Market trims gains; auto shares in demand

The market trimmed gains after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 349.67 points or 0.98% at 36,066.62. The Nifty 50 index was up 90.05 points or 0.84% at 10,818.90. The Sensex was trading above 36,000 mark and the Nifty was trading above 10,800 mark. Strong global cues, coupled with a fall in crude oil prices and a firmness in rupee boosted investors' sentiment.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.42%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.15%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1099 shares rose and 1007 shares fell. A total of 128 shares were unchanged.

Auto shares were in demand. Bajaj Auto (up 2.37%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.15%), Escorts (up 1.69%), Tata Motors (up 1.26%), Ashok Leyland (up 1.25%), Hero MotoCorp (up 1.15%), Eicher Motors (up 0.24%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.22%) and TVS Motor Company (up 0.04%), edged higher.

Telecom shares fell across the board. Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 1.9%), Vodafone Idea (down 1.45%), Reliance Communications (down 1.22%), MTNL (down 0.47%) and Bharti Airtel (down 0.32%), edged lower.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 961.26 crore in the domestic equity market on 28 November 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 330.29 crore on 28 November 2018, as per provisional data.

In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged higher against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 70.04, compared with its close of 70.625 during the previous trading session.

In the global commodities markets, Brent for January 2019 settlement was up 42 cents at $59.18 a barrel. The contract fell $1.45 a barrel or 2.41% to settle at $58.76 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, Asian shares jumped on Thursday, tracking a Wall Street rally as dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell boosted investor sentiment towards riskier assets.

US stocks surged overnight, spurred by a remarks from Fed Chairman Powell who said he considers the central bank's benchmark interest rate to be near a neutral level. The comments were viewed by investors as a retreat from his stance in early October when he had said that the central bank "may go past neutral, but we are a long way from neutral at this point, probably."

On the US data front, the Commerce Department said gross domestic product grew at a 3.5% annualized rate in the third quarter, in a second estimate that matched the first.

Separately, data showed the deficit in advanced goods trade widened to $77.2 billion in October from $76.3 billion the previous month. Further, new home sales fell to an annualized rate of 544,000 in October, below the revised September rate of 597,000 new homes, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

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