Key indices languish near flat line

The stock market continued to languish around the flat line in the morning trade in the absence of any major global or domestic cues. At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 29.17 points or 0.09% at 34,086. The Nifty 50 index advanced 2.15 points or 0.02% at 10,532.85.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.56%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.9%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

Overseas, Asian markets remain closed due to New Year Holiday. Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed slightly in December. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released on Sunday dipped to 51.6 in December, down from 51.8 in November. The 50-point level divides growth from contraction on a monthly basis. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a three-month high of 55 from 54.8 in November.

US stocks closed lower on Friday, 29 December 2017 as selling pressure accelerated towards the close of the session. US markets remain closed today, 1 January 2018 on account of New Year's Day.

Closer home, the breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,733 shares advanced and 604 shares declined. A total of 105 shares were unchanged.

Realty stocks advanced. Unitech (up 15.56%), D B Realty (up 9.97%), Oberoi Realty (up 2.33%), HDIL (up 1.68%), Godrej Properties (up 1.57%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.32%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.16%) and DLF (up 0.73%) edged higher. Sobha (down 1.14%) dropped.

Telecom stocks declined. Reliance Communications (down 4.47%), Bharti Infratel (down 1.39%) and Idea Cellular (down 1.2%) dropped. Bharti Airtel (up 0.56%) edged higher.

IndusInd Bank was up 0.01% at Rs 1,650.45 after the bank said it has concluded a $500 million syndicated term loan facility from a group of overseas lenders. The tenor of the facility is 3 years and will be used for general banking purposes. This fund-raising, along with the funds raised during this financial year from multilateral institutions, viz., ADB and OPIC, will help the bank in expanding its lending to clients. The announcement was made during market hours today, 1 January 2018.

L&T advanced 0.61% at Rs 1,264.60 after the company said that its wholly owned subsidiary L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering has secured a major EPC contract from HPCL, Visakhapatnam refinery, and an extension to an ongoing contract for Reliance Industries Jamnagar, both adding to about Rs 2100 crore. The announcement was made before market hours today, 1 January 2018.

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