Stocks end with small losses in volatile trade

Domestic stocks ended with small losses after a volatile session of trade. The barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, fell 37.99 points or 0.11% at 35,867.44. The Nifty 50 index fell 14.15 points or 0.13% at 10,792.50. Intraday volatility was high as traders rolled over positions in the F&O segment from the near month February 2019 series to March 2019 series. The February 2019 F&O contracts expired today, 28 February 2019.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and Indian Navy will today hold a joint press conference at 17:00 IST. They are likely to brief on the India-Pakistan developments that have taken place over the last 48 hours. India on Tuesday conducted non-military preemptive air strikes on a terror camp in Balakot. A day later, Pakistani jets violated Indian airspace and attempted strikes in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Sensex settled below the psychological 36,000 level after regaining that level in opening trade. Trading for the day began on positive note as the key benchmark indices drifted higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade. Key indices hovered in a small range in positive zone in mid-morning trade. A divergent trend was witnessed in early afternoon trade as the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was trading with small gains while the Nifty 50 index was trading with small losses. Key equity indices were almost flat in afternoon trade. Stocks hovered in positive zone in mid-afternoon trade. Indices dipped in negative zone in late trade.

The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.49%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.86%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1467 shares rose and 1026 shares fell. A total of 157 shares were unchanged.

TCS dropped 3.38%. TCS during market hours today announced that Sapix Yozemi Group (Yoyogi Seminar), a Japanese cram school chain, has selected TCS iON PAPER to transform the conduct of its spoken English tests and evaluation of candidate responses. Spoken English tests are increasingly becoming part of entrance exams for many universities and high schools in Japan.

The TCS iON PAPER device will equip the preparatory school operator with the capabilities necessary to conduct these tests, including the test environment, test data delivery, and scoring environment. In addition, it will enable location-independent assessment with the help of experienced English teachers based in India. TCS will on-board qualified and certified English teachers, who will be rigorously trained on evaluating the audio responses, in a proctored environment.

Wipro fell 0.95%. Wipro and Alight Solutions, a leader in technology-enabled health, wealth and Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, have agreed to expand their relationship by signing a definitive agreement to divest Wipro's Workday and Cornerstone OnDemand business to Alight for cash consideration of up to $110 million, of which $100 million would be payable at closing and the balance, $10 million, would be a deferred consideration payable at the end of 12 months based on the achievement of performance targets. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 27 February 2019.

IndusInd Bank slipped 0.43%. IndusInd Bank during market hours today said that credit ratings for debt securities issued by the bank have been reaffirmed by CRISIL.

Quick Heal Technologies jumped 7.28%. Quick Heal Technologies said that its board will meet on 5 March 2019, to consider a proposal for buyback fully paid up equity shares of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 27 February 2019.

On the economic front, the government will after market hours today, 28 February 2019 announce data on infrastructure output for January. The government will also announce data on fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) today, 28 February 2019. The Indian economy advanced 7.1% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2018, well below 8.2% in the previous period.

Overseas, European stocks declined Thursday, as investors keep abreast of geopolitical news taking place across the globe. Investors have been keeping tabs on Britain's tumultuous exit from the European Union with a March 29 deadline looming. British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday said she would look to delay Brexit if a departure deal isn't agreed upon.

Asian stocks declined Thursday after cautious comments from US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer dented some of the recent optimism towards China-US trade relations. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are beginning the second day of their high-stakes nuclear summit with a one-on-one discussion in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.

U.S. stocks bounced off intraday lows but still closed mostly lower Wednesday as investors focused on separate congressional testimonies from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer on U.S.-China trade negotiations and a second day of Congressional hearings featuring Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell.

Powell testified in front of the House, a day after he affirmed the central bank's wait-and-see approach to rate increases, citing slower global growth and its effect on the U.S. Lighthizer appeared before the House Ways and Means Committee on U.S.-China trade to provide more insight into the progress of negotiations between the world's two largest economies. He also said the U.S. plans to officially abandon an increase in tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods to 25%, from 10% currently.

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