Key benchmarks hit fresh intraday high

Market displayed firmness as key benchmark indices extended intraday gains and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 192.88 points or 0.57% at 33,819.85. The Nifty 50 index was up 62.65 points or 0.61% at 10,394.25. Strength in other Asian stocks and a bounce in US stock futures boosted investors sentiment in the domestic market.

After opening on a dull note, the market moved higher and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Indices turned range bound in mid-morning trade. Indices extended intraday gains and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade.

The Sensex rose 193.03 points, or 0.57% at the day's high of 33,820 in early afternoon trade, its highest intraday level since 15 March 2018. The index fell 48.06 points, or 0.14% at the day's low of 33,578.91 in early trade. The Nifty rose 63.05 points, or 0.61% at the day's high of 10,394.65 in early afternoon trade, its highest intraday level since 15 March 2018. The index fell 3.10 points, or 0.03% at the day's low of 10,328.50 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.27%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.55%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,623 shares rose and 867 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Auto major Tata Motors was down 1.20%. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UK's largest automotive manufacturer, reported retail sales of 614,309 vehicles for the financial year ended 31 March 2018, up 1.7% on the prior year. Retail sales for March were 83,732 and for the fourth quarter were 172,709 vehicles, down 7.8% and 3.8%, respectively, primarily due to lower UK sales and to a lesser extent lower sales in Europe. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 9 April 2018.

Reliance Infrastructure was up 0.18% at Rs 448.55. The company said it received purchase order of Rs 1081 crore from Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) for the prestigious engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for Common Services System, Structure & Components (SSC) package and allied civil works of Unit -3 and 4 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project at Tirunelveli District in Tamil Nadu. The contract entails design, engineering, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of SSC package and allied civil works on EPC basis. The project is to be commissioned in 56 months. The contract value is inclusive of taxes and duties and also contains imported component of US$ 23.2 million. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 9 April 2018.

Cement shares declined. ACC (down 0.81%), Ambuja Cements (down 0.52%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.43%), edged lower.

Grasim Industries down 0.03%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Most telecom shares declined. Bharti Airtel (down 0.69%), Reliance Communications (down 0.41%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.31%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.2%), edged lower. MTNL was up 0.50%.

Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 0.10%.

Overseas, stocks in Asia were trading higher as investors looked past the trade worries that fueled Friday's declines on Wall Street. The stock moves came after President Donald Trump reportedly said in a tweet Sunday he expects China to lower trade barriers with the US acting reciprocally on taxes.

A bounce in US stock futures also boosted sentiment across Asian markets. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could jump 191 points at the opening bell today, 9 April 2018.

Meanwhile, some media reported that US forces had struck at sites in Syria, presumably in retaliation for an alleged chemical attack on civilians there.

China has tightened restrictions on exports to North Korea of items with potential dual use in weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms. The ban on exports of potential dual-use items, including software, machinery and chemicals, is in line with UN Security Council resolution number 2375. That resolution was passed in September.

US stocks closed sharply lower on Friday, 6 April 2018, led by a selloff in industrials and financials, as investors continued to fret over an escalating China-US trade fight.

The selling pressure followed Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech in which he backed a patient approach to raising interest rates. The Fed chairman said going slow on rate hikes has also reduced the risk of an unforeseen blow to the economy that might have pushed the economy into recession.

Investors also digested a weaker-than-expected jobs report that showed that wage growth remains tepid. The US economy added just 103,000 new jobs in March. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1%.

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