Key benchmark indices pared gains in mid-afternoon trade as profit selling emerged at higher levels. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 164.34 points or 0.48% at 34,509.25. The Nifty 50 index was up 29.45 points or 0.28% at 10,459.80. Gains were triggered by bargain hunting following a steep sell-off in the previous session.
After seeing gap-up opening, stocks turned volatile in morning trade. Thereafter, indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade. Indices pared gains in mid-afternoon trade as profit booking emerged at higher levels. The Sensex rose 347.45 points, or 1.01% at the day's high of 34,692.36 in afternoon trade. The index rose 22.92 points, or 0.07% at the day's low of 34367.83 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 88.70 points, or 0.85% at the day's high of 10,519.05 in afternoon trade. The index fell 10.55 points, or 0.10% at the day's low of 10,419.80 in morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.68%. The BSE Small-Cap index were down 0.37%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1156 shares rose and 1360 shares fell. A total of 155 shares were unchanged.
Most power generation stocks rose. GMR Infrastructure (up 2.65%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures (up 1.4%), CESC (up 0.73%), JSW Energy (up 0.5%), Torrent Power (up 0.12%) and Reliance Infrastructure (up 0.07%), edged higher. NTPC (down 0.27%), Tata Power (down 1.23%), NHPC (down 1.48%), Reliance Power (down 1.49%) and Adani Power (down 5.71%), edged lower.
State-run Power Grid Corporation of India was up 0.26%. State-run Coal India was up 1.52%.
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Realty shares were mixed. Peninsula Land (down 5.39%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL) (down 2.77%), Godrej Properties (down 2.01%), Phoenix Mills (down 1.58%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 1.37%), Oberoi Realty (down 0.95%), DLF (down 0.92%), Anant Raj (down 0.6%) and Parsvnath Developers (down 0.07%), edged lower. Omaxe (up 0.16%), Sunteck Realty (up 0.56%), Prestige Estates Projects (up 1.06%), Unitech (up 1.13%), Mahindra Lifespace Developers (up 1.47%), D B Realty (up 2.24%) and Sobha (up 3.48%), edged higher.
On the political front, Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy took oath as Karnataka chief minister on Wednesday, 23 May 2018. The southern state got its second CM in a week after BJP's BS Yeddyurappa resigned moments before floor test in the Karnataka Assembly on Saturday, 19 May 2018.
Kumaraswamy was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Vajubhai Vala in front of the Vidhana Soudha. Following Kumaraswamy, senior Congress leader G Parameshwara took oath as Karnataka's deputy CM. 22 of Karnataka's 34 ministries will be from the Congress while the JD(S) will head the 12 others. The portfolios will be decided after the floor test which is reportedly scheduled on Friday.
Overseas, most European indices rose as miners and oil stocks rose though carmakers' shares came under pressure after the US launched a probe into auto imports.
Asian shares were mixed as the trade dispute between the US and China remained in focus. US stocks closed higher Wednesday, after the minutes from the Federal Reserve's 2 May 2018 meeting appeared to have reassured investors that the central bank will not be too aggressive with raising interest rates. Stocks were under pressure earlier as geopolitical and trade concerns continued to dent investor sentiment.
The US Department of Commerce started an investigation into automobile imports to determine whether they threaten to impair the national security of the United States. The new US probe will be carried out under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That section of the law authorizes the secretary of Commerce to determine the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the United States.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve officials would be content to let inflation briefly run above their 2% target as the economy continues to recover, according to minutes from the central bank's most recent meeting. Following the May 1-2 session, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said it was not raising rates yet but added the word symmetric to describe its inflation goal. The summary released Wednesday indicates a substantial level of debate over how the Fed should approach inflation. The minutes also pointed to an interest rate hike at the June meeting amid debate over how close the Fed might be getting to the end of this rate-hiking cycle
On the US data front, the IHS Markit purchasing managers index for May inched up to 56.6 from 56.5 in the previous reading. Separately, Markit's PMI for services rose to 55.7 from April's 54.6. New-home sales came in at a 662,000 seasonally adjusted rate in April.
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