Market retracts from day's high

Key benchmark indices pared gains after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 288.61 points or 1.13% at 25771.13. The Nifty 50 index was up 91.15 points or 1.18% at 7,822.95.

The BSE Sensex rose 371.99 points, or 1.46%, at the day's high of 25,854.51 in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty 50 index rose 112.55 points, or 1.46%, at the day's high of 7,844.35 in mid-afternoon trade.

Overseas cues were positive. European market edged higher on the back of sharp gains on Wall Street in the wake of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve's October policy meeting overnight. Asian stocks edged higher. US stocks rallied yesterday, 18 November 2015, after minutes from last month's Federal Reserve meeting showed most officials anticipated economic conditions could be strong enough for a December interest-rate increase. The Fed has kept its benchmark for short-term rates near zero since late 2008.

Closer home, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,664 shares rose and 897 shares fell. A total of 194 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.92%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.03%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

Metal shares were in demand. Bhushan Steel (up 4.56%), JSW Steel (up 1.59%), Vedanta (up 1.40%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.30%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.24%), Tata Steel (up 1.22%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.17%), Hindalco Industries (up 0.98%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.82%) and NMDC (up 0.66%), edged higher. Hindustan Copper was down 0.64%.

Auto stocks surged. Bajaj Auto (up 3.21%), Maruti Suzuki (India) (up 2.29%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.25%), Eicher Motors (up 1.73%), Escorts (up 1.57%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.31%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.06%) and Tata Motors (up 0.46%), edged higher.

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) was up 1.90%. The company after market hours yesterday, 18 November 2015, said it has clocked over 10 lakh units in retail sales during the festive season this year. The 10-lakh units sales landmark was achieved during the 35-day festive period starting with the Navratras, a 11% growth over the corresponding period last year, HMCL said in a statement.

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