Nifty slips below 8950 level; Idea top Nifty gainer

Nifty closed at 8939.50 levels, up by 12.60 points or 0.14%. Sensex closed at 28892.97 levels, up by 28.26 points or 0.10%.
 
There were 699 advances, 941 declines and 273 unchanged stocks on NSE, reflecting negative undertone floating in the market.
 
Idea was the top Nifty gainer whereas Grasim was the topNifty loser in Thursday’s trading session.
 
Idea and Bharti Airtel contributed the most to the BSE Telecom index’s gains. BSE Telecom index closed at 1306.93 levels, up by 23.35 points or 1.82%.
 
Idea closed at Rs 119.80 per share, up by Rs 7.20 per share or 6.39%. Bharti Airtel closed at Rs 366.40 per share, up by Rs 5.40 per share or 1.5%. Airtel touched its fresh 52-week high of Rs 401 per share, up by
Rs 40 per share or 11.1%.
 
Bharti Airtel entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Telenor India. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all Telenor India’s assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel’s overall customer base and network. It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum foot-print in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band.
 
As a part of the agreement, Airtel will acquire Telenor India’s running operation in seven circles- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP East and West and Assam. These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore offer high potential for growth.
 
IT giants, TCS and Infosys lifted the BSE Information Technology index on Thursday. BSE IT index closed at 10378.56 levels, up by 173.89 points or 1.7%.
 
TCS closed at Rs 2481.80 per share, up by Rs 70.3 per share or 2.91%.

Infosys closed at Rs 1008.85 per share, up by Rs 18.8 per share or 1.88%.
 
Reliance Industries Limited touched its fresh 52-week high of Rs 1222 per share, up by Rs 14.50 per share or 1.20% in the morning hours on Thursday, but slipped in further trade, witnessing profit booking. The stock closed in red at Rs 1186.80 per share, down by Rs 20.70 per share or 1.71%.

Opening Bell - Nifty firmly opens above 8950 level; Bharti Airtel up by more than 10%

At 9:15 AM, the BSE Sensex opened higher by 62.96 points at 28927.67, while the Nifty50 opened higher by 29.5 points at the 8956.40 mark.
 
There are 860 advances, 545 declines and 466 unchanged stocks on NSE reflecting positive undertone in the market.
 
Idea is the top Nifty gainer and Bharti Infratel is the top Nifty loser in the morning hours on Thursday. Idea is trading at Rs 116.20 per share, up by 3.20%. Bharti Infratel is trading at Rs 298 per share, down by 0.91%.

The rupee opened flat at 66.96 per dollar.
 
Bharti Airtel, India’s largest telecommunication services provider has entered into a definitive agreement with Telenor South Asia Investments Pte Ltd to acquire Telenor India Communications Private Limited which is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.
 
Bharti Airtel is trading at Rs 398.95 per share up by 10.86%.
 
For the day, stiff resistance for Nifty50 is positioned around levels of 8,960-8,970. On the downside, supports are seen at 8,880 and 8,820.
 
The US stocks finished mostly lower on Wednesday, but that did not stop the Dow Jones Industrial Average to log its best record-setting streak in the last three decades. The Dow Jones gained 32.60 points. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Index shed 2.58 points and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 5.32 points. Stocks pared earlier gains as Federal Reserve minutes implied that the central bank is comfortable with raising interest rates “fairly soon”.
 
On Thursday, Asian shares are trading in the negative terrain as Federal Reserve minutes showed that “many” Fed officials expressed support for raising interest rates “fairly soon” if the economy stayed on course or strengthened. Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 71 points, Hang Seng dropped 149 points and Shanghai shed 8 points.