Sensex rises 135 pts, Nifty above 16,550; July WPI at 11.16%

The benchmark indices were trading firm in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 135.43 points or 0.24% at 55,572.72. The Nifty 50 index gained 26.40 points or 0.16% at 16,555.50.

The S&P BSE Sensex hit a record high of 55,680.75 while the Nifty index hit an all-time high of 16,585.45 in mid-morning trade.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.12% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index lost 0.46%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,123 shares rose and 2,026 shares fell. A total of 134 shares were unchanged.

Economic Data:

India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale price Index (WPI) eased to 11.16% year-on-year in July 2021, from 12.07% in the previous month and steeply above (-0.25%) in July 2020.

The high rate of inflation in July 2021 is primarily due to low base effect and rise in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas; mineral oils; manufactured products like basic metals; food products; textiles; chemicals and chemical products etc compared with the corresponding month of the previous year.

Coronavirus Update:

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide stood at 20,72,07,710 with 43,62,232 deaths. India reported 3,81,947 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,31,642 deaths while 3,14,11,924 patients have been discharged, according to the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India.

Derivatives:

The NSE's India VIX, a gauge of market's expectation of volatility over the near term, jumped 3.84% to 13.49. The Nifty 26 August 2021 futures were trading at 16,548.90, at a discount of 6.60 points as compared with the spot at 16,555.50.

The Nifty option chain for 26 August 2021 expiry showed maximum Call OI of 26.7 lakh contracts at the 16,500 strike price. Maximum Put OI of 38.3 lakh contracts was seen at 16,000 strike price.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index rose 1.27% to 6,774. The index has added 1.97% in two sessions.

Gujarat State Petronet (up 3.99%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) (up 2.59%), Reliance Industries (RIL) (up 2.05%), Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (up 1.91%) and Gujarat Gas (up 1.14%) were the major gainers in the Oil & Gas segment.

Stocks in Spotlight:

HCL Technologies rose 0.51%. The company announced that Rogers Communications has selected the company to expand support of operational stability excellence in business and operational support systems and corporate IT systems.

Greaves Cotton skid 3.09%. The firm said that Ampere Vehicle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, will acquire 26% stake in MLR Auto, a manufacturer of electric three-wheelers (3W), for Rs 18.81 crore. MLR Auto, established in February 2009, is in the business that includes design, development, manufacture, marketing, and sale of L5 three-wheelers as described by the standards prescribed by Automotive Research Association of India. The company reported a turnover of Rs 14.34 crore for FY20.

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