Volatility struck bourses in afternoon trade as key benchmark indices once regained positive zone led by index heavyweights Reliance Industries and TCS. At 13:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 38.01 points or 0.11% at 33,918.26. The Nifty 50 index was up 0.95 points or 0.01% at 10,403.20. Shares from capital goods and telecom sectors saw mixed trend.
Traders were cautious ahead of the earnings season beginning Friday with Infosys, and as the US Federal Reserve will release minutes of its 20-21 March 2018 meeting on Wednesday.
A steep rise in crude oil prices overnight also worried investors. Brent crude oil prices crossed $70 a barrel mark. In the global commodities markets, Brent for June 2018 settlement was down 26 cents at $70.78 a barrel. The contract surged $2.39 a barrel or 3.48% to settle at $71.04 a barrel during the previous trading session. Spike in oil prices raises India's import bill as the country imports majority of its crude requirements.
Back home, after opening with minor gains, key indices tumbled in morning trade. Indices pared losses and were trading with small losses since mid-morning trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.15%. underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.17%, outperforming the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 1,402 shares fell and 1,108 shares rose. A total of 133 shares were unchanged.
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Capital goods stocks saw mixed trend. Bharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel) (up 1.97%), BEML (up 0.77%), L&T (up 0.18%) and Thermax (up 1.15%) rose. ABB India (down 0.27%), Bharat Electronics (down 0.24%), Punj Lloyd (down 0.82%) and Siemens (down 0.82%) fell.
Telecom stocks saw mixed trend. MTNL (down 0.73%), Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (down 0.93%) and Reliance Communications (down 0.65%) fell. Bharti Airtel (up 0.3%) and Idea Cellular (up 0.47%) rose.
Shares of Bharti Infratel rose 0.64%. Bharti Infratel is a provider of tower and related infrastructure and is a unit of Bharti Airtel.
Overseas, European equities were trading with small losses in early trade taking their lead from a day of mixed trading in Asia, with traders failing to take any significant succour from new signs trade tension between the US and China was easing.
China's factory inflation slowed for a fifth month while the consumer price index retreated from a four-year high. The producer price index rose 3.1% in March from a year earlier, compared with 3.7% in February. The consumer price index climbed 2.1%, the statistics bureau said Wednesday, versus 2.9% in February.
US stocks surged on Tuesday, 10 April 2018, thanks to a less-aggressive stance on trade taken by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi's conciliatory comments on tariffs sent prices of risky assets such as global equities and commodities higher.
Chinese President Xi said that Beijing plans to give foreign companies greater access to financial and manufacturing sectors. He also talked about a cut in tariffs on car imports and an improvement in protection of intellectual property, among other measures.
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