Sensex hovers near 27,900; broader markets outperform

Markets continued to remain in a narrow range in late noon trades as gains in select index heavyweights helped offset losses in IT majors.

At 2:30pm, the , the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 97 points at 27,884 and the Nifty 50 was up 28 points at 8,557. The broader markets outperformed the benchmark indices with BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices up 0.8% each.

Aurobindo Pharma was up over 3% after the company received approval from the US drug regulator to manufacture and market Rosuvastatin Calcium tablets.

Dr Reddy's Labs was up over 2% after the company recently announced the launch of Omeprazole and Sodium bicarbonate capsules in the U.S. Market.

Wipro was the top loser down nearly 3% after first quarter profits was lower-than-expected while subdued IT services revenue growth forecast for September quarter. Among others, Infosys was down nearly 1%. HCL Tech eased 1%.

ITC was trading nearly 1% higher ahead of its first quarter earnings on Thursday. Hindustan Unilever was also up 1% on short covering after losses in the previous sessions amid volume growth concerns in the first quarter. For the second straight quarter, HUL reported only a four per cent volume growth in April-June 2016 quarter, lower than the six-seven per cent band it had seen in previous periods.

Shares of cement companies were trading higher by up to 8% on the bourses on expectation of healthy growth in earnings for the quarter ended June 30, 2016 (Q1FY17).

Deccan Cements, HeidelbergCement India, Saurashtra Cement, Birla Corporation, India Cements, Sagar Cements, Prism Cement and Dalmia Bharat were up more than 2% each, while   ACC, UltraTech Cement, Ramco Cement, J K Lakshmi Cement and Orient Cement were up in the range of 1% to 2% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)
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(Updated at 12:16pm)
After a range-bound movement in mid-morning trade, key benchmark indices edged higher in early afternoon trade. At 12:16 PM, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 103.03 points or 0.37% at 27,890.65. The Nifty 50 index was up 32.10 points or 0.38% at 8,560.65.

The Sensex rose 123.01 points, or 0.44% at the day's high of 27,910.63 in early afternoon trade, its highest level since 18 July 2016. The index fell 27.91 points, or 0.10% at the day's low of 27,759.71 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 37.60 points, or 0.44% at the day's high of 8,566.15 in early afternoon trade, its highest level since 18 July 2016. The index fell 16 points, or 0.19% at the day's low of 8,512.55 in early trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,510 shares rose and 842 shares fell. A total of 163 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.81%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.79%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

In overseas markets, Asian shares were mixed after a rally in the US market showed signs of exhaustion, while the dollar hovered near a four-month high against a basket of currencies following upbeat US data. Geopolitical risks also dented investors' risk appetite. The Turkish currency lira came under renewed pressure and fell to its lowest level since last September amid reports of a widening purge in Turkey after an abortive coup last week.

In US, the S&P 500 pulled back from record highs yesterday, 19 July 2016, while the Dow industrials edged up for an eighth straight day of gains, as investors pondered mixed earnings reports. Data released Tuesday showed housing starts rose 4.8% in June, a sign of steady improvement in the market for newly constructed homes.

Telecom shares were mixed. Reliance Communications (up 2.35%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 1.32%) and MTNL (up 0.92%), edged higher.

Bharti Airtel (down 0.15%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.47%), edged lower.

Cement shares edged higher. ACC (up 1.38%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.97%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.97%), edged higher.

Grasim Industries was up 1.41%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Aviation stocks were in demand. Jet Airways India (up 1.35%), SpiceJet (up 1.27%) and InterGlobe Aviation (up 0.65%), edged higher.

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