Key benchmark indices surged in early trade on strong cues from Asian and US markets. At 9:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 338.34 points or 1.19% at 28,845.76. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 96.20 points or 1.1% at 8,873.35.
In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks edged higher tracking gains in US markets overnight. US stocks registered strong gains yesterday, 21 September 2016, after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged but hinted at the possibility of a rate hike later this year. Concluding a two-day meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announced that the federal funds rate will remain at 0.25% to 0.5%. The Fed also said risks to the economy have diminished since its last meeting in July. The Fed last raised rates in December 2015, the first hike in almost a decade.
Closer home, the market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 968 shares rose and 106 shares declined. A total of 37 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 1.1%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 1.17%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
Telecom stocks edged higher. Bharti Airtel (up 0.36%), Idea Cellular (up 0.24%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.94%) rose.
Bharti Infratel was up 2.41%. Bharti Infratel is a telecom tower arm of Bharti Airtel.
Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC was up 1.24% at Rs 1,409.50. The company announced that it intends to raise Rs 1340 crore from issue of non-convertible debentures on private placement basis. The debentures will carry a coupon rate of 7.67% per annum and will have a tenor of 1 year 2 months. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 September 2016.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) was up 0.88% at Rs 1,419.85. The company announced the proactive inspection of a fluid hose on all New Generation Scorpio & NuvoSport vehicles, manufactured till June 2016, respectively. This is in keeping with the company's customer centric approach, the company said. The inspection and subsequent rectification will be carried out free of cost for all New Generation Scorpio & NuvoSport customers, who will be individually contacted by the company. As an endeavor to ensure a hassle free experience for its customers, the company is proactively carrying out this activity, it said. This action is also in compliance with SIAM's voluntary code on vehicle recall, M&M said. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 21 September 2016.
On the macro front, data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) after trading hours yesterday, 21 September 2016, showed that India's current account deficit (CAD) narrowed to $0.3 billion or 0.1% of GDP in Q1 June 2016, which was significantly lower than CAD of $6.1 billion or 1.2% of GDP in Q1 June 2015. The contraction in the CAD was primarily on account of a lower trade deficit.
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