Local stocks are trading on a strong note in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. At 9:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 306.91 points or 0.77% at 40,289.89. The Nifty 50 index was up 85.55 points or 0.73% at 11,848. The Sensex surged above the psychological 40,000 level in early trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.45%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.66%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, is strong. On the BSE, 1,043 shares rose and 421 shares fell. A total of 69 shares were unchanged.

Stocks in news:

HDFC Bank rose 0.63%. HDFC Bank reported 18.41% rise in net profit to Rs 7,513.11 crore on a 6.86% rise in total income to Rs 36,069.42 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Reliance Industries rose 0.17%. Reliance Industries said that its subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures received the subscription amount of Rs 5512.50 crore from Gamnat Pte. and Lathe Investment Pte. (GIC) and allotted in the aggregate 80,798,827 equity shares to GIC.

Avenue Supermarts fell 0.04%. The company reported 38.46% fall in consolidated net profit to Rs 198.55 crore on a 10.68% fall in total income to Rs 5,358.37 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Dr. Reddy's Laboratories rose 0.67%. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign wealth fund, announced that they have received approval from the Drug Control General of India (DCGI) to conduct an adaptive phase 2/3 human clinical trial for Sputnik V vaccine in India. This will be a multicenter and randomized controlled study, which will include safety and immunogenicity study.

IndusInd Bank rose 1.52%. IndusInd Bank said that RBI has imposed monetary penalty of Rs 4.50 crore on the bank for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on 'Exposure Norms', 'Prudential Norms on Income Recognition, Asset Classification and Provisioning pertaining to Advances', 'SPARC - Monitoring of Information Submission by bank', 'Creation of a Central Repository of Large Common Exposures - Across Banks' read with directions on 'Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) - Revision in Reporting', and 'Disclosure in Financial Statements - Notes to Accounts'.

Tinplate Company of India rose 1.36%. The company reported 26.91% rise in net profit to Rs 16.08 crore on a 1.27% fall in total income to Rs 536.94 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

IIFL Securities jumped 9.4% after the company reported 104.95% rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 50.93 crore on a 18.05% rise in total income to Rs 218.22 crore in Q2 September 2020 over Q2 September 2019.

Global Markets:

Overseas, Asian stocks are trading higher on Monday buoyed by hopes of a U.S fiscal package before the U.S. presidential elections next month and expectations of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of this year. Drugmaker Pfizer Inc said on Friday it could have a coronavirus vaccine ready in the United States by the end of this year.

China's economy expanded 4.9% year on year in the third quarter of 2020, faster than the 3.2% growth in the second quarter, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Meanwhile, retail sales in China rose 3.3% in September from a year earlier.

Japan's exports fell 4.9% as compared to a year earlier in September, according to trade statistics released by the country's Ministry of Finance on Monday.

In US, stocks rose on Friday as further clarity regarding the timeline for the development of a coronavirus vaccine and much better-than-expected retail sales data and brought buyers back to the market.

Retail sales rose strongly in September, the fifth consecutive month of growth, as Americans spent more on clothing, cars and sporting goods. The US Commerce Department said Friday that retail sales jumped 1.9% last month. That's up from an increase of 0.6% in August.

US industrial production fell 0.6% in September. The Federal Reserve reported Friday that industrial production suffered its first decline since a 12.7% drop in April during the spring lockdowns.

Back home, key equity indices ended with modest gains on Friday with the Nifty reclaiming the 11,750 level. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 254.57 points or 0.64% at 39,982.98. The Nifty 50 index gained 82.10 points or 0.70% at 11,762.45.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 479.59 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs), were net sellers to the tune of Rs 429.81 crore in the Indian equity market on 16 October, provisional data showed.