A bout of volatility was seen in mid-morning trade as the key indices erased intraday gains to sink in negative zone. At 11:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 29.18 points or 0.08% at 35,563.32. The Nifty 50 index was down 17.50 points or 0.16% at 10,634.70. Realty stocks fell.
Domestic stocks edged higher in early trade led by gains in ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and Reliance Industries. Key indices trimmed gains in morning trade.
Investors will focus on interim budget to be announced on Friday, 1 February 2019. The interim budget will be the last one presented by the current NDA government led by Prime Minister Modi, before the 2019 general elections in April.
The Budget session of Parliament will commence from tomorrow. The session will begin with the address of President Ram Nath Kovind to the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament in Central Hall. The session will conclude on 13th of next month.
Trading could be volatile this week as traders roll over positions in the F&O segment from the near month January 2019 series to February 2019 series. The January 2019 F&O contracts expire on Thursday, 31 January 2019.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.22%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.41%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1069 shares rose and 958 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.
Realty stocks fell. DLF (down 1.24%), Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.68%), Housing Development and Infrastructure (down 2.08%), D B Realty (down 1.21%), Unitech (down 3.23%), Sobha (down 0.48%), Godrej Properties (down 0.64%), Prestige Estates Projects (down 3%) and Oberoi Realty (down 1.58%) declined.
Bank of Baroda rose 0.61%. The bank's net profit rose 321.6% to Rs 471.25 crore on 12.2% increase in total income to Rs 14562.85 crore in Q3 December 2018 over Q3 December 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 29 January 2019.
Mahanagar Gas fell 0.68%. The company's net profit rose 19.6% to Rs 148.32 crore on 29.5% increase in net sales to Rs 752.68 crore in Q3 December 2018 over Q3 December 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 29 January 2019.
Overseas, Asian stocks were trading lower on Wednesday as the earnings season rolled on and investors awaited the Federal Reserve's policy meeting. In US, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower Tuesday as investors sorted through a fresh batch of earnings reports and awaited clarity from the Federal Reserve on its monetary policy plans. However, the Dow bucked the broader weakness, buoyed by Pfizer and 3M.
The US Fed began its two-day policy-setting meeting with Chairman Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a news conference to discuss the central bank's plans on Wednesday. Investors are eager for any new communication on the pace of rate increases and a reduction of the central bank's balance sheet as the rapidity of those processes had been cause for concern in recent months.
On the data front, the Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 120.2 in January, down from 126.6 in December, according to FactSet data.
In the UK, Parliament passed several amendments on Brexit, including a proposal to extend the Brexit timeline and to postpone the exit date if no deal was found until late February.
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