Benchmarks hit record high; metal stocks shine

Equity indices traded sideways at the day's high with modest gains in morning trade. The Sensex hit a record high of 52,626.64 and the Nifty hit a record high of 15,835.55 early trade today. FMCG and realty stocks corrected while metal, IT and auto shares were in demand. Positive global cues boosted sentiment.

At 10:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 304.56 points or 0.58% at 52,605.87. The Nifty 50 index was up 78.85 points or 0.5% at 15,816.20.

In broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.32% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index was gained 0.54%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1833 shares rose and 984 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

COVID-19 Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 174,771,133 with 3,769,494 global deaths.

India reported 11,21,671 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 363,079 deaths, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Results Today:

BEML (up 1.03%), BHEL (up 1.19%), Sun TV Network (up 0.66%), CG Power and Industrial Solutions (up 0.8%), Cochin Shipyard (up 1.49%), DLF (up 1.1%), Edelweiss Financial Services (up 2.64%), Goa Carbon (up 2.23%), Heranba Inds (up 1.07%), Likhitha Infrastructure (up 0.21%) and Lumax Inds (up 1.53%) will announce their quarterly results today.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Metal index gained 1.4% to 5,339. The index added 2.49% in two trading sessions.

Coal India (up 4.5%), Hindustan Zinc (up 2.29%), Vedanta (up 2.04%) and JSW Steel (up 1.44%) were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were NMDC (up 1.37%), Tata Steel (up 1.35%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.31%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.19%) and Hindalco Industries (up 0.65%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Godrej Properties fell 0.3%. The realty player said that its wholly owned subsidiary Godrej Projects Development has acquired 20% issued and paid-up share capital of Vagishwari Land Developers (VLDPL). Pursuant to the said acquisition, VLDPL has become an associate company of Godrej Projects Development and consequently of Godrej Properties. The acquisition is being done for a cash consideration of Rs 29.99 crore and 200 equity shares of Rs 100 each, representing 20% paid-up equity share capital of VLDPL, were allotted to Godrej Projects.

Yes Bank rose 0.2%. The private sector bank on Thursday announced that the board has considered and approved fund raising in Indian/foreign currency up to an amount of Rs 10,000 crore.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks were trading higher on Friday, following overnight gains on the Wall Street.

Wall Street stocks ended higher on Thursday, with the S&P 500 closing above its prior record high set on May 7, as economic data appeared to support the Federal Reserve's assertion that the current wave of heightened inflation will be temporary.

At the close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index advanced 19.10 points, or 0.06%, to 34,466. The S&P 500 index added 19.63 points, or 0.47%, at 4,239. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 108.58 points, or 0.78%, to 14,020.

Consumer prices for May accelerated at their fastest pace since the summer of 2008 amid the economic recovery from the pandemic-triggered recession, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The US consumer price index rose 5% from a year ago.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell for the sixth straight week as the U.S. economy reopens rapidly after being held back for months by the coronavirus pandemic. Jobless claims fell by 9,000 to 376,000 from 385,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

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