Key equity benchmarks traded with small gains in afternoon trade. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 55.87 points or 0.17% at 33,629.09. The Nifty 50 index was up 20.40 points or 0.2% at 10,444.20. Data showing rise in India's service activity in October underpinned sentiment.
Indices drifted higher in early trade with both the Sensex and the Nifty scaling record high. Volatility struck bourses in morning trade as the market regained positive zone soon after erasing early gains to sink in negative zone. Stocks regained strength and hovered in the positive terrain later during the session.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.08%, underperfoming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.67%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,451 shares rose and 1,133 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.
Auto stocks declined for the fourth straight day. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 0.51%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.8%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.11%), Eicher Motors (down 0.4%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.18%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.28%) and TVS Motor Company (down 1.94%) declined. Tata Motors rose 0.52%.
Shares of power generation and power distribution companies were mixed. NHPC (up 0.34%), NTPC (up 0.08%), Adani Power (up 1.34%), and Reliance Power (up 0.24%) gained. Torrent Power (down 0.68%) and Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.57%) declined.
Tata Power Company rose 3.19% ahead of its Q2 results today, 3 November 2017.
Shares of psu coal mining firm Coal India declined 1.08%.
Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) fell 0.51%. The company's net profit rose 14.37% to Rs 2141.04 crore on 15.62% growth in total income to Rs 7492.52 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 2 November 2017
Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) lost 3.81% after net profit fell 49.7% to Rs 11.60 crore on 6.5% growth in net sales to Rs 970.75 crore in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 2 November 2017.
HCC said that it currently has Rs 4273 crore of arbitration awards in its favour, of which HCC has procured letters from government agencies for immediate release of Rs 1930 crore (pursuant to the recent cabinet order), of which Rs 1097 crore has already been received.
Separately, HCC said during market hours today, 3 November 2017 that the company as a lead partner in the joint venture with AL FARA'A, has been awarded Rs 497.09 crore contract by the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation for Pune Metro Rail Project. HCC's share in the joint venture (JV) is 51% i.e. Rs 253.50 crore. The project is to be completed in 110 weeks.
On the macro front, data released today, 3 November 2017 showed that the seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Business Activity Index rose to 51.7 in October from 50.7 in September. The Indian service sector's recovery following the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) gathered pace as the sector observed a faster rise in activity, underpinned by greater inflows of new business. Increased capacity pressures led to firms raising staffing levels for the second month in succession.
Overseas, most Asian stocks dropped. Markets in Japan were closed for Culture Day. Activity in China's service sector expanded at a faster pace in October, a private gauge showed today, 3 November 2017, in contrast with official data showing a slower pace of growth. The Caixin China services purchasing managers' index rose to 51.2 in October from 50.6 in September, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said. China's official nonmanufacturing PMI, which includes the construction sector, fell to 54.3 in October from 55.4 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.
In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record yesterday, 2 November 2017, but the other main benchmarks saw muted moves, as investors parsed through tax reform details.
House Republicans released details of a highly-anticipated tax-reform plan although market moves were subdued. The corporate tax rate would be reduced to 20% from 35% under the plan, which also aims to lower the number of income tax brackets. Hopes for tax cuts have been credited for some market gains over the past year.
Trump announced that Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Governor, would become the chairman of the Federal Reserve when current Chair Janet Yellen steps down at the end of her term in February. The move had been mostly expected by investors.
In Europe, the Bank of England (BoE) raised its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 0.5%, meeting widely held expectations for the first rate increase to be enacted since July 2007. There remain considerable risks to the outlook, which include the response of households, businesses and financial markets to developments related to the process of EU withdrawal, BoE said in a statement, referring to Britain's plan to exit the European Union, or Brexit.
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