Strong market breadth

Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove. At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 152.62 points or 0.43% at 35,810.48. The Nifty 50 index was up 44.35 points or 0.41% at 10,817. Telecom stocks rose. Cement stocks saw mixed trend.

Trading for the week began on a firm note as key benchmark indices saw gap-up opening on positive Asian stocks.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.78%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.92%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1421 shares rose and 570 shares fell. A total of 80 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks gained as investors set aside concerns about escalating trade tensions to prepare for the latest earnings season after signs of continued economic strength. US stocks closed solidly higher on Friday, 6 July 2018 after a read on the labor market came in stronger than expected, supporting the thesis that economic fundamentals remain healthy despite trade-war anxieties.

On the economic data front, the US created 213,000 new jobs in June, while the readings for May and April were also revised higher. Separately, the unemployment rate rose to 4% from 3.8%. Meanwhile, the nation's trade deficit shrank 6.6% in May to a 19-month low.

On the political front, the Trump administration officially imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports at midnight Eastern Time, and Beijing implemented tariffs on the same value in US goods, as promised.

Back home, telecom stocks rose. Idea Cellular (up 1.65%), MTNL (up 1.57%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.67%), Bharti Airtel (up 0.15%) and Reliance Communications (up 1.11%) rose.

Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 0.75%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

Cement stocks saw mixed trend. Ambuja Cements (up 0.31%) and ACC (up 0.63%) rose. UltraTech Cement (down 0.94%) and Shree Cement (down 0.11%) fell.

Grasim Industries was off 0.34%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Goa Carbon rose 0.04%. Goa Carbon announced that the operations at its Goa Plant located at St. Jose de Areal, Salcete-Goa, has been temporarily shut down for regular maintenance work from 6 July 2018. There would not be any material financial impact due to the temporary shut-down of the unit on account of sufficient inventory of finished material. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 6 July 2018.

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