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Benchmark indices continue to hold on to their gains led by oil & gas, capital goods and FMCG shares.
By 1:35 PM, the Sensex was higher by 207 points at 27,233 mark and the Nifty surged by 64 points at 8,150 levels.
The broader markets are outperforming the benchmark indices- BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices have surged between 1-2%.
Goldman Sachs has raised Nifty's target to 9,000 points for September 2015. Its previous target was 8,600 points for June 2015.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 310.51 crore on Friday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Markets this week will closely track events like the hearing of coal blocks allocation case in Supreme Court, industrial output figures and inflation data as investors await fresh triggers for benchmark indices to resume their upward journey.
GLOBAL MARKETS
Asian stocks were trading mixed today, 8 September 2014. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and Singapore were off 0.08% to 0.22%. Key benchmark indices in Japan and Indonesia rose 0.15% to 0.69%. Markets in China, South Korea and Taiwan are closed for a holiday.
According to a government report today, 8 September 2014, China's exports rose 9.4% in August from a year earlier, down from a 14.5% rise in July. Imports slid 2.4% in August from a year earlier, after a 1.6% drop in July. China's trade surplus with the rest of the world widened to a record of $49.8 billion in August, from $47.3 billion in July.
Japan's economy shrank an annualised 7.1% in April-June from the previous quarter, revised down from a preliminary 6.8% contraction due to weaker-than-expected capital spending, the Cabinet Office said today, 8 September 2014 in Tokyo.
RUPEE
The rupee strengthened to a more than five-week high on Monday, tracking broad overnight losses in the dollar versus major currencies following the weaker-than-anticipated U.S. jobs data.
Gains in other Asian units versus the dollar also helped sentiment.
By 12:58 PM, the partially convertible rupee was at 60.24 per dollar, its strongest since July 31 and above its close of 60.39/40 on Friday.
SECTORS & STOCKS
BSE Oil & Gas, FMCG, Capital Goods and Realty indices have gained between 0.7-1.2%. However, BSE Consumer Durables index has slipped by 0.4%.
The main gainers on the Sensex are ONGC, Bajaj Auto, Hindalco, HUL, TCS, HDFC Bank and Wipro.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has gained by nearly 2% on the BSE after Bank of America Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to "buy" from "neutral".
Cipla has climbed 1% after the company announced that Medispray Laboratories, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company at its board meeting held on 05 September 2014 approved the acquisition of two manufacturing undertakings worth Rs 100 crore.
Shares of L&T have gained nearly 1% to Rs 1,623 on the BSE after the company said its wholly owned subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE) has secured new orders in the offshore and onshore segments worth Rs 1920 crore from domestic oil and gas majors.
Other notable gainers are Hindalco, Bajaj Auto, HUL, Sesa Sterlite, HDFC Bank, RIL and TCS.
On the losing side, Maruti Suzuki, M&M, Tata Motors, HDFC and Tata Power have declined between 0.3-1%.
Among other shares, Natco Pharma has surged over 4.5% to Rs 1,505 on news that its marketing partner in the US Breckenridge Pharmaceutical Inc (BPI) has filed an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Everolimus 0.25mg, 0.5mg, and 0.75mg Tablets.
