IT shares move higher

The market further extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade, backed by strength in IT shares. At 11:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 187.53 points or 0.54% at 34,850.64. The Nifty 50 index was up 58 points or 0.55% at 10,571.85.

Sustained buying by domestic institutional investors (DIIs) in equity market propped up investors sentiment. DIIs bought shares worth a net Rs 1480.51 crore yesterday, 24 May 2018, as per provisional data. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 701.93 crore yesterday, 24 May 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

The market firmed up after a positive opening. The Sensex rose 206.49 points, or 0.60% at the day's high of 34869.60 in mid-morning trade, its highest intraday level since 21 May 2018. The index rose 37.41 points, or 0.11% at the day's low of 34,700.52 in early trade. The Nifty rose 64.45 points, or 0.61% at the day's high of 10,578.30 in mid-morning trade, its highest intraday level since 21 May 2018. The index rose 10.15 points, or 0.10% at the day's low of 10,524 in early trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.84%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.69%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1333 shares rose and 857 shares fell. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.

IT stocks were in demand. Hexaware Technologies (up 2.79%), MphasiS (up 2.55%), Infosys (up 2.03%), TCS (up 1.5%), HCL Technologies (up 1.15%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.87%), MindTree (up 0.67%), Persistent Systems (up 0.52%) and Wipro (up 0.42%), edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software was down 0.22%.

Pharmaceutical shares were mixed. Divi's Laboratories (up 1.35%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.68%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.62%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.57%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.32%) and Strides Shasun (up 0.32%), edged higher. Cipla (down 0.04%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.04%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.41%), Lupin (down 0.44%), Wockhardt (down 0.44%), Piramal Enterprises (down 0.68%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.7%), edged lower.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was up 0.64%. The company's board will consider Q4 results today, 25 May 2018.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed after US President Donald Trump cancelled a planned meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that had been set to take place in Singapore on 12 June 2018. Trump said participating in the summit would be inappropriate given the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed by North Korea, which had reportedly suspended direct communication with the US this week.

US stocks finished lower Thursday as a sharp decline in energy-related shares pressured the broader market lower. On the data front, initial jobless claims rose by 11,000 to 234,000 in the week ended 19 May 2018. Separately, existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual 5.46 million pace in April.

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