Key indices held firm in afternoon trade. At 13:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 148.08 points or 0.38% at 39,019.95. The Nifty 50 index was up 33.95 points or 0.29% at 11,703.10. The Sensex was trading above the 39,000 mark. The Nifty was trading above the 11,700 mark.
After opening with small gains, indices pared gains in morning trade. Benchmarks firmed up once again in mid-morning trade and hit fresh intraday high in early afternoon trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.24%. The BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.02%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive. On BSE, 1134 shares rose and 1198 shares fell. A total of 160 shares were unchanged.
Bharti Airtel (up 4.51%), TCS (up 1.96%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.84%), IndusInd Bank (up 1.77%) and State Bank of India (up 1.3%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Bajaj Auto (down 1.37%), HCL Technologies (down 1.01%), ICICI Bank (down 0.83%), Tata Steel (down 0.79%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.61%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
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Tata Motors rose 5.93% after the company declared sales volume data for March 2019 after market hours yesterday, 1 April 2019. Tata Motors Commercial and Passenger Vehicles Business sales in the domestic market for FY19 (April 2018 - March 2019), grew by 16% with 678,486 units as compared to 586,507 units over the same period Last year. In March 2019, the company witnessed its sales drop by 1% to 68,709 units as against 69,409 units sold in March 2018, as weak consumer sentiments continued.
The company's sales from exports (CV and PV) in March 2019 was at 5,952 units, lower by 11% over last year, due to new regulations and political uncertainty in Sri Lanka and slump in Middle East affecting the overall Industry volumes in these markets.
Maruti Suzuki India was up 0.47%. The company has announced a price increase upto Rs 689 (Ex- Showroom - Delhi) across models on account of regulatory compliances. The new prices are effective from 1 April 2019. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 1 April 2019.
India's Supreme Court reportedly dismissed a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular that gave firms 180 days for debt resolution, failing which the issue would be taken under the country's bankruptcy. Several companies, especially power firms, had sought intervention of the Supreme Court saying the time given by the central bank was not enough time to tackle the debt issue, reports added.
On the economic front, the Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to a six-month low of 52.60 in March compared with 54.30 in February. The latest figure highlighted a loss of growth momentum. Consumer goods was the brightest spot in March, followed by the intermediate and then investment goods categories. The data was announced during trading hours today, 2 April 2019.
The output of eight core industries, comprising 40.27% of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), rose 2.1% in February 2019. The cumulative output has improved 4.3% in April to February 2018-19.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading higher Tuesday following overnight gains on Wall Street. US stocks ended higher Monday, boosted by better-than-expected economic reports, momentarily allaying fears of flagging economic growth.
Investors were also hopeful for a resolution to the US-China trade conflict, with a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Liu He set to visit Washington later this week.
On Monday, the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index showed that activity in the sector accelerated, coming in at a stronger-than-expected 55.3 in March versus a two-year low of 54.2% a month earlier. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity.
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