The market pared gains, with the Nifty slipping back into the negative terrain, in early afternoon trade. At 12:18 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 39.44 points or 0.11% at 36,412.88. The Nifty 50 index was down 2.45 points or 0.02% at 10,978. The Nifty retraced after touching the psychologically important 11,000 mark in opening trade.
Trading was volatile. After opening higher, the market hit fresh intraday low in early trade. The market bounced back in morning trade. Indices pared gains in early afternoon trade as profit booking emerged at higher levels.
Overseas, most Asian shares declined. Japan logged a trade surplus in June, after booking a deficit the previous month, official data showed Thursday, with exports rising despite ongoing international trade tensions. Finance ministry data showed a surplus of 721.4 billion yen ($6.4 billion), up 66.5% from a year earlier. Japan's exports were up 6.7% while imports also edged up 2.5%, according to the data.
US stocks finished mostly higher Wednesday as an anecdotal account of business conditions in the Federal Reserve's 12 districts painted an upbeat picture of the domestic economy. The Fed's Beige Book revealed a domestic economy that has rapidly expanded, but one that has run out of room to grow much faster as shortages of skilled workers and rising costs of raw materials risk impeding another leg of expansion. The anecdotal account of business conditions in the Fed's 12 districts showed that 11 regions of the country were growing at a "modest" pace or even faster. Only the states around St. Louis reported "slight" growth.
Meanwhile, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services Wednesday, 18 July 2018, to face questioning from lawmakers on the Fed's plans going forward. Powell also faced questioning Tuesday.
Testifying on Wednesday in front of the House Financial Services Committee, Powell emphasized the US central bank's desire to raise rates further this year and said he sees few signs that an economic recession is on the horizon.
On a US data front, Housing starts in June dropped by 12.3% from lowered numbers in May and were 3% lower than year-ago levels.
Among secondary barometers back home, the BSE Mid-Cap index was down 0.30%. The BSE Small-Cap index was down 0.67%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 785 shares rose and 1492 shares fell. A total of 108 shares were unchanged.
Cement shares declined. ACC (down 1.69%), Ambuja Cements (down 1.63%) and UltraTech Cement (down 0.25%), edged lower.
Grasim Industries was down 0.3%. Grasim has exposure to cement sector through its holding in UltraTech Cement.
Telecom shares were mixed. Bharti Airtel (up 2.38%), Idea Cellular (up 0.30%) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (up 0.25%), edged higher. MTNL (down 1.34%) and Reliance Communications (down 1.53%), edged lower.
Telecom tower infrastructure provider Bharti Infratel was down 4.59%.
IT major Infosys was down 0.40%. The company announced during trading hours today, 19 July 2018, that its philanthropic arm, Infosys Foundation, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) towards the construction of a station at Konappana Agrahara, in Electronics City. This station is under the second phase of Bangalore Metro's expansion plans and the Foundation has committed to maintaining this station for the next 30 years.
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