Market breadth turns negative

Key equity indices continued trading in negative terrain in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 65.82 points or 0.17% at 38,830.81. The Nifty 50 index was down 24.15 points or 0.21% at 11,714.35. Traders booked profits after recent gains, which were backed by favourable global cues.

After a volatile opening, indices were almost flat in morning trade. Indices hit fresh intraday low in afternoon trade as selling intensified. The Sensex rose 93.02 points, or 0.24% at the day's high of 38,989.65 in early trade. The index fell 96.59 points, or 0.25% at the day's low of 38,800.04 in afternoon trade. The Nifty rose 14.70 points, or 0.13% at the day's high of 11,753.20 in early trade. The index fell 35.15 points, or 0.30% at the day's low of 11,703.35 in afternoon trade.

Broader market depicted firmness. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.77%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.35%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1299 shares rose and 1312 shares fell. A total of 158 shares were unchanged.

Drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries was up 0.60%. The company announced during trading hours today, 29 August 2018, the launch of Volini Maxx, India's strongest pain relief spray.

Auto stocks were mixed. Tata Motors (up 1.02%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.98%), Ashok Leyland (up 0.45%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.04%), Escorts (up 0.03%) and Bajaj Auto (up 0.02%), edged higher. Maruti Suzuki India (down 0.16%), TVS Motor Company (down 0.41%) and Eicher Motors (down 1.41%), edged lower.

Most capital goods shares rose. Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 5.02%), Punj Lloyd (up 4.98%), Reliance Defence and Engineering (up 4.98%), Jindal Saw (up 4.74%), ABB India (up 1.57%), Praj Industries (up 1.25%), Suzlon Energy (up 0.84%), BEML (up 0.81%), Thermax (up 0.68%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.56%), Crompton Greaves (up 0.25%), Lakshmi Machine Works (up 0.25%), AIA Engineering (up 0.20%) and Siemens (up 0.12%), edged higher. Havells India (down 0.01%), GE Power India (down 0.09%), SKF India (down 0.98%) and GE T&D India (down 1.89%), edged lower.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was down 0.35% to Rs 1352.10.

Overseas, most European and Asian shares were trading higher. Traders were cautious ahead of a looming deadline on tariffs with China. In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq on Tuesday finished at records for a third consecutive session after a measure of consumer confidence hit a nearly 18-year high. However, the market's gains were muted, with indexes closing off of intraday peaks. The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence climbed to 133.4 this month from 127.9 in July.

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