Market hovers near day's high

Key equity indices were hovering near day's high in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 114.04 points or 0.3% at 38,759.22. The Nifty 50 index was up 39.60 points or 0.34% at 11,634.05. Most FMCG stocks rose.

Local stocks nudged higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove. Stocks hovered in positive zone in mid-morning trade and turned range bound in afternoon trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.37%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.23%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1219 shares rose and 1147 shares fell. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.

Most FMCG stocks rose. Britannia Industries (up 0.08%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.48%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 0.56%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.56%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.28%), Marico (up 0.1%) and Nestle India (up 0.37%) rose.

Dabur India (down 0.09%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.05%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.2%), Jyothy Laboratories (down 0.41%) and Bajaj Consumer Care (down 0.33%) fell.

Aurionpro Solutions rose 1.6%. Aurionpro Solutions said it will supply, install and maintain self-servicing Kiosks at more than 500 branches of the bank across India. The order is valued at about Rs 18 crore. The installation and implementation will be completed by September 2019, followed by the maintenance and support. The announcement was made during trading hours today, 23 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, most European shares were trading lower as investors monitored a number of geopolitical issues and looked ahead to a new earnings season. Most Asian markets were trading lower Tuesday as oil prices surged to nearly six-month highs after the U.S. said it would soon impose sanctions on all buyers of Iranian oil.

On Monday, the Trump administration said it would no longer exempt any countries from U.S. sanctions if they continue to buy Iranian oil. The administration had granted eight waivers when it reimposed sanctions on Iran in November. These expire May 2. Asian countries, namely China, India, Japan and South Korea are major importers of Iranian oil.

US stocks closed mostly stronger Monday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq finishing at a six-month high, as investors face a big week for corporate quarterly results and economic data following an extended holiday weekend.

In US economic data, the Chicago Fed national activity index rose to negative 0.15 March from negative 0.31 in February. Existing homes were sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million in March, 4.9% lower than February's pace.

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