Domestic barometers advanced for a second consecutive trading session on Friday, amid media reports that the government may exempt the tax surcharge on foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). HDFC twins and ICICI Bank were the biggest contributors to the rise. Auto shares were in demand.

The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, rose 254.55 points or 0.68% to 37,581.91, as per the provisional closing data. The Nifty 50 index rose 77.20 points or 0.70% to 11,109.65, as per the provisional closing data.

Broader markets strengthened. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.77%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 1%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1536 shares rose and 966 shares fell. A total of 154 shares were unchanged.

Media reports on Thursday suggested that the government may withdraw the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) surcharge through a notification or ordinance. The government is working on a confidence-booster package for investors that included a re-thinking on the long-term capital gains tax, reports added.

Foreign investors have been selling extensively in the Indian equity market after the government announced levy of surcharge on super rich in the Union Budget. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her maiden Budget speech on 5 July 2019, proposed to enhance surcharge on individuals having taxable income from Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore and Rs 5 crore and above so that effective tax rates for these two categories will increase by around 3% and 7% respectively. The effective tax rate on the highest tax bracket goes up to 42.7% after the hike.

There are concerns that the increased surcharge on super-rich could also affect foreign funds investing in India since a same tax structures apply for individuals, Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and Associations of Persons (AOPs). FPIs, including pension and retirement funds, educational endowment fund, etc, come in through trusts or AOPs route because it has been the most tax-efficient structure.

HDFC rose 1.59% to Rs 2215.80. HDFC Bank rose 1.96% to Rs 2279.30. ICICI Bank rose 1.54% to Rs 421.

ITC fell 1.36% to Rs 254.25.

BPCL (up 0.93%) ahead of its Q1 June 2019 result today.

Yes Bank slumped 8.02%. The bank announced opening of the qualified institutional placement issue at a floor price of Rs 87.90 per equity share. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

The capital raising committee of the bank's board of directors on Thursday authorised the opening of the issue on 8 August, Yes Bank said. The committee approved the floor price for the issue being Rs 87.90 per equity share and the committee may, at its discretion, offer a discount of not more than 5% on the floor price, it further added.

Yes Bank said in a notice to exchanges that a committee will meet on 14 August to consider and approve the issue price and final discount.

Most auto stocks rose. Eicher Motors (up 4.98%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 3.4%), TVS Motor Company (up 2.76%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.42%), Escorts (up 1.4%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.33%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.03%) advanced. Tata Motors was down 1.73%.

Mahindra & Mahindra rose 1.36%. The company said it will observe ''no production days'' for 8 - 14 days in various plants of the company and MVML during the second quarter of the financial year 2019-2020 to align its production with sales requirements. The management does not envisage any adverse impact on availability of vehicles in the market due to adequacy of vehicle stocks to serve the market requirements.

Most metal shares fell. Tata Steel (down 1.42%), JSW Steel (down 0.34%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 0.2%) and Hindustan Zinc (down 0.09%) declined.

Vedanta (up 2.02%), Hindustan Copper (up 0.46%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.34%) advanced.

Hindalco Industries fell 2.51%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 27.93% to Rs 1,063 crore on 3.56% decline in revenue from operations to Rs 29,972 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced during trading hours today.

Tata Chemicals added 0.30% after consolidated net profit rose 16.38% to Rs 239.71 crore on 4.99% rise in total income to Rs 3015.90 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Mahanagar Gas fell 4.52%. The company's net profit rose 32.66% to Rs 170.24 crore on 22.55% rise in total income to Rs 777.83 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

NBCC (India) slumped 12.61%. The company's consolidated net profit fell 37.9% to Rs 51.46 crore on 15.85% fall in total income to Rs 1942.28 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Page Industries dropped 4.31%. The company's net profit fell 11.07% to Rs 110.67 crore on 2.19% rise in total income to Rs 840.46 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Hexaware Technologies lost 1.35%. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit rose 19.07% to Rs 164.89 crore on a 3.51% rise in the net sales to Rs 1308.34 crore in Q2 June 2019 over Q1 March 2019. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Adani Transmission gained 2.32%. On a consolidated basis, the private transmission company's net profit rose 26% to Rs 213.42 crore on a 360.5% rise in the net sales to Rs 2858.08 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) grew 20.57% to Rs 592 crore in Q1 June 2019 as compared to Rs 491 crore in Q1 June 2018. The company's net debt dropped 4.49% to Rs 1871 crore in Q1 June 2019 as compared to Rs 1959 crore in Q4 March 2018.

Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers lost 1.73%. On a consolidated basis, the fertilizer producer's net profit fell 65.3% to Rs 7.98 crore on a 24% rise in the net sales to Rs 2409.48 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Clariant Chemicals (India) jumped 14.71%. The specialty chemicals manufacturing company's net profit rose 16.9% to Rs 11.27 crore on a 11.9% rise in the net sales to Rs 295.81 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Engineers India rose 2.96%. On a consolidated basis, the engineering consultancy company's net profit rose 40.5% to Rs 125.73 crore on a 27.4% rise in the net sales to Rs 742.66 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Endurance Technologies jumped 13.71%. The company has reconsidered the proposal for expansion into tyre manufacturing and decided not to pursue the aforementioned project. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Bodal Chemicals rose 4.23%. The company announced acquisition of 80% stake in Şen-Er Bova Kimya Tekstil Sanayi Ve Ticaret. The cost of the said acquisition is $ 4.5 million. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Vodafone Idea lost 4.97%. The telecom major informed that Care Ratings, has downgraded its rating on long term bank facilities and non-convertible debentures from CARE A+ (Negative) to CARE A (Negative). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Marico rose 2.40%. The company announced further infusion in the equity capital in Revofit such that it eventually holds upto 37% stake in the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Britannia Industries rose 0.45%. On a consolidated basis, the company's net profit fell 2.78% to Rs 251.03 crore on a 5.93% rise in the net sales to Rs 2677.32 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 9 August 2019.

GMR Infrastructure rose 1.88%. The company announced raising of funds up to Rs. 2,500 crore in one or more tranche(s), through issue of equity shares or equity linked instruments, debentures or any other securities. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 8 August 2019.

Alembic Pharmaceuticals gained 3.24%. The pharmaceutical company announced that the company has received tentative approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) for its abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) for Bimatoprost Ophthalmic Solution, 0.01%. Bimatoprost Ophthalmic Solution, 0.01 % has an estimated market size of US$ 704 million for twelve months ending December 2018 according to IQVIA. The announcement was made during market hours today, 9 August 2019.

Indiabulls Housing Finance jumped 16.35% while Lakshmi Vilas Bank hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 40.85. Media reports suggested that Indiabulls founder Sameer Gehlaut has promised the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that he will relinquish all control and rights, have no say in the management, and bring the promoter group shareholding below 10% in the proposed bank to be formed after the merger of Indiabulls Housing Finance with Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB).

Spicejet gained 2.10%. On a consolidated basis, the aviation company reported a net profit of Rs 262.89 crore in Q1 June 2019 against a net loss of Rs 35.58 crore in Q1 June 2018. The total revenue from operations rose 35% to Rs 3002.85 crore in Q1 June 2019 over Q1 June 2018. The result was announced during market hours today, 9 August 2019.

Overseas, European stocks were trading lower while most Asian stocks ended higher on Friday supported by overnight gains in US stocks and better-than-expected macro-economic data from China.

China released data showing that food inflation soared in July. Meanwhile, Japan's economy grew more than expected in the quarter ending June.

China's consumer price index in July rose 2.8% on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. In particular, food prices soared in July to 9.1% from a year ago, amid surging prices of pork as the country battles African swine fever.

Japan's economy saw its third straight quarterly expansion in April-June, growing at an annualized rate of 1.8% in the period, according to government data on Friday.

US stocks advanced on Thursday with technology shares providing the biggest boost as equities continued to rebound along with bond yields.