BSE Sensex rose on Wednesday as Reliance Industries climbed to a near 8-year high after investors welcomed plans by its telecom unit to start charging customers for services. The index also tracked Asian equities that rose 0.6%, joining a record-setting session for global markets as investors cheered upbeat factory activity in Europe and solid earnings on Wall Street. Investors were however expected to remain cautious ahead of the release of minutes from a policy meeting by the Reserve Bank of India earlier this month when it held interest rates steady, unexpectedly shifting its policy stance to “neutral” from “accommodative.”
“We can expect to see some caution ahead of the release of RBI’s policy meet minutes later today,” said Siddhartha Khemka, head of research at Centrum Wealth. “However, the overall sentiment in the market remains positive and we can expect to see the indexes touching new highs soon.”
The NSE Nifty rose as much as 0.43% to 8,946.55, its highest since 8 September. The index was on track to post its fifth straight session of gains in seven. The benchmark BSE Sensex rose as much as 0.49% to 28,901.19, also on track to post its fifth straight session of gains. Energy conglomerate Reliance Industries rose as much as 7.7% to its highest since June 15, 2009, and was up 7.03% as of 12 noon. The stock was the top contributor to gains on the NSE index.
The stock jumped after owner Mukesh Ambani said on Tuesday telecom unit Reliance Jio Infocomm would end seven months of free services and start charging customers, albeit at discounted rates. Castrol India fell as the company warned of volatility in the first half of 2017, although it reported a 10.7% rise in Dec-quarter profit on Tuesday. Shares of Bharat Electronics Ltd lost ground after the government said it would sell a 5% stake in the company.
1.00pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 145 points, or 0.50%, to 28,907, while the Nifty 50 rises 32 points, or 0.36%, to 8,940.
12.10pm: BSE Sensex trades higher by 156 points, or 0.54%, to 28,918, while the Nifty 50 rises 44 points, or 0.50%, to 8,952.
11.18am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 126 points, or 0.44%, to 28,887, while the Nifty 50 rises 35 points, or 0.39%, to 8,943.
11.15am: Axis Bank shares rise 2.3% to Rs516 after news report said that more private banks approached the government for possible merger with the bank after Kotak Mahindra Bank informally approached.
10.55am: Tata Motors shares rise 1.1% to Rs464.05. Tata Motors Ltd is in advance talks with Volkswagen Group for a partnership, a financial daily reported on Wednesday.
10.45am: IT stocks trading lower. Infosys Ltd shares fall 1.7%, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd shares fall 1%, Wipro Ltd shares fall 0.2%.
10.30am: Aviation stocks trading higher. Jet Airways India Ltd rose 3.3%, SpiceJet rose 5.2%, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd rose 0.6%
10.18am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 104 points, or 0.36%, to 28,866, while the Nifty 50 rises 31 points, or 0.34%, to 8,938. Reliance Industries shares rise 7.14% to trade at Rs1,166.
9.32am: BSE Sensex trades higher by 86 points, or 0.30%, to 28,848, while the Nifty 50 rises 27 points, or 0.30%, to 8,935.
9.25am: Reliance Industries Ltd shares rise 7% to Rs 1,127. After months of providing free services, and being accused of predatory pricing in the process, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd has decided to begin charging its subscribers.
9.20am: ITD Cementation India Ltd shares fall 7.5% to Rs145.80 after the company posted 56.71% decline in its net profit to Rs13.01 crore in December quarter against Rs30.05 crore a year ago.
9.15am: The local currency opened at 66.95 a dollar. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 66.94, down 0.02% from its previous close of 66.93.
9.10am: India’s 10-year bond yield rose to 6.90% compared to its Friday’s close of 6.852%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
9.00am: Most of the Asian currencies were trading higher. South Korean won was up 0.45%, Japanese yen 0.23%, Taiwan dollar 0.16%, Singapore dollar 0.15%, Indonesian rupiah 0.11%, Philippines peso 0.09%, China renminbi 0.05% and Thai baht 0.05%.
With inputs from Reuters
