Shares trade in range; PSU OMCs decline

Key benchmarks were trading in a narrow range with decent gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 109.48 points or 0.28% at 39,166.13. The Nifty 50 index was up 18.10 points or 0.15% at 11,731.30.

The sentiment continued to be upbeat amid positive Asian cues. Indices opened higher and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Benchmarks pared gains in mid-morning trade and turned range bound in early afternoon trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.23%. The BSE Small-Cap index were up 0.17%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was almost even. On BSE, 1146 shares rose and 1145 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

Most pharmaceutical shares declined. Piramal Enterprises (down 1.55%), Aurobindo Pharma (down 1.12%), Cipla (down 0.92%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.9%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.84%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.76%), Wockhardt (down 0.74%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.56%), Strides Shasun (down 0.49%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (down 0.44%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.28%), edged lower. Lupin (up 0.37%), GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (up 0.40%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 4.40%), edged higher.

Shares of the three state-run oil marketing companies (PSU OMCs) fell after Brent crude prices firmed up in international market. HPCL (down 3.10%), BPCL (down 2.80%) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) (down 1.39%) declined.

Higher crude oil prices could increase under-recoveries of PSU OMCs on domestic sale of LPG and kerosene at controlled prices. The government has already freed pricing of petrol and diesel.

In the global commodities markets, Brent for May 2019 settlement was up 45 cents at $69.82 a barrel. The contract rose 36 cents, or 0.52% to settle at $69.37 a barrel during the previous trading session.

Overseas, Asian shares traded higher on Wednesday following a report that said the US and China are closer to reaching a trade agreement.

The US and China are set to resume trade negotiations in Washington on Wednesday, following last week's talks in Beijing. Ahead of the meeting, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the two countries "expect to make more headway" in this week's talks. Both economic powerhouses are closer to reaching a deal, according to media reports.

In US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed with small gains on Tuesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended in the red.

In economic reports, a report on long-lasting factory goods, or durable goods, in February showed a 1.6% decline, the Commerce Department said.

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