A bout of volatility was witnessed as key benchmark indices reversed trend and re-entered negative terrain in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 22.19 points or 0.06% at 34,593.94. The Nifty 50 index was down 4.90 points or 0.05% at 10,511.80. Selling in IT shares put pressure on the benchmarks.
After opening lower, the market bounced and hit fresh intraday high in morning trade. Indices were unable to sustain at higher levels and re-entered negative terrain in mid-morning trade.
The Sensex rose 138.47 points, or 0.40% at the day's high of 34,754.60 in morning trade. The index fell 65.91 points, or 0.19% at the day's low of 34,550.22 in early trade. The Nifty rose 41.90 points, or 0.40% at the day's high of 10,558.60 in morning trade. The index fell 26.15 points, or 0.25% at the day's low of 10,490.55 in early trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.23%. The BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.36%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1194 shares rose and 1043 shares fell. A total of 104 shares were unchanged.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) gained 1.52% after the company said its construction arm has won orders valued Rs 4033 crore. The announcement was made during market hours today, 22 May 2018.
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L&T said that the Buildings & Factories business of L&T Construction has bagged orders worth Rs 4033 crore. Buildings & Factories business has won order from a government client for the design & construction of 1,125 units of residential towers of G+3 floors under PMAY Scheme at Visakhapatnam, Prakasam, Guntur, and Krishna Districts in Andhra Pradesh, to be completed within stringent timelines.
Another order has been secured from a leading cement manufacturer for the construction of cement plants in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on the design and build model. The business has bagged another turnkey order from a government client in Patna (Bihar) to establish a cancer institute along with the supply, installation and commissioning of medical equipment.
Most IT shares declined. MphasiS (down 2.76%), Hexaware Technologies (down 1.54%), Oracle Financial Services Software (down 1.11%), TCS (down 0.96%), Tech Mahindra (down 0.58%), MindTree (down 0.46%) and Wipro (down 0.08%), edged lower. Infosys (up 0.27%), Persistent Systems (up 1.16%) and HCL Technologies (up 1.31%), edged higher.
Most pharmaceutical shares rose. Strides Shasun (up 8.94%), Wockhardt (up 2.05%), Aurobindo Pharma (up 1.98%), Dr Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.25%), Cadila Healthcare (up 0.91%), Cipla (up 0.56%), Piramal Enterprises (up 0.48%), Glenmark Pharmaceuticals (up 0.43%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 0.38%) and IPCA Laboratories (up 0.13%), edged higher. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.01%), Lupin (down 0.24%), Divi's Laboratories (down 0.38%) and Alkem Laboratories (down 0.39%), edged lower.
Astrazeneca Pharma India rose 1.07% after the company reported net profit of Rs 3.22 crore in Q4 March 2018 as against net loss of Rs 9.56 crore in Q3 March 2017. Net sales rose 30.27% to Rs 150.73 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 21 May 2018.
Just Dial gained 5.94% after net profit rose 53.69% to Rs 38.96 crore on 11.71% rise in total income to Rs 217.09 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 21 May 2018.
Operating EBITDA rose 42.3% to Rs 45.8 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. Adjusted operating EBITDA margin, excluding ESOP expenses, stood at 24.4% in Q4 March 2018 from 19.7% in Q4 March 2017. Cash and investments stood at Rs 1200.6 crore as on 31 March 2018 compared to Rs 1017.2 crore as on 31 March 2017 and Rs 1085.3 crore as on 31 December 2017. Traffic (Unique Visitors) for the quarter stood at 111.6 million, up 28.6% YoY. 70.8% traffic originated on mobile platforms, 21.5% on desktop/ PC and 7.7% on our voice platform. Total active listings stood at 21.8 million as on 31 March 2018, an increase of 21.7% YoY. 10.44 lakh listings were added (net) to the database during the quarter.
On the political front, Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), leader H D Kumaraswamy will take oath as Chief Minister of Karnataka on Wednesday, 23 May 2018 at 16.30 IST on the steps of the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat. Governor Vajubhai Vala will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Kumaraswamy.
The 12 May 2018 Karnataka assembly polls threw up a hung verdict with BJP emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats. The Congress was next with 78 and the JD(S) followed with 37. The BSP has one MLA and two seats went to Independents.
Overseas, Asian shares were mixed. The US market jumped overnight as investors applauded easing trade animosities between the US and China.
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reportedly said that bilateral trade talks with China had made very meaningful progress and that it was now up to both parties to implement what had been discussed. Mnuchin said over the weekend that the Trump administration would delay implementation of tariffs on Chinese goods and put the trade war on hold while working out details of a deal between the countries.
A focus for global markets this week is Wednesday's release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting. Investors will be watching the minutes for clues about the pace of the current tightening cycle.
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