Market at day`s high, oil & gas shares advance

The frontline indices marched higher and hit the day`s high in mid-morning trade. The Nifty scaled above the 19,050 mark. Oil & gas shares extended gains for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 167.69 points or 0.26% to 63,950.49. The Nifty 50 index added 44.50 points or 0.23% to 19,091.75.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.13% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index shed 0.08%.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,827 shares rose and 1,698 shares fell. A total of 187 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India`s foreign exchange (forex) reserves declined by $2.36 billion to $583.53 billion during the week ended October 20, according to data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the previous reporting week, the overall reserves had increased by $1.153 billion to $585.895 billion.

Gold reserves were up by $1.85 billion to $45.42 billion during the week, the RBI said. The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by $70 million to $17.93 billion, according to the RBI.

Forex reserves also include India`s reserve tranche position in the IMF. India`s reserve position with the IMF increased by $6 million to $4.98 billion in the reporting week, as per the RBI data.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Oil & Gas index added 1.28% to 7,646. The index advanced 2.58% in the two trading sessions.

Mahanagar Gas (up 2.9%), Reliance Industries (up 2.4%), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (up 2.15%), Castrol India (up 1.79%), Adani Total Gas (up 1.77%), Oil India (up 1.24%), Gujarat Gas (up 1.09%), Gujarat State Petronet (up 0.93%), Indian Oil Corporation (up 0.92%) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (up 0.66%) edged higher.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Macrotech Developers rallied 3% after the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 201.9 crore in Q2 FY24 as against a net loss of Rs 933 crore in Q2 FY23. Revenue from operations remained flat at Rs 1,749.6 crore during the period under review.

IDFC First Bank slipped 3.44%. The private bank`s standalone net profit jumped 35.23% to Rs 751.32 crore on 34.52% increase in total income to Rs 8,785.8 crore in Q2 FY24 over Q2 FY23.

Global Markets:

Asian stocks traded mixed ahead of a week of key economic data from around the region. Monetary policy decisions from Japan and Malaysia, inflation data from South Korea, and gross domestic growth figures from Taiwan and Hong Kong will be in focus this week.

Risk appetite was dulled by Israel`s push to surround Gaza`s main city in a self-declared "second phase" of a three-week war against Iranian-backed Hamas militants.

US stocks ended the day mixed on Friday as renewed selling occurred on Wall Street on fears of a recession. The Federal Reserve decision looms on Wednesday, where the central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark interest rate at the same level. The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday.

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