Volatility to the fore

Volatility ruled the roost in mid-afternoon trade as the key indices regained positive zone soon after erasing strong intraday gains. At 14:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 180.71 points or 0.46% at 39,290.92. The Nifty 50 index was up 64.30 points or 0.55% at 11,802.20. Shares of index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC dropped. Most FMCG stocks rose. Investors cheered trends that pointed to a resounding victory for the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). However, weak global cues triggered profit booking at higher levels.

Trading for the day began on a strong note as election results showed the Narendra Modi-led NDA leading in early trends. Stocks extended gains in morning trade after election trends showed that Narendra Modi-led NDA is leading in over 300 seats. Key indices pared gains in volatile trade soon after scaling fresh record high in mid-morning trade.

The Sensex scaled record high above the psychological 40,000 mark while the Nifty scaled fresh record high above the psychological 12,000 mark in mid-morning trade. Stocks further trimmed gains in early afternoon trade. Shares regained strength in afternoon trade.

Counting of votes is underway today, 23 May 2019. Latest trends showed that NDA is leading in 344 seats, while UPA is leading in 93 and others leading in 105 seats. The 2019 Lok Sabha polls for 542 seats were held from April 11 to May 19. A party or coalition needs 272 seats in parliament to form a government.

Coming back to today's trade, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.5%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.31%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1249 shares rose and 1168 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.

Index heavyweight and cigarette major ITC lost 2.89% to Rs 290.90.

Most FMCG stocks rose. Britannia Industries (up 0.55%), Colgate-Palmolive (India) (up 1.5%), Dabur India (up 1.73%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.66%), Hindustan Unilever (up 0.31%), Nestle India (up 1.63%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 1.41%), Bajaj Consumer Care (up 0.64%) rose.

Tata Global Beverages (down 1.11%), Marico (down 0.4%), GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Healthcare (down 0.24%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene and Health Care (down 0.5%) fell.

S H Kelkar and Company rose 1.09%. The company said that its board is scheduled to meet on 10 June 2019 to consider acquisition of remaining 49% stake in Creative Flavours & Fragrances S.p.A. Moreover, the board will also consider proposal for buyback equity shares of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019.

Quess Corp rose 0.12%. Quess Corp informed that its board approved increasing the company's stake in Golden Star Facilities and Services to 100% from 70% earlier. Consequently, Golden Star will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quess Corp. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 22 May 2019.

Overseas, European shares were trading lower amid ongoing US-China trade concerns and political uncertainty across the EU. Politics are a central focus as voting in the EU elections begins in the UK and the Netherlands. Brexit uncertainty also continues to weigh.

Asian stocks fell on Thursday as worries over US-China tensions grew. The US said it will impose trading restrictions on Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from August 19. A private survey suggested that Japan's manufacturing contracted in May. The Markit/JMMA flash purchasing managers' index fell to 49.6 in May from 50.2 in the previous month.

US stocks finished lower Wednesday as lingering trade woes overshadowed the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's policy meeting that was largely interpreted as accommodative.

Minutes for the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee's April 30-May 1 meeting indicated that the voting members agreed the current accommodative policy can remain for now and that they were comfortable with the wait-and-see approach. They were, however, split on whether higher rates were necessary if the economy continued to evolved along the predicted path while others argued that higher productivity could indicate more economic softness than the low unemployment rate suggests.

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