BSE Mid-Cap, Small-Cap indices outperform Sensex

Key benchmark indices were trading with small gains, close to their intraday high in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 72.99 points or 0.27% at 27,330.63. The Nifty 50 index was up 17.50 points or 0.21% at 8,434.50.

After swinging between gains and losses near the flat line in initial trade amid mixed Asian cues, key indices hovered near intraday high after consolidating gains.

Investors continued to mop up side counters. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.47%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.43%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,382 shares rose and 1,045 shares declined. A total of 175 shares were unchanged.

Auto stocks witnessed a mixed trend. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) (down 0.63%), Eicher Motors (down 0.3%), Hero MotoCorp (down 0.91%), and Bajaj Auto (down 0.12%) declined. Ashok Leyland (up 0.35%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.28%), and TVS Motor Company (up 0.74%) gained.

Some players in the auto industry reportedly hope for quick implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which has been pushed back to 1 July 2017 for now. The industry also expects simplification of taxes and a reduction to drive up sales of new cars in the upcoming budget 2017-18. They expect the government to push infrastructure investment even further.

Telecom stocks gained. Bharti Airtel (up 2.47%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.33%) Reliance Communications (RCom) (up 0.63%) and Idea Cellular (up 2.37%) gained.

Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 1.93%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

Gail (India) rose 2.75% after the company announced that a meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 25 January 2017, to consider issuance of bonus shares and fund raising by issuance of bonds on private placement basis. The announcement was made during market hours today, 19 January 2017.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed. The Dow Industrial Average yesterday, 18 January 2017, closed at the lowest level of 2017, marking a fourth straight day in the red for the blue-chip gauge, but the broader stock market managed modest gains. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said she expects rate hikes a few times a year until the end of 2019.

Among economic data in US, industrial output accelerated last month at its strongest pace in two years. The housing-market index from the National Association of Homebuilders showed that builder sentiment slipped in January after notching its highest reading of the business cycle in December. Despite the drop, the January number was the second-highest reading of the cycle.

Wall Street trading over the past several days has been subdued as investors await signs that the stock-market rally that followed President-elect Donald Trump's November election victory, supported by his campaign promises to increase fiscal spending, cut taxes and roll back regulations, is based in reality and underpinned by solid corporate quarterly results.

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