Mumbai: India’s benchmark Sensex and Nifty indices on Monday hit an all-time high after better-than-expected macroeconomic data boosted investor confidence.
During the day, the Sensex touched a record high of 32,687.32 points and gained as much as 0.8% or 251 points, while 50-stock Nifty index touched its life-time high of 10,242.95, up 0.8% or 80 points.
The Indian rupee strengthened against the US dollar. India’s merchandise exports grew 25.7%, the fastest pace in six months in September to $28.60 billion, helping cut the trade deficit to a seven-month low to $8.90 billion, belying concerns that implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) from 1 July may blunt export competitiveness.
Traders are cautious ahead of the wholesale price inflation data due later 12.30pm for September month. According to Bloomberg analysts’ poll, wholesale price index (WPI) inflation will be at 3.3% from 3.24% a month ago. Here are the latest updates from the market:
■ 10.20am: BSE Sensex rose 192.38 points, or 0.59%, to 32,625.07, while the Nifty 50 gained 64.35 points, or 0.63%, to 10,231.80.
■ 10.17am: Visa Steel Ltd shares rose 14.48% to Rs20.55 as RBI raised foreign investment limit in the company to 74% on Friday.
■ 10.15am: Shares of Glenmark Pharma rose 0.55% to Rs606.50 on BSE. Glenmark Pharmaceuticals said its US unit received the final approval by the US FDA for the generic version of Emend Capsules, 40 mg, 80 mg, and 125 mg, of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
■ 10.13am: Bharti Airtel shares were trading 1.39% up at Rs437.60. Telecom operator Bharti Airtel and Millicom International Cellular on Monday announced the completion of a deal to combine their operations in Ghana.
■ 9.25am: BSE Sensex opened by 212.47 points, or 0.66%, to 32,645.16, while the Nifty 50 rose 57.10 points, or 0.56%, to 10,224.55.
■ 9.23am: Reliance Industries Ltd rose 1.2% to Rs887 after the company on Friday reported a 12.5% increase in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended September, helped by a strong performance by its refining business, and said its telecom venture was poised to turn profitable shortly. RIL’s group-level profit rose to Rs8,109 crore in the fiscal second quarter from Rs7,209 crore a year earlier. Consolidated revenue from operations rose to Rs95,085 crore from Rs81,651 crore a year earlier.
■ 9.20am: Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd rose 2.7% to Rs 1030.60 after the board of IndusInd Bank Ltd has approved the merger between the bank and microfinance firm Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL), IndusInd informed the stock exchanges on Saturday. The share exchange ratio for the merger shall be 639 equity shares of the bank for every 1000 equity shares of BFIL.
■ 9.17am: Avenue Supermarts Ltd rose 2% to Rs 1256.60 after the company posted a whopping 65.2% increase year on year in profit after tax for the quarter ended September 2017. D-Mart posted profit after tax worth Rs191 crore, up from Rs115.64 crore a year ago during the September quarter. Its revenues from operation stood at Rs3,508.26 crore, up 26.3% year on year, while gross revenue was up 31% year on year.
■ 9.15am: The rupee opened at 64.71 a dollar and touched a high of 64.69, a level last seen on 21 September. At 9.15am, the home currency was trading at 64.71 against the dollar, up 0.34% from its Friday’s close of 64.93.
■ 9.13am: The 10-year bond yield was at 6.732% compared to its previous close of 6.734%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.
■ 9.10am: Asian currencies were trading higher. Philippines peso was up 0.28%, Indonesian rupiah 0.22%, South Korean won 0.19%, Malaysian ringgit 0.08%. However, Singapore dollar was down 0.16% and Japanese yen 0.13%. The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 93.16, up 0.08% from its previous close of 93.091.