Market trades in narrow range

Key benchmark indices traded in a narrow range in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 146.51 points or 0.53% at 27,983.01. The Nifty 50 index was up 34.15 points or 0.40% at 8,575.55. The Sensex flirted with the psychologically important 28,000 mark.

The Sensex rose 177 points, or 0.64% at the day's high of 28,013.50 in morning trade. The index rose 81.98 points, or 0.29% at the day's low of 27,918.48 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 43.95 points, or 0.51% at the day's high of 8,585.35 in morning trade. The index rose 17.05 points, or 0.20% at the day's low of 8558.45 in morning trade.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,523 shares rose and 949 shares fell. A total of 144 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.31%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.64%, outperforming the Sensex.

In overseas markets, most markets in Asia were trading higher today, 18 July 2016, ahead of a relatively data-light week in the region, while investors had a muted reaction to the risks surrounding a failed military coup in Turkey. In the US market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher on Friday, 15 July 2016, to post its fourth straight record close, while the S&P 500 broke its win streak as the rally lost strength ahead of the weekend. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4.47 points to 5,029.59 but finished the week 1.5% higher.

IT shares were mixed. Hexaware Technologies (up 0.87%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.79%), HCL Technologies (up 0.77%), TCS (up 0.30%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.25%) and CMC (up 0.03%), edged higher. Infosys (down 0.14%), MphasiS (down 0.38%), Wipro (down 0.95%), Persistent Systems (down 1.7%) and MindTree (down 4.06%), edged lower.

Most cement shares edged lower. UltraTech Cement (down 0.82%), ACC (down 0.43%) and Ambuja Cements (down 0.06%), edged lower.

Grasim Industries was up 0.04%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

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