Key indices hovered in positive zone in mid-afternoon trade amid volatility. At 14:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 76.52 points or 0.22% at 34,577.79. The Nifty 50 index was up 2.45 points or 0.02% at 10,573. Capital goods stocks saw mixed trend. Oil marketing stocks declined.
Trading was volatile as traders rolled over positions in the F&O segment from the near month April 2018 series to May 2018 series. The March 2018 F&O contracts expire today, 26 April 2018.
Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade. Stocks hovered in positive zone in morning trade. Key equity benchmarks traded with modest gains in mid-morning trade. Stocks trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. Indices traded with small gains in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.28%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.12%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,510 shares fell and 1,025 shares rose. A total of 164 shares were unchanged.
Capital goods stocks saw mixed trend. ABB India (up 1.08%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 1.16%) and Siemens (up 0.33%) rose. BEML (down 1.79%), Bharat Electronics (down 0.72%), L&T (down 2.02%), Punj Lloyd (down 2.29%) and Thermax (down 0.72%) fell.
Oil marketing companies declined. BPCL (down 1.76%), HPCL (down 2.23%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.12%) declined.
Overseas, European stocks notched small gains, as a fresh batch of earnings reports rolled in. Later, the European Central Bank (ECB) is scheduled to release its latest update on monetary policy, and investors will watch for any comments from the ECB's president, Mario Draghi, on eurozone economic growth. The ECB in March surprised markets by signaling it's on track to end its stimulus program before year's end.
Asian stocks were mostly higher on optimism over earnings after Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly profit. Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan is reportedly likely to keep its policy unchanged when it ends a two-day rate review tomorrow, 27 April 2018.
US stocks fluctuated yesterday, 25 April 2018 before closing mixed as strong earnings from the likes of Boeing and Texas Instruments helped investors shrug off worries about higher interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% to snap a five-day losing streak and the S&P 500 inched up 0.2% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slid 0.1%.
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