier. The manufacturing sector's production surged 8.4% in December 2017, supporting overall growth in industrial production. The mining output growth also improved 1.2% in December 2017, while the electricity generation moved up 4.4% in December 2017, contributing to the improvement in overall industrial production growth in December 2017.
The all-India general inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) eased to 5.07% in January 2018 compared with 5.21% in December 2017. The corresponding provisional inflation rate for rural area was 5.21% and urban area 4.93% in January 2018 as against 5.27% and 5.09% in December 2017. The core CPI inflation was flat at 5 % in January 2018 compared with 4.98% in December 2017. The cumulative CPI inflation was lower at 3.43% in April-January FY2018 compared with 4.68% in April-January FY2017. Inflation and IIP data were announced after market hours on Monday, 12 February 2018.
Overseas, most Asian stocks gained after slightly firmer lead from Wall Street, which recorded a third consecutive day of gains in the last session. Meanwhile, fourth-quarter Japan gross domestic product data released showed the economy grew at an annualized 0.5%, below a median forecast.
It will be a shortened week for greater China markets, with mainland China markets closing from 15 to 21 February 2018 and Hong Kong markets shut from 16 to 19 February 2018 for the Lunar New Year. Other regional markets, including South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore, will also finish the week early due to the holiday.
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