Key indices are trading firm in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 211.72 points or 0.55% at 38,740.04. The Nifty 50 index was up 57 points or 0.5% at 11,442.35.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.02%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.86%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1312 shares rose and 513 shares fell. A total of 70 shares were unchanged.
Cues to watch:
Minutes from the US Federal Reserve's recent meeting due on Wednesday may provide some insight into how the central bank sees the recovery playing out. The Fed has cut rates to near zero to bolster business through the pandemic.
Stocks in news:
Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 0.86%. RIL announced that its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL) has acquired a majority equity stake in Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. (Vitalic) and its subsidiaries (collectively known as 'Netmeds') for approximately Rs 620 crore. This investment represents ~60% holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100% direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries, viz: Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt Limited.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises gained 1.24%. The company reported 94.28% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 30.37 crore on 36.7% fall in total income to Rs 1,338.45 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019.
Dixon Technologies (India) rose 0.77%. The company said that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 21 August 2020, to consider and approve the raising of funds by way of issuance of any instrument or security, including equity shares, fully / partly convertible debentures, foreign currency convertible bonds, warrants, or any combination thereof, in one or more tranches, at such price or prices as may be permissible under applicable law by way of a public issue, preferential allotment, private placement (including one or more qualified institutions placements), or through any other permissible mode and / or combination thereof as may be considered appropriate, to eligible investors.
Agro Tech Foods fell 0.54%. CRISIL has reaffirmed long term credit rating of to AA-, but revised outlook from negative to stable.
Dilip Buildcon (DBL) advanced 3.24%. DBL said that the company through joint venture HCC-DBL received letter of acceptance for a project worth Rs 1,334.95 crore in Uttarakhand, from Rail Vikas Nigam.
Centum Electronics rose 3%. The company announced the divestment of the energy division of its subsidiary in France Centum Adetel Group (CAG) for a total consideration of Euro 9.8 million to Chauntie Electric (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. 65% of the amount, Euro 6.37 million has been received by the French subsidiary and the remaining 35% will be received after a transition period of 2 years.
Global Markets:
Overseas, Asian stocks are mostly trading higher on Wednesday after a strong Wall Street session in which the S&P 500 hit an all-time high, rebounding from huge losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In US, the S&P 500 closed at a record high on Tuesday, rebounding from huge losses triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. Amazon, which rose 4.1%, was the largest gainer in the S&P 500. Strong sales growth was reported by major U.S. retailers including Walmart, Kohl's and Home Depot. Meanwhile, Nasdaq clocked a record closing high.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.84 points, or 0.24%, to 27,778.07, the S&P 500 gained 7.79 points, or 0.23%, to 3,389.78 and the Nasdaq Composite added 81.12 points, or 0.73%, to 11,210.84.
Data on Tuesday showed U.S. homebuilding accelerated by the most in nearly four years in July in the latest sign the housing sector is emerging as one of the few areas of strength in an economy suffering a record slowdown. That further added to market optimism.
Back home, key equity benchmarks ended with robust gains on Tuesday, supported by gains in private banks and index heavyweight Reliance Industries. Sentiment was boosted by hopes that the government will spend more to support economy. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex spurted 477.54 points or 1.26% at 38,528.32. The Nifty 50 index jumped 138.25 points or 1.23% at 11,385.35.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,134.57 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 379.38 crore in the Indian equity market on 18 August, provisional data showed.
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