The benchmark indices bounced back in afternoon trade. At 13:23 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 36.55 points or 0.09% at 41,909.28. The Nifty 50 index was up 6.45 points or 0.05% at 12,349.75. Investors locked profits after the US and China signed a preliminary trade agreement, expectations for which had driven global equities to record highs. Trading was volatile on account of expiry of weekly index options. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.75% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.78%. Both these indices outperformed the benchmark indices. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1405 shares rose and 968 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged. In Nifty 50 index, 21 stocks advanced while 29 stocks declined. Stocks in Spotlight: Eicher Motors (up 3.81%), Nestle India (up 3.31%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.39%), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (up 1.39%) and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.97%) were the top gainers. NTPC (down 1.94%), Vedanta (down 1.91%), JSW Steel (down 1.81%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.64%) and GAIL (India) (down 1.56 %) were the top losers. Asian Paints fell 0.46% to Rs 1833.35 after the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a probe against the company for unfair business practices. CCI ordered a probe against Asian Paints allegedly hindering the entry of JSW Paints by virtue of its dominance in the market for manufacture and sale of decorative paints. The order came after JSW Paints filed a complaint alleging that Asian Paints threatened various dealers in Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu from dealing with JSW Paints. Bharti Airtel rose 0.92%. The telecom firm said that it has raised $2 billion through the QIP route; which saw participation by highly reputed global and Indian investors. The company accordingly will issue 323,595,505 equity shares of face value of Rs 5 per equity share at a price of Rs 445 which implies a discount of 1.57% on the SEBI determined floor price of Rs 452.09 per equity share. Post the QIP issue, the holding of promoter and promoter group will be 58.98% as against 62.70%. Kotak Mahindra Bank advanced 0.71%. The bank said that Kotak Mahindra Prime, a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank, has executed a share purchase agreement, for sale of its entire equity stake of 5.56% in Equifax Credit Information Services. The transaction is likely to be completed in Q4 of 2020. Foreign Markets: Most European shares opened lower, while Asian markets were mixed on Thursday. President Donald Trump signed an initial “phase one” trade deal with China on Wednesday that will roll back some of the tariffs on one another's goods and increase Chinese purchases of U.S. products. Investors were still concerned as many of the key structural issues at the crust of the trade conflict remain unresolved as the two sides enter “phase two.” In US, stock indexes closed higher on Wednesday afternoon, though the major benchmarks ended the day well off session highs, following the signing of phase 1 deal. All three major benchmarks set record intraday highs, while the Dow and S&P 500 ended the session at record closing levels. In economic data, US wholesale inflation rose 0.1% in December, according to the Labor Department's producer-price index. Year over year, producer prices rose just 1.3%, roughly half the rate in 2018. Powered by Capital Market - Live News |