Volatility ruled the roost in mid-afternoon trade as the key benchmark indices retreated sharply after hitting intraday high. At 14:16 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 32.72 points or 0.1% at 34,427.78. The Nifty 50 index was up 5.25 points or 0.05% at 10,553.95. Oil & gas stocks saw mixed trend. IT stocks also saw mixed trend. Local stocks were boosted by positive global stocks.
Domestic stocks drifted higher in early trade tracking positive Asian stocks. Stocks turned volatile in morning trade as the key equity benchmark indices regained positive zone soon after hitting an intraday low in negative zone. Key benchmark indices extended gains and hit fresh intraday high in afternoon trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.08%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.08%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from was positive in mid-afternoon trade. On the BSE, 1,286 shares fell and 1,237 shares rose. A total of 144 shares were unchanged.
Maruti Suzuki India rose 0.26%. Maruti Suzuki India during market hours today, 18 April 2018 said that the company has attained leadership position in utility vehicles sales in the domestic market in 2017-18, with over 27.5% market share. Riding on the success of models like Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and S-Cross, Maruti Suzuki's sale of utility vehicles reached 253,759 units in 2017-18, growing 29.6% over previous year sales of 195,741 units.
Oil & gas stocks saw mixed trend. Among shares of oil exploration and production (E&P) companies, ONGC (up 0.53%) and Oil India (up 0.25%) edged higher. Reliance Industries (down 0.31%) fell.
Among PSU OMCs, HPCL (down 2.83%), BPCL (down 1.35%) and Indian Oil Corporation (down 1.05%) dropped.
IT stocks saw mixed trend. Wipro (up 2.12%), Infosys (up 0.52%), Oracle Financial Services Software (up 1.16%), Hexaware Technologies (up 2.08%) and Mphasis (up 0.25%) rose. TCS (down 0.07%), HCL Technologies (down 1.25%), Tech Mahindra (down 1.49%) and MindTree (down 1.18%) fell.
Jagran Prakashan rose 1.46% after the company said that its board will meet on Friday, 27 April 2018, to consider buyback of shares. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 17 April 2018.
Overseas, European markets were trading higher as investors monitored a fresh batch of corporate earnings and economic data.
Asian stocks rose as an encouraging US earnings season underscored resilient growth. Japan's exports edged up in March, on strong demand for cars and equipment to make semiconductors, data from Japan's finance ministry showed. Exports rose 2.1% from a year ago, on a rebound in demand after a lull last month. The increase helped Japan log a 10.8% rise in exports for the business year ended March, the first annual rise in three years.
US stocks rallied yesterday, 17 April 2018 amid better-than-expected earnings from industry heavyweights, adding to evidence that the strengthening economy is lifting corporate profits. Meanwhile, a lack of escalation in the trade tensions between China and the US has also emboldened investors.
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