Nifty hovers around 8,900; metal shares gain

A rangebound movement was witnessed as key benchmark indices languished in negative zone in morning trade. At 11:10 AM, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 40 points at 28,967. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 9 points at 8,926.

The Sensex fell 71.80 points or 0.25% at the day's low of 28,854.56 at onset of the trading session, its lowest level since 6 September 2016. The barometer index rose 27.27 points or 0.09% at the day's high of 28,953.63 in early trade. The Nifty lost 21.95 points or 0.25% at the day's low of 8,896 at onset of the trading session, its lowest level since 6 September 2016. The index rose 1.85 points or 0.02% at the day's high of 8,916.10 in early trade.

In overseas stock markets, Asian stocks were trading lower following mixed lead overnight from Wall Street and as investors stayed cautious ahead of the European Central Bank (ECB)'s monetary policy decision later in the global day. The ECB is reportedly expected to leave interest rates unchanged, but may announce an extension of its quantitative easing program. US stocks ended on a mixed note yesterday, 7 September 2016, as investors digested the release of the Federal Reserve's Beige Book, a key indicator of the US economic health, which said economic activity continued to expand at a modest pace from July through late August.

Closer home, the broad market depicted strength. There were almost two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,283 shares rose and 660 shares declined. A total of 79 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently off 0.03%. The fall in this index was lower than Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.67%, outperforming the Sensex.

Metal and mining stocks gained as Chinese trade data topped forecasts and imports recorded their first annual rise since late 2014. China is the world's largest consumer of steel, copper and aluminum.

Vedanta (up 1.78%), JSW Steel (up 1.59%), Tata Steel (up 3.32%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 4.34%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.04%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.13%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.12%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.5%), NMDC (up 0.79%) edged higher. Hindustan Copper fell 0.8%.

China's imports rose 1.5% year-on-year in August, China's customs said today, 8 September 2016, the first rise in 22 months and beating expectations in a positive sign for the world's second-largest economy. Exports dropped 2.8% on-year to $190.6 billion, according to customs, also beating expectations.

Meanwhile, copper edged higher in the global commodities market. High Grade Copper for December 2016 delivery was currently up 0.33% at $2.1045 per pound on the COMEX.

Cement stocks rose. Ambuja Cements (up 1%), ACC (up 1.17%), UltraTech Cement (up 0.44%) and Shree Cement (up 0.29%) gained.

Grasim Industries was up 1.37% at Rs 4,709.20. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.