Indices hover in a small range

Key indices were trading in a small range with positive bias in afternoon trade amid divergent trend in index pivotals. At 13:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 33.18 points or 0.09% at 35,962.82. The Nifty 50 index was up 10.95 points or 0.1% at 10,802.50. The Sensex was hovering below the psychological 36,000 mark after moving above and below that level in intraday trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.27%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.07%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1136 shares rose and 1192 shares fell. A total of 145 shares were unchanged.

Bharti Airtel (up 4.29%), Asian Paints (up 1.81%), Yes Bank (up 1.77%), NTPC (up 0.92%) and Vedanta (up 0.87%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

HDFC (down 1.69%), Axis Bank (down 0.99%) and Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.65%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Infosys rose 1.87%. Infosys announced the formation of a joint venture with Hitachi, Ltd., Panasonic Corporation and Pasona Inc., strategically enhancing its presence in Japan. Executing on its strategy to help clients navigate their digital journey, the entity formed by complementary, iconic companies coming together, will accelerate business process transformation leveraging digital procurement platforms for the local and global needs of Japanese corporations. The announcement was made during market hours today, 14 December 2018

Infosys will acquire 81% of the shareholding in Hitachi Procurement Service Co., Ltd., Hitachi's fully owned subsidiary that currently handles indirect materials purchasing functions for the Hitachi Group. Hitachi, Panasonic and Pasona will be minority shareholders of the entity.

Indian Oil Corporation was up 3.5% to Rs 142. The company's board approved buyback of equity shares of the company not exceeding 29.76 crore equity shares being approximately 3.06% of the total paid up equity share capital of the company at Rs 149 per share for an aggregate consideration not exceeding Rs 4435 crore on a proportionate basis through the tender offer route. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 13 December 2018.

The board of directors also declared an interim dividend of Rs 6.75 per share for the financial year 2018-19. The company has fixed 25 December 2018 as the record date for the purpose of ascertaining the eligibility of shareholders for payment of interim dividend as well as for buyback of equity shares.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today reportedly dismissed pleas to probe India's multi-billion dollar Rafale fighter jet deal with France and said there won't be any probe into the pricing or the decision-making process. The SC bench, led by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, said that the need of aircraft and quality of aircraft were not in doubt and detailed scrutiny is not required. The centre has defended the multi-billion deal for 36 Rafale fighter jets and opposed public disclosure of the pricing details. India had signed an agreement with France for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter aircraft in a fly-away condition as part of the upgrading process of Indian Air Force equipment. The estimated cost of the deal is Rs 58,000 crore, media reports suggested.

On the macro front, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 4.64% (provisional) for the month of November 2018 (over November 2017) as compared to 5.28% (provisional) for the previous month and 4.02% during the corresponding month of the previous year, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.

On the political front, the Congress party has reportedly chosen senior leader Kamal Nath, 72, as its chief minister in Madhya Pradesh.

Overseas, Asian shares declined on Friday after China reported economic data that missed expectations. China on Friday reported industrial output and retail sales growth for the month of November. Industrial output in November grew 5.4% from a year ago. That figure was 5.9% in October. Retail sales rose 8.1%, down from 8.6% in October. Fixed asset investment rose 5.9% from January to November. It rose 5.7% from January to October.

In Japan, confidence among Japan's big firms remained unchanged from three months ago, a closely-watched central bank survey showed, but sentiment on the outlook soured for the first time in three quarters as trade frictions and global growth concerns hurt the business mood. The tankan's headline gauge of big manufacturers' sentiment stood at plus 19, unchanged from three months ago. The index for non-manufacturers rose to plus 24 from plus 22 in the September survey.

In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday said it is bringing to an end a crisis-era bond-buying program this month. Bond purchases by the ECB will fall from 15 billion euros ($17.04 billion) a month to zero by the end of December, but the central bank plans to spend cash from maturing bonds to purchase additional debt. The ECB also left benchmark interest rates unchanged.

US stocks closed mostly lower after making small moves in and out of positive territory Thursday as investors continued to fret over the lack of clarity and progress in US-China trade talks.

On the data front, the Labor Department announced Thursday that initial jobless claims fell in the week ended December 8 by 27,000 to 206,000, easing fears that layoffs have been steadily rising. Further, the government also said that US import prices fell 1.6% in November, their largest decline in three years, led by the falling cost of oil.

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