Key barometers were trading in a narrow range with decent gains in early afternoon trade. At 12:19 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 198.10 points or 0.56% at 35,458.64. The Nifty 50 index was up 60.30 points or 0.57% at 10,677.
Broader market depicted weakness. Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.30%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.19%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive in early afternoon trade. On BSE, 1116 shares rose and 1224 shares fell. A total of 117 shares were unchanged.
Reliance Industries market capitalisation rose to Rs 7.12 lakh crore, overtaking TCS' market cap of Rs 7.05 lakh crore, to become India's most valuable company.
Reliance Industries was up 2.46% at Rs 1123.85. TCS was up 0.82% at Rs 1880.80.
Most metal shares declined. NMDC (down 3.08%), JSW Steel (down 2.27%), Tata Steel (down 1.72%), Jindal Steel & Power (down 1.24%), National Aluminium Company (down 1.2%), Steel Authority of India (down 0.93%) and Hindalco Industries (down 0.15%), edged lower. Hindustan Copper (up 0.1%), Vedanta (up 0.14%) and Hindustan Zinc (up 1.11%), edged higher.
Cement shares were in demand. ACC (up 0.42%), Ambuja Cements (up 0.28%) and UltraTech Cement (up 0.18%), edged higher.
Grasim Industries was up 1.88%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
On the economic front, India's exports rose by 17.86% to $26.98 billion in October mainly due to the low base effect even as trade deficit widened to $17.13 billion, according to the commerce ministry data. Imports during October also rose by 17.62% to $44.11 billion, leading to widening of trade deficit to $17.13 billion. The deficit widened despite a steep decline of 42.9% in gold imports to $1.68 billion during the month under review. The trade gap was $14.61 billion in October 2017.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 2043.06 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data released by the stock exchanges. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 165.31 crore on 15 November 2018, as per provisional data.
Overseas, Asian shares were mixed amid fresh uncertainties emerging from the UK overnight after multiple important ministers resigned from Prime Minister Theresa May's government.
The UK was thrust into political turmoil on Thursday following a spate of resignations from Prime Minister Theresa May's government, including Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab, who said he could not accept the deal after the promises the ruling Conservative Party made to the country in an election manifesto last year.
US stocks snapped a multi-day skid, finishing higher on Thursday buoyed by renewed hopes the US and China can strike a compromise on trade. Cautious optimism took hold following a report that the US may back off from its belligerent stance against China on trade while solid economic data offset underwhelming earnings from Walmart Inc.
A media report suggested that the US and China may step up efforts to resolve their trade conflict, starting with postponing higher tariffs and allowing working level negotiators to iron out a deal.
On the US data front, first-time jobless claims for the week ending 10 November 2018 rose 2,000 to 216,000 in the week ended 10 November 2018. The Philly Fed index dropped 9.3 points to 12.9, a three-month low. The Empire State index rose 2.2 points to 23.3 in November.
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