The market firmed up and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 200.78 points or 0.53% at 38,295.85. The Nifty 50 index was up 44.40 points or 0.39% at 11,506.60. Banks stocks were in demand. Stocks opened with small gains and continued hovering near flat line in morning trade. Benchmarks turned range bound in mid-morning trade. Fresh buying support boosted shares in mid-afternoon trade. Positive opening in European stock market improved investors sentiment. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.54%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.51%. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1354 shares rose and 1224 shares fell. A total of 178 shares were unchanged. Oil sector stocks advanced. Among public sector oil marketing companies, HPCL (up 1.19%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.21%) and BPCL (up 0.05%), edged higher. Among oil exploration and production firms, ONGC (up 3.36%), Oil India (up 2.84%) and Reliance Industries (up 1.08%), edged higher. Banks shares were in demand. Among private sector banks, Federal Bank (up 1.64%), City Union Bank (up 1.50%), RBL Bank (up 1.30%), Yes Bank (up 1.04%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (up 0.52%), Axis Bank (up 0.41%), ICICI Bank (up 0.18%) and IndusInd Bank (up 0.18%), edged higher. HDFC Bank was down 0.02%. Among public sector banks, Bank of India (up 7.32%), Union Bank of India (up 5.67%), Punjab National Bank (up 5.37%), Andhra Bank (up 4.47%), Bank of Baroda (up 3.36%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.29%), Central Bank of India (up 3.25%), Canara Bank (up 3.07%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 2.48%), UCO Bank (up 2.41%), Indian Bank (up 2.24%), State Bank of India (up 2.06%), United Bank of India (up 2.02%), Syndicate Bank (up 1.9%), Allahabad Bank (up 1.53%), Corporation Bank (up 1.38%) and IDBI Bank (up 0.35%), edged higher. Overseas, European shares traded higher on Tuesday as investors monitored heightened Brexit uncertainty. Britain's parliament banned another vote on same Brexit deal. Prime Minister Theresa May's third attempt to get parliament to back her Brexit deal were thrown into further turmoil on Monday when the speaker of parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in fundamentally different form. May has only two days to win approval for her deal to leave the European Union if she wants to go to a summit with the bloc's leaders on Thursday with something to offer them in return for more time. Asian shares were trading lower ahead of a closely watched meeting by the US Federal Reserve set to kick off later in the day. US stocks closed modestly higher Monday, as investors prepared for a meeting of Federal Reserve policy makers to begin Tuesday. The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged when it concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday. Investors will focus on the statement issued by policy makers. On the US data front, the National Association of Home Builders' monthly confidence index was unchanged at a seasonally-adjusted reading of 62. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |