Key benchmarks hit fresh intraday high

Key benchmark indices extended early gains and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 158.16 points or 0.47% at 34,127.80. The Nifty 50 index was up 46.25 points or 0.44% at 10,551.05. The Sensex was trading above the psychological 34,000 mark after opening above that level. Positive global cues boosted sentiment.

The Sensex and the Nifty, both, hit record high levels in morning trade. The Sensex rose 205.57 points, or 0.61% at the day's high of 34,175.21 in morning trade, its record high level. The index rose 51.20 points, or 0.15% at the day's low of 34,020.84 in early trade. The Nifty rose 58 points, or 0.55% at the day's high of 10,562.80 in morning trade, its record high level. The index rose 17.50 points, or 0.17% at the day's low of 10,522.30 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.61%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.96%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,731 shares rose and 723 shares fell. A total of 109 shares were unchanged.

Most metal shares rose. Bhushan Steel (up 3.58%), JSW Steel (up 3.25%), NMDC (up 1.78%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.65%), Tata Steel (up 1.53%), Vedanta (up 1.39%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.14%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.04%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.3%) and Steel Authority of India (up 0.15%), edged higher. Jindal Steel & Power was down 0.25%.

Meanwhile, copper price edged higher in the global commodities markets. High Grade Copper for March 2018 delivery was currently up 0.21% at $3.27 per pound on the COMEX.

FMCG shares were mixed. Bajaj Corp (up 1.14%), Britannia Industries (up 0.84%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.82%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.50%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.42%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.32%) and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.31%), edged higher. Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.2%), Nestle India (down 0.26%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.28%), Dabur India (down 0.45%) and Marico (down 0.45%), edged lower.

Overseas, most Asian shares rose as US jobs data pointed to firm economic growth. US stock indices closed at all-time highs on Thursday, while the Dow topped the 25,000 milestone for the first time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% to finish at 25,075.13. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.2%.

The US ADP National Employment Report on Thursday showed US private employers added 250,000 jobs in December, the biggest monthly increase since March. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims, a tool to measure layoffs, rose 3,000 to 250,000 in the seven days ended 30 December 2017, the Labor Department said Thursday. The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, fell 37,000 to 1.91 million.

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