Market trims gains

Key benchmarks trimmed gains in mid-morning trade. At 11:22 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 163.39 points or 0.43% at 37,808.29. The Nifty 50 index was up 53.30 points or 0.47% at 11,409.05. Buying support emerged on bargain hunting after two sessions of losses. IT shares were in demand after rupee hit fresh lifetime low of 70 against US dollar.

Indices opened higher and firmed up as the session progressed. The Sensex rose 196.78 points, or 0.52% at the day's high of 37,841.68 in morning trade. The index rose 44.81 points, or 0.12% at the day's low of 37,689.71 at the onset of trading session. The Nifty rose 63.60 points, or 0.56% at the day's high of 11,419.35 in morning trade. The index rose 15.05 points, or 0.13% at the day's low of 11,370.80 at the onset of trading session.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.07%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.34%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1175 shares rose and 1120 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.

IT shares were trading higher after the rupee hit record low for the first time in history breaching the Rs 70 per dollar mark today, 14 August 2018. MindTree (up 2.64%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 2.60%), Persistent Systems (up 2.56%), Tech Mahindra (up 2.09%), TCS (up 0.79%), HCL Technologies (up 0.74%), Infosys (up 0.60%), Wipro (up 0.46%) and Hexaware Technologies (up 0.23%), edged higher. MphasiS was down 0.96%. A weak rupee benefits IT companies as they earn sizeable chunk of revenues in dollars.

Pharmaceuticals shares were mixed. Cadila Healthcare (down 4.44%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 2.19%), Strides Shasun (down 2.06%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.2%), Piramal Enterprises (down 1.06%), IPCA Laboratories (down 0.87%), Lupin (down 0.06%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.1%), edged lower. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.03%), Wockhardt (up 0.34%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.67%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.76%), Cipla (up 0.97%) and Divi's Laboratories (up 1.67%), edged higher.

On the macro front, the all-India general Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation dipped to nine-month low of 4.17% in July 2018 (new base 2012=100), compared with 4.92% in June 2018. The CPI inflation figure for June 2018 is revised downwards to 4.9% from 5.0% reported earlier. The corresponding provisional inflation rate for rural area was 4.11% and urban area 4.32% in July 2018 as against 4.93% and 4.85% in June 2018. The data was announced after market hours yesterday, 13 August 2018.

Overseas, Asian shares were mixed as tremors from the collapse of the Turkish lira ebbed a little. Ahead, a barrage of economic data out of China is expected later in the day. US stocks settled with small losses Monday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average down for a fourth straight session as the ongoing turmoil in Turkey dampened investors' appetite for riskier assets.

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