Key indices hit fresh intraday low; breadth strong

Key benchmark indices declined further and hit fresh intraday low in a volatile morning trade. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was currently down 51.50 points or 0.19% at 27,635.80.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were mixed. Most IT stocks were trading higher.

Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net Rs 202.12 crore yesterday, 18 May 2015, as per provisional data. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 618.54 crore yesterday, 18 May 2015, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges.

In overseas markets, Asian shares were mostly higher. US stocks edged higher yesterday, 18 May 2015, as both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 reached all-time highs.

At 10:17 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 51.50 points or 0.19% at 27,635.80. The index fell 6.45 points at the day's high of 27,680.85 in morning trade. The index fell 109.63 points at the day's low of 27,577.67 in morning trade.

The CNX Nifty was down 16.30 points or 0.19% at 8,357.35. The index hit a high of 8,375.15 in intraday trade. The index hit a low of 8,335.20 in intraday trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 59.53 points or 0.56% at 10,726.60. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 69.89 points or 0.63% at 11,217.61. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong. On BSE, 1,162 shares rose and 688 shares fell. A total of 89 shares were unchanged.

Most IT stocks were trading higher. Hexaware Technologies (up 1.52%), MindTree (up 1.39%), Persistent Systems (up 0.62%), MphasiS (up 0.61%) and Tech Mahindra (up 0.59%), edged higher. Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.51%), CMC (down 0.54%), HCL Technologies (down 0.75%) and TCS (down 0.76%), edged lower.

Wipro was up 0.74%. With respect to media reports titled "Wipro faces class action complaint in US," Wipro after market hours yesterday, 18 May 2015 clarified that the company complies with the laws of all of the countries in which it does business, but it is not immune to being sued. The company would not like to comment on this specific litigation, except to say it will vigorously defend itself against these allegations, Wipro said.

Infosys was up 1.02%. The company announced after market hours yesterday, 18 May 2015, that The Climate Group on 18 May 2015, announced that Infosys has become the first Indian company to join RE 100 a global platform for major companies committed to 100% renewable power. Infosys has taken great strides during the past seven years to become sustainable in its operations. As part of its commitment to RE100, Infosys aims to become carbon neutral by 2018. The company is already working to reduce its per capita electricity consumption by 50 per cent from its 2007-2008 levels and source all its electricity from renewable resources by 2018. During fiscal year 2015, Infosys met 29% of its electricity needs - about 72.08 million units - for its locations across India through green power. During the same period, Infosys generated over 2911 MWh of electricity through its onsite solar PV installations across India.

Shares of pharmaceutical companies were mixed. Wockhardt (up 2.93%), Cadila Healthcare (up 2.44%), Strides Arcolab (up 2.15%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.89%), Cipla (up 0.95%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.36%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.28%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.13%), edged higher. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.18%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.54%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.64%), Lupin (down 0.76%) and Divi's Laboratories (down 0.8%), edged lower.

Meanwhile, the Southwest Monsoon arrived over the Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Saturday, 16 May 2015, which is 4 days prior to the usual onset date of 20 May 2015. Private weather forecaster Skymet yesterday, 18 May 2015, said that the conditions for the advancement of the Northern Limit of Monsoon (NLM) are favourable over some more parts of south Bay of Bengal, through Sri Lanka. It will take about 8 to 10 days from the current position for the monsoon to strike Kerala, Skymet said. This means that the onset will be 3 to 4 days earlier than the official date of 1 June 2015, Skymet said.

On 14 May 2015, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast that the southwest monsoon will hit the Kerala coast around 30 May 2015. The onset of southwest monsoon over Kerala signals the arrival of monsoon over the Indian subcontinent and represents beginning of rainy season over the region. The IMD has forecast below normal rains during the June-September southwest monsoon season this year. The annual monsoon is critical for the country's agriculture.

In global market, Asian shares were mostly higher. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were up by 0.33% to 2.72%. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia and Singapore were down by 0.17% to 0.18%.

US stocks edged higher yesterday, 18 May 2015, as both the Dow industrials and the S&P 500 reached all-time highs. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 26 points, or 0.1%, to 18,299, a new closing peak. The S&P 500 index rose 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,129, its ninth record close of the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 30 points, or 0.6%, to 5,078, still shy of its 24 April record of 5,092.

Investors will get a closer look at the US Federal Reserve's thoughts about interest rates and economic data when the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting from its meeting held in late April 2015 are released tomorrow, 20 May 2015.

In Europe, Greece remains a focus for investors in Europe, as the uncertainty over the country's debt situation persists. Canadian ratings service DBRS Inc. on Friday, 15 May 2015, cut its rating on Greece, citing uncertainty over whether it will be able reach an agreement with its creditors. Greece faces a key debt repayment deadline of 5 June 2015.

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