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Benchmark share indices came off their intra-day highs weighed down by oil exploration major ONGC on reports of higher royalty payments.
At 1:50pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 35 points at 27,871 and the Nifty 50 index was up 5 points at 8,546.
State-owned oil exploration major ONGC was the top Sensex loser down 2.3% that the company along with Oil India will have to share huge additional expenditure on account of royalty payments from February 2014. Oil India eased 2.5%.
Hindustan Unilever was down 1% ahead of its April-June 2016 quarter earnings later today.
Mortgage lender HDFC erased early gains and was down 1.3% on profit taking.
Bharti Airtel was down over 2.2%. The telecom major on Sunday announced increased benefits on select pre-paid data recharge packs and Sachet Packs by offering 25-67% more data at the same price.
Among other shares,
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(Updated at 12:15pm
After trading in a narrow range in morning trade, key benchmark indices firmed up in mid-morning trade.
At 12:15 PM, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 156.48 points or 0.56% at 27,992.98. The Nifty 50 index was up 34.85 points or 0.41% at 8,576.25. The Sensex flirted with the psychologically important 28,000 mark.
The Sensex rose 177 points, or 0.64% at the day's high of 28,013.50 in morning trade. The index rose 81.98 points, or 0.29% at the day's low of 27,918.48 in morning trade. The Nifty rose 43.95 points, or 0.51% at the day's high of 8,585.35 in morning trade. The index rose 17.05 points, or 0.20% at the day's low of 8558.45 in morning trade.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was strong. On BSE, 1,534 shares rose and 772 shares fell. A total of 115 shares were unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index was currently up 0.35%, underperforming the Sensex. The BSE Small-Cap index was currently up 0.72%, outperforming the Sensex.
In overseas markets, most markets in Asia were trading higher today, 18 July 2016, ahead of a relatively data-light week in the region, while investors had a muted reaction to the risks surrounding a failed military coup in Turkey.
In the US market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged higher on Friday, 15 July 2016, to post its fourth straight record close, while the S&P 500 broke its win streak as the rally lost strength ahead of the weekend. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 4.47 points to 5,029.59 but finished the week 1.5% higher.
Most FMCG shares edged higher. Dabur India (up 1.25%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.82%), Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.72%), Godrej Consumer Products (up 0.50%), Britannia Industries (up 0.39%), Marico (up 0.32%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.28%), Jyothy Laboratories (up 0.10%) and Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (up 0.07%), edged higher. Nestle India (down 0.07%) and Tata Global Beverages (down 0.34%), edged lower.
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever was down 0.48% ahead of the company's Q1 results today, 18 July 2016.
Pharma stocks were mixed. Aurobindo Pharma (down 0.79%), Cipla (down 0.60%), Wockhardt (down 0.27%), Cadila Healthcare (down 0.14%), Alkem Laboratories (down 0.12%) and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (down 0.05%), edged lower. Piramal Enterprises (up 0.17%), Lupin (up 0.94%), Strides Shasun (up 0.94%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (up 1.03%), Divi's Laboratories (up 1.05%) and IPCA Laboratories (up %), edged higher.
Dr Reddy's Laboratories was down 0.11%. The company announced during trading hours today, 18 July 2016, that it has launched Omeprazole and Sodium bicarbonate capsules, 20mg/1100mg and 40mg/1100mg a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Zegerid (omeprazole bicarbonate) capsules in the United States market, having been approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (USFDA).
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals was down 1.34%. The company announced before market hours today, 18 July 2016. that subsequent to the rating received by the leading credit agencies in the world i.e. S&P and Fitch, the company has decided to tap into the International Bond market and is planning to raise around $200 million by issuing dollar denominated non-convertible unsecured bonds. The net proceeds will be used for repaying the existing debt.
IDFC Bank rose 2.72% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) allowed foreign investors to enhance investment in the company from the existing 24% to 46%. RBI on Friday, 15 July 2016 notified that foreign institutional investors (FIIs)/registered foreign portfolios investors (RFPIs) can now enhance investment from existing 24% to 46% of the paid up capital of IDFC Bank under the portfolio investment scheme (PIS).
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