Trading turned volatile as key benchmarks reversed intraday gains and slipped into negative terrain in morning trade. At 10:26 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 5.85 points or 0.02% at 34,468.53. The Nifty 50 index was flat at 10,347.65.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.13%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.04%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On BSE, 1091 shares rose and 916 shares fell. A total of 85 shares were unchanged.
Metal shares rose. Steel Authority of India (up 2.17%), National Aluminium Company (up 1.96%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.17%), Vedanta (up 0.94%), Tata Steel (up 0.79%), Hindustan Zinc (up 0.55%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 0.31%), NMDC (up 0.14%) and Hindustan Copper (up 0.11%), edged higher. JSW Steel was down 0.65%.
FMCG shares were mixed. Godrej Consumer Products (down 3.01%), Marico (down 2.58%), Dabur India (down 2.2%), Procter & Gamble Hygiene & Health Care (down 1.21%), Hindustan Unilever (down 0.9%), Nestle India (down 0.53%) and Tata Global Beverages (down 0.28%), edged lower. Colgate Palmolive (India) (up 0.19%), Britannia Industries (up 0.58%), Bajaj Corp (up 0.77%), GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare (up 0.94%) and Jyothy Laboratories (up 1.84%), edged higher.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) retained its India growth forecast for the current year and marginally pared it for next fiscal, citing the drag from higher crude prices and tightening of the global financial situation. But it will remain the fastest-growing major economy, well ahead of China, it said.
In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF said India will grow 7.3% in FY19 and 7.4% in FY20. It had in January forecast FY20 growth at 7.5%. China is forecast to grow 6.6% and 6.2% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The Indian economy grew 6.7% in FY18.
Overseas, Asian shares were mixed on Tuesday as China allowed its currency to slip past a psychological bulwark amid sharp losses in domestic share markets, a shift that pressured other emerging currencies to depreciate to stay competitive. South Korea's markets are closed for a public holiday.
IMF added to the malaise by cutting forecasts of global growth for both this year and next, including downgrades to the outlook for the United States, China and Europe.
In US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back from earlier losses to finish higher Monday, but the broader stock market closed lower as fears over rapidly rising rates continued to weigh on sentiment. The market was influenced by worries that US economic growth may be jeopardized by higher interest rates.
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