Sensex, Nifty hover near flat line

Key indices were hovering near the flat line after hitting fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:21 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 4.68 points or 0.01% at 37,847.32. The Nifty 50 index was up 2.50 points or 0.02% at 11,437.60. Trading sentiment was fragile due to negative Asian stocks.

After opening lower, the indices pared losses in morning trade and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. The Sensex rose 39.92 points, or 0.11% at the day's high of 37,891.92 in mid-morning trade. The index fell 207.03 points, or 0.55% at the day's low of 37,644.97 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 14.75 points, or 0.13% at the day's high of 11,449.85 in mid-morning trade. The index fell 58.15 points, or 0.51% at the day's low of 11,376.95 at the onset of trading session.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.15%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.38%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1,210 shares rose and 1,078 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged.

IT shares were in demand. MindTree (up 3.72%), MphasiS (up 2.01%), Infosys (up 1.45%), HCL Technologies (up 0.92%), TCS (up 0.74%), Hexaware Technologies (up 0.66%), Persistent Systems (up 0.64%), Tech Mahindra (up 0.38%) and Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.05%), edged higher. Wipro was down 1.13%.

Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Cipla (up 2.19%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.98%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.54%), Strides Shasun (up 1.27%), Lupin (up 0.97%), Wockhardt (up 0.76%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 0.55%), Alkem Laboratories (up 0.46%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.24%), Divi's Laboratories (up 0.16%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.14%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.03%), edged higher. Cadila Healthcare (down 0.31%) and Piramal Enterprises (down 1.32%), edged lower.

Reliance Industries (RIL) was down 0.71%. The company said that it has taken short shutdown of one of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Units (FCCU) at Jamnagar complex to assure reliability and integrity of operations. The unit is expected to restart within two weeks. Rest of the Jamnagar Complex is operating normally. The company does not expect any material impact on overall operations of Jamnagar complex. The announcement was made yesterday, 15 August 2018 when the stock markets remained on account of Independence Day.

Separately, RIL announced after market hours on Tuesday, 14 August 2018, that Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of the company, has purchased an additional 12.56% equity shareholding in Genesis Colors (GCL) for about Rs 52.77 crore, taking its total stake in GCL to 46.39%. GCL was incorporated in November, 1998 and is in the business of retailing and wholesale of branded readymade garments, bags, footwear and accessories directly and through its subsidiary/Joint ventures. GCL belongs to a similar industry as Reliance Brands. This acquisition will add to the existing portfolio of branded fashion retail outlets.

Overseas, most Asian stocks declined, tracking overnight fall in the US market. Japan logged a bigger-than-expected trade deficit in July as the cost of energy imports surged, government data showed Thursday. The trade deficit came to 231.2 billion yen ($2.1 billion) following a revised 720.8 billion yen surplus in June, according to a preliminary report by the Finance Ministry. Exports grew 3.9% from a year earlier to 6.75 trillion yen amid an increase in demand for electronic components from the rest of Asia, but were overshadowed by a 14.6% rise in imports to 6.98 trillion yen.

In US, stocks came off intraday lows but still closed lower Wednesday as worries surrounding Turkey's currency crisis and continued trade tensions weighed on investors' confidence. A sharp fall in oil prices sent the energy sector skidding, making it the worst S&P 500 performer.

On the US data front, retail sales rose 0.5% in July. Excluding auto sales, they were up 0.6%. Separately, second-quarter productivity rose 2.9%, the highest rate in more than three years. Output in the second quarter was up 4.8%. The Empire State manufacturing index rose 3 points to 25.6 in August, the New York Fed said Wednesday, topping expectations for a reading of 20.

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