The key equity indices sharply pared early gains in mid morning trade. The Nifty was trading a tad above the 18,200 mark. Realty stocks witnessed value buying after declining in the past three sessions.

At 11:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 203.2 points or 0.33% to 61,126.70. The Nifty 50 index added 28.20 points or 0.16% to 18,206.30.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index, both declined 0.14%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1738 shares rose and 1352 shares fell. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Realty index advanced 2.44% to Nifty Realty, amid some bit of value buying. The index had declined by 8.11% in three sessions.

Brigade Enterprises (up 3.97%), Oberoi Realty (up 3.87%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 3.82%), Godrej Properties (up 2.72%), Prestige Estates (up 2.56%), Macrotech Developers (up 2.41%), Sunteck Realty (up 2.36%), Sobha Developers (up 1.80%), DLF (up 1.65%) and The Phoenix Mills (up 0.85%) advanced.

Stocks in Spotlight:

VST Industries fell 2.34% to Rs 3466.20. The company's standalone net profit fell 9.78% to Rs 79.88 crore on a 8.61% decline in total revenue from operations to Rs 360.86 crore in Q2 FY22 over Q2 FY21.

The operating performance got impacted due to challenging situation after the outbreak of second COVID-19 wave that led to sudden lockdown announcements in various states. As situation continues to improve and the economic activities are get normalized rapidly and lockdown restrictions being lifted significantly, the forthcoming business quarters are expected to see improved operating performance, the company said.

Indian Hotels Company declined 3.44% to Rs 206.55. The company reported consolidated net loss of Rs 120.58 crore in Q2 September 2021 lower than net loss of Rs 230.01 crore in Q2 September 2020. Net sales surged 183.78% to Rs 728.37 crore in Q2 September 2021 over Q2 September 2020.

The company's board approved Rs 4000 crore of fund raising: Rs 2000 crore will be raised by way of rights issue and additional Rs 2000 crore through QIP, subject to receipt of requisite approvals.

Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) added 0.60% to Rs 668.70. The company reported a 37.4% increase in company's consolidated net profit to Rs 253.72 crore in Q2 FY22 as compared to Rs 184.62 crore posted in Q2 FY21. Net sales for Q2 FY22 stood at Rs 1,837 crore, rising 21.7% year on year from Rs 1,509 crore posted in Q2 FY21.

Global markets:

Asian stocks were mixed on Friday. Shares of China Evergrande Group surged in Hong Kong following media reports that the embattled developer is set to pay off a coupon payment on a dollar-denominated bond.

Evergrande has remitted the funds for a key interest payment that was due September 23 — ahead of a 30-day grace period that ends on October 23, as per reports. The $83.5 interest payment on Evergrande's March 2022 offshore bond has been closely watched since the heavily indebted property developer warned twice in September that it may default.

In US, the S&P 500 posted a record closing high on Thursday, helped by gains in consumer discretionary and technology shares, while U.S. Treasury yields jumped.

On the economic front, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to a new low point since the pandemic erupted. Unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 290,000 last week, the third straight drop, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest people to apply for benefits since March 14, 2020, when the pandemic intensified.

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