With several front line stocks from across various sectors trading firm on sustained buying interest, the market remains firmly entrenched in positive territory this afternoon.A strong close on Wall Street overnight after the Federal Reserve, which hiked interest rate by 25 basis points, said future hikes would be gradual, and the resultanty firm trend in Asian markets set up the stage for the bulls to come back this morning.It is expected that there may be a couple of rate hikes in the U.S. during the current calendar year, but it is widely felt that this is unlikely to result in any sharp correction in the Indian stock market.The Sensex is up 145.80 points or 0.5% at 29,541.91, while the Nifty50 is up 54.45 points or 0.6% at 9139.25.Metal stocks are trading higher today, and mirroring strong buying in this space, the BSE Metal index is up . On the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty Metal is up 2.15% now.Jindal Steel & Power is gaining nearly 4.5% and SAIL is up 4.3%. JSW Steel is trading nearly 4% up. Tata Steel, Hindalco, Vedanta, Hindustan Zinc and Orissa Minerals are up 2.5% – 3%. NMDC, Bhushan Steel, APL Apollo Tubes and MOIL are gaining about 1% each and Nalco is adding 0.6%, while Welcorp and Coal India are around their previous closing levels.Ashoka Buildcon is up 5.6% at Rs 196.50 following an announcement from the company that its subsidiary Ashoka Concessions Ltd has submitted bid of Rs 1190 crore for National Highways Authority of India project.Reliance Capital Limited has announced plans to separate out its retail Health Insurance business, from its General Insurance business, into a standalone, wholly owned subsidiary. The company announced today that the board of directors of its subsidiary Reliance General Insurance Company Limited, has approved this proposal, subject to necessary IRDA and other approvals. Reliance Health Insurance Ltd., the proposed new company for Health Insurance business, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Capital. Shares of Reliance Capital Limited are up 4.5% at Rs 582.Tata Power is trading modestly higher. The company announced on Wednesday that its solar unit has expanded and modernised its manufacturing facility.
July 26, 2024
