New Delhi: The benchmark indices held on to their early gains on Thursday afternoon ahead of weekly F&O expiry due later in the day led by gains in stocks such as Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, and Larsen and Toubro (L&T). At 1:30 pm, Sensex was up 321 points at 54,847.86 and Nifty 50 index advanced 70 points to 16,352.95. The broader markets are also trading firm, with the BSE Smallcap and BSE Midcap index adding 1.75 per cent and 0.78 per cent respectively.
In the currency market, the rupee strengthened 17 paise to 74.27 against the U.S. dollar in opening trade today, following the positive trend in domestic equities and weaker American currency. At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened at 74.26 against the greenback and later edged lower to 74.27.
On the IPO front, Chemplast Sanmar Limited closes for subscription today by 5:00 pm. The initial public offer of the leading specialty chemical manufacturer is subscribed 0.62 times so far.
On the stock-specific front, Power Grid gained 5.08 per cent to ₹ 185.30 to top the gainer’s list on the BSE. Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, and Shree Cements are the other significant gainers in the BSE pack.
Bata India India, rose as much as 5.32 per cent to hit record high of ₹ 1,754.80 a day after the company announced its April-June quarter, reporting a narrow net loss of ₹ 69.47 crore from loss of ₹ 101 crore in the year-ago period.
On the other hand, Eicher Motors, IndusInd Bank, and Dr Reddy’s Labs shed around one-two per cent each on the BSE.
The retail inflation data for July 2021 is due post-market hours today. According to a recent August 5-9 poll of 48 economists conducted by news agency Reuters, consumer price inflation eased to 5.78 per cent last month from 6.26 per cent in June. The index of industrial production (IIP) data for June 2021 will also be revealed today.