Market drifts higher in early trade

Domestic stocks nudged higher in early trade as buying demand resumed in index pivotals after a two-day slide. At 9:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 164.99 points or 0.46% at 35,678.70. The Nifty 50 index was up 41.35 points or 0.39% at 10,713.60.

On the macro front, the Nikkei Services PMI data for December 2018 will be announced today, 4 January 2019.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.24%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 728 shares rose and 306 shares fell. A total of 39 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, most Asian stocks fell on anxiety about global growth. US stocks declined yesterday, 3 January 2019 after a factory gauge dropped the most in a decade and Apple cut its sales outlook.

Back home, HDFC rose 0.84%. HDFC announced that during the quarter ended 31 December 2018, it assigned loans amounting to Rs 6959 crore compared to nil in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Individual loans sold in the preceding 12 months amounted to Rs 22732 crore compared to Rs 12078 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Income from dividend for the quarter ended 31 December 2018 was Rs 2 crore compared to Rs 151 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year (which was inclusive of Rs 141 crore from HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company).

During the quarter ended 31 December 2018, there were no proceeds on account of sale of investments in subsidiary/associate companies. In the corresponding quarter of the previous year, HDFC earned a gross income of Rs 5257 crore from the stake sale in the initial public offer of HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 January 2019.

Power Grid Corporation of India rose 0.41%. Power Grid Corporation of India said that its board approved implementation of 500MVAr Thyristor Controlled Reactor at Kurukshetra 400kV bus at an estimated cost of Rs 267.33 crore with commissioning schedule of 30 months from the date of investment approval. The board also approved Reliable Communication Scheme under Central Sector for Western Region at an estimated cost of Rs 112.12 crore with commissioning schedule of 36 months from the date of investment approval. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 January 2019.

Vascon Engineers gained 4.05%. Vascon Engineers said it concluded two transactions worth Rs 50 crore. The first transaction comprised sale of amenity plot along with school building to Infraschool Services Guragon for a total consideration of Rs 36.50 crore. The second transaction involved sale of land situated at Village Balewadi, Baner along with all other joint venture partners to Keywest Realty for a consideration of Rs 100 crore. Vascon's share in this sale is Rs 13.10 crore. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 3 January 2019.

Vascon Engineers' managing director, Siddharth Vasudevan, said that the proceeds of these non-core asset sale transactions will ensure adequate liquidity for the firm's operations in line with the company strategy.

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