 "Markets open higher led by index heavyweights")
Benchmark share indices continued to remain firm after the first hour of trade with index heavyweight Reliance Industries leading the gains after its reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings.
At 10:35am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 150 points at 27,986 after hitting an intra-day high of 28,013 while the Nifty50 was up 38 points at 8,579.
In the broader market, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were up 0.4%-0.7% each. Market breadth was positive with 1450 gainers and 678 losers on the BSE.
Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer up over 2%. The company posted an 18% rise in net profit at Rs 7,113 crore for the quarter ended June 2016 on higher margins from its core refining business. It was Rs 6,024 crore in the same period a year ago. The gross refining margin on each barrel of crude processed - a key profitability gauge - was $11.5 in the June quarter, compared with $10.4 a year earlier.
Auto stocks were led by Tata Motors which gained over 2%. Overseas arm Jaguar Land Rover recently reported 22 per cent jump in global retail sales to a record 2,91,556 units in the first half this year riding on robust demand in Europe and the UK.
Other gainers in the segment include, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp among others.
Private lenders were also among the top Sensex gainers on renewed buying interest. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank were up 0.4%-1.4% each.
Among others, Sun Pharma Advanced Research Company (SPARC) has surged 7% to Rs 375 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after the company announced a licensing arrangement with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries for SPARC’s Elespia XR (Levetiracetam extended release tablets).
LT Foods has rallied 8% to Rs 307 on the BSE in intra-day trade after the company announced that it has acquired iconic brand 817 Elephant brand of rice through its United Kingdom (UK) subsidiary LT Foods International Limited.
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(Updated at 9:30am)
Markets opened higher on Monday with index heavyweights Reliance Industries leading the gains after its reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings and mortgage lender HDFC. However, IT stocks remained subdued post first quarter earnings from Infosys.
At 9:30am, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 120 points at 27,956 and the Nifty50 was up 31 points at 8,572.
"Immediate trend is intact to positive as it has been making higher top – higher bottom, supports are shifting higher and sustained buying is being witnessed at every small declines on important trading levels. The Nifty has to continue to hold above 8500 zones to add strength and move up towards 8650-8700 zones while holding below 8480 might attract a profit booking decline towards 8420 then 8380 levels," Anand Rathi Securities said in a technical note.
Foreign institutional investors were net buyers in equities worth Rs 1,461 crore on Monday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Most Asian markets were trading mixed as the geopolitical developments in Turkey weighed on investor sentiment. Meanwhile, financial markets are closed in Japan on account of a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.5% while shares in Singapore and Hong Kong were trading flat with positive bias. Straits Times and Hang Seng were up 0.1% each.
US stocks took a breadther to end flat on Friday after sharp gains in the previous sessions which lifted the benchmark indices, Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500, to fresh record highs. The Dow Jones industrial average ended flat at 18,517 while S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended down 0.1% each.
STOCKS
Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer up over 2%. The company posted an 18% rise in net profit at Rs 7,113 crore for the quarter ended June 2016 on higher margins from its core refining business. It was Rs 6,024 crore in the same period a year ago. The gross refining margin on each barrel of crude processed - a key profitability gauge - was $11.5 in the June quarter, compared with $10.4 a year earlier.
In the financial segment, mortgage lender HDFC was up over 1% while Axis Bank gained 1.6%. Further, SBI and ICICI Bank were trading with marginal gains
Auto stocks continued to remain in top gear with Tata Motors up 1% while Maruti Suzuki gained 1.8% and M&M rose nearly 1%. In the two-wheeler space, Bajaj Auto and Hero MotoCorp were up 0.6%-1% each.
