Market hovers a tad below flat line

Key barometers were hovering a tad below the flat line in afternoon trade. At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 13.82 points or 0.04% at 38,372.93. The Nifty 50 index was down 4.50 points or 0.04% at 11,516.55. The Nifty was hovering above the 11,500 mark after moving above and below that mark in intraday trade.

Shares opened slightly higher and extended gains in morning trade. Trend reversed in mid-morning trade as sudden selling pressure emerged. Indices trimmed losses after hitting fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade.

Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.01%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.03%.

The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1077 shares rose and 1418 shares fell. A total of 152 shares were unchanged.

NTPC (up 2.9%), L&T (up 1.79%), Yes Bank (up 1.69%), Tata Steel (up 1.61%) and Axis Bank (up 0.91%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.

HCL Technologies (down 1.33%), Reliance Industries (down 1.1%), Maruti Suzuki India (down 1.08%), Bajaj Finance (down 0.82%) and Tata Motors (down 0.7%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) fell 0.99%. TCS has joined hands with Barclays to launch the TCS VHAB (Virtual Habilitation) platform at the ZEP Rehabilitation Centre in Pune, to help children with neuro-muscular disabilities become more self-dependent. As part of the partnership, REACH - the Barclays Disability and Mental Health Network, is providing the hardware and equipment, while TCS is deploying and supporting its VHAB solution. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 March 2019.

Meanwhile, India has been one of the fastest growing large economies in the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reportedly said. The country has carried out several key reforms in the last five years, but more needs to be done, it added. IMF communications director Gerry Rice reportedly said India has of course been one of the world's fastest growing large economies of late, with growth averaging about 7% over the past five years. Important reforms have been implemented and more reforms are needed to sustain this high growth, including to harness the demographic dividend opportunity, which India has, he added.

Overseas, most Asian shares bounced back from early lows. Sentiment was fragile following the US Federal Reserve's dim outlook for the global economy.

US stocks closed higher Thursday a day after the Federal Reserve signaled that it was unlikely to raise interest rates this year amid worries over slowing economic growth.

On Wednesday, the US Fed said it does not expect to raise rates at all in 2019. The central bank had forecast at least two rate hikes for this year back in December. The Fed added that it expects to end its balance-sheet reduction process by the end of September. The US central bank, however, lowered its economic growth forecast for 2019, raising concerns over a possible slowdown in the economy.

On the trade front, US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will visit China on March 28-29 for more discussion on trade, while Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will travel to Washington early next month to continue the negotiations.

Meanwhile, the European Union proposed an extension of the Brexit deadline to May 22 on the condition that the UK Parliament support Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal deal, which will be put to vote next week.

On the US data front, the Labor Department said the number of laid-off workers who applied for first-time unemployment benefits fell by 9,000 in the week ended March 16 to 221,000a one-month low.

The Philadelphia Fed's business activity index rebounded in March to a seasonally adjusted reading of 13.7 from -4.1 the previous month. A reading above zero indicates improving conditions. The Conference Board's leading economic index rose 0.2% in February, its first uptick since September.

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