Indices sink in negative zone

Key indices erased intraday gains and sink in negative zone in early afternoon trade. At 12:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 53.59 points or 0.15% at 36,140.71. The Nifty 50 index was down 23.80 points or 0.22% at 10,852.95. Shares of index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined. Realty stocks gained. Sentiment was hit by lower-than-expected GDP data.

Domestic stocks opened on a firm note tracking upbeat Asian stocks and US index futures following a cease-fire on tariffs between Beijing and Washington over the weekend. Stocks held firm in morning trade. Key benchmark indices trimmed gains in mid-morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.44%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.26%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1194 shares rose and 1139 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

Overseas, Asian stocks and US index futures jumped following a cease-fire on tariffs between Beijing and Washington at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina over the weekend. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could surge 501 points at the opening bell today, 3 December 2018.

US stocks ended higher Friday, as investors turned positive on the outlook for trade ahead of a meeting between the American and Chinese presidents.

President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping approved the deal on Saturday in Buenos Aires. It offers Beijing a reprieve from a planned increase in tariffs, scheduled for 1 January 2019, on $200 billion in Chinese goods exports to the US Tariffs were scheduled to rise to 25% from 10%. The postponement relies on progress in talks that both sides aim to complete in the next 90 days covering broader issues, including intellectual property protection.

On the data front, the MNI Chicago business barometer jumped 8 points to 66.4 in November to a 4 year high, ending a streak of three straight declines. The survey is often seen as a bellwether for the broader US economy.

Back home, index heavyweight Reliance Industries lost 1.41% to Rs 1,151.70.

Realty stocks gained. D B Realty (up 5.46%), Unitech (up 0.48%), Sobha (up 3.3%), Godrej Properties (up 5.21%), DLF (up 0.73%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.57%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (up 0.49%), and Oberoi Realty (up 4.51%) rose. Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.53%) fell.

Sandhar Technologies rose 3.49% after the company said it entered into a 50-50 joint venture with South Korea's Kwangsung Corporation. Sandhar Technologies said the joint venture is being established for manufacturing and selling interior and exterior parts, plastic moulded parts and accessories for the passenger and utility vehicles segment in a phased manner. The joint venture will introduce light-to-ultra-light, illuminated sliding sun visors and manufacture cargo screens used in SUVs and MUVs and also offer customized black out tapes and anti-chipping tapes solutions for automobile exterior protection and aesthetics. The announcement was made on Saturday, 1 December 2018.

On the macro front, manufacturing operating conditions in India strengthened for the third successive month in November, as healthier inflows of new orders encouraged companies to lift production and input buying to greater extents than in October, data released today, 3 December 2018 showed.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose for the third consecutive month in November to 54 from 53.1 in October. The latest figure signalled the strongest improvement in the health of the sector in almost one year.

India's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 7.1% in July-September, down from 8.2% in the previous quarter though it still marked a comforting uptick compared to the previous year's 6.3% reading in the same quarter. The manufacturing sector expanded 7.4% following 13.5% surge in the previous quarter while the agriculture sector grew 3.8% from 5.3% in the previous quarter. Trade, Hotel, Transport, Communication &Services related to Broadcasting rose 6.80%, almost matching the growth in previous quarter. Financial, Real Estate & Professional Services expanded 6.30%, easing slightly from a 6.52% in previous quarter. The data was released by the government after market hours on Friday, 30 November 2018.

The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 134.8 in October, 2018, which was 4.8% higher as compared to the index of October, 2017. Its cumulative growth during April to October, 2018-19 was 5.4%. The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP). The data was released by the government after market hours on Friday, 30 November 2018.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News