Market edges higher in early trade

Key benchmark indices edged higher in early trade as firmness in Asian stocks boosted sentiment. At 9:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 218.78 points or 0.89% at 24,936.77. The Nifty 50 index was up 68.95 points or 0.92% at 7,579.15. Auto and banking stocks led gains on the bourses.

The broad market depicted strength. There were more than five gainers for every loser on BSE. 1,085 shares rose and 202 shares fell. A total of 60 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.8%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.85%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

In overseas markets, Asian stocks rose buoyed by gains on Wall Street on Friday, 11 March 2016, and firmer crude oil prices. The Bank of Japan (BOJ)'s two-day policy meeting begins today, 14 March 2016. The BOJ is seen holding policy rate steady after adopting negative interest rates at its meeting in late January. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite rose 2.58% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.33%. Japan's Nikkei Average gained 2.02%. US stocks jumped on Friday, 11 March 2016, in a rally largely fueled by a rebound in oil prices. The US Federal Reserve's crucial two-day monetary policy meeting begins tomorrow, 15 March 2016. Federal Reserve officials are likely to hold short-term interest rates steady at its policy meeting amid uncertainties about global financial markets and global growth. The Fed in December 2015 raised its benchmark federal-funds rate from near zero to a range between 0.25% and 0.5%.

IT stocks gained. Tech Mahindra (up 0.76%), HCL Technologies (up 0.68%), TCS (up 0.82%), and Infosys (up 0.59%) gained.

Wipro gained 0.11% after the company announced that it has won a multi-year contract from NRGi, one of the top 5 utility providers in Denmark. As part of the contract, Wipro will develop a new IT platform to transform the utility company's CRM, billing and service bureau operations. The announcement was made before market hours today, 14 March 2016.

On macro data front, the data announced after market hours on Friday, 11 March 2016 showed that industrial production declined for the third straight month, registering a fall of 1.5% in January 2016 over January 2015. The output of the manufacturing sector declined 2.8% in January 2016, contributing to the decline in industrial production. Meanwhile, the mining sector output improved 1.2%, while the electricity generation also galloped 6.6% in January 2016.

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