Weak market breadth

Key benchmark indices were hovering in a narrow range with small gains in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 66.23 points or 0.20% at 32,989.35. The Nifty 50 index was up 28.45 points or 0.28% at 10,122.70. The Sensex was trading below the psychological 33,000 mark after flirting with that level in intraday trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.11%. The BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.23%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 1,552 shares fell, 1,027 shares rose and 166 shares were unchanged.

Most realty shares declined. D B Realty (down 4.93%), Sobha (down 2.99%), Parsvnath Developers (down 2.5%), Anant Raj (down 2.47%), Oberoi Realty (down 2.08%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.94%), Phoenix Mills (down 1.64%), Sunteck Realty (down 1.16%), Peninsula Land (down 0.87%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (down 0.72%), Godrej Properties (down 0.49%) and Unitech (down 0.49%), edged lower. DLF (up 0.33%), Omaxe (up 0.66%) and Indiabulls Real Estate (up 0.96%), edged higher.

Capital goods shares were mixed. BEML (down 2.38%), Crompton Greaves (down 1.59%), Lakshmi Machine Works (down 1.51%), GE T&D India (down 1.49%), Havells India (down 1.43%), Punj Lloyd (down 1.12%), GE Power India (down 1.04%), Thermax (down 1%), ABB India (down 0.89%), Jindal Saw (down 0.49%), AIA Engineering (down 0.25%) and Reliance Defence and Engineering (down 0.15%), edged lower. SKF India (up 0.20%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 0.30%), Bharat Electronics (up 0.51%), Praj Industries (up 0.61%), Siemens (up 0.66%) and Suzlon Energy (up 0.80%), edged higher.

Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was up 1.29% at Rs 1,296.25.

Overseas, European shares were trading higher as investors focused on earnings. Asian shares were mixed as investors braced for new Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's first policy meeting starting later in the day. Investors also have been worrying this month about a potential global trade war, triggered by the Trump administration moving ahead with tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum.

US stocks finished sharply lower Monday as concerns about Facebook Inc.'s management of user data sparked a selloff in technology shares. Investors also lightened their positions ahead of the Fed's policy meeting.

The US Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting is scheduled on March 20-21. Strengthening labor market and a steady increase in price pressures could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in upcoming meeting. The US central bank has forecast three rate increases for this year, but there are also expectations that it will raise its projection to four hikes at the meeting.

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