Key equity benchmarks hovered in positive zone in afternoon trade. At 13:15 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 14.03 points or 0.04% at 37,128.91. The Nifty 50 index was up 19.50 points or 0.17% at 11,176.50.
Indices opened on a mixed note and turned range bound near flat line in morning trade. After hovering in a narrow range mid-morning trade, indices firmed up in early afternoon trade.
Among secondary barometers, the BSE Mid-Cap index was off 0.09%. The BSE Small-Cap index was off 0.11%.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was negative. On BSE, 924 shares rose and 1312 shares fell. A total of 123 shares were unchanged.
Tata Motors (up 2.45%), Infosys (up 1.79%), Power Grid Corporation of India (up 1.59%), TCS (up 1.1%) and Bajaj Finance (up 1.02%) edged higher from the Sensex pack.
Yes Bank (down 2.99%), Coal India (down 2.14%), Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (down 1.96%), IndusInd Bank (down 1.52%) and M&M (down 1.34%) edged lower from the Sensex pack.
Lupin fell 2.18%. The company announced the completion of the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) inspection carried out at its Aurangabad manufacturing facility. The inspection was carried out from May 6 to May 15, 2019. The inspection at the Aurangabad facility closed with three observations. The company is confident of addressing them satisfactorily. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 15 May 2019.
On the data front, India's overall exports (merchandise and services combined) in April 2019 is estimated to be $44.06 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 1.34% over the April 2018. Overall imports in April 2019 is estimated to be $52.83 billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 4.53% over April 2018. Taking merchandise and services together, overall trade deficit for April 2019 is estimated at $8.78 billion as compared to $7.07 billion in April 2018, the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement yesterday, 15 May 2019.
India's merchandise exports in April 2019 were $26.07 billion, as compared to $25.91 billion in April 2018, exhibiting a positive growth of 0.64%. In Rupee terms, exports were Rs 1,81,021.34 crore in April 2019, as compared to Rs 1,70,052.96 crore in April 2018, registering a positive growth of 6.45%. Merchandise imports in April 2019 were $41.40 billion (Rs 2,87,432.93 crore), which was 4.48% higher in dollar terms and 10.52% higher in Rupee terms over imports of $39.63 billion (Rs 2,60,084.67 crore) in April 2018. The merchandise trade deficit for April 2019 was estimated at $15.33 billion as against the deficit of $13.72 billion in April 2018.
Overseas, European stocks opened lower Thursday, with focus on U.S.-China trade tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over threats against American technology.
Asian shares were mixed as trade tensions continued to weigh on investor sentiment as Trump declared a national emergency to protect US computer networks from "foreign adversaries". He signed an executive order which effectively bars US companies from using foreign telecoms believed to pose national security risks.
China reported surprisingly weaker growth in retail sales for April on Wednesday. Overall retail sales in April rose 7.2% from a year earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
US stocks closed higher on Wednesday following reports that US President Donald Trump plans to postpone auto tariffs by up to six months. US retail sales fell 0.2% in April, the Commerce Department said Wednesday.
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