Key benchmark indices continued to trade firm in mid-morning trade. At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex advanced 379.67 points or 1.15% at 33,486.49. The Nifty 50 index surged 113.25 points or 1.11% at 10,328. Positive global cues boosted sentiment. Investor risk appetite also soared after rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years. Indices opened the session on a strong note and later held firm so far.
The Sensex surged 414 points or 1.25% at the day's high of 33,520.82 at the onset of trading, its highest level since 7 November 2017. The index rose 280.55 points or 0.84% at the day's low of 33,387.37 in early trade. The Nifty advanced 128.85 points or 1.26% at the day's high of 10,343.60 at the onset of trading, its highest level since 10 November 2017. The index rose 98.80 points or 0.96% at the day's low of 10,313.55 in early trade.
Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index surged 1.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 1.28%. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.
Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher as global equities appeared to bounce back after declines earlier in the week. US equities rose yesterday, 16 November 2017, rebounding from consecutive declines, following strong quarterly results.
Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,754 shares rose and 614 shares declined. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Telecom stocks gained. Reliance Communications (up 3.39%) and Idea Cellular (up 1.82%) advanced. Shares of telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel fell 0.29% at Rs 383.70.
Bharti Airtel rose 3.09% at Rs 505.05 after the company announced the launch of two new Android powered 4G smartphones at the price of a feature phone in partnership with Karbonn Mobiles. The launch is part of Airtel's 'Mera Pehla Smartphone' initiative, which is aimed at enabling every Indian to buy a 4G smartphone and get on to the digital superhighway. The 'Al Indian' 4G smartphone will be available at an effective price of Rs 1799 (compared to MRP of Rs 4390) and the 'A41 Power' comes at an effective price of Rs 1,849 (compared to MRP of Rs 4,290). Both 4G smartphones come bundled with a monthly pack of Rs 169 from Airtel, which offers generous data and calling benefits. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 November 2017.
IT stocks dropped. Infosys (down 1.68%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.07%), TCS (down 0.7%) and HCL Technologies (down 0.46%) declined. Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.25%) edged higher.
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Wipro was down 0.25% at Rs 296.90. The company announced the launch of industry-specific solutions on SAP Leonardo. The first set of solutions will focus on the utilities industry, while the next will cover the consumer and manufacturing industries. As part of the partnership, Wipro will develop industry-specific analytics "apps" on its insights-as-a-service solution, Data Discovery Platform, leveraging SAP Leonardo analytics, Big Data and data intelligence capabilities. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 November 2017.
Vascon Engineers rose 3.28% at Rs 37.80 after the company said that board of directors of GMP Technical Solutions, a material subsidiary of the company has approved slump sale of its Mumbai division and accordingly a Business Transfer Agreement is signed on 16 November 2017 with Innovative Core Systems to sell and transfer its stake held in Mumbai division for Rs 18 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 November 2017.
On the macro front, rating agency Moody's Investors Service has upgraded India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. Moody's has revised the sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years.
Among other key news, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday, 16 November 2017, gave its approval for the creation of the posts of Chairman and Technical Members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) under GST, following up immediately on 15th November's sharp reduction in the GST rates of a large number of items of mass consumption. This paves the way for the immediate establishment of this apex body, which is mandated to ensure that the benefits of the reduction in GST rates on goods or services are passed on to the ultimate consumers by way of a reduction in prices, a press release issued by the government after market hours yesterday, 16 November 2017 said.
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