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Sensex hits fresh intraday high

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The S&P BSE Sensex extended gains and hit fresh intraday high while the Nifty 50 index hovered near intraday high in mid-afternoon trade, although gains were small. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 78.57 points or 0.3% at 26,386.55. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 24.60 points or 0.3% at 8,108.75. Trading remained lacklustre so far in the day in the absence of any significant global cues, which restricted key domestic indices to the range-bound movement.

The Sensex rose 88.02 points or 0.33% at the day's high of 26,396 in mid-afternoon trade. It lost 11.72 points or 0.04% at the day's low of 26,296.26 in early trade. The Nifty rose 30.15 points or 0.37% at the day's high of 8,112.55 in morning trade. It fell 6.55 points or 0.08% at the day's low of 8,075.85 in early trade.

 

After witnessing a higher opening triggered by modest gains in Asian stocks, the two key indices viz. Sensex and the Nifty hovered in positive terrain with small gains so far amid intermittent bouts of volatility.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.31%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.43%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,283 shares rose and 1,147 shares declined. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

From sectoral trend, capital goods stocks trade mixed. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.41%), Havells India (up 1%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.84%) and Siemens (up 0.94%) gained. ABB India (down 0.26%), L&T (down 0.45%) and Thermax (down 0.12%) declined.

Most FMCG stocks bucked positive trend on the bourses. Marico (down 0.24%), Britannia Industries (down 1.47%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.47%), Hindustan Unilever (HUL) (down 0.11%), Dabur India (down 0.31%), Colgate Palmolive India (down 0.5%), Nestle India (down 1.03%), Bajaj Corp (down 0.39%) and GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.7%) declined. Tata Global Beverages (up 0.95%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.59%), and Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.2%) gained.

Reliance Communications jumped 8.56% after the company announced the signing of binding agreements with Brookfield Infrastructure in relation to the acquisition of RCom's nationwide tower assets by affiliates of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP and its institutional partners. RCom will receive an upfront cash payment of Rs 11000 crore on completion of the transaction. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 21 December 2016.

RCom's telecom towers will be demerged into a separate new company that will be 100% owned and independently managed by Brookfield Infrastructure, thereby creating the second largest independent and operator-neutral towers company in India.

RCom said it will receive Class B non-voting shares in the new tower company, providing 49% future economic upside in the towers business, based on certain conditions. RCom expects significant future value creation from the B Class shares, based on growth in tenancies arising from increasing 4G rollout by all telecom operators and fast accelerating data consumption.

RCom will enjoy certain information and other rights, but will not be involved directly or indirectly in the management and operations of the new company. RCom and Reliance Jio will continue as major long term tenants of the new tower company, along with other existing third party telecom operators.

RCom said it will utilise the upfront cash payment of Rs 11000 crore solely to reduce its debt. The already announced combination of RCom's wireless business with Aircel, and the monetization of the tower business, will together reduce RCom's overall debt by Rs 31000 crore, or nearly 70% of existing debt. RCom will continue to hold 50% stake in the wireless business combination with Aircel and the 49% future economic upside in the towers business, and will monetise these valuable assets at an appropriate time in the future to further substantially reduce its overall debt.

Sasken Communication Technologies gained 2.47% after the company scheduled a board meeting on 23 December 2016, to finalize the share price and fix the record date for the proposed share buyback plan. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 20 December 2016.

On 27 October 2016, the board of directors of the company had approved the buyback of up to 28.24 lakh equity shares, representing 15.94% of the total paid-up equity share capital of the company at a maximum price of Rs 425 per share payable in cash for a total consideration not exceeding Rs 120.04 crore. The company will buyback shares on a proportionate basis through the tender offer route using stock exchange mechanism, Sasken Communication Technologies said.

Overseas, European stocks edged higher amid volatility in early trade. Asian stocks were mixed amid volatility after overnight advances in US stocks. Mainland China's Shanghai Composite ended 1.11% higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Average settled 0.26% lower for the day.

The Japanese government raised its overall assessment of the domestic economy for the first time in 21 months today, 21 December 2016, though it still took a cautious line on uncertainties in the global economy. The government said in its monthly report for December that the economy is continuing on a moderate recovery path. Previously, the government said there were spots of weakness while noting that a gradual recovery was under way.

US stocks rose yesterday, 20 December 2016, with the Dow Jones Industrials Average and Nasdaq hitting their latest in a series of records, as the market's recent upward trend, led by a rally in bank stocks continued unabated. The market extended a rally fuelled by hopes of stronger economic growth under Donald Trump's presidency.

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First Published: Dec 21 2016 | 2:17 PM IST

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