Stocks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade, with the Sensex hitting record high. At 10:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 272.55 points or 0.75% at 36,538.48. The Nifty 50 index was up 83.75 points or 0.76% at 11,032.05. Oil stocks were in demand. Positive Asian stocks boosted sentiment on the domestic bourses.
The Nifty 50 index was up 83.75 points or 0.76% at 11,032.05. The index hit high of 11,037.55 and low of 10,999.65 so far during the day.
The Nifty moved above the psychological 11,000 mark in opening trade as domestic stocks saw an upbeat start on positive Asian stocks.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.74%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.71%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1339 shares rose and 595 shares fell. A total of 98 shares were unchanged.
Infosys (down 1.4%), M&M (down 1.04%) and Vedanta (down 0.89%) were the key losers from the Sensex pack.
Oil stocks were in demand. Among shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) companies, Reliance Industries (up 2.28%), ONGC (up 1.01%) and Oil India (up 0.81%) edged higher.
Among PSU OMCs, shares of HPCL (up 3.92%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 3.03%) and BPCL (up 3.21%) edged higher as crude oil futures finished sharply lower Wednesday, 11 July 2018.
Lower crude oil prices could reduce under-recoveries of public sector oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.
Oil prices fell sharply on Wednesday on news that Libya was suddenly set to restore hundreds of thousands of barrels per day, and the US struck a softer line on Iran sanctions.
In the global commodities markets, Brent for September 2018 settlement was up $1.15 at $74.55 a barrel. The contract had fallen $5.46 a barrel or 6.92% to settle at $73.40 a barrel during the previous trading session.
On the macro front, the government will after market hours today, 12 July 2018 announce industrial production data for May 2018. India's industrial output grew 4.9% year-on-year in April 2018, following an upwardly revised 4.6% advance in the previous month.
Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher, despite lingering concerns around the US and Chinese trade war that show little sign of abating. US stocks fell yesterday, 11 July 2018 after the Trump administration announced new tariffs on Chinese goods, further escalating tensions between the two largest economies in the world.
The White House late Tuesday said it would assess 10% tariffs on a further $200 billion in Chinese goods. The US last week hit Beijing with levies on $34 billion in goods, and Beijing retaliated with tariffs of the same amount. A final decision on the products to be hit with the new tariffs is reportedly expected after a consultation period in late August.
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