Sensex pares morning gains; broader markets slip in red

The S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices erased their intraday gains to slip in red

The S&P BSE Sensex pared most of its losses to turn flat in the late monring deals after hitting fresh record high in the early trade, while the broader Nifty50 index slipped below its crucial support level of 9,450. 

At 11:55 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was trading at 30,493, up 58 points, while the broader Nifty50 was ruling at 9,440, up 11 points.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Midcap and the S&P BSE Smallcap indices erased their intraday gains to slip 0.3% and 0.6%, respectively.

"We would continue with the positive bias as long as Nifty manages to hold the important support of 9,372. Only a sustainable move below this level would apply brakes on ongoing optimism. However, as of now, we do not want enter this bandwagon. We would rather expect the index to reclaim the 9,500 mark soon," said brokerage Angel Broking in a technical note.  

Sectors and stocks

Nifty FMCG was the leading sectoral gainer and gained over 4%, led by gains in Colgate Palmolive (up 6%), ITC (5.5%), Marico (up 4%), Tata Global (3.5%) and Emami (up 2.2%). 

ITC and HUL were the best performers on Sensex and jumped up to 6% on the BSE. 

Bank of Baroda rallied over 4% after the company reported a fourth-quarter net profit of Rs 155 crore ($23.89 million). The Mumbai-based bank, the fifth-biggest in the country by assets, had reported a net loss of Rs 3,230 crore in the year-ago quarter.

GST Council fixes rates

The country moved a step ahead in adopting its biggest tax reform since Independence, namely, the Goods & Services Tax (GST), with the GST Council fixing the rates for 1,211 items on Thursday. Consumer goods and life-saving drugs are likely to be cheaper. Automobiles might get costlier, with cars likely to come in the 28 per cent bracket, plus cess.

Of the 1,211 items, 7% are on the exempt list, 14% will be taxed at 5%, 17% will be taxed at 12%, 19% will be taxed at 28% and the others at 18%. CLICK HERE FOR FULL lIST OF RATES

Global markets

Asian stocks were mixed early on Friday, but investors were cautious due to uncertainties surrounding President Donald Trump after reports he tried to influence a federal investigation.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2%, on track for a weekly loss of 0.5%. Japan's Nikkei was almost 0.1% higher, headed for a decline of 1.6% for the week. China's Shanghai Composite was little changed, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.2%. 

Wall Street bounced back overnight from its worst sell-off in more than eight months, taking solace in the appointment of former FBI chief Robert Mueller to investigate alleged Russian interference in the presidential election and possible collusion between US President Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow.

The Dow gained 0.3%, while Nasdaq was up 0.7%.