Key benchmarks moved up further and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 247.78 points or 0.65% at 38,380.66. The Nifty 50 index was up 75.70 points or 0.66% at 11,520.75. The Nifty was trading above 11,500 mark.
The market sentiment was boosted by data showing that foreign funds and domestic funds, both, were net buyers of Indian stocks yesterday, 27 March 2019. The trading activity on that day showed that the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 1,481.11 crore yesterday, 27 March 2019, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 134.92 crore yesterday, 27 March 2019, as per provisional data.
Key indices nudged higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks extended gains in morning trade. Indices hovered in positive zone in mid-morning trade. Benchmarks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade.
Trading could be volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month March 2019 series to April 2019 series. The March 2019 F&O contracts expire today, 28 March 2019.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.59%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.70%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1554 shares rose and 846 shares fell. A total of 126 shares were unchanged.
ONGC (down 1.62%), Power Grid Corporation of India (down 1.4%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.3%), IndusInd Bank (down 0.84%) and NTPC (down 0.84%), were the major Sensex losers.
HCL Technologies (up 3.23%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 2.80%), Yes Bank (up 2.09%), Infosys (up 1.68%), HDFC (up 1.38%), ICICI Bank (up 1.26%) and ITC (up 1.26%), were the major Sensex gainers.
Larsen & Toubro was down 0.05% after the company said its construction arm has secured significant contracts from clients across different states in India. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 28 March 2019.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was down 0.79%. M&M announced during trading hours today, 28 March 2019, that effective 1 April 2019, the price of its range of personal and commercial vehicles will increase by 0.5% - 2.7%, resulting in an increase of Rs 5,000 - Rs 73,000, across its models.
Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed on Thursday following an overnight slip on Wall Street after the closely-watched 10-year Treasury yield touched its lowest in more than a year. U.S. stocks on Wednesday bounced off session lows but finished in the red as sentiment remained sensitive to mounting signs of slowing global growth, reflected in falling bond yields on the heels of increasingly dovish central banks.
On the U.S.-China trade front, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin are set to resume negotiations with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Thursday, in a bid to strike a deal on trade.
In economic data, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in January to a five-month low of $51.1 billion versus $59.9 billion in December. Data from China's National Bureau of Statistics, meanwhile, showed that profits at industrial firms fell by 14% in January and February, the largest decline since 2011.
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