Sensex, Nifty scale record high

Fresh buying propelled the key benchmark indices to day's high in early afternoon trade, with the Sensex and the Nifty, both, scaling record highs. At 12:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 197.70 points or 0.52% at 37,863.50. The Nifty 50 index was up 48.25 points or 0.42% at 11,437.70.

Volatility struck bourses in early trade as the key benchmark indices trimmed almost entire gains after a higher start triggered by positive Asian stocks. Stocks hovered with small gains in morning trade. Key benchmark indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.18%, underperforming the Sensex. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.58%, outperforming the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1382 shares rose and 1077 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

Tata Motors (up 2.24%), ONGC (up 2.15%), Tata Steel (up 1.15%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.12%) and Asian Paints (up 0.98%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

Reliance Industries (RIL) rose 1.14% to Rs 1,197. RIL had on 20 February 2018 said that Reliance Industrial and Investment Holdings (RIIHL), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company, had entered into an agreement with Eros International Plc. agreeing to subscribe to 5% equity stake of Eros International Plc.

RIL during market hours today, 8 August 2018 said that it has now completed the acquisition by subscribing to 31.11 lakh 'A' ordinary shares at $15 per share for cash aggregating to $46.67 million, translating to 5% equity stake on a fully diluted basis of Eros International Plc. The investment has been made by RIL directly.

Capital goods stocks saw mixed trend. ABB India (up 0.82%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.27%), L&T (up 0.63%) and Siemens (up 0.28%) rose. BEML (down 1.61%), Bharat Electronics (down 0.6%), Punj Lloyd (down 0.14%), Thermax (down 0.22%) fell.

MphasiS fell 2.99% to Rs 1,157.35 after consolidated net profit rose 8.68% to Rs 258.31 crore on 4.34% increase in net sales to Rs 1820.22 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 7 August 2018.

Separately, MphasiS announced after market hours yesterday, 7 August 2018, that its board approved a proposal for buyback of equity shares from all the existing shareholders of the company on a proportionate basis through the tender offer method at a maximum price of Rs 1,350 per equity share, aggregating to an amount not exceeding Rs 988.27 crore. The buyback offer size is Rs 988.27 crore. The board also recorded the intentions of the promoter to participate in the proposed buyback.

Overseas, most Asian equities were trading higher as investors looked past protectionism tussles and instead focused on U.S. stocks approaching fresh all-time highs. China's trade surplus narrowed to 176.96 billion yuan ($25.91 billion) in July, from a surplus of 261.9 billion yuan the previous month, official data showed Wednesday China's exports in July grew 6% from a year earlier in yuan terms, following a 3.1% increase in June. Imports for July surged 20.9% in yuan terms from a year earlier, compared with a 6% increase in June.

Trade tensions remain in focus after the Trump administration said it will impose 25% tariffs on $16 billion in Chinese imports starting on 23 August 2018. The administration already placed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese goods last month but delayed on the additional tariffs to hear from US companies.

US stocks closed higher Tuesday as investors continued to brush aside anxiety over the trade war between the US and China and instead focus on positive corporate earnings.

On the economic-data front, the latest report from the Labor Department showed there were 6.66 million job openings at the end of June, up fractionally from May's levels and the third highest in history.

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