Market hovers near day's high

The Sensex and the Nifty were trading near day's high levels in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 181.83 points or 0.51% at 35,938.09. The Nifty 50 index was up 59.30 points or 0.55% at 10,794.75. Positive global cues boosted investors sentiment. The Nifty was trading near 10,800 mark.

Overseas, most shares in Europe and Asia rose after the US Federal Reserve signalled it would be patient on further interest rate increases and as trade talks between China and the United states seemed to progress.

US stock indices ended the choppy session moderately higher Wednesday, following the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's January meeting.

Fed minutes affirmed it would be "patient" on interest rate rises. Fed highlighted downside risks, including "the possibilities of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in global economic growth, particularly in China and Europe, a rapid waning of fiscal policy stimulus, or a further tightening of financial market conditions.

The minutes showed extensive discussion of market conditions, particularly on the emphasis that Fed actions were having on prices of risky assets like stocks and corporate bonds. The Fed also judged that a "patient" approach to interest rate hikes would be prudent as it continued to weigh various headwinds to growth.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US may not increase tariffs on Chinese goods as scheduled after March 1, but he did raise the specter of addressing auto tariffs in Europe.

Back home, broader market outperformed the main stock indices. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.85%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.96%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1453 shares rose and 983 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged.

Most IT shares declined. MphasiS (down 1.94%), Infosys (down 0.76%), Hexaware Technologies (down 0.59%), MindTree (down 0.46%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 0.17%) and HCL Technologies (down 0.13%), edged lower. Wipro (up 0.94%), TCS (up 1.02%) and Persistent Systems (up 1.64%), edged higher.

Tech Mahindra was up 2.61%. The company announced during trading hours today, 21 February 2019, that its board approved the proposal to buyback upto 2.05 crore equity shares, or 2.10% equity, at Rs 950 each.

Pharmaceutical shares were mixed. Wockhardt (up 1.23%), Piramal Enterprises (up 1.22%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.89%), Cipla (up 0.78%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.64%), Strides Shasun (up 0.40%), Lupin (up 0.18%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.01%), edged higher. Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.06%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.53%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.64%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.82%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 1.04%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 1.48%), edged lower.

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