Key benchmark indices continued range bound trading in mid-afternoon trade. At 14:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 114.69 points or 0.38% at 29,915.05. The Nifty 50 index was down 39.60 points or 0.42% at 9,302.55. The Sensex was trading below the psychologically important 30,000 mark. It had closed above that level during the previous trading session.
Among other indices, the BSE Mid-Cap index advanced 0.12%. The BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.53%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex. The breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On the BSE, 1,394 shares fell and 1,324 shares rose. A total of 169 shares were unchanged.
Metal shares were in demand. Vedanta (up 2.91%), Hindalco Industries (up 2.88%), Bhushan Steel (up 2.45%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.24%), JSW Steel (up 2.09%), Tata Steel (up 1.38%), Steel Authority of India (up 1.17%), NMDC (up 1.03%), Hindustan Copper (up 1%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.97%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 0.54%), edged higher.
Meanwhile, copper price edged higher in the global commodities markets. High Grade Copper for July 2017 delivery was currently up 0.19% at $2.5980 per pound on the COMEX.
Most auto shares edged higher. Maruti Suzuki India (up 2.97%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.89%), Tata Motors (up 0.71%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.58%), Escorts (up 0.52%) and Eicher Motors (up 0.31%), edged higher. Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.15%), Ashok Leyland (down 0.87%) and TVS Motor Company (down 1.24%), edged lower.
Overseas, most European shares were trading higher, with investors staying cautious ahead of a round of key data, including eurozone inflation figures.
UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.24%. The UK economy slowed sharply in the first quarter as consumers pared back spending, a warning sign on growth ahead of a national election in June and the start of Britain's exit talks with the European Union. The British economy expanded at a quarterly rate of 0.3% in the first quarter of 2017, the U.K.'s Office for National Statistics said Friday, less than half the speed of the 0.7% expansion recorded in the final three months of last year. It was the weakest quarterly expansion since the first quarter of 2016. On an annualized basis, growth slowed to 1.2% from 2.7%, the ONS said.
Among economic events, the European Central Bank (ECB) left its monetary policy unchanged on Thursday, 27 April 2017, even as ECB President Mario Draghi acknowledged the economic recovery taking place in the Eurozone. The ECB chief stressed that while risks remain tilted toward the negative, the Eurozone's economic recovery had improved the bloc's outlook.
Most Asian stocks edged lower as geopolitical concerns continued to loom over the markets. US President Donald Trump threatened to terminate the US trade agreement with South Korea, declaring that the five-year-old accord with a key ally was "a horrible deal that has left America destroyed. Trump also warned that conflict with North Korea was possible, even though he said he preferred peaceful resolution more.
US stocks closed higher on Thursday, 27 April 2017, ahead of major tech company earnings.
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