Market trades in range

Shares turned range bound in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 145.13 points or 0.37% at 38,922.20. The Nifty 50 index was down 50.50 points or 0.43% at 11,704.15. The Nifty was trading above 11,700 mark after flirting with that level in the intraday.

The undertone of the market was fragile amid negative global cues. Investors were also cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting this week. US Fed officials will meet on 30 April and 1 May 2019. Fed board chairman Jerome Powell will hold a press conference on 1 May 2019.

Shares opened lower and extended losses as the session progressed. After hitting an intraday low in morning trade, key indices pared losses in mid-morning trade. The market traded in a narrow band in mid-afternoon trade.

Broader market continued to trade under pressure. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 1.30%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 1.34%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 633 shares rose and 1777 shares fell. A total of 149 shares were unchanged.

Cement shares declined. Ambuja Cements (down 2.46%), ACC (down 1.58%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.9%), edged lower.

Grasim Industries was down 1.31%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Telecom shares fell across the board. Reliance Communications (down 4.6%), Vodafone Idea (down 3.98%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 2.68%), Bharti Airtel (down 2.03%) and MTNL (down 1.4%), edged lower.

Domestic financial market will remain closed on Wednesday, 1 May 2019, on account of Maharashtra Day.

Overseas, European shares fell on Tuesday weighed by a decline by banks and weak China factory data. Asian shares were mixed as China's manufacturing sector grew slower than expected in April, according to data released on Tuesday. Meanwhile, trade negotiations between the US and China are set to resume in Beijing later in the day.

The Caixin/Markit factory Purchasing Managers' Index for April was 50.2. The reading for March was 50.8. The private PMI survey came after China's National Bureau of Statistics released official manufacturing PMI for April, which came in at 50.1. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion, while those below that signal contraction.

In US, all three major stock indices ended higher on Monday as the latest data showed softer core inflation in March while consumer spending jumped.

US consumer spending rose 0.9% in March from the prior month after a 0.1% February increase, according to a Commerce Department report Monday. The closely followed core PCE inflation was flat in March, knocking the yearly rate down to 1.6% from 1.7%. Personal incomes, meanwhile, increased 0.1% in March.

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