Key benchmarks were trading with modest gains in afternoon trade. At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 106.13 points or 0.28% at 38,651.85. The Nifty 50 index was up up 38.50 points or 0.33% at 11,608.50.
Local stocks edged higher in early trade on buying demand in index pivotals. Stocks trimmed gains in morning trade after an initial upmove. Key indices hovered in positive zone in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 1.07%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.65%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1353 shares rose and 1040 shares fell. A total of 179 shares were unchanged.
Vedanta (up 3.40%), Tata Motors (up 3.17%), Tata Steel (up 2.74%), Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.38%) and Mahindra & Mahindra (up 2.18%), were the major Sensex gainers.
IndusInd Bank (down 1.72%), ITC (down 1.22%), Bajaj Auto (down 1.06%), Axis Bank (down 0.95%) and HCL Technologies (down 0.71%), were the major Sensex losers.
Larsen & Toubro was up 0.57%. Larsen & Toubro has during trading hours today, 29 March 2019, announced a new strategic initiative, L&TNxt, to define the future of the organization from a fresh perspective. It has been identified as a select initiative in L&T's five-year strategic plan.
Wipro rose 0.65%. Wipro and Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on high-impact, industry-focused applied research in the areas of 5G and artificial intelligence (AI). Research outcomes from this partnership will be leveraged by Wipro to develop solutions for its customers, across industry verticals. IIT Kharagpur will benefit from the commercialization of the joint research insights and Wipro's real-world industry expertise. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 28 March 2019.
On the economic front, the government will announce data on infrastructure output for February after market hours today, 29 March 2019.
Overseas, Asian shares were trading higher on Friday as U.S. and Chinese officials kicked off a fresh round of trade talks in Beijing. US stocks closed higher Thursday following reports that the U.S. and China have made progress toward a trade deal even as investors weighed data showing U.S. economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter from above-trend rates.
U.S. negotiators, led by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, attended a working dinner Thursday night with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is expected to travel to Washington next week. At a speech in Washington on Thursday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said the U.S. administration was prepared to continue trade negotiations with China for weeks or even months.
In economic data, U.S. economic growth had slowed sharply in the last three months of 2018 to an annual rate of 2.2%, due to weakness in consumer spending, business investment, government spending and housing.
In Europe, UK Prime Minister Theresa May will put her Brexit divorce deal to a vote in Parliament on Friday. May on Wednesday said she would be willing to step down if her plan to usher Britain out of the European Union was approved by Parliament.
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