Sensex, Nifty Advance for Sixth Straight Month as Banks, Autos Lead 

Closing Bell

Indian shares extended their winning streak for a third day, led by gains in banks and consumer durables companies, but off their day’s high as investors booked profits in metal, real estate and select auto names.

The S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.3 percent to 28,444, its highest level since July 22, 2015 and the NSE Nifty climbed 0.4 percent to 8,781. During the session, 50-share index touched the 8,819-mark, its highest level since April 13, 2015.

The benchmark gauges have gained six months in a row, their longest run of monthly advances since November 2014.

JUST IN: Supreme Court Rules Tata Motors Claim Over Singur Land as “Illegal and Void”

Shares of the home grown auto maker gave up some of their early gains after the Supreme Court ruled that its claim over the Singur land as “illegal and void”.

The apex court has directed the West Bengal government to identify land parcels and return it to owners, mostly farmers, within the next 12-months.

Market Cap of BSE-listed Firms at Lifetime High of Rs 111 lakh Crore

Riding on a strong stock market sentiment, the total market capitalisation (m-cap) of BSE-listed companies surged to a lifetime high of over Rs 111 lakh crore today.

During afternoon trade, the m-cap of BSE-listed firms surged to Rs 1,11,22,815 crore or USD 1.66 trillion.

Investors’ wealth of BSE-listed firms, measured by market capitalisation, had yesterday surged to Rs 110.7 lakh crore (USD 1.64 trillion). The total market valuation of all listed firms on the BSE had hit a record high of Rs 100 lakh crore in November 2014.

From PTI

Construction Firms Rally as India Approves Proposal

Shares of construction firms rally anywhere between 20 percent and 2 percent after the Cabinet approved a proposal to help improve liquidity in short-term and reform the contracting regime for the sector.

Top Gainers

• HCC (+19.8% to Rs 27)
  
• GVK Power & Infra (+8.8% to Rs 6.75)
  
• Punj Lloyd (+8.4% to Rs 22)
  
• Gammon India (+15% to Rs 17)
  
• Gammon Infra (+10% to Rs 5.4)
  
• NCC (+4.5% to Rs 86)
  
• GMR Infra (+4.9% to Rs 14)
  
• L&T (+2% to Rs 1503)

European Shares Little Changed

European stocks were little changed, with gains in banks offsetting declines in miners, as the Stoxx Europe 600 Index headed for a second consecutive monthly advance.

Zee Entertainment Sells Sports Business to Sony for $385 million

Shares of media firm rose as much as 2.8 percent to Rs 543, a new 52-week high, after it announced the sale of its sports business for $385 million (or Rs 2,583 crore) cash to Sony Pictures.

Hindustan Copper Jumps After Forming JV for Chhattisgarh Project

Shares of the metal firm rose as much as 6.2 percent to Rs 69, most since August 19, after it announced a joint venture with Chhattisgarh Mineral Development Corp for exploration, mining of copper in the state.

According to the company’s release, it will hold around 74 percent stake in the JV.

RBL Bank Debuts at 21% Premium to IPO Price; Rises 10% Intraday

Shares of the Kolhapur-based lender listed at Rs 273, a premium of 21.6 percent to its issue price of Rs 225.

The initial public offering of RBL Bank was subscribed 69.9 times after it received bids worth Rs 59,269 crore from over 1.06 million applicants. It raised around Rs 832.50 crore through issue of fresh shares and up to Rs 380.46 crore from an offer for sale by existing shareholders.

Currently the stock is up around 10.7 percent to Rs 303 a piece on the BSE.

Nifty Above 8800 First Time Since April 2015

The NSE Nifty 50 index briefly touched the 8,800-mark for the first time since April 15, 2015.

Market Movers: Infosys, Bharat Petroleum, Kotak Mahindra and More

Opening Bell

Indian shares extended gains for a third day led by gains in bank and pharma companies.The S&P BSE Sensex climbed 0.3 percent to 28,422; while the NSE Nifty advanced 0.3 percent to 8,774.

The S&P BSE Telecom index, along with S&P BSE Realty index, is the best performing sectoral gauge on the exchange. Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Information Technology index was the worst performing.

The market breadth was positive at 1,073 advances, 354 declines and 80 stocks remaining unchanged on the exchange.

Stocks to Watch

• Tata Consultancy, Infosys, Wipro: U.S. says will look into India’s concerns about visa fees
  
• Kotak Mahindra Bank: Canada Pension allowed to acquire 5-10 percent in bank
  
• UltraTech Cement: Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) can invest up to 30 percent in company
  
• JM Financial: To consider raising up to Rs 16.7 crore via debentures
  
• Aditya Birla Nuvo, Grasim Industries: Mutual funds, with holdings in the company, to take a stand on merger (Business Standard)
  
• DLF: Promoters expect to ink Rs 12,000 crore stake sale deal by October (Financial Express)
  
• RBL Bank: To debut today

For a complete list of stocks to watch, click HERE

Talking Points

• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley says there won’t be any job loss due to banks’ merger
  
• Global sugar deficit seen at 7 million tonne in 2016-17, ISO says
  
• Reliance Industries’ 42nd shareholder meeting will be about $23 billion investment in Jio (More details HERE)
  
• RBI sets sovereign gold bond issue price at Rs 3,150 per gram
  
• Thyssenkrupp-Tata Venture Talks Said Focused on U.K. Unit Value (Read HERE)
  
• India to sell Rs 8,000 crore of 91-day, Rs 6,000 crore of 364-day T- bills
  

Also Read: Kerry Calls For Stronger Ties With India in Defence, Energy and Trade

Data to Watch

• 5:30pm: India economic growth data for 3-months ended June 30; estimate 7.6 percent (Prior 7.9 percent)

Good Morning!

The Nifty Futures on the Singapore Exchange, an early indicator of Nifty performance in India, was little changed at 8,803.

U.S. stocks erased their monthly gain Tuesday, amid thin trading volume as Apple Inc. slumped ahead of Friday’s jobs report. The dollar rose among most of its major peers, while Treasuries were little changed as traders assessed the path of interest rates in the world’s largest economy.

Consumer confidence increased to an almost one-year high in August as Americans became more optimistic about the labour market, according to a report from the New York-based Conference Board on Tuesday.

Fed fund futures indicate a 34 percent chance that the Federal Open Market Committee will raise rates at the September meeting, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Crude dropped below $47 a barrel before data forecast to show that gasoline stockpiles declined while crude inventories increased in the world’s largest oil consumer. Gold traded near its lowest level since June.

Asian shares eased this morning, but were still on track for a monthly rise as investors waited to see if upcoming job data could prod the Federal Reserve into raising interest rates as soon as September.

Yesterday, Indian shares recorded their best gains since July 11 as the S&P BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty rose to their April 2015 highs. Barring the S&P BSE Telecom index, all other 18 sectoral gauges advanced on the exchange.

Also Read: Markets Wipe Out Monthly Loss; Experts See Next Stop on the Nifty at 8,900