The market firmed up and hit fresh intraday high in mid-morning trade. At 11:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 81.67 points or 0.23% at 35,837.93. The Nifty 50 index was up 25.70 points or 0.24% at 10,761.15.
Indices opened on a flat note and firmed up as the session progressed. Positive Asian cues boosted investors sentiment.
Broader market outperformed the main stock indices. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.46%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.50%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1190 shares rose and 845 shares fell. A total of 112 shares were unchanged.
Tech Mahindra was up 2.10%. The company announced during trading hours today, 21 February 2019, that its board approved the proposal to buyback upto 2.05 crore equity shares, or 2.10% equity, at Rs 950 each.
Auto shares declined. TVS Motor Company (down 2.09%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.56%), Hero MotoCorp (down 1.01%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.74%), Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.72%), Bajaj Auto (down 0.51%), Eicher Motors (down 0.33%) and Escorts (down 0.04%), edged lower. Tata Motors was up 0.33%.
Realty shares were mixed. Peninsula Land (up 5.20%), Unitech (up 4.07%), Sobha (up 2.03%), Indiabulls Real Estate (up 1.17%), Oberoi Realty (up 0.74%), D B Realty (up 0.70%), Anant Raj (up 0.67%), DLF (up 0.31%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (up 0.22%) and Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 0.03%), edged higher. Sunteck Realty (down 0.06%), Parsvnath Developers (down 0.19%), Godrej Properties (down 0.23%), Omaxe (down 0.24%), Phoenix Mills (down 0.57%) and Prestige Estates Projects (down 1.41%), edged lower.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher on Thursday. US stock indices ended the choppy session moderately higher Wednesday, following the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve's January meeting.
Fed minutes affirmed it would be "patient" on interest rate rises. Fed highlighted downside risks, including "the possibilities of a sharper-than-expected slowdown in global economic growth, particularly in China and Europe, a rapid waning of fiscal policy stimulus, or a further tightening of financial market conditions.
The minutes showed extensive discussion of market conditions, particularly on the emphasis that Fed actions were having on prices of risky assets like stocks and corporate bonds. The Fed also judged that a "patient" approach to interest rate hikes would be prudent as it continued to weigh various headwinds to growth.
On the trade front, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US may not increase tariffs on Chinese goods as scheduled after March 1, but he did raise the specter of addressing auto tariffs in Europe.
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