Market Live: Sensex gains over 170 pts, Nifty above 9950; metal stocks rally

11:15 am Market Check: Buying counters continued to ring on the market, with the Sensex gaining over 200 points, while the Nifty traded comfortably above 9950-mark.

The Sensex was up 218.96 points at 31810.99, while the Nifty was up 77.35 points at 9966.05. The market breadth was healthy as 1,708 shares advanced against a decline of 553 shares, while 79 shares were unchanged.

Tata Steel, GAIL and NTPC gained the most on both indices, while HDFC and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories were the top losers.

10:55 am Buzzing Stocks: Share price of Majestic Auto added 6.3 percent intraday Friday as it has closed at fine blanking division due to lack of orders and profitability.

The company has shut down its fine blanking division which was a part of its manufacturing business vertical due to unviable business operations; lack of viable orders & profitability.

In the month of September 2017, the company shut its electric motor division which was a part of its manufacturing business vertical due to lack of viable orders, profitability & capital investment requirement for new technology.

10:30 am Expert Speak: The Nifty50 hit a fresh record high of 10,178 last month but lost momentum soon after and touched a low of 9688 on 28 September. The next crucial question is will the market retest record highs?

Well, the market could well retest record highs but not in a while amid strong headwinds in term of muted earnings growth period and slowdown in the economy, Tushar Pradhan, Chief Investment Officer, HSBC Asset Management (India) Private Ltd said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

The market is likely to remain volatile for a while. Going into the September quarter there is not much hope of a recovery in this quarter. That leads the market to think in 2 ways — the earnings estimate number for the end of the year which is close to 16-17% will get delivered when you get over 20% growth in next 2 quarters, said Pradhan.

10:06 am Market Check: Benchmark indices extended their gains from the morning session, with the Nifty clocking 9950-mark during the day’s trade.

The Sensex was up 173.50 points at 31765.53, while the Nifty was up 63.60 points at 9952.30. The market breadth was positive as 1,448 shares advanced against a decline of 437 shares, while 58 shares were unchanged.

NTPC, Tata Steel and GAIL were the top gainers on both indices, while Tata Motors, Tata Motors DVR, Hero MotoCorp lost the most.

9:55 am Moody’s view: The sale of stake by few Indian banks in their insurance arms is credit positive for these lenders as the proceeds received would strengthen their loss-absorbing buffers, Moody’s said.

Earlier this week, State Bank of India’s life insurance subsidiary, SBI Life Insurance, listed its shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange, less than a week after ICICI Lombard General Insurance (ICICI Lombard), the general insurance subsidiary of ICICI Bank did the same.

“The initial public offerings (IPOs) of these banks’ insurance subsidiaries are credit positive because the banks will receive proceeds that will strengthen their loss-absorbing buffers,” the report said.

9:35 am Buzzing Stocks: Shares of Future Retail and Shoppers Stop rose 6-9 percent intraday on Friday as investors cheered the deal to buy HyperCity.

On Friday, Future Retail announced that it will acquire Shoppers Stop’s loss-making retail chain HyperCity for Rs 655 crore in a part cash and part stock deal.

The deal, which is likely to be completed in the next three to five months, will see HyperCity Retail India Limited become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Future Retail.

In a stock exchange filing, Future Retail said it will allot 9.310 million shares of Rs 2 face value to HyperCity Retail’s 15 shareholders at Rs 535 per share on a preferential basis.

9:15 am Market Opens: Frontline indices began the session on a positive note, with the Nifty reclaiming 9900 in the opening tick.

The Sensex was up 51.66 points at 31643.69, while the Nifty was up 22.75 points at 9911.45. The market breadth was positive as 454 shares advanced against a decline of 132 shares, while 22 shares were unchanged.

Midcaps continued their outperformance from the previous sessions, while metals led the charts among sectoral indices.

ONGC, Tata Steel and GAIL were the top gainers, while Tata Motors, Tata Motors DVR and Zee Entertainment lost the most.

Asian stocks rose on Friday after optimism over US tax reform plans lifted Wall Street shares to new highs, while the dollar hovered near a seven-week peak following additional indications of solid economic growth.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan edged up 0.1 percent, poised for a 1.4 percent gain on the week.

Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.3 percent, Australian stocks rose 0.7 percent and South Korea’s KOSPI advanced 0.9 percent.

US stocks notched record closing highs again on Thursday as investors cheered increased prospects for a tax overhaul with Congress moving closer to agreement on a budget resolution.

The day’s move extended a run of records that began last week.
The benchmark S&P 500 set a record-high close for the sixth straight day, its longest such run since an eight-day streak in June 1997. It also rose for eight sessions in a row, matching a winning streak from July 2013.