A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices reversed trend and entered negative terrain in mid-morning trade. At 11:17 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 19.15 points or 0.06% at 31,751.74. The Nifty 50 index was down 2.55 points or 0.03% at 9,894.75.
The Sensex and the Nifty, both, reversed trend in mid-morning trade after hitting their highest levels in more than one week in morning trade. The Sensex rose 166.62 points, or 0.52% at the day's high of 31,937.51 in morning trade, its highest level since 9 August 2017. The index fell 35.32 points, or 0.11% at the day's low of 31,735.57 in mid-morning trade. The Nifty rose 50.50 points, or 0.51% at the day's high of 9,947.80 in morning trade, its highest level since 9 August 2017. The index fell 4.55 points, or 0.05% at the day's low of 9,892.75 in mid-morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.03%. The decline in this index was lower than the Sensex's decline in percentage terms. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.56%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,410 shares rose and 809 shares fell. A total of 99 shares were unchanged.
Most cement shares rose. UltraTech Cement (up 1.04%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.56%) and ACC (up 0.44%), edged higher.
Grasim Industries was down 0.17%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
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Telecom shares were in demand. Idea Cellular (up 2.19%), Bharti Airtel (up 1.99%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 1.03%), MTNL (up 0.27%) and Reliance Communications (up 0.21%), edged higher.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was up 0.72% to Rs 385.75.
United Bank of India rose 1.35% after the bank said that it has revised downwards the 1 year domestic deposit rates from 18 August 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 16 August 2017.
United Bank of India said that it has reduced domestic term deposit rates for deposit upto Rs 1 crore from 6.25% to 6.1% per annum. Deposit rate for more than Rs 1 crore has been reduced from 4.5% to 4.35% and deposit of amount upto Rs 50 lakh has been revised downwards from 4% to 3.5% effective 18 August 2017.
Overseas, most Asian markets edged higher after a rally in the dollar was halted on political turbulence while investors digested the release of the Federal Reserve's minutes.
Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 0.10%. Japanese exports rose 13.4% in July from a year ago, helped by exports of cars and automotive components. It was the eighth straight monthly gain in exports, data from Japan's Ministry of Finance showed today, 17 August 2017.
In US, shares closed slightly higher on Wednesday, 16 August 2017, but backlash from the business community against President Donald Trump kept gains in check. The S&P 500 gained 0.14% to close at 2,468.11. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.12% higher at 22,024.87. The Nasdaq composite advanced 0.19% to 6,345.11.
US President Donald Trump unexpectedly said on Wednesday, 16 August 2017, he was disbanding two advisory councils comprising prominent business executives. The move came after several members of Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum and Manufacturing Jobs Initiative councils stepped down following the president's Tuesday press conference in which the president blamed "both sides" for violence at a white nationalist rally in Virginia.
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting released on Wednesday, 16 August 2017, also supported the move lower in the greenback. While some Fed members said they were worried over the tightening labor market, others voiced their concern over low inflation rates in the US. The minutes also showed the central bank was prepared to trim its massive balance sheet, although the announcement of a start date was left for an upcoming meeting.
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