Cement, telecom stocks see mixed trend

Key benchmark indices hovered in negative zone in morning trade. At 10:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 25.61 points or 0.08% at 33,571.19. The Nifty 50 index was down 9.50 points or 0.09% at 10,315.65. Stocks from cement and telecom sectors saw mixed trend.

Key benchmark indices drifted lower in early trade amid initial volatility.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.16%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.27%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,219 shares rose and 836 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks were trading mixed while trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could slide 280 points at the opening bell today, 6 April 2018 after US President Donald Trump ordered his administration to consider tariffs on an additional $100 billion worth of Chinese imports. Mainland China markets are shut for a holiday.

The latest move is a continuation of a growing trade dispute between the two countries. Trump previously announced $50 billion in proposed tariffs on goods imported from China, which responded by announcing about $50 billion in proposed tariffs on US goods

US stocks closed higher yesterday, 5 April 2018 with major indexes posting their first three-day rally in several weeks as investors dialed back fears that a trade spat between the US and China will turn into a full-blown trade war.

Meanwhile, the US trade deficit rose 1.6% in February and remained near a 10-year high. The US trade deficit rose to $57.6 billion in February from $56.7 billion in the prior month, data released yesterday, 5 April 2018 showed.

Back home, telecom stocks saw mixed trend. MTNL (up 0.75%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.51%) and Reliance Communications (up 3.85%) rose. Bharti Airtel (down 1.38%) and Idea Cellular (down 1.3%) fell.

Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 0.35%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

Cement stocks saw mixed trend. Ambuja Cements (down 0.23%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.64%) fell. ACC (up 0.11%) and Shree Cement (up 0.75%) rose. Grasim Industries was off 0.29%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Kridhan Infra rose 2.51% after the company announced that its subsidiary, KH Foges, was recently awarded a new piling contract in Singapore worth Rs 134 crore (SG$ 27 million). The contract period for the project is approximately 4 months. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 April 2018.

Majesco rose 1.56% after the company announced that a tier one specialty insurer signed a three-year agreement for application management services with it to support their workers compensation operational systems. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 April 2018.

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