Market hits fresh intraday low

Volatility ruled the roost in mid-morning trade as the key benchmark indices hit fresh intraday low in negative zone after briefly turning positive in morning trade. At 11:28 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 90.30 points or 0.27% at 33,745.44. The Nifty 50 index was off 31.90 points or 0.31% at 10,379. Oil & gas stocks fell. Most realty stocks gained.

Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade tracking negative Asian stocks. Stocks reversed initial small declines and turned positive in morning trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.63%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.61%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On the BSE, 1,453 shares rose and 884 shares fell. A total of 116 shares were unchanged.

Oil & gas stocks fell. Among oil exploration and production (E&P) stocks, Reliance Industries (down 0.73%), ONGC (down 0.5%) and Oil India (down 0.4%) edged lower.

Among PSU OMCs, HPCL (down 0.66%), BPCL (down 0.99%), and Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.61%) declined.

Most realty stocks gained. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 2.39%), DLF (up 0.95%), D B Realty (up 0.89%), Unitech (up 2.15%), Godrej Properties (up 1.07%) and Oberoi Realty (up 0.86%) rose. Housing Development and Infrastructure (down 3.7%), Sobha (down 0.4%) and Prestige Estates Projects (down 0.1%) fell.

MMTC jumped 16.48% after the company said its board will meet on 19 March 2018 to consider bonus issue. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 March 2018.

Praj Industries rose 2.36% after the company appointed Shishir Joshipura as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director for a period of five years with effect from 2 April 2018. The announcement was made during market hours today, 15 March 2018.

Meanwhile, the Indian economy is set to revert to its trend growth rate of 7.5% in the coming years as it bottoms out from the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetization, a World Bank report released yesterday, 14 March 2018 showed. India's GDP growth is projected to reach 6.7% in 2017-18 and accelerate to 7.3% and 7.5% in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.

While services will continue to remain the main driver of economic growth; industrial activity is poised to grow, with manufacturing expected to accelerate following the implementation of the GST, and agriculture will likely grow at its long-term average growth rate, the report said.

Overseas, Asian markets were trading lower after the decline on Wall Street overnight as fears of a potential trade war resurfaced after President Donald Trump announced that his administration will seek to trim the US's trade deficit with China by $100 billion via tariffs.

US stocks fell yesterday, 14 March 2018 after lackluster retail sales figures fanned concern that consumer spending is cooling. In economic data, the producer-price index showed wholesale inflation up 0.2% in February, down from the 0.4% advance in January. US retail sales fell 0.1% in February, the third straight monthly decline. However, sales grew 0.3% if autos and gas are stripped out.

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