Sensex, Nifty trim gains after hitting highest level in more than a week

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices trimmed gains after extending gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 157.37 points or 0.56% at 28,162.74. The gains for the Nifty 50 index were higher in percentage terms than those for the Sensex. The Nifty was currently up 54.90 points or 0.64% at 8,678.95. The Sensex and the Nifty trimmed gains after both these indices hit their highest level in more than a week. The market sentiment was positive after the minutes of the latest US Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers were in no rush to raise interest rates.

The Sensex rose 208.80 points, or 0.75% at the day's high of 28,214.17 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 9 August 2016. The index rose 71.63 points, or 0.26% at the day's low of 28,077 in early trade. The Nifty rose 66.65 points, or 0.77% at the day's high of 8,690.70 in mid-morning trade, its highest level since 9 August 2016. The index rose 21 points, or 0.24% at the day's low of 8,645.05 in early trade.

The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,472 shares rose and 718 shares fell. A total of 147 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.45%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.77%, outperforming the Sensex.

In overseas stock markets, most Asian stocks rose after minutes of the US Federal Reserve's latest meeting showed policymakers were in no rush to raise interest rates. US stocks closed slightly higher yesterday, 17 August 2016, sharply paring earlier losses, as minutes from the Federal Reserve's July meeting showed policy makers remain divided on prospects for a near-term rate increase. Stocks bounced off session lows after St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said that with US growth trending below 2%, interest rates can stay low.

Bharti Airtel rose 1.38% to Rs 350 on reports that Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) intends to acquire a stake in Thailand's Intouch Holdings and also raise its holding in Bharti Airtel's holding company Bharti Telecom to take advantage of faster growth in emerging markets. SingTel plans to acquire a 21% stake in Intouch for 1.58 billion Singapore dollar and an additional 7.39% stake in Bharti Telecom for 884 million Singapore dollar through wholly-owned subsidiaries, reports suggested. SingTel already owns a 39.78% stake in Bharti Telecom, as per reports. Bharti Telecom holds 45.09% stake in Bharti Airtel (as per the shareholding pattern as on 30 June 2016).

Realty shares edged higher. Unitech (up 2.10%), D B Realty (up 2%), Oberoi Realty (up 1.67%), Anant Raj (up 1.53%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.21%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 0.77%), Phoenix Mills (up 0.69%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 0.64%), Sunteck Realty (up 0.64%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.53%), DLF (up 0.51%), Godrej Properties (up 0.26%), Omaxe (up 0.22%) and Sobha (up 0.05%), edged higher. Peninsula Land (down 0.27%) and Parsvnath Developers (down 1.06%), edged lower.

Pharmaceutical shares were mixed. Biocon (up 3.45%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 1.30%), Alkem Laboratories (up 1.10%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.03%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.02%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.89%), Wockhardt (up 0.45%), Cipla (up 0.34%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.32%) and Lupin (up 0.12%), edged higher. IPCA Laboratories (down 0.38%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.47%), Piramal Enterprises (down 0.65%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.7%) and Strides Shasun (down 3.21%) edged lower.

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