Market breadth turns negative

A bout of volatility was witnessed as key indices bounced back after hitting fresh intraday low in morning trade. At 10:29 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 77.93 points or 0.21% at 37,491.06. The Nifty 50 index was up 9.80 points or 0.09% at 11,297.30.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.52%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.82%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 706 shares rose and 1365 shares fell. A total of 84 shares were unchanged.

Most FMCG shares rose. Nestle India (up 2.92%), Bajaj Corp (up 2.90%), Dabur India (up 2.83%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 2.20%), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.54%), Marico (up 1.33%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 1.24%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.76%) and Britannia Industries (up 0.56%), edged higher. Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 0.16%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (down 0.62%) and Tata Global Beverages (down 0.88%), edged lower.

Most metal shares declined. Hindustan Zinc (down 3.34%), Hindustan Copper (down 2.13%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.59%), Steel Authority of India (down 1.41%), JSW Steel (down 0.85%), Tata Steel (down 0.71%) and National Aluminium Company (down 0.65%), edged lower. Hindalco Industries (up 0.88%), Vedanta (up 0.96%) and NMDC (up 1.27%), edged higher.

Overseas, Asian stocks fell on Wednesday, as investor confidence was chilled by the latest round of verbal threats in an intensifying US-China trade conflict. China will seek permission from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to impose sanctions on the US next week, according to the WTO's meeting agenda. China will seek authorization at a special meeting of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body on Friday, 21 September 2018.

The request comes at a time of escalating trade tensions between the world's two largest economies, with US President Donald Trump saying last week he was "ready to go" on tariffs for another $267 billion on Chinese goods "if he wants." That would follow planned charges on $200 billion of Chinese goods in several industries, including technology. Beijing has vowed to retaliate if the US takes any new steps on trade.

US stocks shrugged off a wobbly start to close higher Tuesday, with the Dow climbing by triple digits, as energy and telecommunications rallied. However, trade worries were simmering below the surface as investors continued to watch the situation between the US and China.

On the data front, small-business sentiment climbed to a record in August, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. Separately, the number of job openings in the US climbed to a record 6.94 million in July while the US budget deficit in August was $211 billion, nearly double the gap during the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the US budget deficit in August was $211 billion, nearly double the gap during the year-ago month, the Congressional Budget Office estimated late Monday.

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