Auto, telecom stocks gain

Key benchmark indices hovered in positive zone in a small range in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 118.75 points or 0.39% at 30,440.87. The Nifty 50 index was up 25.15 points or 0.27% at 9,470.55.

After a gap-up opening, the key benchmark indices extended gains in early trade as positive Asian cues boosted sentiment. Both the Sensex and the Nifty hit record high levels in early trade. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains in morning trade as stocks took a breather after an initial upmove.

The Sensex gained 196.66 points or 0.65% at the day's high of 30,518.78 in early trade, a record high for the barometer index. The index rose 41.25 points or 0.14% at the day's low of 30,363.37 at the onset of the session. The Nifty gained 47.20 points or 0.5% at the day's high of 9,492.60 in early trade, a record high for the index. The index rose 10.95 points or 0.12% at the day's low of 9,456.35 at the onset of the session.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.1%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.26%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,287 shares rose and 1,131 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher after a surge in oil lifted US stock indexes to fresh highs. In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh records yesterday, 15 May 2017 as a jump in oil prices to a two-week high lifted Wall Street sentiment. Crude rose for a fifth day, topping $49 a barrel, after Saudi Arabia and Russia supported an extension of output cuts.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 85.33 points, or 0.4%, to close at 20,981.94. The S&P 500 index added 11.42 points, or 0.5%, to finish at 2,402.32. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 28.44 points, or 0.5%, to end at 6,149.67.

In economic data, a gauge of New York-area manufacturing slumped into negative territory for the first time since the presidential election. The Empire State manufacturing index for May fell to negative 1, from positive 5.2 in April. Separately, sentiment among home builders rebounded in May, buoyed by optimistic views of demand for housing.

Back home, auto stocks rose. Tata Motors (up 1.44%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.46%), Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (up 0.14%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.29%), Escorts (up 0.44%), SML Isuzu (up 0.25%), and TVS Motor Company (up 1.3%) gained. Bajaj Auto (down 0.22%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.52%) and Eicher Motors (down 0.17%) fell.

Telecom stocks gained. Bharti Airtel (up 2.97%), Idea Cellular (up 2.21%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.79%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.63%) rose. MTNL (down 0.42%) fell.

Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 1.52%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

On the macro front, India's merchandise exports grew in double digits in dollar terms for the third consecutive month in April. Data released by the government yesterday, 15 May 2017 showed that exports grew 19.77% in April to $24.63 billion while imports rose 49.07% to $37.88 billion, leaving a trade gap of $13.24 billion.

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