Market nudges higher in early trade

Local stocks drifted higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 134.72 points or 0.36% at 37,693.63. The Nifty 50 index was up 34.35 points or 0.3% at 11,336.15.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.39%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.49%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 786 shares rose and 313 shares fell. A total of 51 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks edged higher on Friday as investors looked to whether negotiators from USA-China can clinch a deal to avert the hike.

Wall Street's main indexes fell on Thursday ahead of critical trade negotiations between the United States and China, though they pared losses significantly after US President Donald Trump said reaching a deal this week was possible.

Top US and Chinese trade negotiators concluded the first of two days of talks on Thursday to rescue a trade deal that is close to collapsing as Washington prepares to go ahead with plans to hike tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of goods imported from China.

In US economic data, the U.S. trade deficit widened in March from February. In March, the trade deficit edged up 1.5% to $50 billion from a revised $49.3 billion in February, the government said Thursday.

Back home, HCL Technologies lost 3.3% after net income fell 1.7% to Rs 2,568 crore on 1.9% increase in revenue to Rs 15,990 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q3 December 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 May 2019.

Reliance Industries rose 1.27%. Reliance Industries said that its subsidiary, Reliance Brands (RBL), and C Banner International Holdings, a Hong Kong-listed company, signed a definitive agreement for Reliance Brands to acquire 100% shares of Hamleys Global Holdings, the owner of the Hamleys brand, from C Banner International, for a cash consideration of GBP 67.96 million. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 9 May 2019.

Founded in 1760, Hamleys has over 250 years of celebrated history of being the oldest and largest toy shop in the world. Globally, Hamleys has 167 stores across 18 countries. In India, Reliance has the master franchise for Hamleys, and currently operates 88 stores across 29 cities. This acquisition will catapult Reliance Brands to be a dominant player in the global toy retail industry.

Voltas dropped 5.41%. On a consolidated basis, Voltas' net profit fell 27.01% to Rs 141.74 crore on 1.50% increase in net sales to Rs 2,051.63 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 9 May 2019.

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