Bourses continue gaining momentum in late afternoon session

Indian equity benchmarks continued gaining momentum in late afternoon session on sustained buying activities in index heavyweights, viz Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Indusind Bank among others. Sentiments remained upbeat even after India’s retail inflation rate rose to 7% from 6.7% in the previous month, driven by a surge in food prices. Also, India’s industrial production growth decelerated to a four-month low of 2.4% in July, mainly due to poor showing by manufacturing, power and mining sectors. Traders took note of report that Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari calling for investors from the US to come forward and invest in roads and highways projects in India which is a gold-mine for investors. On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green as focus shifted to U.S. inflation data due later in the day that could show some signs of softening in August. European markets were trading higher with Aveva jumping on a report that France's Schneider was nearing a deal to buy out the company.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 60601.11, up by 485.98 points or 0.81% after trading in a range of 60381.02 and 60635.28. There were 25 stocks advancing against 5 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in green; the BSE Mid cap index gained 0.43%, while Small cap index was up by 0.35%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 1.00%, Basic Materials up by 0.90%, Consumer Durables up by 0.84%, FMCG up by 0.71% and Industrials was up by 0.67%, while Oil & Gas down by 0.15% and Auto was down by 0.12% were the few losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.80%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.26%, Indusind Bank up by 2.06%, Titan Company up by 1.64% and Bajaj Finance up by 1.53%. On the flip side, Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.41%, TCS down by 0.24%, Mahindra & Mahindra down by 0.08%, Tech Mahindra down by 0.06% and Kotak Mahindra Bank down by 0.02% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, calling for investors from the US to come forward and invest in roads and highways projects in India which is a gold-mine for investors, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has said that the United States of America and India are prominent democracies of the World with strong bilateral relations.

He said ‘we are natural partners and have lot to contribute for mutual growth. Both the countries have always shown mutual trust, respect and co-operation on the social, economic and strategic front. The theme chosen this year- ‘The New Agenda for next 25 years’, will set the roadmap for strengthening our relationship.’

Besides, Gadkari said the emphasis has been on creating a sustainable business ecosystem with an inclusive growth model. He also expressed a need to encourage out-of-the-box thought process and promote creative agenda to weave new pathways.

He said the Government has launched the Prime Minister National Gati Shakti Master Plan for holistic and integrated infrastructure development in the country. With Gati-Shakti all stakeholders will follow the rule of 3 C’s: Co-operation, Coordination & Communication.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 18065.90, up by 129.55 points or 0.72% after trading in a range of 18015.45 and 18088.30. There were 37 stocks advancing against 12 stocks declining on the index, while 1 stock remain unchanged.

The top gainers on Nifty were Bajaj Finserv up by 3.63%, Bharti Airtel up by 2.13%, Indusind Bank up by 2.02%, Grasim Industries up by 1.82% and Tata Consumer up by 1.76%. On the flip side, Eicher Motors down by 0.73%, Cipla down by 0.71%, Shree Cement down by 0.41%, TCS down by 0.34% and Dr. Reddy's Lab down by 0.26% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 86.98 points or 0.59% to 14,894.41, Nikkei 225 surged 72.52 points or 0.25% to 28,614.63, KOSPI rose 65.26 points or 2.74% to 2,449.54, Jakarta Composite soared 63.56 points or 0.88% to 7,318.02, Straits Times advanced 17.99 points or 0.55% to 3,292.71 and Shanghai Composite was up by 1.75 points or 0.05% to 3,263.80. On the flip side, Hang Seng was up by 35.39 points or 0.18% to 19,326.86.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 9.13 points or 0.12% to 7,482.16, France’s CAC increased 29.18 points or 0.46% to 6,362.77 and Germany’s DAX was up by 32.62 points or 0.24% to 13,434.89.