The main stock indices firmed up in mid-afternoon trade. Trading was volatile on account of expiry of weekly index options. At 14:22 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 67.43 points or 0.16% at 41,940.16. The Nifty 50 index was up 11.20 points or 0.09% at 12,354.50.
The broader market continued to outperform the benchmark index. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.81% higher while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.90%.
The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1464 shares rose and 991 shares fell. A total of 156 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 22 stocks advanced while 28 stocks declined.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index was down 1.28% to 2,884. The index rose 5.57% in the previous five trading sessions.
Vedanta (down 2%), JSW Steel (down 1.7%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.57%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.55%), Tata Steel (down 1.32%), Steel Authority of India (down 0.58%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.53%) and NMDC (down 0.38%) declined.
Hindustan Copper (up 1.6%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.12%) advanced.
Stocks in Spotlight:
Alphageo (India) hit 10% upper circuit at Rs 201.45. The company has bagged two orders worth Rs 112 crore from ONGC.
Plastiblends India fell 0.69% to Rs 208.20. The company's profit before tax surged 52.7% to Rs 14.03 crore on a 4.4% decline in net sales to Rs 144.72 crore in Q3 December 2019 over Q3 December 2018.
DLF rose 0.18% to Rs 256.30. The stocks has gained 16.02% in eight sessions from a recent closing low of Rs 220.90 recorded on 6 January 2020.
Numbers to Track:
The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.615% at 14:17 IST compared with 6.623% in the previous trading session.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was trading at 70.93, compared with its previous closing low of 70.82.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for March 2020 settlement was up 43 cents a barrel at $64.43 per barrel. The contract declined 49 cents or 0.31% to settle at $64 a barrel in Friday's session.
MCX Gold futures for 5 February 2019 settlement rose 0.13% to Rs 39,663.
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