Power generation stocks advance

Firmness prevailed on the bourses as stocks held onto gains in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 179.15 points or 0.57% at 31,771.18. The Nifty 50 index was up 72.10 points or 0.73% at 9,960.80. Today's gainers were led by index heavyweights Infosys and Reliance Industries (RIL). Power generation stocks logged across the board gains. FMCG stocks saw mixed trend.

Domestic stocks edged higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. Key benchmark indices extended early gains and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Indices held firm later during the session.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.79%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 1.04%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,680 shares rose and 903 shares fell. A total of 106 shares were unchanged.

Power generation stocks logged across the board gains. NTPC (up 3.02%), Tata Power Company (up 1.96%), CESC (up 3.18%), Torrent Power (up 1.16%), Reliance Power (up 0.37%), NHPC (up 0.03%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 4.45%), Adani Power (up 1.15%) and JSW Energy (up 1.18%) edged higher. Reliance Infrastructure (down 0.55%) fell.

State-run coal-mining giant Coal India was up 1.12% at Rs 276.05.

Shares of state-run power transmission major Power Grid Corporation of India shed 0.02%.

Shares of state-run power sector finance firms also moved higher. Rural Electrification Corporation was up 0.58%. Power Finance Corporation was up 0.16%.

FMCG stocks saw mixed trend. Godrej Consumer Products (down 1.11%), Britannia Industries (down 0.61%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.08%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.11%), Dabur India (down 0.28%), Marico (down 0.3%) and Tata Global Beverages (down 0.02%) fell.

Hindustan Unilever (up 1.1%), Nestle India (up 0.95%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (up 0.86%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.42%) and Bajaj Corp (up 1.85%) rose.

Granules India rose 3.23% after the company said that US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) to the Granules OmniChem facility, a 50:50 joint venture company of Granules India and Ajinimoto OmniChem N.V., located at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, India. This facility was inspected by USFDA in December 2016 and there were seven observations during the inspection. This facility currently manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) intermediates. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 6 October 2017.

Overseas, most European stocks were trading lower as investors continue to eye developments in Spain and prep for what could be a volatile ahead of the September non-farm payroll report from the US Department of Labor following September's devastating hurricane season. Meanwhile, lawmakers in Madrid continue to grapple with the country's constitutional crisis sparked by last weekend's independence referendum in Catalonia.

Asian stocks followed their US counterparts higher after a slew of data and comments from Federal Reserve officials helped ratchet up bets that the US economy is strong enough to withstand higher interest rates. Stock markets in China and South Korea remained closed.

US stock-market indexes posted solid gains and closed at all-time highs yesterday, 5 October 2017 fueled by gains in technology stocks including Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon.com. After a House vote, the Senate approved a budget bill yesterday, 5 October 2017. Republicans passed tax cuts through what is known as budget reconciliation, which requires just a simple majority in the Senate. Republicans currently control the Senate with 52 seats.

Meanwhile, economic data released yesterday, 5 October 2017 pointed to underlying strength in the economy despite weather-related disruptions, with the trade deficit narrowing in August and jobless claims falling more than expected last week. The US trade deficit dropped 2.7% in August to $42.4 billion from $43.6 billion in July. Separately, initial jobless claims, a tool to measure US layoffs, fell by 12,000 to 260,000 at the end of September. The number of people already collecting unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, rose very slightly to 1.94 million.

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