Key benchmark indices sharply pared gains in morning trade. The S&P BSE Sensex and the CNX Nifty, both, pared gains after hitting record high levels at the onset of trading session. The CNX Nifty turned negative. The Sensex was almost flat at 28,164.61. The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong.
Bank shares were mostly lower. Cement shares were in demand.
Meanwhile, the provisional data released by the stock exchanges after trading hours on Tuesday, 18 November 2014, showed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 101.98 crore on that day.
At 10:20 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was almost unchanged at 28,164.61. The index rose 130.72 points at the day's high of 28,294.01, at onset of the trading session, its record high level. The index was almost unchanged at the day's low of 28163.66 in morning trade.
The CNX Nifty was down 5.55 points or 0.07% at 8,420.35. The index hit a high of 8,455.65 in intraday trade, its record high level. The index hit a low of 8,418.95 in intraday trade.
The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was strong . On BSE, 1,431 shares gained and 787 shares fell. A total of 85 shares were unchanged.
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The BSE Mid-Cap index was up 55.98 points or 0.54% at 10,331.28. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 98.61 points or 0.86% at 11541.77. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 14 shares rose and the remaining shares fell.
Ranbaxy Laboratories fell 2.11% while Reliance Infrastructure rose 1.79%. Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories is being excluded from the National Stock Exchange's CNX Nifty Junior index and would be replaced by Reliance Infrastructure. These changes would be effective from 28 November 2014. The changes have been made on account of proposed scheme of amalgamation with Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries. The changes were announced on Tuesday, 18 November 2014, by India Index Services & Products (IISL), a subsidiary of NSE Strategic Investment Corporation.
Meanwhile, Ranbaxy Laboratories announced during trading hours today, 19 November 2014, that following, and in response to, the revocation of Ranbaxy's tentative approvals for its Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for esomeprazole magnesium delayed-release capsules and valganciclovir hydrochloride tablets, Ranbaxy has filed a complaint against the U S Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) in D.C. federal court and has also asked the court for a temporary restraining order to prevent any further action by FDA until Ranbaxy's case is decided.
Bank shares were mostly lower. Among public sector banks, Bank of India (down 1.04%), Union Bank of India (down 1.03%), Punjab National Bank (down 0.75%), Bank of Baroda (down 0.6%), Canara Bank (down 0.57%) and State Bank of India (down 0.16%), edged lower. However, IDBI Bank was up 0.07%.
Among private banks, Kotak Mahindra Bank (down 1.13%), Axis Bank (down 0.63%), Yes Bank (down 0.56%), HDFC Bank (down 0.35%), ICICI Bank (down 0.12%) and IndusInd Bank (down 0.09%), edged lower. However, Federal Bank was up 0.7%.
Cement shares were in demand. Mangalam Cement (up 3.05%), J K Cements (up 2.81%), HeidelbergCement India (up 2.45%), JK Lakshmi Cement (up 2.10%), Kakatiya Cement Sugar and Industries (up 1.01%), India Cements (up 0.49%), Prism Cement (up 0.46%), Dalmia Cement (Bharat) (up 0.40%), Birla Corporation (up 0.29%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.24%) and The Ramco Cement (up 0.24%), edged higher.
Jaiprakash Associates (up 0.44%) and Shree Cement (up 0.25%), edged higher. The fair trade regulator, the Competition Commission of India (CCI), has approved Jaiprakash Associates' proposed sale of its Haryana's cement grinding unit to Shree Cement, saying the deal will not raise anti-competition concerns in the country.
ACC (down 0.23%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.52%), edged lower.
In the foreign exchange market, the rupee edged lower against the dollar. The partially convertible rupee was hovering at 61.8625, compared with its close of 61.7450 during the previous trading session.
Brent crude held steady below $79 a barrel on Wednesday as data showed Saudi Arabia increased crude exports in September despite signs of an oversupplied market and divisions between OPEC members seemed to grow ahead of a meeting next week.
Brent for January settlement was up 9 cents to $78.56 a barrel. Brent crude oil futures lost 84 cents or 1.06% to close at $78.47 a barrel on Tuesday, 18 November 2014.
Oil ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are scheduled to meet in Vienna on 27 November 2014 to consider whether to adjust their output target of 30 million barrels per day (bpd) for early 2015.
India and Fiji announced a $75 million line of credit for Fiji for a co-generation power plant and upgrading the sugar industry and also a $5 million fund to develop its villages. The lines of credit were part of three agreements signed between the two countries in the presence of the two leaders on Wednesday, 19 November 2014. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived Fiji from Melbourne on board on a special Indian Air Force plane on the last leg of his three-nation ten-day tour after a hectic four-city Australia visit.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) next undertakes monetary policy review on 2 December 2014. The central bank aims to limit consumer-price gains to 8% by January 2015 and 6% by January 2016. Over the longer term, the RBI aims to limit consumer-price gains to 4%, within a 2% band. The annual rate of inflation based on the combined consumer price index (CPI) for urban and rural India eased to 5.52% in October 2014 from 6.46% in September 2014, data released by the government on 12 November 2014 showed.
Asian equities were mostly higher on Wednesday, as investors took heart from an inspiring performance on Wall Street overnight and news of a snap poll in Japan. Key benchmark indices in Indonesia, Singapore and Taiwan were up 0.56% to 1.39%. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong and South Korea were off 0.24% to 0.31%.
Japan's Nikkei 225 gave up early gains and was up 0.02% after Bank of Japan (BoJ) on Wednesday kept its massive stimulus program intact, in the wake of data that showed the economy in recession and ahead of snap elections expected in December. The move was widely expected after the central bank surprised markets last month by expanding its quantitative easing program, swelling Japan's monetary base by around 80 trillion yen ($682 billion) each year, up from 60-70 trillion yen currently.
Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told ruling party leaders on Tuesday, 18 November 2014, that he will delay an unpopular sales tax rise and call a snap election, a day after data showed the economy had slipped back into recession. The world's third-biggest economy unexpectedly shrank for a second consecutive quarter, data showed on Monday, 17 November 2014, a sign the pain from an initial rise in the sales tax to 8% from 5% in April was lasting longer than expected.
Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 11 points at the opening bell today, 19 November 2014. The Dow and S&P 500 closed at record highs on Tuesday, 18 November 2014, lifted by further gains in healthcare shares and hopes for a stronger global economy. The S&P 500 scored its fourth straight day of gains. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 40.07 points, or 0.23%, to 17,687.82, a record high. The S&P 500 gained 10.48 points, or 0.51%, to 2,051.80, its biggest one-day move since 5 November 2014. The Nasdaq Composite added 31.44 points, or 0.67%, to 4,702.44.
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