Sensex, Nifty hit fresh intraday low

Indices sharply pared gains and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 22.81 points or 0.06% at 35,342.16. The Nifty 50 index was up 4.15 points or 0.04% at 10,745.85.

Key indices opened higher and briefly hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Indices pared gains as profit booking emerged at higher levels. The Sensex rose 181.41 points, or 0.51% at the day's high of 35,500.76 in early trade, its highest intraday level since 2 February 2018. The index fell 7.03 points, or 0.02% at the day's low of 35,312.32 in mid-morning trade. The Nifty rose 43.85 points, or 0.41% at the day's high of 10,785.55 in early trade, its highest intraday level since 2 February 2018. The index fell 10.25 points, or 0.10% at the day's low of 10,731.45 in mid-morning trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.77%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.46%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 881 shares rose and 1399 shares fell. A total of 90 shares were unchanged.

Most IT shares rose. MphasiS (up 1.95%), Hexaware Technologies (up 1.93%), Tech Mahindra (up 1.24%), MindTree (up 0.42%), Infosys (up 0.40%), HCL Technologies (up 0.08%), Wipro (up 0.07%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.01%), edged higher. Persistent Systems (down 0.37%) and TCS (down 0.52%), edged lower.

Most pharmaceutical shares declined. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 1.92%), Strides Shasun (down 1.23%), Piramal Enterprises (down 1.19%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.65%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.65%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.62%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.2%) and Wockhardt (down 0.2%), edged lower. Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.05%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.41%), IPCA Laboratories (up 0.84%) and Lupin (up 1.04%), edged higher.

Cipla was down 1.11%. The company announced that it has entered into an exclusive marketing and distribution agreement with US-based MannKind Corporation for Afrezza in India. Afrezza is the only USFDA approved inhaled insulin available for patients suffering from diabetes. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 9 May 2018. Afrezza, an inhaled insulin, is a cutting-edge product which will increase patient convenience, said Umang Vohra, MD & Global CEO, Cipla. The innovative drug delivery system will revolutionize the diabetic care in India.

Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher, tracking Wall Street's advance as oil prices traded higher after touching multi-year highs overnight.

In US, the broader stock market rallied as sharp gains in energy, financials and technology stocks propelled the main benchmarks firmly higher.

On the data front, US wholesale prices rose a scant 0.1% in April to mark the smallest gain since the end of 2017, perhaps a sign inflationary pressures are leveling off after a prolonged upsurge. The 12-month rate of wholesale inflation slipped to 2.6% from 3%. The so-called core rate of wholesale inflation also increased 0.1%. The core rate is a closely watched category that excludes food, energy and retail-trade margins. The yearly rate of core inflation slipped to 2.5% from 2.9%.

Meanwhile, the US Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude supplies fell by 2.2 million barrels for the week ended 4 May 2018. The decline followed back-to-back weekly increases.

Oil prices continued their move higher after touching multiyear highs overnight as investors digested the impact renewed US sanctions on Iran would have on oil supplies.

In the global commodities markets, Brent for July 2018 settlement was hovering above $77 a barrel mark. The contract jumped $2.36 a barrel or 3.15% to settle at $77.21 a barrel during the previous trading session.

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