More than three gainers for every loser on BSE

Key benchmark indices pared initial gains and held steady in morning trade. At 10:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex rose 191.41 points or 0.56% at 34,197.17. The Nifty 50 index gained 51.75 points or 0.49% at 10,506.70. Firmness in Asian stocks supported gains on the bourses.

The market opened higher on firm global cues. Key indices held steady in morning trade after paring initial gains.

Among secondary indices, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.22%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1.45%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was quite strong. There were more than three gainers for every loser. On the BSE, 1,830 shares rose and 478 shares dropped. A total of 93 shares were unchanged.

Capital goods stocks gained on renewed buying. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) was up 0.85%, Havells India 0.31%, Bharat Electronics 0.1%, Thermax 1.01%, and Siemens rose 0.66%. ABB India declined 0.45%.

L&T rose 1.36% after L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company signed a major field development engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Al Dhafra Petroleum Operations Company, Abu Dhabi, UAE, with a value in excess of Rs 2200 crore. The announcement was made during market hours today, 12 February 2018.

Al Dhafra Petroleum is a joint venture between ADNOC and Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and GS Energy, which is represented by Korean Abu Dhabi Oil Consortium (KADOC).

Realty stocks also gained. DLF gained 0.61%, D B Realty 5%, Sobha 0.79%, Indiabulls Real Estate 4.34%, Unitech 0.26%, NBCC 0.19%, Housing Development & Infrastructure (HDIL) 2.61%, and Oberoi Realty advanced 1.15%. Godrej Properties shed 0.41%.

Cadila Healthcare rose 3.33% after the company said that its Moraiya facility successfully completed US drug regulator's inspection. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 9 February 2018. Cadila Healthcare announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspected the company's Moraiya facility in Gujarat from 5 February to 9 February 2018. At the end of the inspection, no observation (483) was issued.

On the macroeconomic data front, the government will announce inflation data based on consumer price index (CPI) for January 2018 after market hours today, 12 February 2018. Consumer prices rose 5.21% in December 2017 over December 2016.

The government will also announce industrial production data for December 2017 after market hours today, 12 February 2018. India's industrial production rose sharply by 8.4% in November 2017 over November 2016.

Meanwhile, the provisional figures of direct tax collections up to January 2018 showed that net collections are at Rs 6.95 lakh crore which is 19.3% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year. The net direct tax collections represent 69.2% of the revised estimates of direct taxes for FY 2018 (Rs 10.05 lakh crore). Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 13.3% to Rs 8.21 lakh crore during April 2017 to January 2018. Refunds amounting to Rs 1.26 lakh crore have been issued during April 2017 to January 2018.

Overseas, Asian stocks gained after a late-day rally on Wall Street on Friday, 9 February 2018, as investors fretted about the risks from looming US inflation data. Japanese markets are closed today in observance of a public holiday.

Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could jump 142 points at the open today, 12 February 2018.

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