Barometers move higher; IT shares advance

Key equity benchmarks further extended gains in early afternoon trade, supported by firmness in IT shares. At 12:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 292.82 points or 0.74% at 39,794.87. The Nifty 50 index was up 68.70 points or 0.58% at 11,929.80.

Broader market underperformed the Sensex. The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.28%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.21%.

The market breadth was almost even. On BSE, 1140 shares rose and 1119 shares fell. A total of 130 shares were unchanged.

On NSE, the May 2019 Futures and Options (F&O) contracts will expire today, 30 May 2019.

Most IT shares advanced. The S&P BSE IT index was up 1.05%, outperforming the Sensex. Among IT shares, MphasiS (up 1.79%), TCS (up 1.71%), Infosys (up 0.49%), Wipro (up 0.38%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.37%), HCL Technologies (up 0.12%) and MindTree (up 0.12%), edged higher. Persistent Systems (down 0.02%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.04%) and Tech Mahindra (down 0.35%), edged lower.

Pharmaceutical shares rose. Piramal Enterprises (up 1.76%), Wockhardt (up 1.50%), IPCA Laboratories (up 1.43%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.17%), Lupin (up 0.70%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.65%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.61%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.39%), Strides Shasun (up 0.21%) and Alkem Laboratories (up 0.17%), edged higher. Cipla (down 1.21%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1.48%) and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.71%), edged lower.

On the political front, Narendra Modi will take oath as the Prime Minister of India for the second consecutive term at Rashtrapati Bhavan at 7 p.m. today, 30 May 2019.

Modi today visited the memorials of Mahatma Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, where he paid tributes to the late leaders ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, which will see several foreign dignitaries in attendance. A record number of 8,000 guests are likely to attend the ceremony.

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