Key benchmark indices hovered in negative zone in afternoon trade. At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 58.72 points or 0.2% at 29,588.70. The Nifty 50 index was currently down 11.05 points or 0.12% at 9,162.70. HDFC Bank, HDFC and Infosys led today's market fall. However, gains in Reliance Industries (RIL) capped market fall.
Investors booked profits after gains in past three sessions. The Sensex rose 410.27 points or 1.4% in three trading sessions to settle at 29,647.42 yesterday, 30 March 2017, from its close of 29,237.15 on 27 March 2017.
The Sensex rose 17.82 points, or 0.06% at the day's high of 29,665.24 in morning trade. The index fell 94.81 points, or 0.32% at the day's low of 29,552.61 in early afternoon trade. The Nifty rose 7.50 points, or 0.08% at the day's high of 9,181.25 in morning trade. The index fell 21.65 points, or 0.24% at the day's low of 9,152.10 in early afternoon trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.76%. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.71%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,576 shares rose and 951 shares fell. A total of 210 shares were unchanged.
IT stocks declined. Infosys (down 0.93%), Wipro (down 0.27%), HCL Technologies (down 0.05%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.02%), MindTree (up 0.66%), Hexaware Technologies (down 1.72%) fell. Oracle Financial Services Software (up 2.09%) and MphasiS (up 0.12%) rose.
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TCS was down 0.98%. The company said that the company has collaborated with SATS, Asia's leading provider of airport ground handling and food solutions services, to develop a smart watch solution that is believed to be the world's first mobile solution for airport Technical Ramp operations. The Technical Ramp Smart Watch solution is now supporting SATS' operations at Singapore's Changi Airport, a leading global hub of travel, technology adoption and efficiency. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 30 March 2017.
Cement stocks rose. Ambuja Cements (up 1.37%), ACC (up 1.8%), UltraTech Cement (up 0.19%) and Shree Cement (up 0.06%) gained.
Grasim Industries was down 0.7%. Grasim has exposure to the cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
IRB Infrastructure Developers was up 0.99% to Rs 238.60 as the stock witnessed bulk deals on the NSE yesterday, 30 March 2017. Virendra D Mhaiskar sold 11.19 crore shares of IRB Infrastructure Developers (IRB Infra) at Rs 234 per share in a bulk deal on the NSE yesterday, 30 March 2017. Also, Virendra D Mhaiskar HUF offloaded 8.37 crore shares at Rs 234 a piece. Idea Soft Tech Park bought 19.57 crore shares at Rs 234 per share.
Promoter entities Virendra D Mhaiskar, Virendra D Mhaiskar HUF and Idea Soft Tech Park owned 31.86%, 23.83% and 1.06% stake respectively in IRB Infra end December 2016.
Overseas, European stocks were trading lower in early trade as investors were eyeing the release of euro zone inflation data later in the day. Asian shares were mixed and the dollar extended its overnight gains today, 31 March 2017, on signs of strong US economic growth.
Activity in China's manufacturing sector expanded to 51.8 in March, an official survey showed, beating expectations for 51.6. The services sector rose to 55.1 from 54.2 in February. The 50-point mark separates growth from contraction.
Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.2% in February. While that is the fastest annual pace in nearly two years, it is still distant from the central bank's 2% target.
US stocks closed higher yesterday, 30 March 2017, as financial shares rallied following a positive reading of economic growth and the tech-heavy Nasdaq returned to finish in record territory after a month-long wait.
The US economy, as measured by gross domestic product, expanded at a 2.1% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the previously reported 1.9% rate. Separately, jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 258,000 in the latest week, near their lowest level in decades.
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