.png)
The key equity indices were currently at the day's high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty was trading above the 17,250 mark. Metal shares advanced for sixth day in a row.
The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 122.47 points or 0.21% to 57,807.29. The Nifty 50 index added 36.80 points or 0.21% to 17,282.45.
In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 0.47% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.43%.
Buyers outnumbered sellers. On the BSE, 1685 shares rose and 1486 shares fell. A total of 153 shares were unchanged.
Buzzing Index:
The Nifty Metal index rose 1.73% to 6,510.40, extending gains for sixth consecutive session. The index has gained 10.16% in six sessions.
Welspun Corp (up 4.81%), NMDC (up 3.34%), National Aluminum Co. (up 2.80%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.67%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.66%) and Coal India (up 2.51%) advanced.Further, Vedanta (up 1.70%), JSW Steel (up 1.59%), Tata Steel (up 1.50%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.25%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (up 1.16%), Hindustan Copper (up 1.10%) and SAIL (up 1.07%) edged higher.
Stocks in Spotlight:
RailTel Corporation of India added 0.33% to Rs 90.20. The company said that it received work order from South Eastern Coalfields (SECL) worth Rs 15.76 crore.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEEL) jumped 15.80% to Rs 296.50. Invesco Developing Markets Fund, ZEEL's largest minority shareholder, on 23 March 2022 said it decided not to pursue an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to add six independent directors as Zee's merger with Sony will achieve the fund's aim of strengthening board oversight.
Global Markets:
Asian stocks are trading lower on Thursday, as the recent global equities rally eased. Volatile commodity prices added concerns to a market already dealing with record inflation and the impact of an ongoing war in Ukraine.
Activity in the services sector, which has been battered by the pandemic, contracted for the third straight month, but the pace of decline slowed. The au Jibun Bank Flash Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 53.2 in March from a final 52.7 in the previous month.
US stocks eased Wednesday as oil prices rose, renewing inflation fears. Traders digested the latest news on the Ukraine-Russia war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more pressure on Russia from other countries as the conflict appears to be entering a stalemate.
