 "Nifty hols 8,650 amid choppy trades; ICICI Bank dips ahead of Q1 nos")
By 10:35 am, the S&P BSE Sensex dipped 48 points to trade at 28,161 and the Nifty50 slipped 2 points at 8,663. Broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices are up 0.3%-0.5%.
On Thursday, indices shrugged off weak global cues to end higher following the expiry of July F&O derivative contracts after the recent developments in the parliament rekindled hopes of the GST Bill getting passed in the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Average was currently down 0.4%. Investors are hoping for further easing of monetary policy from the Bank of Japan (BOJ) after the conclusion of a two-day monetary policy meeting today.
Strength in the yen against the dollar post last month's Brexit vote and data showing a slowdown in the Japanese economy have triggered expectations of further easing of monetary policy from the BOJ. A stronger yen hurts the competitiveness of Japanese exporters. US stocks closed slightly higher yesterday amid declines in oil prices, as major tech stocks gained.
Back home, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,767.06 crore yesterday as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday allowed demat account-holders with depositories to bid for trades in the online anonymous bond trading platform of the central bank.
ICICI Bank and Larsen & Toubro are set to announce Q1 results today. ICICI Bank has dipped around 3% and L&T has slipped over 1%.
Asian Paints has extended yesterday’s gains and is up almost 1% after the paints major posted robust earnings for the quarter ended June 2016.
India's largest insurer Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has signed an agreement with private sector lender Axis Bank as its bancassurance partner wherein the bank will distribute LIC's products to its customers. Shares of Axis bank are up over 1%.
Eicher Motors has surged over 5% after the company reported a 58.61% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 376.29 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2016.
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UltraTech Cement said it participated in the auction of coal linkages for captive power plant sub-sector and won two linkages of 27,600 tons and 19,700 tons, respectively, from Dipka Mines (SCDG) in Chhattisgarh. The stock has risen around 1%.
Muthoot Finance has surged nearly 7% to Rs 340, also its record high on the BSE in intra-day trade, after the company reported 48% increase in net profit at Rs 270 crore for the quarter ended June 2016 (Q1FY17) compared with Rs 183 crore in the same quarter last year.
