Market extends gains

Strong buying demand in index pivotals propelled the key indices to fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 423.08 points or 1.14% at 37,477.18. The Nifty 50 index was up 125.50 points or 1.12% at 11,293.55. Telecom stocks saw mixed trend.

Local stocks nudged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. Key benchmark indices extended gains in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.99%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.17%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1648 shares rose and 670 shares fell. A total of 143 shares were unchanged.

L&T (up 3.78%), ICICI Bank (up 3.21%), Reliance Industries (up 2.1%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.93%) and Vedanta (up 1.75%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Telecom stocks saw mixed trend. Bharti Airtel (up 3.81%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.57%) rose. Vodafone Idea (down 0.15%), MTNL (down 1.65%), and Reliance Communications (down 2.6%) fell.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 1.06%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

On the macro front, industrial production data for January 2019 will be unveiled today, 12 March 2019. India's industrial production growth accelerated to 2.4% year-on-year in December 2018 from 0.3% in the previous month.

The inflation rate for February 2019, will also be announced today, 12 March 2019. Annual consumer inflation declined to 2.05% in January 2019 from a downwardly revised 2.11% in December.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher on the back of a strong performance in U.S. markets overnight. U.S. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak to close higher Monday as technology shares rallied, offsetting some of the gloom from Boeing Co.'s woes after the second deadly crash in about six months involving the company's 737 Max 8 aircraft.

In US data, U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose in January. Retail sales rose 0.2%. Data for December was revised down to show retail sales dropping 1.6% instead of tumbling 1.2% as previously reported.

In Europe, British Prime Minister Theresa May managed to secure last minute support from the EU for her Brexit deal before it goes to a crucial vote on Tuesday.

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