Market reverses direction after hitting intraday high

A bout of volatility witnessed as the key benchmark indices reversed direction after extending gains in early afternoon trade. At 13:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was off 26.69 points or 0.1% at 28,037.92. The losses for the Nifty 50 index were higher in percentage terms than those for the Sensex. The Nifty was currently off 17.70 points or 0.2% at 8,624.85. Losses for Asian and European stocks weighed on the domestic bourses.

The Sensex rose 109.69 points, or 0.39% at the day's high of 28,174.30 in early afternoon trade. The index fell 40.25 points, or 0.14% at the day's low of 28,024.36 at the onset of trading session. The Nifty rose 24.55 points, or 0.28% at the day's high of 8,667.10 in early afternoon trade. The index fell 17.90 points, or 0.21% at the day's low of 8624.65 in afternoon trade.

The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was positive. On BSE, 1,395 shares rose and 1,057 shares fell. A total of 166 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.57%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.63%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

In overseas stock markets, European stocks edged lower ahead of the closely-watched release of the US Federal Reserve's latest minutes. Most Asian stocks fell after New York Fed President William Dudley said the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates as soon as September, prompting investors to pause after rallies in recent weeks. Chinese shares slipped after leaders approved a plan to give foreign investors more access to Chinese equities through Hong Kong. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite index closed 0.02% lower. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index was currently off 0.24%. China's Cabinet announced approval of an initiative that would give foreign investors more access to Chinese stocks by linking exchanges in Hong Kong and the mainland city of Shenzhen.

US stocks eased from record highs yesterday, 16 August 2016, with the S&P 500 losing 0.55% as investors weighed hawkish comments by Federal Reserve officials against sharp gains for oil futures, a weakening dollar and fresh consumer-price data that showed US inflation remains tepid. Dudley said a rate hike in September was possible, while Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said the US economy is likely strong enough for at least one rate increase before the end of 2016, with two a possibility. Dudley cited evidence of wage gains and a tighter labor market that could boost inflation. Their comments came ahead of an annual meeting of central bankers from around the world in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, next week.

Telecom stocks rose. Bharti Airtel (up 0.64%), MTNL (up 2.16%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.95%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.73%) rose. Idea Cellular lost 1.16%.

Shares of Bharti Infratel fell 0.7%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.

IT stocks edged lower. TCS (down 1.69%), Wipro (down 0.23%), HCL Technologies (down 0.63%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.55%), MindTree (down 1.27%), declined. Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.65%) and Hexaware Technologies (up 0.09%) rose.

Index heavyweight and software major Infosys lost 1% to Rs 1,040.40. The stock hit high of Rs 1,051.90 and low of Rs 1,035.30 so far during the day. The stock extended losses registered during the previous trading session triggered by the company's announcement that it had lost a contract from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) as RBS decided not to pursue its plan to separate and list a new UK standalone bank, Williams & Glyn (W&G). Infosys was a W&G program technology partner for consulting, application delivery and testing services.

Vakrangee rose 0.81% to Rs 180.20 as Credit Suisse (Singapore) bought 40 lakh shares of the company at an average price of Rs 173.80 per share via bulk deal mechanism on the NSE yesterday, 16 August 2016.

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