Auto stocks advance

After a positive start, key benchmark indices traded with small gains in the morning trade. At 10:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 62.39 points or 0.18% at 34,415.18. The Nifty 50 index advanced 3.45 points or 0.03% at 10,627.05. The Sensex, and the Nifty, had hit record highs in early trade. Positive global cues lifted investors' spirits.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.16%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.15%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher as investors in the region digested earnings guidance from tech heavyweight Samsung Electronics and kept an eye on ongoing inter-Korea talks. North and South Korea have begun high-level talks, the first between the countries in two years. The meeting, at the Peace House in the truce village of Panmunjom, will focus on North Korea's possible participation in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, taking place in South Korea in February. US President Donald Trump called the talks a "big start", adding that it would be a "great thing for all of humanity" if they resulted in a positive outcome.

In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite finished Monday's session at all-time highs as investors remained optimistic on the US economy.

Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,276 shares rose and 1,189 shares declined. A total of 80 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks nudged higher. Ashok Leyland (up 2.1%), Escorts (up 1.8%), TVS Motor Company (up 1.47%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.26%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.06%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 0.03%) edged higher. Eicher Motors (down 1.02%) and Bajaj Auto (down 0.56%) dropped.

Tata Motors was up 1.83% at Rs 441.65 after the company's subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), reported a 0.6% growth in retail sales to 55,697 vehicles in December 2017 over December 2016. Jaguar retail sales fell 7.8% to 15,079 units as solid sales of the long wheel base Jaguar XFL in China and the introduction of the E-PACE were more than offset by softer sales of XE and XJ. Land Rover retail sales rose 4.1% to 40,618 units led by the introduction of the Range Rover Velar and the sales ramp up of the all new Discovery. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2018.

Telecom stocks dropped. Reliance Communications (down 1.92%), Idea Cellular (down 1.19%) and Bharti Infratel (down 0.44%) edged lower.

Bharti Airtel was down 0.54%. The company has issued a clarification to the stock exchanges with regard to media news titled "Airtel Payments Bank removes 1,000 retailers from network". Bharti Airtel said that Airtel Payments Bank in the ordinary course of its business appoints various retailers, distributors and where necessary terminates such retailers and distributors for various reasons. Accordingly, the Payments Bank has in the ordinary course, from time to time, terminated certain retailers for various reasons including delinquency, performance and other contractual reasons, Airtel said. The clarification was issued after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2018.

Sutlej Textiles & Industries surged 4.55% at Rs 106.85 after the company said its board at its meeting held on 8 January 2018, approved the setting up of a green fibre project to manufacture polyester staple fibre by recycling of pet bottles at Samba, Jammu and Kashmir. The board, however, deferred brownfield capacity expansion plan of 28,800 spindles at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, due to the uncertain market conditions in the yarn segment. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2018.

Aarti Drugs jumped 5.12% at Rs 769.45 after the company fixed 19 January 2018 as record date for buyback of upto 2.75 lakh shares, representing upto 1.15% stake, at Rs 875 per share. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 January 2018.

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