Sensex, Nifty hit fresh intraday low

Key equity indices slipped into negative terrain and hit fresh intraday low in morning trade. At 10:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 54.80 points or 0.14% at 38,668.13. The Nifty 50 index was down 25.10 points or 0.21% at 11,666.80.

Trading was volatile as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the August 2018 series to September 2018 series. The August 2018 F&O contracts expire today, 30 August 2018.

After a positive opening, the market slipped into negative terrain in morning trade. The Sensex rose 96.13 points, or 0.25% at the day's high of 38,819.06 in early trade. The index fell 98.70 points, or 0.25% at the day's low of 38,624.23 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 6.90 points, or 0.06% at the day's high of 11,698.80 in early trade. The index fell 35.10 points, or 0.30% at the day's low of 11,656.80 in morning trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.19%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.19%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1091 shares rose and 874 shares fell. A total of 96 shares were unchanged.

Most FMCG shares rose. Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 1.14%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 1.07%), Dabur India (up 1.02%), Tata Global Beverages (up 0.70%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.50%), Marico (up 0.50%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.33%), Nestle India (up 0.29%) and Hindustan Unilever (up 0.28%), edged higher. Britannia Industries (down 0.13%) and Godrej Consumer Products (down 0.42%), edged lower.

Oil stocks declined. Among public sector oil marketing companies, HPCL (down 2.04%), Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.41%) and BPCL (down 0.5%), edged lower.

Among oil exploration and production companies, Reliance Industries (down 0.91%), ONGC (down 0.39%) and Oil India (down 0.19%), edged lower.

Overseas, Asian stocks were mixed. The US stock market extended gains Wednesday as the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at a record for a fourth session, while the Dow finished at its highest since February. Investor sentiments were also boosted by the announcement that Canada had rejoined the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) talks, following the deal reached by the US and Mexico earlier this week.

On the US data front, an update to second-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in showing growth at a 4.2% annualized pace, which represented the fastest pace of expansion in almost four years.

Pending-home sales declined 0.7% in July, the National Association of Realtors said. NAR's index, which tracks real-estate transactions where a contract has been signed but the deal has not yet closed, fell to a reading of 106.2.

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