Strong market breadth

Firmness prevailed on the bourses in mid-morning trade. At 11:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 119.76 points or 0.32% at 38,138.07. The Nifty 50 index was up 25.90 points or 0.23% at 11,502.85. Cement stocks gained on bargain hunting after recent slide.

Stocks drifted higher in early trade as buying resumed in index pivotals after recent slide. Key benchmark indices nudged higher in morning trade amid volatility.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.45%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1463 shares rose and 801 shares fell. A total of 124 shares were unchanged.

Cement stocks gained on bargain hunting after recent slide. Ambuja Cements (up 1.03%), ACC (up 0.87%), UltraTech Cement (up 1.54%) and Shree Cement (up 0.29%) gained.

Grasim Industries was up 0.46%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Housing and Urban Development Corporation rose 8.54% after net profit rose 105.31% to Rs 333.38 crore on 73.42% increase in total income to Rs 1614.09 crore in Q1 June 2018 over Q1 June 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 5 September 2018.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading lower amid ongoing trade-related concerns. US stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday as tech stocks dropped after Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. executives testified on Capitol Hill about online misinformation.

The US and Canada are reportedly set to restart high-stakes efforts to resolve differences as they work toward recasting the North American Free Trade Agreement.

On the US data front, the trade deficit jumped almost 10% in July, hitting the highest level in five months and keeping the US on pace to record the largest annual gap in a decade.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News