Key benchmark indices hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade, tracking positive opening in European market. At 13:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 95.85 points or 0.30% at 32,324.12. The Nifty 50 advanced 29.35 points or 0.29% at 9,993.90. The Nifty was trading below the 10,000 mark. It had briefly crossed that mark in early afternoon trade.
The Sensex rose 133.34 points or 0.41% at the day's high of 32,361.61 in afternoon trade. It fell 2.19 points at 32,226.08 in early trade.
The Nifty rose 46.25 points or 0.46% at the day's high of 10,010.80 in afternoon trade. It rose 1.40 points or 0.01% at the day's low of 9,965.95 in early trade.
Key indices opened the session with small gains amid initial volatility. Later, indices hovered in green with small gains amid positive signals from global markets.
Globally, investors await the outcome of a two-day US Federal Reserve's policy meeting scheduled later today, 26 July 2017. Markets will be watching for any signals about another possible rise in the benchmark lending rate in 2017, and on when the Fed will begin winding down its multi-trillion-dollar investment holdings.
Among secondary barometers, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.09%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.35%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,355 shares rose and 1,182 shares declined. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.56%), IPCA Laboratories (up 1.24%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.77%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.63%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.53%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.39%), Lupin (up 0.37%) and Cadila Healthcare (up 0.17%), edged higher. Piramal Enterprises (down 0.17%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.79%), Strides Shasun (down 0.79%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.24%) and Wockhardt (down 2.03%), edged lower.
Drug major Cipla was up 0.77% to Rs 568.85 after the company and the product development partnership Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) announced the launch of 100 mg Artesunate Rectocaps/Rectal Artesunate Suppositories (RAS), a life-saving, pre-referral intervention for the management of severe malaria in young children. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 25 July 2017.
Initially developed by the World Health Organization's (WHO) Tropical Diseases Research programme, RAS 100 mg manufactured by Cipla was recently added to the Global Fund Expert Review Panel's list of quality-assured medicines, while the process of WHO prequalification of this medicine moves through its final stages. This authorization makes it the first quality-assured RAS product.
Cipla's RAS product contains 100 mg of Artesunate and is indicated in children from 6 months to 6 years. It was developed with the support of MMV (with UNITAID financing) and will now soon be available in four sub-Saharan countries.
Power generation stocks rose. Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 7.33%), Adani Power (up 3.93%), JSW Energy (up 1.43%), GMR Infrastructure (up 1.06%), Torrent Power (up 0.76%), NHPC (up 0.66%), Reliance Power (up 0.57%), NTPC (up 0.49%) and CESC (up 0.02%), edged higher. Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.1%) and Tata Power (down 0.97%), edged lower.
State-run Coal India was up 0.33%. State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was up 0.12%.
Overseas, European stocks were trading higher, helped by gains in the energy sector due to a rally in oil prices, while investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy decision due later in the day.
Most Asian stocks edged higher tracking gains on Wall Street overnight.
US equities closed higher yesterday, 25 July 2017, after a slew of major companies reported better-than-expected quarterly results. Wall Street had also set its sights on the Federal Reserve, as the central bank kicked off a two-day monetary policy meeting yesterday, 25 July 2017.
The Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision later today, 26 July 2017. The Fed had raised the target range for its federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1% to 1.25% during its June 2017 meeting.
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