Firmness prevailed on the bourses in mid-afternoon trade on steady buying demand in index pivotals. At 14:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 368.16 points or 0.97% at 38,316.04. The Nifty 50 index was up 87.35 points or 0.76% at 11,558.10. Oil & gas stocks gained. IT stocks saw mixed trend. Positive global stocks boosted sentiment on the domestic bourses.
The market sentiment was also boosted by data showing that domestic and foreign funds, both, were net buyers of Indian stocks on Friday, 17 August 2018. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 147.31 crore on Friday, 17 August 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 151.89 crore on Friday, 17 August 2018, as per provisional data.
Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade on positive Asian stocks. Stocks extended gains in morning trade. Key benchmark indices held firm in in mid-morning trade. Indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.07%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.26%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,476 shares rose and 1,172 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.
Oil & gas stocks gained. Among shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) companies, Reliance Industries (up 2.43%), ONGC (up 3.07%) and Oil India (up 1.05%) edged higher.
Among PSU OMCs, HPCL (up 1.55%) and BPCL (up 0.52%) gained. Indian Oil Corporation (down 0.31%) fell.
IT stocks saw mixed trend. Wipro (up 2.02%), TCS (up 0.21%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.48%), Hexaware Technologies (up 1.56%) and Mphasis (up 0.99%) rose. HCL Technologies (down 1.13%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.5%) and MindTree (down 0.24%) fell.
IT major Infosys lost 3.21% after the company said that its board has accepted the resignation of M D Ranganath as the chief financial officer and key managerial personnel of the company. Ranganath will continue in his current position as chief financial officer till 16 November 2018. The board will immediately commence the search for the next chief financial officer. The announcement was made on Saturday, 18 August 2018.
Overseas, European stocks were trading higher, with investors awaited developments on proposed US-China trade talks later this week. Most Asian stocks rose following a higher finish on Wall Street last Friday.
China and the United States will hold lower-level trade talks this month, offering hope that they might resolve an escalating tariff war. Reports suggested the talks in Washington would take place on Aug. 21 and 22, just before $16 billion in new US tariffs on Chinese goods take effect. The talks could set the stage for a summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in November.
US stocks rose on Friday on strength in technology hardware shares and optimism for a resolution in America's trade dispute with China. On the US data front, the University of Michigan said its consumer-sentiment index in August fell to 95.3, down from 97.9 in July, the lowest level in 11 months.
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