Stocks reversed intraday gains to sink in negative zone in early afternoon trade. At 12:27 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was down 25.87 points or 0.07% at 36,050.85. Metal and mining stocks gained.
Trading for last session of calendar 2018 began on a positive note. The Sensex continued to trade with modest gains in morning trade. The Sensex trimmed almost entire intraday gains in mid-morning trade.
The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index was up 0.51%. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 0.43%. Both these indices outperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was positive. On the BSE, 1344 shares rose and 957 shares fell. A total of 139 shares were unchanged.
Metal and mining stocks gained. Vedanta (up 1.48%), JSW Steel (up 2.35%), Tata Steel (up 1.73%), Steel Authority of India (Sail) (up 2.28%), National Aluminium Company (up 2.52%), Hindustan Zinc (up 1.47%), Jindal Steel & Power (up 2.58%), Hindalco Industries (up 1.46%), NMDC (up 1.62%) and Hindustan Copper (up 2.56%) edged higher.
Cadila Healthcare rose 0.93%. Zydus Cadila has received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Clindamycin Phosphate and Benzoyl Peroxide Gel, (US RLD - DUAC Gel), 1.2%/5%. It will be manufactured at the group's Topical manufacturing facility at Ahmedabad. This combination medication is used to treat a certain type of acne (inflammatory acne vulgaris). It helps to decrease the number of acne pimples. Clindamycin is an antibiotic that stops the growth of acne-causing bacteria. Benzoyl peroxide can also stop the growth of bacteria as well as reduce oil production in the skin. The announcement was made on Saturday, 29 December 2018.
Piramal Enterprises rose 1.48%. Piramal Enterprises said that a meeting of the administrative committee of the board of directors of the company will be held on Wednesday, 2 January 2019, to consider and approve the issue of secured, redeemable, non-convertible market linked debentures upto Rs 100 crore on private placement basis.
On the macro front, the government will announce data on infrastructure output for November after market hours today, 31 December 2018.
Overseas, stocks in Hong Kong rose more than 1% in an abbreviated trading session Monday, as investors were encouraged by signs that the US and China are working toward a trade deal. Most Asian stock markets, including Japan's Nikkei, Korea's Kospi and mainland China indexes, were closed ahead of the New Year's holiday, and will be closed again Tuesday.
On the macro front, an official gauge of China's factory activity fell. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index dropped to 49.4 in December from 50 in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. The result was the lowest since February 2016. China's official nonmanufacturing PMI, also released Monday, rose to 53.8 in December from 53.4 in November.
On Sunday, the US was reportedly seeking more details from China on trade proposals, hoping to reach an agreement before the March 1 deadline that would raise US tariffs on Chinese goods jump from 10% to 25%.
US stocks halted a two-day rally to end mostly lower in a choppy Friday session in a turbulent holiday environment marked by wild swings between gains and losses. A still-unresolved government shutdown remained as an overhang for stocks, as did concerns about the economy and the next round of company earnings.
In Europe, British lawmakers reportedly plan to force a Brexit delay if Prime Minister Theresa May's deal fails to get approved by Parliament in January. Senior members of both the Conservative and Labour parties plan to force the March 29 deadline back until July, at the latest, in order to avoid a no-deal Brexit that could be an economic catastrophe. May's deal is expected to be rejected. While the move might anger hard-line Brexit supporters, the EU has indicated it may allow a delay, though it has ruled out renegotiations. It's also conceivable that a delay could provide time to hold a second Brexit referendum, which could reverse the 2016 decision for Britain to leave the EU.
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