Markets edge higher; metal stocks shine

Benchmark share indices extended gains following a firm opening led primarily by index heavyweights, information technology and metal stocks.

At 9:33AM, the 30-share Sensex was up 188 points at 27,430 and the 50-share Nifty was up 56 points at 8,257.

In the broader market, BSE Mid-cap index is moving in-line with the front-liners with a gain of 0.6% while the Small-cap index is performing marginally lower with a gain of 0.4%. Market breadth in BSE is positive with 1,019 advances against 261 declines.

Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities to the tune of Rs 40 crore on Friday.

Buzzing Stocks
 
BSE Metal, Power, Realty and Auto indices have gained over 1% and are leading the gains followed by BSE IT, FMCG and Healthcare indices which have gained around 0.9% each.
 
Index heavyweights like Infosys, ITC, mortgage finance lender HDFC and ICICI Bank have gained close to 1% in opening deals.
 
From the IT pack, TCS and Wipro too have gained close to 1%.
 
The promulgation of coal block ordinance has led to strong buying in metal stocks. Sesa Sterlite has gained around 2% while Tata Steel and Hindalco have gained over 1% each.
 

BHEL has gained over 1% amid media reports that the PSU engineering major is eyeing opportunities in Mozambique and Laos.
 
Global Markets

Asian stocks firmed up tracking rally in US stocks on Friday. In Japan, large-cap stocks were in focus while exporters’ shares were also in focus on the back of a weaker yen. The benchmark Nikkei was up 0.2%. Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng were up nearly 2% while Straits Times was up 0.3%.
 
US stocks surged on Friday with the Dow Jones and the broader S&P 500 ended at fresh record closing highs led by across-the-board buying. The Dow Jones ended up 23 points at 18,054, the broader S&P 500 ended up 7 points at 2,089 and the tech-laden Nasdaq ended up 34 points at 4,807.