Sensex, Nifty turn range bound

Key benchmark indices turned range bound in afternoon trade. At 13:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 33.73 points or 0.10% at 33,221.63. The Nifty 50 index was down 16 points or 0.16% at 10,195.80.

A bout of volatility was seen in early trade as domestic stocks turned positive soon after a subdued start triggered by negative Asian stocks. Key benchmark indices once again sink in negative zone in morning trade. Stocks extended fall and hit fresh intraday low in mid-morning trade after latest data showed that India's manufacturing growth has slowed to five-month low in March. Indices, however, turned range bound in afternoon trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.44%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.59%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1,512 shares rose and 934 shares fell. A total of 118 shares were unchanged.

Metal shares were in demand. Hindustan Zinc (up 2.26%), Hindustan Copper (up 2.24%), Steel Authority of India (up 2.19%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 1.78%), JSW Steel (up 1.38%), National Aluminium Company (up 0.74%), Tata Steel (up 0.68%), NMDC (up 0.30%) and Vedanta (up 0.28%), edged higher. Hindalco Industries was down 1.66%.

Most IT shares declined. Tech Mahindra (down 3.12%), Wipro (down 1.98%), Persistent Systems (down 1.22%), HCL Technologies (down 1.18%), MindTree (down 0.85%), Infosys (down 0.52%) and TCS (down 0.13%), edged lower. Hexaware Technologies (up 0.18%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 0.57%) and MphasiS (up 0.59%), edged higher.

On the macro front, data released today, 3 April 2018 showed that manufacturing conditions improved for the eighth consecutive in March, but at the weakest pace since October. The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to a five-month low of 51 in March from 52.1 in February.

The output of eight core infrastructure sector, constituting 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production, increased 5.3% in February 2018 over February 2017. Its cumulative output moved up 4.3% in April to February 2017-18. The data was announced after market hours yesterday, 2 April 2018.

Overseas, shares in Europe and Asia declined as a sell-off in once much-favored US technology shares deepened and volatility soared. US stocks fell sharply yesterday, 2 April 2018 driven by both uncertainty surrounding trade policy and weakness in the large-capitalization technology and internet sectors.

The IHS Markit manufacturing purchasing managers index hit a three-year high of 55.6 in March, up from 55.3. The ISM manufacturing report for the same month came in at 59.3, compared with a previous monthly reading of 60.8. A reading of 50 or above indicates improving conditions.

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