Negative market breadth

Key indices drifted in the negative terrain and were trading with tiny losses in afternoon trade after European stocks edged lower in early trade there. At 13:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 7.96 points or 0.03% at 29,919.63. The Nifty 50 index was down 3.65 points or 0.04% at 9,310.15. Most metal & mining stocks declined. Capital goods stocks were mixed.

So far, indices traded in a narrow range around the flat line in a lacklustre session of trade.

The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.25%. The decline in this index was higher than the Sensex's slide in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index advanced 0.09%, outperforming the Sensex.

The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,420 shares declined and 1,219 shares rose. A total of 163 shares were unchanged.

Most metal & mining stocks declined. Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.5%), Vedanta (down 0.52%), Tata Steel (down 1.31%), Hindalco Industries (down 1.67%), Steel Authority of India (down 0.76%), JSW Steel (down 0.79%), and Hindustan Zinc (down 1.73%) edged lower. Bhushan Steel (up 5.01%), NMDC (up 0.59%), and National Aluminium Company (up 0.15%) gained.

Capital goods stocks were mixed. BEML (down 0.88%), Havells India (down 0.52%), Bharat Electronics (down 1.36%), L&T (down 0.56%), and Thermax (down 0.18%) declined. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 0.14%), ABB (India) (up 0.44%) and Siemens (up 0.48%) gained.

Artson Engineering was locked at 5% upper circuit at Rs 53.55 after net profit spurted 1367% to Rs 26.70 crore on 13.5% decrease in net sales to Rs 30.27 crore in Q4 March 2017 over Q4 March 2016. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 2 May 2017.

The board of directors at a meeting held yesterday, 2 May 2017, approved the increase in the borrowing powers of the company from Rs 75 crore to 125 crore, subject to approval of the shareholders at the ensuring annual general meeting. Board also approved the closure of the company's manufacturing unit located at Asanbani Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

Meanwhile, US-based credit rating agency, Fitch yesterday, 2 May 2017, kept India's sovereign rating unchanged at 'BBB-', the lowest investment grade with stable outlook assigned to the country more than a decade ago citing weak fiscal position. The leading rating agency, however, expects India's growth rate to accelerate to 7.7% in fiscals 2017 and 2018, from 7.1% in fiscal 2016.

Overseas, European stocks edged lower in early trade. Asian stocks were trading mixed. US equities closed with small gains yesterday, 2 May 2017 as investors awaited earnings from tech giant Apple.

Among other global news, The American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday, 2 May 2017, reported a drop of 4.2 million barrels in US crude supplies for the week ended 28 April 2017.

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