Market trades on a firm note; breadth positive

Key barometers were trading near day's high in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 98.42 points or 0.28% at 35,242.91. The Nifty 50 index was up 34.70 points or 0.33% at 10,617.20. Weakness in crude oil prices boosted investors sentiment.

On the economic front, the annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 5.28% (provisional) for the month of October 2018 (over October 2017) as compared to 5.13% (provisional) for the previous month and 3.68% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 4.64% compared to a build up rate of 2.12% in the corresponding period of the previous year. The data was disclosed during trading hours today, 14 November 2018.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.60%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.27%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1247 shares rose and 1064 shares fell. A total of 132 shares were unchanged.

Cement shares were in demand. UltraTech Cement (up 2.43%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.83%) and ACC (up 0.76%), edged higher.

Grasim Industries was up 0.76%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.

Telecom shares rose across the board. Bharti Airtel (up 3.13%), Reliance Communications (up 1.89%), Vodafone Idea (up 1.47%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 1.18%) and MTNL (up 0.23%), edged higher.

Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 0.25%.

In the global commodities markets, Brent for January 2019 settlement was down 14 cents at $65.33 a barrel. The contract fell $4.65 a barrel or 6.63% to settle at $65.47 a barrel during the previous trading session.

India imports majority of its crude requirements and a decline in crude eases concerns on fiscal deficit, inflation and gives more room for the government to boost growth through spending on infrastructure.

Overseas, most Asian shares edged lower as investors worry about slowing global growth with crude oil prices sinking on worries about weakening world demand and oversupply.

US stocks closed mostly lower after a volatile session Tuesday as oil prices tumbled, dragging the energy sector sharply lower, and a resolution of the US-China trade war remained elusive.

On the US data front, the National Federation of Independent Business small-business optimism index declined 0.5 points to a seasonally adjusted 107.4 in October, a four-month low. Further, the US ran a $100 billion deficit in October, wider than the $63 billion deficit recorded in October 2017 as spending rose by double digits and receipts only increased by 7%, according to the Treasury Department.

In Europe, the United Kingdom and European Union agreed on the text for a Brexit divorce deal on Tuesday. Prime Minister Theresa May will present the draft withdrawal agreement to her senior ministers on Wednesday for discussion and then decide on the next steps.

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