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The main indices traded in a narrow range with modest gains in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 222.32 points or 0.43% at 52,522.51. The Nifty 50 index gained 63.15 points or 0.4% at 15,800.45.

The Sensex hit a record high of 52,626.64 and the Nifty hit a record high of 15,835.55 early trade today

The broader market was mixed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.06%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.36%.

Buyers outpaced sellers. On the BSE, 1,715 shares rose and 1,400 shares fell. A total of 151 shares were unchanged.

Buzzing Index:

The Nifty Auto index rose 0.44% to 10,769.40, snapping its two day losing streak. The auto index saw bargain hunting after falling 1.4% in two days.

Ashok Leyland (up 3.67%), Tata Motors (up 1.87%), Escorts (up 1.58%), Eicher Motors (up 1.47%) and Bosch (up 0.9%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.4%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.29%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.21%) and Hero MotoCorp (up 0.17%) climbed.

Stocks in Spotlight:

TCS rose 2.02% after the IT major said that it has expanded its strategic partnership with Virgin Atlantic to help the latter embark on a new phase of recovery and growth. The enhanced partnership builds on a 17-year relationship between the two organisations and will see TCS take exclusive responsibility for end-to-end operational management and digital transformation. This includes technology operations, where TCS will enable Virgin Atlantic to leverage the best of Microsoft Azure through a series of technology and business transformation initiatives.

Solar Industries India rose 0.09%. The company said that it has secured multiple orders from Coal India having contract value of approximately Rs 365 crore. The orders are for supply of cartridge explosives and accessories over a period of two years.

Numbers to Watch:

In the foreign exchange market, the partially convertible rupee fell to 73.07 compared with its previous closing of 73.06.

MCX Gold futures for 5 August 2021 settlement rose 0.09% to Rs 49,243.

The US Dollar index (DXY), which tracks the greenback's value against a basket of currencies, was up 0.04% to 90.11.

The yield on 10-year benchmark federal paper fell to 6.01% from 6.019% recorded at the close of the previous trading session.

In the commodities market, Brent crude for August 2021 settlement rose 14 cents to $72.66 a barrel. The contract remained settled at $72.52.