New Delhi, Mar 23 (Agency) Key equity indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. The Nifty scaled above the 14,850 mark. Metal shares corrected after a three-day winning streak. At 14:23 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 391.50 points or 0.79% to 50,162.79. The Nifty 50 index advanced 114.25 points or 0.78% at 14,850.65.
The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index added 1.23%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.88%. Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1669 shares rose and 1209 shares fell. A total of 210 shares were unchanged.
In the commodities market, Brent crude for May 2021 settlement fell 92 cents to $63.70 a barrel. The contract gained 0.14% or 9 cents to settle at $64.62 a barrel in the previous session. The yield on India’s 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.145% as compared to its previous close of 6.180%. In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee rose to 72.2850, compared with its previous closing of 72.37.
MCX Gold futures for 5 April 2021 settlement shed 0.16% to Rs 44,834. The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback’s value against a basket of currencies, rose 0.37% to 92.08.
The Nifty Metal index slipped 0.50% to 3,848.20, amid profit booking. The index gained 3.06% in the past three sessions. Hindustan Zinc (down 2.62%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.77%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.04%), SAIL (down 0.82%), JSW Steel (down 0.8%), Tata Steel (down 0.53%), Ratnamani Metals Tubes (down 0.49%), MOIL (down 0.21%) declined. Meanwhile, APL Apollo Tubes (up 3.90%), NMDC (up 2.93%), Hindustan Copper (up 2.86%), Welspun Corp (up 0.77%) and National Aluminum Company (up 0.64%) advanced.
TCS rose 1.08% to Rs 3163.40. The company announced partnership with Skanska to help it become the most digitally advanced company in the construction industry. Bharti Airtel added 0.85% to Rs 532.40. Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, announced the signing of agreements to sell its telecommunications tower companies in Madagascar and Malawi to Helios Towers, a leading independent telecommunications infrastructure company in Africa. Expected to close in or around calendar Q4 2021, the aggregate gross consideration for the transactions is expected to be approximately $108 million.