Cement stocks advance

Key benchmark indices continued to trade firm with modest gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 165 points or 0.5% at 32,925.44. The Nifty 50 index advanced 42.80 points or 0.42% at 10,160.85. Key indices started the session on a positive note buoyed by positive Asian markets. Later, indices continued to hover with modest gains so far. Market sentiment was positive on bargain hunting after previous three sessions of slide.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.55%, outperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.48%, underperforming the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,432 shares rose and 872 shares declined. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Stocks of telecom and telecom tower infrastructure companies were mixed. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 4.9%), Bharti Infratel (up 2.38%) and MTNL (up 0.94%) gained. Reliance Communications (down 1.48%), Bharti Airtel (down 0.95%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.96%) declined.

Cement stocks advanced. ACC (up 1.62%), Ambuja Cements (up 1.36%), Grasim Industries (up 0.42%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.08%) edged higher. Shree Cement (down 0.31%) edged lower.

NMDC was up 1.14% at Rs 123.70. The company said that it has fixed price of lump iron ore at Rs 2,300 per ton and price of fine iron ore at Rs 2,060 per ton with effect from 3 November 2017. The prices were kept unchanged with respect to last month's prices. The announcement was made during market hours today, 16 November 2017.

Seamec hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 167.45 after the company said its board of directors approved draft scheme of arrangement between promoter, HAL Offshore and the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 November 2017.

On the macro front, the changes in the rates of Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect from 15 November 2017. A press release to this effect was issued by the government after market hours yesterday, 15 November 2017. In the 23rd meeting held on the 10 November 2017, the GST Council had recommended major relief in GST rates on certain goods. On 178 items, the GST rate has been brought down from 28% to 18%.

Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher, shrugging off the softer lead from Wall Street. US stocks closed lower yesterday, 15 November 2017 as the current bull market showed signs of slowing down. The International Energy Agency (IEA) slashed its outlook for oil demand growth by 100,000 barrels per day for 2017 and 2018.

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