Indices hover in small range

Key indices hovered in a small range in early afternoon trade. At 12:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 92.29 points or 0.24% at 39,062.09. The Nifty 50 index was up 16.70 points or 0.14% at 11,725.80. Shares of index heavyweight HDFC advanced. Telecom stocks saw mixed trend.

Investors are awaiting results of Lok Sabha polls due tomorrow, 23 May 2019. Most exit polls forecast a majority for the ruling BJP-led NDA in Lok Sabha polls. The 2019 polls, held from April 11 to May 19, will decide which party presides over the 17th Lok Sabha. Elections were held for 542 seats. A party or coalition needs 272 seats in parliament to form a government.

Local stocks drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks hovered in positive zone in morning trade. A bout of volatility was seen in mid-morning trade after the key indices trimmed gains soon after hitting intraday high.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.6%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.07%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1053 shares rose and 1105 shares fell. A total of 142 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight and housing finance major HDFC advanced 1.23% to Rs 2,140.15.

Telecom stocks saw mixed trend. Bharti Airtel (up 0.79%) and Vodafone Idea (up 1.27%), MTNL (down 0.58%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 1.86%) fell.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 0.83%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

Overseas, most Asian stocks were trading higher Wednesday on relief over Washington's temporary relaxation of curbs against China's Huawei Technologies.

In US, shares of technology companies helped lift Wall Street on Tuesday after the United States temporarily eased curbs on China's Huawei Technologies Co, alleviating investor concerns about pressure on future corporate results in the sector.

The Commerce Department said late Monday it would allow Huawei to purchase American-made goods in order to maintain existing networks and provide software updates to existing Huawei handsets until 19 August 2019.

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