Market breadth turns negative

Stocks hovered in positive zone in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 74.20 points or 0.19% at 38,719.38. The Nifty 50 index was up 17.65 points or 0.15% at 11,612.10. Telecom stocks declined.

Local stocks nudged higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.08%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.05%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On the BSE, 1009 shares rose and 1038 shares fell. A total of 121 shares were unchanged.

Telecom stocks declined. Bharti Airtel (down 1.25%), Vodafone Idea (down 0.87%), MTNL (down 0.24%), and Reliance Communications (down 4.78%) fell. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.34%) rose.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 1.68%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

AU Small Finance Bank rose 0.16%. AU Small Finance Bank's net profit rose 42.39% to Rs 118.24 crore on 51.22% increase in total income to Rs 1,007.40 crore in Q4 March 2019 over Q4 March 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 22 April 2019.

Essel Propack rose 0.26% to Rs 133. Blackstone announced that private equity funds managed by Blackstone have entered into a definitive agreement with Ashok Goel Trust to purchase a majority stake in Essel Propack ("EPL"), a leading global specialty packaging company and the largest global manufacturer of laminated tubes. Ashok Goel Trust and its affiliates currently hold about 57% of EPL. Blackstone will pay a purchase price of Rs 134 per share to acquire a 51% shareholding from Ashok Goel Trust. As per the Takeover Code in India, this transaction will trigger a mandatory open offer for a purchase of additional 26% shares of the company and the acquiring entity has released a public announcement to the stock exchanges.

The open offer price has been fixed at Rs 139.19 per share. Based on the open offer subscription, the purchase price consideration will vary between Rs 2,157 crore and Rs 3,211 crore (or, approximately $310 million - $462 million). Ashok Goel will retain a minority stake in the company. The sale is expected to complete in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 April 2019.

On the political front, as many as 116 Lok Sabha constituencies are undergoing polls today, 23 April 2019, across 14 states and Union Territories in Phase 3 of the 2019 general election. The 2019 general election, which is scheduled to be held in seven phases, kicked off on 11 April 2019 and will conclude on 19 May 2019. The counting of votes will be conducted on 23 May, and on the same day the results will be declared.

Overseas, Asian shares were trading lower on Tuesday with concerns China may slow the pace of policy easing.

US stocks ended a low-volume trading session little changed on Monday, with the biggest gains in the energy sector as investors otherwise stayed on the sidelines ahead of quarterly earnings.

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