Telecom stocks rise

Key benchmark indices were hovering a tad above the flat line in early afternoon trade. At 12:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 5.31 points or 0.02% at 32,330.72. The Nifty index was up 5.20 points or 0.05% at 10,071.60. Gains in ICICI Bank and HDFC were almost offset by losses in Infosys, TCS and HDFC Bank.

Trading for the week kicked-off on a positive note as domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade in sync with Asian stocks. Volatility hit bourses in morning trade as the key benchmark indices regained positive zone soon after erasing early gains to hit intraday low in negative zone. Stocks extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.83%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.96%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,448 shares rose and 917 shares fell. A total of 150 shares were unchanged.

FMCG stocks were mostly higher. Britannia Industries (up 7.28%), Dabur India (up 3.32%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.05%), Marico (up 1.57%), Tata Global Beverages (up 2.35%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (up 0.94%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 1.33%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.82%) rose. GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.87%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (down 0.03%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.7%), Nestle India (down 0.04%) fell.

Telecom stocks rose. Idea Cellular (up 0.86%), MTNL (up 0.77%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 2.96%) and Reliance Communications (up 1.94%) rose. Bharti Airtel (down 0.27%) fell.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 0.36%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

GTPL Hathway rose 3.55% after the company said it partnered with Nagra for the delivery of digital and interactive content directly to TV without the need of a set top box. The announcement was made after market hours on Friday, 4 August 2017.

GTPL Hathway said it is going to associate with Nagra, a digital TV division of the Kudelski Group and Samsung, to use TVkey. GTPL Hathway will be able to use TVkey which will enable it to expand its reach to purchasers of new Samsung TV sets. TVkey uses advanced technology for securing high value content and will be available at an attractive price point. It will give consumers an easy hassle free access to the premium Pay-TV content on latest Samsung TV sets without the use of a set top box and associated cables along with it.

OCL India rose 1.61% after net profit rose 10.8% to Rs 117.24 crore on 17% increase in net sales to Rs 829.31 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016. The result was announced on Saturday, 5 August 2017.

Overseas, Asian markets were trading higher after strong US hiring data bolstered optimism about economic growth in the world's largest economy. US stocks closed higher on Friday, 4 August 2017 with the Dow ending at a record for an eighth straight session following a read on the labor market that came in above expectations, a sign that current valuations may be supported by current economic activity.

On the economic front, the July payrolls report showed the US created 209,000 new jobs in July. The government raised its estimate of new jobs created in June to 231,000 from 222,000. Separately, the unemployment rate moved to 4.3% from 4.4%, retouching a 16-year low. The data is seen as crucial for the Federal Reserve as it decides whether to raise interest rates one more time this year.

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