The domestic equity barometers ended with stellar gains after a strong session on Wednesday. The Nifty closed tad below the 17,950 level. PSU banks, IT, financials and consumer durable stocks advanced while auto, oil & gas and pharma shares lagged behind. Investors awaited the release of the US FOMC minutes of meeting scheduled later today.

As per provisional closing data, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 417.92 points or 0.70% to 60,260.13. The Nifty 50 index added 119 points or 0.67% to 17,944.25.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.64% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.53%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,012 shares rose and 1,413 shares fell. A total of 131 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty PSU Bank index advanced 2.12% to 2,929.55. The index had declined 0.37% to end at 2,868.85 yesterday.

Bank of Baroda (up 4.11%), Bank of Maharashtra (up 3.46%), Punjab & Sind Bank (up 3.33%), Canara Bank (up 3.17%) and Bank of India (up 3.16%) were the top gainers.

Among the other gainers were Punjab National Bank (up 2.53%), Union Bank of India (up 1.87%), Indian Overseas Bank (up 1.72%), Indian Bank (up 1.44%) and Central Bank of India (up 1.4%).

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bharti Airtel gained 2.86%. The telecom major said that it has paid Rs 8,312.4 crore to the Department of Telecom (Government of India) towards dues for spectrum acquired in the recently concluded 5G auctions. As per the regulatory filing, Airtel has paid 4 years of 2022 spectrum dues upfront. The company believes that this upfront payment coupled with the moratorium on spectrum dues and AGR-related payments for four years will free up future cash flows and allow Airtel to dedicate resources to single-mindedly concentrate on the 5G rollout.

Aarti Drugs jumped 10.99%. The media reported that the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) has recommended continuation of anti-dumping duty on Ofloxacin imported from China. The company had earlier filed an application for anti-dumping duty on Ofloxacin and its intermediates imported from China.

Bharat Gears zoomed 18.14%. The meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 19 August 2022, to consider and approve issue of bonus shares of the company by way of capitalization of reserves.

RateGain Travel Technologies (RateGain) surged 7.82%. The company said that Air India, the flagship carrier of India owned by India's largest conglomerate the Tata Group has selected RateGain's - AirGain product to dynamically adjust prices with real-time, accurate, and high-quality airfare data to compete globally with leading airlines.

Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) slumped 5.44%. The company has partnered with Drive TLV (DRIVE), an Israel-based innovation hub focused on smart mobility solutions. The partnership with DRIVE will give Sona Comstar access to Israel's hi-tech mobility start-up ecosystem.

Techno Electric & Engineering Company jumped 5.84%. The company has recently secured new orders for FGD totalling to Rs 1,455 crores.

Singer India soared 14.24%. Rare Investments on Tuesday (16 August) bought 42.50 lakh shares in a bulk deal on the BSE for Rs 53.50 each. The Rakesh Jhunjhunwala investment firm now holds around 8% in Singer India.

UTI Asset Management Company fell 4.97%. The company denied the media reports suggesting Tata AMC's plan to buy stake in the firm.

Global Markets:

European and Asian stocks advanced on Wednesday as strong overnight earnings for U.S. retail giants pointed to further scope for the Federal Reserve to tackle inflation with rate hikes.

UK consumer price index rose 10.1% annually, according to estimates published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday, up from 9.4% in June.

Japan's exports rose for the 17th month in a row in July, driven by strong demand for autos and mineral fuels, Ministry of Finance data showed Wednesday. Exports rose 19% in July from a year earlier. Exports rose 19.4% in June.

In US, the Dow and S&P 500 rose on Tuesday as stronger-than-expected results and outlooks from Walmart and Home Depot bolstered views on the health of consumers, while technology shares declined and weighed on the Nasdaq.

Production at US factories increased more than expected in July as output rose at motor vehicle plants and elsewhere. Manufacturing output rebounded 0.7% last month after declining 0.4% in June, the Federal Reserve said on Tuesday. Output increased by 3.2% compared to July 2021.

U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, a tax, health and climate bill and a significantly reduced version of the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better plan he was pushing for last year.

New Zealand raised its cash rate by another 50 basis points to 3%, the latest in a series of interest rate hikes in an effort to curb inflation.

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