Key benchmarks hit fresh intraday high

In a sudden turn of events, key benchmark indices bounced back in positive terrain and hit fresh intraday high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 31.22 points or 0.11% at 29,678.64. The Nifty 50 index was currently up 8.60 points or 0.09% at 9,182.35.

The Sensex rose 33.68 points, or 0.11% at the day's high of 29,681.10 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 94.81 points, or 0.32% at the day's low of 29,552.61 in early afternoon trade. The Nifty rose 14.80 points, or 0.16% at the day's high of 9,188.55 in mid-afternoon trade. The index fell 21.65 points, or 0.24% at the day's low of 9,152.10 in early afternoon trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.84%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.79%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,652 shares rose and 976 shares fell. A total of 206 shares were unchanged.

Commercial vehicles major Tata Motors was down 0.06% to Rs 468.10. The company announced the launch of JT Special Vehicles, a 50:50 joint venture with Jayem Automotives, for the development of special performance vehicles based on the latest series products. As part of the agreement, both Tata Motors and Jayem Automotives will work towards performance enhancement and appearance of series vehicles to offer an exciting and innovative range of niche aspirational products for the passenger car customers. The announcemnt was made during trading hours today, 31 March 2017.

JT Special Vehicles will develop a range of performance vehicles in a phased manner at a dedicated line, currently being explored at Coimbatore. With all processes including design, precision machining, assembly, and testing facilities driven under one roof, this facility will aim to deliver the next level of personalization and enhanced performance with agility and efficiency. As part of Tata Motors' Passenger Vehicle business strategy, while an architecture approach with two platform strategy will reduce complexity, these special performance vehicles will be targeted to augment the latest product range in our vision to build aspirational cars.

Indiabulls Housing Finance (up 0.21% at Rs 990.95) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) (up 3.74% to Rs 387.90) were included the Nifty 50 index. In order to accommodate the two entrants, Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (down 0.64% to Rs 163.75) and Idea Cellular (down 0.58% to Rs 86.45) were excluded from the Nifty. The changes, effective 31 March 2017, were announced in February 2017.

Capital goods shares were mixed. BEML (up 4.54%), GE T&D India (up 3.59%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 3.49%), Lakshmi Machine Works (up 3.02%), GE Power India (up 1.86%), SKF India (up 1.86%), Bharat Electronics (up 1.72%), Crompton Greaves (up 1.50%), ABB India (up 1.34%), Jindal Saw (up 1.04%) and Siemens (up 0.06%), edged higher. Havells India (down 0.36%), Suzlon Energy (down 0.51%), AIA Engineering (down 0.89%), Punj Lloyd (down 1.02%) and Thermax (down 2.52%), edged lower.

Engineering and construction major L&T was up 1.53% to Rs 1,581.50.

Pharmaceuticals shares were mixed. IPCA Laboratories (up 2.82%), Piramal Enterprises (up 2.56%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.34%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.28%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.26%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.18%), Lupin (up 0.15%) and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.09%), edged higher. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.06%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.19%), Wockhardt (down 0.39%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.69%), Strides Shasun (down 0.73%) and Cipla (down 0.95%), edged lower.

Overseas, European stocks were trading lower as investors were eyeing the release of euro zone inflation data later in the day. Asian shares were mixed as investors digested a raft of regional economic data.

Activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded to 51.8 in March, an official survey showed, beating expectations for 51.6. The services sector rose to 55.1 from 54.2 in February. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction.

Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.2% in February. While that is the fastest annual pace in nearly two years, it is still distant from the central bank's 2% target.

US stocks closed higher yesterday, 30 March 2017, as financial shares rallied following a positive reading of economic growth and the tech-heavy Nasdaq returned to finish in record territory after a month-long wait.

The US economy, as measured by gross domestic product, expanded at a 2.1% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the previously reported 1.9% rate. Separately, jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 258,000 in the latest week, near their lowest level in decades.

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