Shares turn range bound

Key benchmark indices were range bound in afternoon trade. At 13:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 25.73 points or 0.10% at 26,493.34. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 12.80 points or 0.16% at 8,140.80. Trading was lacklustre in the absence of clear direction from Asian peers.

The Sensex lost 63.86 points or 0.24% at the day's low of 26,455.21 in mid-morning trade. The index rose 75.48 points or 0.28% at the day's high of 26,594.55 in early trade. The Nifty lost 26.15 points or 0.32% at the day's low of 8,127.45 in mid-morning trade. The index rose 25.10 points or 0.3% at the day's high of 8,178.70 in early trade.

Closer home, the market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,299 shares declined and 1,080 shares rose. A total of 166 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently down 0.29%. The decline in both this index was higher than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently off 0.07%. The decline in both this index was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms.

FMCG shares were mixed. Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.97%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.65%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.60%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.55%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.42%), Nestle India (up 0.30%) and Bajaj Corp (up 0.23%), edged higher. Britannia Industries (down 0.14%), Dabur India (down 0.37%), Tata Global Beverages (down 0.92%), Marico (down 0.95%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 1.32%), edged lower.

Pharmaceutical shares edged lower. Aurobindo Pharma (down 2.53%), Cadila Healthcare (down 1.44%), Alkem Laboratories (down 1.39%), Wockhardt (down 1.17%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 0.97%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.67%), Lupin (down 0.53%), Strides Shasun (down 0.44%), Piramal Enterprises (down 0.28%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (down 0.25%), IPCA Laboratories (down 0.2%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.03%), edged lower. Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 0.17%) and Cipla (up 0.85%), edged higher.

Overseas, Asian stocks witnessed a mixed trend. A surge in banks and other financial stocks that stand to benefit from higher interest rates led US indexes to the edge of record territory yesterday, 15 December 2016.

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, further evidence that the labor market remains steady as the Federal Reserve moves to raise interest rates. Initial jobless claims, a measure of layoffs across the US, fell 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000 in the week ended 10 December 2016, the Labor Department said yesterday, 15 December 2016.

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