After an initial volatility, stocks extended early gains and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. At 10:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 149.83 points or 0.44% at 33,924.49. The Nifty 50 index was up 41.45 points or 0.4% at 10,419.85. Metal and mining stocks gained. Telecom stocks saw mixed trend.
Stocks struggled for direction in opening trade amid mild volatility. Soon the key benchmark indices nudged higher and posted small gains in early trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.42%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.43%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong.
On the BSE, 1,366 shares rose and 808 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged. Breadth was negative in early trade.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower as Treasury yields climbed back toward recent four-year highs. Chinese markets will reopen on Thursday, 22 February 2018. US markets remained closed yesterday, 19 February 2018 in observance of Presidents Day.
Back home, Tata Steel (up 1.51%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.3%) and TCS (up 1.21%) were the top gainers from the Sensex pack.
IndusInd Bank rose 0.85% after the bank said it has no direct credit exposures to Nirav Modi nor any indirect credit exposures basis the Letter of undertaking (LOU) issued by Punjab National Bank (PNB). As regards Gitanjali Gems, the bank has a small, two digit exposure, not linked to any LOUs. The announcement was made during market hours today, 20 February 2018.
Metal and mining stocks gained. Vedanta (up 2.22%), JSW Steel (up 1.39%), Tata Steel (up 1.6%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 2.12%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.32%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.41%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.56%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.56%), NMDC (up 2.41%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.8%) edged higher.
Telecom stocks saw mixed trend. Bharti Airtel (up 1.23%), Idea Cellular (up 0.67%), MTNL (up 1.09%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.63%) gained. Reliance Communications (down 0.7%) fell.
Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 0.85%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
JSW Energy rose 1.2% after the company said it signed a pact with the Government of Maharashtra for the manufacturing electric vehicles and energy storage systems. In addition to the earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Gujarat with respect to electric vehicles (EV) manufacturing and associated businesses, the company has now entered into another MoU with the Government of Maharashtra for setting up facilities for the manufacturing of EV and energy storage systems in the state of Maharashtra. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 February 2018.
Vascon Engineers rose 2.31% after the company said it formally signed an agreement with Lina Ashar Foundation, Mumbai to develop a built-to-suit property at one of the company's land holdings in Pune. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 19 February 2018.
Under the agreement, Vascon will construct and deliver a total builtup area of approximately 135,000 square feet (SqFt) on long term lease to Lina Ashar Foundation, the school operator, in phases. The planned Billabong High International School will provide state-of-the-art infrastructure in terms of design and facilities to create a unique learning experience that will be first of its kind in the city.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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