Indices open on firm note; breadth strong

Key benchmark indices are trading firm in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 112.88 points or 0.19% at 58,359.97. The Nifty 50 index was up 38.10 points or 0.22% at 17,418.10. Asian stocks are trading lower.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.61%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.62%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1913 shares rose and 634 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

On the macro front, India's exports rose by 45.76% to $33.28 billion in August, as against $22.83 billion in the same month last year, according to commerce ministry data released on Tuesday. Imports during the month increased by 51.72% to $47.09 billion, the data showed. Trade deficit in August widened to $13.81 billion as against $8.2 billion in the same month last year.

Stocks in news:

HCL Technologies slipped 0.44%. HCL Technologies and Finastra, the largest pure-play software vendor that serves the entire financial services industry, have expanded their partnership to drive digital transformation across South Korea and Taiwan.

Shree Cement rose 1.48%. The board of directors of the company has approved setting up of an integrated cement plant at Village Gothra in Nawalgarh Tehsil of Rajasthan and solar power plants at various locations to meet the captive requirement of the cement plants of the company.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) gained 10%. Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala through investment arm Rare Enterprises bought 50 lakh shares in ZEE at an average price of Rs 220.44 per share in a block deal on the NSE on Tuesday. BOFA SECURITIES EUROPE SA also bought 48.65 lakh shares at an average price of Rs 236.20 per share.

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) rose 0.87%. Credit rating agency CRISIL Ratings has upgraded its rating from CRISIL A with "stable" outlook to CRISIL A+ with "Positive" outlook on the Long Term Bank Facilities and from "CRISIL A2+" to "CRISIL A1+" for Short Term Bank Facilities of the company.

Dynacons Systems & Solutions jumped 10%. The company won an e-governance contract worth Rs 7.46 crore for development & management of GMDMA website, disaster management app and command & control system along with comprehensive maintenance of automatic weather stations, flow level sensor from the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks are trading lower on Wednesday following losses overnight on Wall Street, with investors reacted to the release of Chinese economic data.

Retail sales growth in China slumped heavily in August further, accentuating the slowdown in the Chinese economy, the latest economic data shows. Retail sales grew by a mere 2.5% in August compared with a year earlier, way down from the 8.5% increase in July. Industrial production grew by 5.3% in August from a year earlier after a 6.4% gain in July.

U.S. stock indexes closed lower Tuesday, giving up gains earlier in the session after a better-than-feared inflation reading and falling back into their September doldrums.

US consumer prices rose a lower-than-expected 0.3% in August, the smallest increase in seven months and a hopeful sign that inflation pressures may be cooling. The August gain fell from a 0.5% increase in July and a 0.9% surge in June, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. It was the smallest increase since a similar 0.3% rise in January.

Back home, key indices ended a volatile trading session with small gains on Tuesday. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 69.33 points or 0.12% at 58,247.09. The Nifty 50 index gained 24.70 points or 0.14% at 17,380, its record closing high.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,649.60 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 310.31 crore in the Indian equity market on 14 September, provisional data showed.

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