Indices drift higher in early trade; Nifty above 16,500

The benchmark indices traded with major gains in the early trade amid strong global cues. The Nifty traded above the 16,500 mark. All the sectoral indices on the NSE traded in the green.

At 09:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 625.41 points or 1.14% to 55,393.03. The Nifty 50 index addded 190.55 points or 1.17% to 16,531.10.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.71% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.89%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,125 shares rose and 485 shares fell. A total of 80 shares were unchanged.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 976.40 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 100.73 crore in the Indian equity market on 19 July, provisional data showed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Ambuja Cements fell 0.22%. The cement major's consolidated net profit slipped 14.2% to Rs 752 crore on 15.1% increase in net sales to Rs 7,943 crore in Q2 CY22 over Q2 CY21. EBITDA fell 39% to Rs 1,115 crore during the quarter. EBITDA margin stood at 14% in Q2 CY22 as against 26.5% in Q2 CY21.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 1.80%. The FMCG company reported 11% rise in standalone net profit to Rs 2,289 crore on a 19% increase in revenue from sale of products to Rs 14,016 crore in Q1 FY23 over Q1 FY22. The company recorded an underlying volume growth of 6%.

Grasim Industries rose 0.44%. The board of directors of the company considered and approved the plan to undertake trading and marketing of all types of building materials primarily through a B2B e-commerce platform.

Global markets:

Asian stocks advanced across the board on Wednesday after a sharp bounce in U.S. stocks overnight.

China kept its one-year and five-year loan prime rates unchanged at 3.7% and 4.45% Wednesday.

U.S. stocks closed with sharp gains on Tuesday as more companies joined big banks in reporting earnings that beat forecasts, offering respite to investors worried about higher inflation and a tightening Fed denting the corporate bottomline.

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