Stocks reversed initial small declines and turned positive in morning trade. At 10:24 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 22.07 points or 0.07% at 33,857.81. The Nifty 50 index was up 1.50 points or 0.01% at 10,412.40. Shares from cement and telecom sectors saw mixed trend.
Domestic stocks drifted lower in early trade tracking negative Asian stocks.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.8%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.76%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The broad market depicted strength. There were more than two gainers against every loser on BSE. 1,427 shares rose and 651 shares fell. A total of 103 shares were unchanged.
Overseas, Asian markets were trading lower after the decline on Wall Street overnight as fears of a potential trade war resurfaced after President Donald Trump announced that his administration will seek to trim the US's trade deficit with China by $100 billion via tariffs.
US stocks fell yesterday, 14 March 2018 after lackluster retail sales figures fanned concern that consumer spending is cooling. In economic data, the producer-price index showed wholesale inflation up 0.2% in February, down from the 0.4% advance in January. US retail sales fell 0.1% in February, the third straight monthly decline. However, sales grew 0.3% if autos and gas are stripped out.
Back home, telecom stocks saw mixed trend. MTNL (up 2.73%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 4.9%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.63%) gained. Bharti Airtel (down 0.59%) and Idea Cellular (down 0.49%) fell.
Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 1.2%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
Cement stocks saw mixed trend. Ambuja Cements (up 0.09%) and Shree Cement (up 0.2%) rose. ACC (down 0.46%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.14%) fell.
Grasim Industries was up 0.53%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Havells India rose 2.02% after the company announced an agreement with South Korean major Hyundai Electric & Energy Systems Co. for manufacturing of magnetic contactor. Under the agreement, Hyundai Electric will provide technology know-how and grant a license to manufacture, and market magnetic contactors under Havells brand. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 March 2018.
The magnetic contactor market in India is presently estimated to be Rs 1200 crore and growing at 6-8% annually. Havells through this partnership expects to garner an additional market share of 8% in the next 3 years by entering in new market segments that require higher specifications. Havells India would also manufacture magnetic contactors for Hyundai Electric.
Suzlon Energy rose 1.31% after the company announced that it has completed the commissioning of 340 megawatts solar power turnkey projects across sites in Telangana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Suzlon Energy said that the projects of 340 megawatts (MW) have been executed over a period of time, concluding in Q4 March 2018. The company has completed delivery of its entire solar order book with the commissioning of aforesaid projects. The announcement was made during market hours today, 15 March 2018.
Meanwhile, the Indian economy is set to revert to its trend growth rate of 7.5% in the coming years as it bottoms out from the impact of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and demonetization, a World Bank report released yesterday, 14 March 2018 showed. India's GDP growth is projected to reach 6.7% in 2017-18 and accelerate to 7.3% and 7.5% in 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.
While services will continue to remain the main driver of economic growth; industrial activity is poised to grow, with manufacturing expected to accelerate following the implementation of the GST, and agriculture will likely grow at its long-term average growth rate, the report said.
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